Sculpting a Stylized Otter Wildlife Art（雕刻一个程式化的水獭野生动物的艺术）.pdfVIP

Sculpting a Stylized Otter Transform found wood into a graceful carving that tells a story By Sumner Misenheimer One of my favorite things about creating a stylized carving is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. With a stylized carving, the artist creates a freestyle interpretation of the chosen subject. Everyone can be successful with a stylized carving because it is a personal interpretation. The most important thing with a stylized carving is to create something you like; otherwise the piece is only firewood. If you like it, the carving is a success. If you’re unhappy with the carving, continue working on it and let it evolve into something you do like. Perhaps your otter will end up a mouse sitting on a maple leaf. 44 Woodcarving Illustrated | spring 2011 The feel, grain, and color of the wood are strong factors in my final carving. When I carve found wood, the nature of the wood greatly influences the outcome. The challenge is to follow the grain with every component of the carving and to integrate the natural faults into the finished piece. I usually make some part of the animal anatomically accurate. On this project, I decided to make the otter’s head as accurate as possible. Search the Internet for reference material, such as photos of live animals and taxidermy pieces. OTTer: rOughing OuT The OTTer 1 2 Prepare the blank. Choose a blank with enough curve and bulk Rough out the otter. Visualize the entire otter. Use knives, for the entire otter. I select a large cedar branch. Avoid visible cross gouges, or your tools of choice to establish the basic shape. The grain when possible. Glue a block to the belly area so you can attach the piece of wood I’m using has a bump on the top left side that is blank to a vise. Use a gouge to remove any surfa