Three Ways to Sketch When Carving Wooden Gifts

In this post we will share easy to carve wooden gifts. We use a cute cat figurine as an example, which is one of the best things to try for novice wood carving practice. We share the carving tutorial and tips, as well as respond to questions asked by beginners or those who are planning to get started in the tutorial.

For example, the most frequently asked question is how to draw a diagram? How to draw front view and side view? This is really a problem that bothers everyone, especially when there is no physical reference.

Here we share how to draw the three views, there are three better methods.

Silhouette method

Take a picture of the wooden gift you want to carve with your cell phone and take a picture of the front, side and top. Then upload the picture into a drawing tool to make a silhouette. Then adjust the size of the silhouette according to the size of the wood, and then print it out and paste it onto the wood, so that the three views are ready. If there is no reference refer to the second method.

Pinch modeling

This method is less common, but it is the most rigorous way to avoid making mistakes. First use the soft clay to pinch the shape, and then use the silhouette method after you have made the desired shape. This is for cases where the wood is expensive, and you need to make a draft first to avoid wasting valuable wood.

Structural drawing

If we don't have the above two methods, we need to collect some information about the cat (or other wooden figurines), such as its overall structure drawing or localized skeleton structure and record it on our notes. This is also one of the most common methods of making wooden gifts, and many experienced wood carvers usually do not use the first two methods when making ordinary works, and they make more use of their day-to-day experience. When you are familiar with the object to be carved, this method will help you to judge the alignment when you are carving a body shape.