Carving Horses

[SOSHorses]

OMG those are beautiful!!!! i am speachless.

[yaklady]

Sorry Clay, I missed that little detail. Maybe that's because you owe me an email, or is it 10?!? ) The eyes and teeth are the fun part of the whole thing. I wouldn't think of having a class without you. If you like, I can work on your teeth in class. Is that your picture of tooling feathers on the home page?

Gisela, the carving is 11" X 14". It's an easy size to work with when it comes to detail. Small sizes need tiny tools, huge sizes need tools the size of serving spoons.

Hilly, I can come up with tutorials, but when it comes to pinning and linking, someone smarter than me will have to pitch in!

I beat my own record today with the round hay bale. It must have rolled 150 feet after it flew off the back of the truck! What fun! No, I didn't smash a yak!

Kathy

[Hilly]

I beat my own record today with the round hay bale. It must have rolled 150 feet after it flew off the back of the truck! What fun! No, I didn't smash a yak!

Kathy

Considering the temperment of a yak, I'm surprised the yak didn't smash the bale rolling across it's enclosure!

[ClayB]

Sorry Clay, I missed that little detail. Maybe that's because you owe me an email, or is it 10?!? ) The eyes and teeth are the fun part of the whole thing. I wouldn't think of having a class without you. If you like, I can work on your teeth in class. Is that your picture of tooling feathers on the home page?

Kathy

Sorry Kathy, this working every day is really cutting into my social life! They keep saying Colorado is supposed to be sending us a nasty storm, but it's been taking a long time to get here. Maybe you could ride along with it, then when I'm snowed in next week, you can teach me how to carve horse teeth. I think the biggest reason you want me in a class is cuz you owe me a whack on the top of the head.

I think the feathers on the home page are Jim Linnell's.

Ok, that'll have to do for the email I owe you, I've got to go to work and you need to carve some more cool horses!

[yaklady]

Considering the temperment of a yak, I'm surprised the yak didn't smash the bale rolling across it's enclosure!

The last bale I gave them, the bull didn't like where I put it. He shoved the thing over at least 12 feet, sideways, not rolling it. The bale weighed 1700 pounds! The bull isn't even full grown yet. I tried weighing him, but when I pick him up and stand on the scale, I can't see the numbers. Too much hair.

Someone mentioned hay bowling, I wonder if he was referring to this. Maybe next time I'll set up a target, besides the yaks!

[yaklady]

Sorry Kathy, this working every day is really cutting into my social life! They keep saying Colorado is supposed to be sending us a nasty storm, but it's been taking a long time to get here. Maybe you could ride along with it, then when I'm snowed in next week, you can teach me how to carve horse teeth. I think the biggest reason you want me in a class is cuz you owe me a whack on the top of the head.

I think the feathers on the home page are Jim Linnell's.

Ok, that'll have to do for the email I owe you, I've got to go to work and you need to carve some more cool horses!

You're just full of excuses, aren't you? (full of something, anyway!) I don't know how we're gonna send you a nasty storm when we don't have one ourselves. I'll just hop on a yak head your way. Yaks would like ND in the winter. Then you can have a yak whack! No tooling for me today, I have to go try to sell yaks!

[King's X]

I had to look at this again.....absolutely stunning!! I found my new desktop background photo.....sorry hidepounder.

[BradB]

WOW, those are awesome!! thank you for sharing!!

[yaklady]

Okay, here's how I do an eye with lashes. I have to retake the eye without lashes. I used the wrong camera for that one.

Note: Use smooth-faced tools only! Never checker your eyes!

Start out by cutting the eye, but do not cut the lashes! Make sure you cut on the pattern lines, or even to the outside if the pattern is small. One major mistake is making the eye too small.

Using a figure beveller, like F895 (the size depends on the size of your eye), push in the corners of the eye. Note the angle of the tool, pointed sharply away from the eye.

Bevel to the inside of the cut line, being careful not to flatten the eye. A steep beveller may prove to be useful here. If you don't have one, tip your beveller onto it's toe. You can use the figure beveller or a regular beveller, whatever works best for you.

Note: Lightweight leather will result in a flat eyeball. 8 ounce or heavier is more fun to tool on.

Lightly bevel under the lashes.

With a pointy beveller, F902, define the ends of the lashes. The more points, the better.

Cut the lashes with your swivel knife, from the ends inward.

Define the lashes with a fine point stylus.

Round out the eyeball with a spoon. The better the spoon you have, the better the results. I use Peter Main's modeling spoon exclusively. It's expensive, but worth every penny. Use the tip of the spoon to define the tear ducts in the corners of the eye.

I use the spoon only for most of my eye work. Here I formed the eyelids, working from underneath both on the lower and upper lids.

Use a wide, flat pear shader (smooth, of course!) to push in by the front and back corners of the eye.

Once again, the spoon takes over. Note the folds of the upper lid and the "bags" under the eye. A figure beveller can be used to deepen these lines where desired.

Last note: Dry leather is difficult to form with a modeling spoon. If you find yourself pushing down and not making a dent, dampen the eye again. Not too much!

[Hilly]

Thanks for the great tutorial, Kathy! You made it look so easy. I've always admired the mule picture you did, and your horses are just fantastic.

I'm going to try a little figure carving this weekend. Maybe I'll share a photo if it doesn't turn out looking like a 2yr old did it. Stay tuned, or...... maybe not!

Edited January 21, 2010 by Hilly