I haven't done much figural carving so far on my sticks. In part, that's because I'm often using woods that are hard to carve, and often have very irregular grain.
However, here are some practices I have. I don't draw much any more, although I used to do portraits, etc. What I do now mostly is I take pictures of the stick I have. Then I go thru various digital source photos, and pic out ones that seem to have the most salient characteristics. For instance, I tried a barn owl some time ago, and of the 3 dozen or so pics I found on the web, there were a few good profiles and full faces.
I transfer those to a paint program, and trace over the features I want. I make a series of guide lines so I now how various features line up, and what sort of area ratios I have. Then I take the line drawing, and superimpose that on my stick pictures. I squash or stretch the drawing, if need be, to fit better on the stick. Printout the adjusted line drawing, and wrap the paper around the stick, and scribe the lines onto the wood.
Something like this:
![Hair Nose Head Hand Eyebrow]()
Then, fingers crossed, I start carving, hoping that I don't run into a concealed knot. Or more commonly, I don't get a chip out that messes up the work too much. The barn owl head I mentioned split, and a cobra head snapped off when I dropped the stick on my concrete flooe.
However, here are some practices I have. I don't draw much any more, although I used to do portraits, etc. What I do now mostly is I take pictures of the stick I have. Then I go thru various digital source photos, and pic out ones that seem to have the most salient characteristics. For instance, I tried a barn owl some time ago, and of the 3 dozen or so pics I found on the web, there were a few good profiles and full faces.
I transfer those to a paint program, and trace over the features I want. I make a series of guide lines so I now how various features line up, and what sort of area ratios I have. Then I take the line drawing, and superimpose that on my stick pictures. I squash or stretch the drawing, if need be, to fit better on the stick. Printout the adjusted line drawing, and wrap the paper around the stick, and scribe the lines onto the wood.
Something like this:
Then, fingers crossed, I start carving, hoping that I don't run into a concealed knot. Or more commonly, I don't get a chip out that messes up the work too much. The barn owl head I mentioned split, and a cobra head snapped off when I dropped the stick on my concrete flooe.
