[cobalt]

drawings for the off the wall installation i have planned ,nice subject matter and a bit of a challege as hoping to mount them on a wall in the half /three quarters round so hopefully they look as tho there coming through the wall' The subject is based on sir John Tenniel drawings for alice through the looking glass. and hopefully carved in tulip wood have to see how it goes,

Some will be carved in the round as hiking poles

Spent some time researchng it and quite a few drawings done .Some drawings will need modifying when i make the templates out to see if they work on the wall So hopefully no one will bother me so i can get on with it

 

[CV3]

Looks like you have set your self some great projects cobalt. I envy your drawing skills. I struggle with trying to draw out project. My stick man drawings are ugly!!

 

[cobalt]

I think that drawing helps me to carve it gives a better understanding of the shape and what i want to acheive , but the lion i think will be a bit demanding . Some of the images will be modified so when i make a cardboard cut out i will make some cut out of the arms seperate and put a moveable hinge on it to give me a better idea where i am going .

Its not everybodys way of working but i like this way .and it works for me

You dont have to be able to draw you carvings are excellent well proportioned and a little different from the run of the mill.

people have different ideas and thats good ,i otfern oick up some thing on this forum i can use .

The things i lik e are scrimshaw work it looks great and also the multi purpose stick for measuring holding the camera etc is real fun

 

[MJC4]

I cannot draw worth spit either. I do print out pics and size them to fit the piece I am carving so I can proportion the work. I will then rough and I mean rough sketch the piece before whittling on it.

I think what helps me is my 35+ years of reading 2 dimensional blue prints and isometric drawings, then picturing the project in 3D in my minds eye. That experience allows me to look at a picture or sketch and visualize it as a 3D object.

 

[yaxley]

Looks like some intricate projects coming up.

 

[CV3]

I am grateful to some drawing books that taught me how to measuring for proportion. I have even taken drawing classes. More than twice. But not much luck. I get picture in my head of something I want to do but struggle with getting it on paper. sometimes I cut and paste together pictures I down load to build a picture. Drawing skills has always eluded me.

 

[gdenby]

Cobalt,

Good transcriptions of Tenniel drawings. I suspect you will do good work on the Dodo bird. The Unicorn head adn the Hatter's hat seem challenging to me. Good luck. Hope you can find the time.

 

[gdenby]

I am grateful to some drawing books that taught me how to measuring for proportion. I have even taken drawing classes. More than twice. But not much luck. I get picture in my head of something I want to do but struggle with getting it on paper. sometimes I cut and paste together pictures I down load to build a picture. Drawing skills has always eluded me.

I made a living, albeit a meagre one, painting portraits decades ago. I had a good hand and eyes. During one of my college classes, where the general opinion of realistic rendering was low, a friend asked me why I went to so much trouble with "verisimiltude." I replied that i had been drawing since 5 yrs old, and that I hardly had to think about it. I suspect that drawing, like many other things, is best picked up young. Its not that "old dogs" can't learn new tricks. Its just that without a lot more practice, the mental grooves are not established. It helps to do the same thing over and over everyday till it becomes 2nd nature.

As far as books go, they are often useful. Most of the practices have been well known for centuries, and by looking over the references, one doesn't have to re-invent the wheel. Just a few days ago, I found that I needed to go back to some proportion references that I had forgotten.

In classic academic training, it takes a long time to get to the point of working in 3-D. Usually one starts working soft items, like clay, or plaster. And one works on a fairly large scale. Starting w. wood carving on a small scale is really jumping into the deep end.

So no one should feel bad about struggling with it. My problem at this time is that it feels tedious regaining skills I once had, and developing them more. When I want to just have some fun, I strip away bark, and sand the wood just to enjoy looking at the grain

 

[cobalt]

No one is saying you need to draw ,but for me it helps in understanding the 3dimensinal shape of things . and further develop carving skills .Still a relative newby for carving ,but each time i carve somehting i see mistakes and think should i do this different .

Also it encourages me to carve different things and hopefully i can get the relaxation and satisfaction i get from carving hiking pole toppers

Its not very oftern i carve the same thing twice , but some times theres a need to do it .

I do think shawns cipa books has helped with this and has rekindeled my interst in the gothic apporoach .and has given me the confidence in trying the alice through the looking glass illustrations and turning them into a innstallation piece .There are modification i feel the drawings need yet and with what i want from them i cant be true to his origanal work but hopefully carch the essence of it

also some carving books has helped to use the corrct tools for the job ,i dont think there is a right and wrong way but getting good photos helps in the carving processs

So keep carving everyone you never know where its going to take you

 

[JJireh]

No one is saying you need to draw ,

I'm saying you need to draw Really, piggy backing on you, CV3 and gdenby. I would/do encourage anyone who wants to carve to get a plain ol notebook and #2 pencil and start drawing. I don't care what level you are or if anyone but you can understand what it is you put on paper. It is vital to train your brain and hand to work in concert. The same lines you draw will be the same lines you carve. Understanding depth and proportion are secondary. You can sketch any time, with minimal wood shavings Mess ups on paper save firewood. my 2c

 

[cobalt]

cut and paste is a way to get the outlines and does help as a guide to remove wood quickly and by sawing it will save time and effort which just leaves parts that needs shaping with the tool of choice which is the best part

and as you start carving just use a 2b pencil to shade any area that needs removing it will help visualize it

 

[yaxley]

I use graphite transfer paper for images that are beyond my drawing abilities.

 

[cobalt]

Its anothway to serve your purpose and probably a good one.but drawing enables you to take parts of differnt images and rearange then in the order you want its like have the ability to take a elphants head and put it onto a whales body with a snakes skin texture ,which is a big advantage and keeps challenging you to devlop the carving skill and prevents your work being a replica of others

which ever way suits you is the best way as long as you feel your getting somethimg out of it , but you would never part me from using a hb, b, 2b and 4b grade pencils for anything there as good as any chisel for me

 

[cobalt]

At the moment i dont seem to have time for stickmaking or anything , I have some stickmaking work to do but other things keep my out of the workshop and have only managed to make on template for alice in wonderland .

I thought retiremant would be relaxing and could have a coffe whenever i liked go for a casual stroll potty around the workshop etc ,but no its not like that its dashing here and ther to do things and getting more sucked in on meetings and organising events . and having to take part and support other things .I have stopped using the mobile phone and unplugged the doorbell and the landline but it dosnt make any difference

 

[MJC4]

Amen Cobalt, I am a firm believer in what my signature line says. "Being retired is turning out to hard work!"

Mark

 

[CV3]

The real problem for me is I broke my NO button. I think I have it fixed but still have a following sea off stuff I agreed to. I will be cleaning that up tell the new year.

 

[cobalt]

I have started some of the carvings for alice through the looking glass using tulip wood .

Its not a nice wood to carver the grain is long and fiberous ,trying hand tools and a power rasp just getting a feel for the wood ,power tools seem to work better ,But like to get the basic shape with the chisels.

heres the state of play.trying to get it into the round ,before i cut the legs out they seem a bit delicate .Have enlarged the drawings by 25% the overal height is 14 inches and 4 inches wide

it will be part of off the wall theme i`m trying out already have more ideas for another project but will concerntrate on this first.Dont know if i will carry on using this wood may go back to the lime .

Hve some apple and flowering cherry may use that but not sure if its seasoned

 

[cobalt]

I think i found " i not here button" lock the doors unplug phone

The real problem for me is I broke my NO button. I think I have it fixed but still have a following sea off stuff I agreed to. I will be cleaning that up tell the new year.

 

[cobalt]

Escaped into the worshop today ,managed to get some carving done on the tulip wood.Not my wood of choice ,new to me.

Think its better suited for machine work ideal turning wood ?.

Having started i will try to finish it , but dont think i will carry on using the wood .It difficult to carve fiborous and unforgiving

but this is the stage i am at

This is the original pic i based it on from alice through the looking glass its a updated coloured illustration by Harry Theaker and Diz Wallis

 

[CV3]

It looks like it is taking the tools well. Your cuts are clean and no notable chipping or braking away around your rough out of the ears and mane. I think the end product may end up being worth the added effort.