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In this project, I use a
10 inch flat beaded plate which you can find in most
woodcarving supply catalogues. I use Swiss Made tools
and all references to tool sizes and types will be to the
Swiss Made designation.
Start by printing the pattern to a size that will fit on your plate. Tape it on the
plate with the grain running parallel. U se graphite paper
to transfer the pattern to the plate. Carbon paper is hard
to erase and tends to
smear. |
 Pattern
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Figure 1.
Using a #15/6 V-tool, place the outside wing at 90
degrees to the plate so that the cut will be vertical. Cut around the snowman
outside edges. Do
not use the V-tool on the
face. |
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Figure 2. Use your knife to make
a stop cut around the entire outside edge cutting as deep as
possible. Keep
the blade vertical. Keep the edge as clean
and smooth as possible.
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Figure 3. Use a #3/10 gouge
around the outside edge to round and lower the body. |
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Figure 4. Even though this is a
relief carving, you must think of the snowman as being carved
“in the round”.
You must get as much depth as possible. Round the edges to
create depth.
Depth is required to be able to show parts that are
behind others like one leg is behind the other. Continue
rounding the body to rough it in so that you can begin to see
the shape and know that one leg is behind the other. We will
refine the shape later when all the elements are roughed
in.
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Figure 5. Lower and round the
right arm creating depth to give an indication of the shoulder
going under the scarf.
Keep the
arm and glove a little higher because it is in front of
everything.
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| Figure 6. Round the side of the
face like you did the body. Use your knife to stop
cut under the hat brim. Use a #3/8 gouge to
round and shape it. The left side of the
face is lower then and right side and there is more right
cheek showing.
Go around the carrot nose with the V-tool. Slant your V-tool
wings toward the carrot and be sure not to let it get too
narrow. This
starts the rounding process and maintains a good size
nose.
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Figure 7.
Use a #3/8 gouge on the cheeks and mouth. With the gouge upside
down, place it on a 45 degree angle and start the cut. Continue at the same
angle along the arc made by the tool going around the cheek,
forming and rounding as you go. Form the mouth barrel
in this process.
Do not carve the eyes or mouth at this time. Just draw them in with
a pencil to gauge their shape and position.
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Figure 8.
After the face is roughly shaped in, start shaping the
hat and scarf.
Round the edges of the scarf and lower the ends to
indicate going around the neck. Round the hat and
undercut the brim being careful not to undercut too much and
cause it to chip.
Check to
make sure that the body and all carved areas are completely
carved and do not have any flat spots remaining. Check the scarf and
hat to be sure that the wrinkles and folds are correct. Also, check to make
sure that all stop cuts around the edge are deep enough to
produce the proper shadows. Proper shadows make the carving appear
to be carved “in the round” as seen here. You can see the difference
between the shadow at the right foot and those on the hat,
face, and back side of the body.
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Figure 9.
Select a gouge with a curve that matches the curve of
the top of your eyes.
I used a #9/4.
Place the gouge on the top curve of the eye. Lean it toward you so
that the bevel of the tip is vertical, not the shaft. Otherwise, the eye
will be undercut and could chip out. Then press and make a
light cut. Holding your knife
vertical, extend the cut to the bottom of the eye on both
sides. Then, cut
across the bottom.
Using the knife on a flat angle, slice out a small chip
all around the edge of the eye ball. This begins to make
the eye round. Continue to shave the eye ball to make
it round and smooth.
Repeat for the other eye. Make a stop cut along
the mouth line.
Hold your knife vertical to prevent chipping out the
lip. Dish out the top of the
lower lip with your knife and then undercut it with a #9/4
gouge making the chin. |
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Figure 10.
Check to make sure your eyes, mouth and lower lip are
correct. Make
sure the nose goes correctly from the level of the eye up to
the level of the hat brim. Check the scarf for a
realistic looking knot and complete the fringe as shown. Make sure the folds
are smooth and flowing rather than a lot of small lines that
look like wrinkles. |
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Figure 11.
Start the fence the same way you did the body. Use the #15/6 V-tool
around the outside edge with the outside wing vertical. Use your knife to make
a stop cut and deepen the cut. Make sure the vertical
edge is smooth and clean. Lower the fence posts
and rails so they are behind the snowman. Do not go too
deep. Go just
deep enough so they appear to be behind the snowman. Move the posts and
rails back so they make a shelf for the posts to sit on. Shape up the rails and posts. Shape the broom and
lower the shaft to go into the left hand. Undercutting
narrows the nose and also could cause chip out. The tip of the carrot
is higher than the base, but is under the brim of the
hat.
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Figure 12.
Detail the fence rails and posts with the #11/2
Gouge. Make lines
simulating grain structure and maybe a knot or two. Do not over do the
texturing. Detail
the glove cuffs and broom straw using a #15/3 V-tool. Slightly texture the
snow mounds behind the snowman using a #3/8 Gouge. One or two maximum
lines per section of snow.
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Figure 13.
The final step is cleanup and adding shadows. Using your knife, go
around all outside vertical cut edges. Clean up the cut and
add depth if necessary.
Remove any marks in the side and make sure they are
vertical. There
is a tendency to make these outside edges undercut. Clean up all
other lines and joining parts of the carving. Remove any “fuzzies”
in these areas and be sure to make a clean undercut where
parts go underneath other parts such as the head going under
the hat brim. |
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Figure 14.
Liberally coat the entire plate, back and front, with
boiled linseed oil straight out of the can. Be sure all cuts are
covered all the way to the bottom. Any missed areas will
show in the final product. Remove all excess oil
with paper towels.
Make sure there are no wet areas remaining. Place the oily towels
in a safe container to prevent having a fire hazard. Allow to dry
overnight. Seal
the plate with the Clear Matt Finish. Spray lightly and
apply several coats.
Use a crumpled piece of a paper bag and lightly buff
the surface after each coat. Make sure the paper
bag does not have ink or printing on it. The linseed oil brings
out the wood grain. Painting is done in
several light coats so we will not cover it up and make it
look like plastic plates. I use the Minwax
wood stain instead of water to thin
the paints. It
reduces runs and makes the acrylic blend easier. It also makes the
paint stick to the wood better. The paint must be put
on with light strokes to make a smooth color. The first round of the
basic color will be applied to all areas. When it dries to the touch,
additional coats of shadow and highlight colors will be
added.
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Figure 15.
The base coat for the snowman will be Light Ivory. Place a little of the
wood stain in a small cup or on your pallet paper. Place a drop or
two of the paint on the paper. Start by mixing the
paint with a little of the stain on your brush. Starting on the body,
apply the heaviest around the edges and where ever there
should be a shadow.
Be sure to paint the eyes. Add more stain to thin
your paint as you go. Blend toward the center to almost no
color. Make sure the
heaviest part does not cover so much that you can’t see the
wood grain.
In the following steps, be sure to apply very light
coats. Apply
Brown Velvet to the fence and broom stick. Paint the scarf with
Larkspur Blue.
Paint the broom straw with Primary Yellow. Do not paint the broom
lacing at this time.
Paint the hat, scarf, and gloves with Burnt
Sienna. Paint the nose
Orange.
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Figure 16.
Next is the shading and details. Using pure paint
without the stain, paint the iris of the eye and the small
eyebrow Black.
Add a highlight using Blue Heaven. Paint the small strip
around the outside of the iris with Blue Heaven. Use your smallest
brush and be careful not to make the highlight or stripe too
large. Using Blue
Heaven with the stain, add shadows to the snowman. Blue is a cold color
and breaks up the all white color of the body. Where ever there should
be a shadow, paint the darkest part of the shadow and draw it
out into the body until there is no blue color left. The shadow should only
be down in the low areas and not up on the body where the
light can hit. Add color to the cheeks and lips using Cadmium
Red.
It is a strong color so use plenty of the stain to thin
it down and not over do the color. If it isn’t red enough
to suit you, you can add another coat, but it is hard to undo
it if you get it too red to start. Use Midnight to shade
the scarf and hat band.
Where ever there is a shadow, paint in the bottom of
the cut and drag it out to nothing as before. Be sure to leave a lot
of the Blue Heaven base coat showing so the scarf does not end
up being too dark.
Use Light Ivory without the stain and add highlights to
the scarf and hat band.
Put a little on your brush and wipe off as much as you
can. With the dry
brush, very lightly streak the highlight on the high areas and
top of the scarf and top of the hat band. I like just a hint of
the Ivory showing, not a bright white stripe. Shade all the brown
areas that need a shadow. Use straight Burnt
Umber and the dry brush method to darken in the fence
texture. Don’t
over do it, just paint hear and there. I also like to darken
a few of the broom straws with this color and put a little
down in the V cuts.
I use a toothpick and straight Light Ivory to make the
dots on the scarf and hat band. Do not over do
these. I like the
very small dots for this size carving. Finally, highlight the
tops of the fence posts, rails and hat with the Light Ivory
dry brush method.
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This completes the project. I like to seal the
surface of the paint.
Paint can be scraped or rubbed off if handled too much and
is not sealed.
Spray two light coats of the Clear Matt Sealer over the
painted area.
Lightly buff the piece after each coat with the same
paper bag that you used before. It is softer now and
will produce a finer, smoother final
finish. |
MATERIALS:
10” Flat, Beaded
Plate
Boiled Linseed
Oil
American Accents Clear
Matt Finish
Made by Rust-Oleum
Minwax Water Based Wood
Stain
Decorator Tent
Formular
Pallet paper or freezer
paper |
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PAINTS:
Ceramcoat Light Ivory
Ceramcoat Brown Velvet
Accent Larkspur
Blue
Americana Primary Yellow
Ceramcoat Burnt
Sienna
Ceramcoat
Orange
Ceramcoat
Black
Ceramcoat Blue
Heaven
Americana Cadmium
Red
Folk Art
Midnight
Burnt
Umber |
TOOLS:
Carving knife of
choice
3mm #3 Sweep
Gouge
5mm
#3 Sweep Gouge
8mm #3 Sweep
Gouge
10mm #3 Sweep Gouge
4mm #9 Sweep
Gouge
2mm #11 Sweep
Gouge
3mm
#15 45°
V-tool
6mm #15 45° V-tool
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