its the leafman

[sodapop]

heres a practice piece i did...it was a tough lil s.o.b...as ya can see hes not a big fella...but i wanted to try doing some sort of leaves...i just maybe should of started off with making it larger...but all in all this had to be the most patience trying & toughest picture i've done to date...definately some rough spots with the leaves...lotsa little cuts and trying to bevel some of those spots was a nightmare and made my eyes go ...i think i need some micro tools lol

critiques always welcome...thanks!!

darryl

with some antique on him

[Storm]

 Nice Green Man Bro!  Good ork on the undercut beveling. That really makes the carving come to life.  Keep it up!

Storm

[sodapop]

thanks alot storm!!...ya that was my first shot trying that undercut business...its a cool beveler and that was one thing i learned & got practice doing with this guy...just gotta try it on something a bit larger next time...some of those spots made my little beveler look like a sledge hammer lol

darryl

[indypbear]

heres a practice piece i did...it was a tough lil s.o.b...as ya can see hes not a big fella...but i wanted to try doing some sort of leaves...i just maybe should of started off with making it larger...but all in all this had to be the most patience trying & toughest picture i've done to date...definately some rough spots with the leaves...lotsa little cuts and trying to bevel some of those spots was a nightmare and made my eyes go ...i think i need some micro tools lol

critiques always welcome...thanks!!

darryl

with some antique on him

Darryl,

I really like your design and the tooling. Your undercut bevels are good but to pop they need to be lifted a little more. Have you tried different sized stops for the inside line ends and modeling tools for other areas that need clean-up and fine finish work? Keep up the good work! I would love to have a copy of the artwork (carving pattern) to play with if that's OK with you. Just send it to <front_line 42@yahoo.com>

Happy toolin',

Indy

Edited July 6, 2008 by indypbear

[Spider]

Very cool Eco-Friendly dude. Looks good.

[sodapop]

indypbear

Have you tried different sized stops for the inside line ends

i appreciate the compliments & critiques but your gonna have to put the above in english for me...cuz i don't have a clue what ya mean lol...i sent ya the design...so if ya don't get it for some strange reason lemme know -k-

thank ya there spider...glad ya dig that leafy fella...hes almost cool enough to roll up & smoke hehe

enjoy

darryl

[ArtS]

Thats really cool! I bet if you darken the eyes and the mouth it would really pop out.

ArtS

[TomSwede]

Hey Darryl, you gotta warn me before posting such elaborate work. Where did that come from, just the other day you mentioned being stuck!!

Very nice and clean and nice going with the pear shader (I think you used the pear) and that tool scares me a bit but I explore another tecnique now and get it later on.

I just love the green man, a celtic figure I believe. Get yourself a celtic sword, they're dynamite in good looks, and use this one for a scabbard or sumting. Dar,n I gotta get rich and get a celtic sword.

Really thrilled to see where this leads to.

Tom

Edit: just saw ArtS comment and agree. Then I'd probably try with sealing it and then go with some saddletan antiquing to enhance the shading but NOT before deciding how it's gonna be used and only apply antiquing with a brush to defined areas, my experience is that it always get a bit overall darker with saddletan over a whole piece even though sealed. The eyes/mouth look filigreed/backgrounded and that makes it easy to paint on some black dye.

Edited July 6, 2008 by TomSwede

[ClayB]

I think you did a really nice job on this too. Your leaves have a lot of shape and depth to them. Like others have said, you could probably get some more depth with a lifter, and clean things up a little with a modeler, but this is a nice piece. The green man seem to work on leather very well.

[hiloboy]

i really like those little green guys..and you did a great job on him to..

[sodapop]

thanks much art...i tried like twice to put on more antique paste in the eyes cuz they were so light but it just didn't seem to take, or i kept wiping it off too quick ...i'm not so confident with my antique yet...i do always oil it up first with neatsfoot oil...then while its a bit wet apply the antique...but the stuff scares the hell out of me cuz it'll get a hold on the leather wrong and gives me weird blotches...i'm always like in a panic applying it lol

i appreciate it clayb...i guess i was confused with the leaves somewhat...as to cut the raised lines/parts for the leaves or just pear shade to get the depth/contours, like on the ripples in the leaves if that makes sense??...and i agree that i should of took more time and smoothed things out more with the modeler...i'll have to get one of those lifters now...like thats a shocker that i need more tools...everytime i turn around or want to do this or that...i need a new tool for the job =0)...i'm gonna go broke before i make a penny hehe

sorry tom ...i can find plenty of things to tool...where i'm stuck and still trying to find my way...is with items to actually construct to put the stuff on...since i've kinda changed my mind with the direction i want to go with the leather lol...and your right with the pear shaders...gave them a workout with this guy...just not always sure when i should zig or zag with it...but its practice none the less...how does the saddletan differ from antique paste??...also i'll have to try brushing in those areas...cuz that antique freaks me out ...i see that celtic greenman on alot of garden fountains and such...like clay said, its a nice figure that fits in well with the leather...

speaking of swords tom...when i lived in seattle...there was this old irish cat that i went to see once...he was an old school sword maker...made claymores, sheilds and real armor...in his house he had displayed countless ancient swords...he was a maker & bigtime collector...anyways i almost bought one of his last clamores cuz he was getting too old to do the hammering etc and retiring...i could kick myself now for not getting it...

thanks alot hiloboy...there are groovy dudes...man i wish i was in hawaii!!...been there twice, i stayed at the bananna bungalo hostel in wailuku on maui & then a different trip and stayed on lanai island...and have seriously thought of moving there...hell never know i still might...just would suck having to ship everything in...as i seen you've run into that issue...pros & cons i guess ;0)

darryl

p.s i sent the pic to all those that requested it...if for whatever reason ya didn't get it...let me know and i'll give it a go again...

[indypbear]

indypbear

i appreciate the compliments & critiques but your gonna have to put the above in english for me...cuz i don't have a clue what ya mean lol...i sent ya the design...so if ya don't get it for some strange reason lemme know -k-

thank ya there spider...glad ya dig that leafy fella...hes almost cool enough to roll up & smoke hehe

enjoy

darryl

Darryl

Check out a TLF catalog on page 45. You will find the H series of tools are called stops. They are used at the end of a swivel cut in certain designs. You'll get the hang of that with practice. The undercut bevelers are also known as lifters by some and also require a technique that is easy to master. Thanks again for the graphic. I'll send you the line art pattern when I finish with it.

Indy

[Duke]

wow, what an awesome item! my brain got to churning when I seen that, how cool would it be to enlarge that and make it into an actual mask, and then when its all tooled, cut it out an wet mold it to fit the human face. I would even go as far as to tool some oak leaves and cut those out and fasten them to the mask to really make it pop out.