Step 50: Feet and cattail leaf cluster burning
To add texturing to the cattail leaves I have my burner set on 5, a medium setting, and am using the spear shaped shader. Touch the tip of the shader to the leave, then slowly pull the shader along the leaf following the direction of the leaf. As you pull this stroke lay the burner tip slowly onto its side to widen the line is some place. Return the tip to the edge to thin the line. A few touch-and-lift strokes using the point of the shader add a few wide, dark spots in the leaves.
The feet of our goose are done in a simple touch-and-lift stroke to make ladder step lines from the top of he leg down to the foot. The foot area separates into three lines of ladder steps.
At this point I have changed my burner tip to a ball tip, you can also use the sharp triangle shape of the universal tip of your Versa-Tool or use the tip of the spear shader. To fill the cattails with texture I have the heat setting at 5.5 and use a touch-and-lift stroke to fill this area with tightly packed small circles.
Step 51: Clean-up
I want to paint my goose and cattails but I want the background left as a natural wood look. So using my bull nose chisel, straight chisel, and wide sweep gouge I am taking a little time to clean up any burn strokes in the background wood. Clean your work well using a stiff toothbrush to remove any remaining wood burning carbon and lightly sand everything with 220-grit sandpaper to catch that last bit of charred wood.
Dust the piece well to remove the sanding and cleaning dust. With a white artist eraser lightly clean across the carving. This will lift any remaining dirt or oil that has been left by your hands, especially along the routed edge of the plaque where my hand has rested throughout most of the work. Dust away any eraser particles.