TIPs - Flat Sided Pieces

 
Have you ever looked at a figure/caricature carving and thought it was too flat at the sides?   This happened too me a lot of times when whittling the "little guys".  I usually start out with a one dimensional sawn blank.  This sometimes resulted in a finished piece that had shoulders and arms that were not well defined.  This gave the piece a flat sided look.  On this Santa piece you can get away with it because the beard may seem to cover the lack of shoulders.

 This is the same piece, photographed from the side.

But you cannot always have a big wide beard to cover up the shoulders.  Some times you have plan ahead for the shoulders, and the ears for that matter.





Here's an example of what I mean. No beard and it has ears.  The blank is 3/4 inch wide, and I have to cut down the hat to fit the head, and cut the head down to have shoulders; while leaving a section for the ears. 







Here's the same piece photographed from the side.  It's not done, but you can see that it is a caricature of a State Trooper.

The interesting thing about these pieces that they are a combination of "in-the-round" and deep relief whittling.

Here's another tip.  When you whittle a figure that will be wearing a hat, be sure you place the hat down over the head.  Make it look like the head really is up into the hat.

In the previous photographs of the State Trooper, the hat is purposely placed high on the head.  That's the way most of the troopers seem to wear the campaign hat.  Just like my Ol' DI did.