1st Attempt

[Wapak]

This is my first attempt at carving. I used a craftaid and some scrap to practice on. I know there is ALOT of room for improvement. What did I do right? What can be better? And how do you do the eyes and nose on the deer? Thanks for taking the time to look. I have a long way to go but we all have to start somewhere.Thanks for looking!

[JLSleather]

Couple of things done right, immediately clear.

1.) Your lines are beveled on the correct side of the cut, good depth, and the cut lines don't "cross".

2.) You want to know how to improve it (this is probably the biggest single factor in being good at it).

Some simple improvements... in the "revised" picture...want to make the scene appear natural

Some of this should be modeled [only]. The snow-cap on the mountains, should be suggested, not beveled heavily (if the deer is 4 1/2' tall, then that peak is 1 1/2 miles out). I usually do this type of thing ONLY with the color. The same modeling tool you would use to shape the eyes and lighter muscles of the animal. They're right, they're just a little deep.

If you ran a paint roller over the carving (the blue), it leaves that groove, which should taper out to nothing.Use a matting tool to "blend" the beveled ridges, eliminating the "halo" around your figures. This "matting" should be done to all your cut lines (not inside the deer). And I wanted to add that you can and should bevel all your lines just as before, and worry about the matting later when the leather has become a little less moist.

Pink lines should be carried on out. Don't have to cut them, just continue with your beveler off the leather.

Bevel BOTH ways ("double bevel") at the blue arrow, bottom of the rock pile. Again, this is a bit more distant, so a light tap. This will give the illusion that the rocks are sitting on the ground.

At the black arrow (tree) you could either continue the bevel of the mountain through the tree , and then finish the tree, or leave as is and bevel around the outside of the branches and give it some foliage.

And the green (grass)... suggest you think more of the area "above" the grass. Use a pointed beveler to lightly tap the top of the grass and smooth the deer's legs to remove any tool marks. This will make it look like the hooves are down in the grass.

This was long, and I'm sure someone will jump in to explain more before I have a chance to tool one of these. I always liked that craftaid, and if I had it to do over I would NOT loan it out.

Edited January 22, 2010 by JLSleather

[Wapak]

WOW!! Thanks for the great feedback! I appreciate the tips. That really gives me direction towards improving.

[JLSleather]

That really gives me direction towards improving.

If you want to see the difference it makes, as in now, go see what this lady is Yak-ing about right over here. HA ... yak-ing... I'm too funny .... The first post shows some pretty darn good "matting" work around the horse, and if you go down a ways she's yakking eyes ...

[Wapak]

If you want to see the difference it makes, as in now, go see what this lady is Yak-ing about right over here. HA ... yak-ing... I'm too funny .... The first post shows some pretty darn good "matting" work around the horse, and if you go down a ways she's yakking eyes ...

Yak-ety YAK!!!!!! that's some fine work there!!!