To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:25:13 -0500
Subject: [Puptcrit] woodcarving: carving facial features in what order?


HI all.
I made a carving tests of my small puppet head in hard foam, to make sure I 
knew where I was going before attacking my piece of basswood. The head is 
1.5 inches wide by 2 inches high.

I wish I could start bigger for my first full puppet carving project, but 
the creature insists on being 12 inches tall, and since her proportions are 
mostly fixed on paper, here we are.

I realized that the eyes will be really the hardest to make, followed 
closely by the nose, which will be difficult to make subtly.

I've been so used to be able to add onto my carvings, from foam to wood to 
paper mache and all combos among them, that a full substractive method has 
remained difficult for me to envision.

For now, I worry about the eyes mostly, especially the eyelids, which need 
to be fine and smoothly curved. All the more difficult since the focus 
cannot be adjusted much after carving...

Any tip would be appreciated that would facilitate these steps.

Especially:
.Is there a better order in which to carve the features?
.Should I leave the eyes last, keeping them as blank half sphere until they 
are the last to carve?
.Is there a better shape of mini carving diamond bits to use for caring the 
precise eyelids? (I have a set)

.Is there an easier way to add glass eyes in the wood behind the eyelids, 
without having to cut the head in half and hollow it from within?

.If I use a wood putty or paper strips to form the eyelids over the glass 
eyes, is there a way to control the wood stain on the paper so that it will 
fit the wood better?

As always, thanks for your input,
Mathieu. 

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