Introducing Two New Free Online Series of Free Carving, Pyrography, and Craft Projects ….. Great Book of Free Carving Projects & Patterns by Lora S. Irish Great Book of Free Pyrography Projects & Patterns by Lora S. Irish …..
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Stop by often at our carving, pyrography, and craft pattern site, ArtDesignsStudio.com to see what Great New Books you can have for free for Carving Patterns, Pyrography Projects, and Craft Designs by Lora Irish!
Great Book of Free Carving Projects and Patterns by Lora S. Irish Online Series
The first release in my new, free online series is an in-depth tutorial on how to carve the wood spirit face using the planes of the human face as our guidelines. Join me as we work through the detailed steps and 199 photographs to learn how easy the Wood Spirit is to carve.
So, Gang, pull up your chair to your computer screen seat at my class table, and let’s have some FREE FREE FREE wood carving, and pyrography fun.
Lora S. Irish, June 01, 2015
Copyright, Lora S. Irish, 1997 – 2015 Art Designs Studio.com, 1997 – 2015 All International Rights Reserved Use of any information, images, or text in digital or printed format or in any magazine, book, or booklet is strictly prohibited without the written, hardcopy permission of the author, Lora Irish.
This is new work, created after May 2013, by Lora S. Irish. Use in part or whole by any publishing company is strictly prohibited without a written, signed, and dated contract for this new work with the author. June 01, 2015
I had a question from WoodWorkingChat.com on the Wood Spirit Carving Project that is being posted right now, that I thought I would share with you. The question was “How do you pick the right sized bench knife?”
Please remember you can click on any image for a full-sized photo.
Quality of the Steel
There are three important considerations in which bench knife you purchase. First is the quality of steel in the blade, which determines whether you can bring the knife to a very sharp, fine point with a sharp edge. While your hand will adjust to a knife handle that is not an absolute perfect in fit, there is nothing you can do to improve a poor quality steel blade or force it into holding an edge.
This top photo shows an ergonomic handled chip carving knife. I use this one for my general craft needs as cutting paper, cutting chipboard, or cutting leather. The handle is slightly too wide for a comfortable grip in my hand, and the extension of the knife point beyond the hand grip is a touch too long. Yet, this knife would be a perfect grip for a carver with a larger hand size than mine (woman’s small). The steel of this blade is very high quality.
Length of the Blade
Second is the length of the cutting blade. A long bladed bench knife is perfect for de-barking walking sticks, for long whittling cuts, and for general shaping.
This second photo shows a long bladed bench knife. This is the classic bench knife that is often shown for beginning carvers, yet its primary use is for long whittling strokes as de-barking walking sticks or rounding over the corners of a practice block. The handle of this knife fits my hand perfectly, but the long blade pushes my fingers away from the wood. I use this one for rough-out work, but never detail or shaving work.
Fit of the Handle
Finally, the third consideration is how the blade handle fits in the palm of your cutting hand. I use ‘the rule of thumb’ to size my bench knives. For a moment extend the thumb of your non-dominate hand in the ‘thumbs up’ position. Wrap your dominate hand around that extended thumb with the extended thumb tip resting at the mid-joint of the first finger. Use a light, semi-open grip. For me, the size and length of that extended thumb is the perfect size for my bench knife and tool handles. (See bottom photo)
The third photo shows my favorite bench knife, a rose wood handled large chip carving blade. The handle is exactly the size of my extended thumb, and the blade point is never more than one inch away from the wood.
I have a second chip carving knife that I use regularly that is classified as a small chip knife. The knife has a very short, narrow handle and a 3/4″ or less blade. A short blade, as a large chip knife, brings your hand right onto the carving wood, which gives you more control over the movement of the cutting tip. Very small, short blades, as a small chip knife, are perfect for getting into those tight corners or creating undercuts.
Rule of Thumb Sizing
If I am sizing a palm handled tool, I slide my non-dominate hand further up into my dominate hand so that the first joint of the extended thumb rests against the mid-joint of my first finger. This places the pad or base of my extended thumb into the center of my carving hand palm. The size of my thumb pad is about the size that I want for my palm tools.
Which bench knife or carving tools work best for you is determined by what style of wood carving you are working, the size of your hand, and your hobby budget. Of note is that many wood carvers own and use more than one bench knife or set of gouges, so that we will have on hand the right tool for the right job. As your hobby grows so will your tool hoard … 🙂
If you are just starting your hobby of wood carving you may wish to check out our article on the Wood Carving Tool Kit.
Today we will work through establishing the depth of the nose bridge, the slope of the nose, the division between the nose and the mustache, and freeing the nose from the cheeks.
So, click on the link below and let’s get carving!
If you are just joining this free, online wood carving project, by Lora Irish, please check out the links below for your supply list and an over view of the planes of the human face.
Not sure what tools, knives, or carving sets will get you started in the craft of wood carving, chip carving, and whittling? Are you wondering what general woodworking and craft supplies you might need for your first carving project? Have fun browsing through Lora Irish’s carving kit which includes wood carving beginner sets, sharpening stones and honing boards, rasps, rifflers, sanding and tracing paper, compasses, rulers and t-squares, and so much more!
A basic relief carving or whittling tool set contains far more than just your carving tools and knives. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the common supplies you may use in your carving craft. All photos in this article are large-sized and labeled, just click on any image to show the full-sized photo.
Plus there are lots of links to Amazon.com, so that you can do a little window shopping as you prepare and plan your own wood carving supply kit.
Over the last two days we have been exploring how light, shadows, color, and tonal value are created in a photograph and how they affect the sepia pyrography wood burning. Today we will look at repeated tonal values, black and white contrast, and adjacent mid-tone in our gray-scale photos. Next we will take a look at how your eye and brain sees and interrupts images.
A shade of tonal value will be repeated several times throughout any image or photograph. In the tomato drawing three areas that been marked that all share the same tonal value. Each of these areas would receive the same pyrography burning to keep the tones equal.
You will find similar or equal tonal values throughout your gray or sepia toned image even though those same areas show different hues in the color photo. A medium green, medium red, and medium blue may share the same medium sepia tonal value.
Black and White Contrast
Placing one or two areas of the extreme tonal values next to each other gives the eye a place to compare the darkest and palest tones. The brightest highlight on this tomato lies in the upper left and is adjacent to the blackest tone of the drawing, found in the background area. These two tonal value areas set the whitest and darkest tones of your tonal value scale.
Working an area of high contrast – white against black – creates a visual boundary for your tonal value scale. All mid-tones must fall between these two extremes. The boundary tones do not need to be pure white or pure black; a gray-scale can be created starting with a pale gray and ending with a dark gray.
Adjacent Mid-Tone Values
In any gray scaled photo you will discover adjacent areas in two different elements that have the same tonal value. In these areas the defining line between the two elements seems to disappear. In our sample there are three areas where the body of the tomato and either the table surface or background share the same tonal value.
When two areas share one tonal value you can adjust one or both of the mid-tone values in a burning to create some contrast. Even a very small change in one area, either going a bit lighter or darker, is enough to redefine your boundary lines.
How the Brain Interrupts an Image
Notice that I did not say how the eye sees an image. The eye receives information about an image or photo in two distinct manners, it is only when those two pieces of information are combined by the brain do we see an image. So where the eye gathers information it is the brain that interrupts that information into one image.
Inside of the eye are two receptors – the cones and rods. The cones of the eye gather information about color, it determines if an objects is red, yellow, or blue. The rods, the second eye receptor, evaluates the amount of light each area is receiving; the rods create the gray-scale tonal values that we use in pyrography. Our sample photo for this section is a wooden hill just after sunrise.
Color Receptors – Cones
The sample photo has been altered to remove as much shading as possible while emphasizing the color hue of each area. The gray-green leaves of the forest are now broken into areas of yellow, yellow-green, deep green, and blue. The tree trunks show greens, reds, and yellows.
You can see the colors contained in light when you view a rainbow created through a prism, called a spectrum. Each color in the spectrum has its own specific wave length. When light strikes an object most of those color waves are absorbed by the object. Those that are not absorbed bounce off the object to be received by our eye.
So the color of any object and therefore the color that our eye cones receive are the light wave lengths that the object rejects. We don’t see green leaves, we see the green light waves that have bounced off of the leaves.
Sepia or Gray Scale Receptors – Rods
What the tonal value receptors, the rods, see is equivalent to a sepia or black and white photo. Rods record the amount of light an area is receiving – whether it is in pure highlight or the darkest shadows.
Combining the Cones and Rods Images
The brain combines the information sent by the cones and rods to create one image that has color hues and tonal values.
In the photo sample, left, the color image has been superimposed over the sepia tonal value image, exactly as the brain compiles the information it receives. The resulting photo is an excellent copy of the original camera photograph.
Great Book of Free Carving Projects and Patterns by Lora S. Irish Online Series
