Carving

I use a variety of hand tools to carve the wizard, ranging from large, flat gouges to tiny micro gouges. The carving will turn out better, and you will learn more, if you use the tools you are most comfortable carving with. To learn more about creating head and body proportions on human figures, check out The Rule of Three. 

To drill the hole in the hand for the scepter, it’s possible to use a drill and 1/8″ (3mm)-diameter bit, but I just use a 1/8″ (3mm) micro gouge. In the time it takes to find the drill and bit, I can drill through the hand with the gouge.

Painting

I usually mix my own colors; I can tell when someone has painted a carving using colors straight out of the bottle, and I think it looks a bit boring. For this piece, I use light washes of paint to build up the colors slowly. I tend to use the same color for a few elements in the same carving to help tie everything together.

For the exposed flesh, I mix naphthol red light with chromium oxide green. For the hat and robes, I mix naphthol red light with ultramarine blue. For the robe trim and cuffs, I mix naphthol red light with burnt umber. For the visible inside of the robe and for the scepter’s hat, I mix Payne’s gray with cadmium yellow light. For the scepter’s body and the spots on the robe, I use pale gold. When the gold is dry, add dots of titanium white. For the shoe, I use raw sienna. 

Paint the eye with full-strength mars black and allow it to dry. Paint a circle of full-strength chromium oxide green for the iris and allow that to dry. Paint the pupil with mars black, allowing a bit of the iris to remain visible. Add a titanium white highlight dot.

When the piece is fully dry, dry-brush titanium white over the whole piece to highlight the tool marks.

• Basswood, 2 3/4″ (7cm) thick: wizard, 2 3/4″ x 8 1/2″                   (7cm x 21.6cm)

• Basswood, 1/2″ (1.3cm) thick: scepter, 1/2″ x 4″                                (1.3cm x 10.2cm)

• Acrylic paints, such as Liquitex®: burnt umber, cadmium               yellow light, chromium oxide green, Mars black,                           naphthol red light, pale gold, Payne’s gray, raw sienna,               titanium white, ultramarine blue

• Knives: carving, detail

• #3 gouge: 3/4″ (19mm)

• #6 gouge: 1/2″ (13mm)

• V-tool: 1/4″ (6mm)

•Micro gouges: 1/8″ (3mm), 3/16″ (5mm)

• Drill with bit: 1/8″ (3mm)-diameter (optional)

• Paintbrushes: assorted

Don Dearolf painted for several years before taking up carving in 1994 after his brother Dave took him to the Lancaster County Woodcarvers Show. Don loves to carve and share patterns, blanks, and rough outs with others. Don lives in Lancaster, Pa., with his wife, Sue, and daughter, Kate.

Applying the Rule of Three to a Carved Figure

The rule of three works for carvings of all sizes, from miniatures to life-size figures. It is easier to remember and apply the rule of three than the traditional guideline of a figure being eight head-lengths tall. By keeping the rule of three in mind, you can design any human figure and adapt it according to the clothing, age, race, and occupation of the figure. The rule of three works for any figure, from clowns and hobos, to Indians, pirates, and Santas.

Body Proportions

• Divide the body, below the head, into three equal sections: the shoulders to the waist, the waist to mid-knee, and mid-knee to the bottom of the feet.

• Use the width of the head to determine the correct width of the body. At the shoulders, the body is three heads wide. 

Head Proportions

• Divide the head into three equal sections: the hairline to the eyebrows, the eyebrows to the bottom of the nose, and the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the chin. 

• Position the ears in the center section. The ears sit on the back half of head and are the same length as the center section—from the eyebrows to the bottom of the nose.

• The bottom section, between the nose and the chin is further divided into three equal sections: the nose to the upper lip, the upper lip to the indention between the bottom lip and the chin, and the indention to the bottom of the chin.

Use the rule of three to block out the elements on the figure’s head. Note the head fits up into the cap; the cap does not sit on top of the head. Envision the top of the head inside the cap to produce the proper proportions.

Add details to the carving only after you have blocked out all of the elements. Continue using the rule of three to ensure the figure maintains good proportions.

Carving Tips from the Wood Bee Carver

Don Mertz, better known as the Wood Bee Carver, suggests would-be carvers would be carvers if they would carve wood. In addition to his rule of three for figure proportions, Don shares the following tips with would-be carvers.

• While designing your carving and carving your design, think of the number 3 like the letter S, with curving lines that add flow and movement to the carving. Design and carve curving lines rather than straight lines.

• Even though the blade is much longer, detail carving uses less than 1/4″ of the tip of any blade. 

• Hard lines carved into small carvings create light and shadows, making the carving appear to have sharp and precise details. Hard lines are created with angled under cutting along a stop cut.

• Slice with the cutting edge of the tool as often as possible. A slicing cut separates the wood fibers and burnishes as it passes through the wood. A wedge cut, forced into the wood, breaks fibers ahead of the cutting action and creates fuzzies and ragged edges. Slice and do not pry.

• Shape your knife to produce the results you desire. On my knives, the cutting edge curves up to meet the back edge of the knife blade. This allows me to make clean slicing cuts. 

• Sharp can be sharper. Make sure your tools are sharpened as much a possible and strop often. A sharp tool using a slicing cut creates a slick surface that makes the carving dance and the paint or finish sparkle.

• Soak thin cross-grained areas with cyanoacrylate (CA) glue, such as Super Glue, to strengthen these areas, which are prone to breakage.

• While a good carving relies on correct proportions, it’s important to add the details that transform a good carving to a great carving. Details such as seams, tears, patches, and worn out shoes help your carving tell a story.

• Woodcarving is the journey more than the destination. There are no mistakes, only learning experiences. Relax and enjoy the journey.

Paint Notes

• Base coat and skin: raw sienna
• Cap: burnt sienna
• Hair, beard stubble, eyeballs, and shirt: white
• Jacket: burnt umber
• Vest and patch on knee: cadmium red
• Trousers: sap green mixed with burnt umber
• Buttons, cigar, and shoes: black

• Basswood, 2 1/2″ (6.4cm) square:  5″ (12.7cm) long                   (adjust pattern for blank)

• Artist oil paints mixed with boiled linseed oil to a stain            consistency: black, burnt sienna, burnt umber,                         cadmium red, raw sienna, sap green, white

• Finish, such as Deft® brush-on lacquer

• Carving knife or tools of choice

Donald K. Mertz, a.k.a The Wood Bee Carver, has been carving seriously since the early 1970s. Don has written articles for Chip Chats, and taught at War Eagle Seminars and in Southwest Ohio for local clubs and Woodcraft stores. Don was elected into the Caricature Carvers of America in 2009 and shares his unique style of carving using only a knife through his educational web blog at woodbeecarver.com. Don is a retired Disciples of Christ pastor living in Wilmington, Ohio, with his wife, Frances.

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[button link=”https://woodcarving.zeeframes.com/?p=21537&preview=true” bg_color=”#ff0000″]Click Here for Step-by-Step Guide[/button]

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Carving a Hiker

I carved my hiker from one piece of wood. Add a separate, larger base if desired. I left the wood in the negative space between the body and hiking stick to strengthen the weak areas and protect the integrity of the carving. If you prefer, remove it after you carve the majority of the piece. My carving has hair covering the face so I didn’t have to carve eyes, which can be challenging. To make it even easier, cover the ears with hair as well.

Finishing the Project

Use a woodburner to separate the areas to be painted. This prevents paint from bleeding from one area to another. I use acrylic paints thinned with water to allow the wood grain to show through. I use between 7 and 10 drops of water per drop of paint. You can adjust the intensity of the color by adding more or less water to the wash. I added the lines on the jacket for interest, using an ultra fine point Sharpie® marker. Paint the hiker using colors that have meaning to you or draw a logo on the hat or shirt to show your team spirit. 

Allow the paint to thoroughly dry. Then spray the carving with two light coats of Minwax® clear satin polyurethane. This finish helps protect the carving from oils transferred through handling and keeps the colors vibrant.

Paint Notes

Hat: tangelo orange (1) mixed with a drop of tomato red (1)

Bedroll: deep midnight blue (1) 

Exposed skin: mixture of flesh (2), medium flesh (2), and dark flesh (2)

Jacket: tomato red (1)

Backpack: lime green (2) 

Shorts: mink tan (1)

Walking stick: burnt sienna (1) 

Boots: burnt umber (1)

Boot tread and hair: soft black (1)

Drybrush texture: buttermilk (1)

1 DecoArt Americana®

2 Delta Ceramcoat®

Materials

• Basswood, 7/8″ (2.2cm) thick: 3 1/4″ x 7 1/4″ (8.3cm x 18.4cm)

• Acrylic paints, such as DecoArt Americana®: burnt umber, tomato red, deep midnight blue, mink tan, burnt sienna, tangelo orange, soft black, buttermilk; such as Delta Ceramcoat®: flesh, medium flesh, dark flesh, lime green

• Marker: ultra fine-point Sharpie®

• Finish, such as Minwax® clear satin polyurethane

Tools

• Knife: 1 1/2″ (38mm)-long blade

• #5 fishtail gouge: 1/2″ (13mm)

• #5 gouge: 1/4″ (6mm)

• #9 gouge: 5/16″ (8mm)

• V-tool, bent: 1/4″ (6mm) 45°

• Woodburner with nib: spade

• Paintbrushes