Wood carving: figurines for beginners

Wooden figurines are a great decoration for home, desktop, garden. They are liked by both adults and children. Such works of art attract with their connection with nature. Figures of cats, owls, bears, turtles or other animals will look great in the interior. And for the garden, carved figures of gnomes or birds are best suited.

To make wood carvings, a specific type of wood should be chosen.

• Easiest to cut from linden trees, the structure of which lacks a pronounced pattern. This allows you to easily apply an image to the workpiece. In addition, virtually no cracks appear on the material.
• Similar characteristics are observed in alder... It's also easy to work with.
• Aspen wood is the best material for making large sculptures as it is easy to chip. It is worth noting that if the aspen is not varnished, then after a while it becomes silvery. The soft structure is not difficult to work with.
• With solid birch it's not easy to work with, but it makes great small parts. Also, its wood is valued for its special relief.
• From nut material, you can create interesting compositions in which there are a lot of fine carvings. In addition, the walnut is easy to handle, since it does not chip. This wood is perfect for various decorative details.
• From oak large sculptures are often made. This tree is difficult to work with due to its susceptibility to chips and its hardness.

It should be noted that any wood for carving must be thoroughly dried. Otherwise, cracks may appear on the finished products. It is necessary to dry the tree in a warm place, having previously wrapped it in polyethylene.

Experienced craftsmen work equally well with any wood. but it is better for beginners to choose soft woods. As a rule, these include linden, poplar, chestnut, cedar, aspen and alder.

You can find a suitable material for carving right while walking in the park, forest or garden. For example, you can create great figurines from stumps, roots, snags. Many consider it rubbish, but in fact, using fantasy from everything, you can make something beautiful and original. Also suitable material for wood sculptures can be ordered in professional workshops.

Before you start working with wood, you should allocate for this a separate room or at least a corner... Indeed, quite a lot of debris will appear during the thread.

You will also need to put together the individual parts somewhere.

Carving wooden sculptures is impossible without special tools... Among them there are basic ones that are simply necessary to work with wood. It is worth noting that they are suitable for both simple work and rather complex and delicate ones.

1. Cutter knife is a knife with a shortened and beveled blade. With its help, both small and large parts are processed.
2. Jamb called a knife with a shortened blade. It is used to carve an ornament.
3. Chisels are used to form indentations on a product. At the same time, there are flat, bent and semicircular types of chisels.
4. Spear Blade Chisels called rivets. As a rule, they are used in order to create various small elements.

When the initial skills with woodworking have already been acquired, you can acquire other tools.

1. Drill allows you to quickly and accurately create through holes.
2. Grinder makes the surface of the product perfectly smooth and beautiful.
3. To create blanks you cannot do without saws. Moreover, it is best to have several different types on hand.
4. Finished product processing is impossible without rasps and sandpaper.

In addition to good tools, it is also important correct stuff. For example, for small figures, you should choose compact logs or even knots. Large sculptures are best cut from massive logs. It is desirable that the blanks do not have any damage or chips.

Experienced experts recommend for beginners to use rectangular bars. This is due to the fact that it is easy to transfer images to them.

Great if the desktop is equipped with a mechanism with which you can quickly fix the processed wood... They can be clamps, carpentry vices or thrust blocks that can be rearranged.

Also, when working with a tree, you may need planer, grinder, jigsaw. However, before using more complex tools, you should do as much woodwork as possible. with a knife... This is done in order to feel it with your hands as best as possible.

Before you start carving from wood, you should clearly understand what stages the process consists of. If you do everything consistently and correctly, then the result will definitely please.

The first thing to start with making a sculpture out of wood is to the smallest detail imagine what will happen in the end. Of course, a master with a long experience of work, looking at a piece of wood, immediately imagines in his head what will come of it, and can even get down to work without any preparatory stages.

When the sketch is ready, it should be transferred to the workpiece. After that, all the details must be carefully drawn on the tree. It is desirable that the drawing be slightly smaller than the workpiece itself. You should not rush to trim excess parts, since the product will still need to be conveniently fixed on the workbench.

Before cutting out the sculpture, the material still needs to be prepared.

• it is necessary to saw off the workpiece to size;
• bark is cleaned and all irregularities are cleaned.

When the drawing is transferred to a tree, it is best to immediately mark the main lines, along which the initial cutting will be carried out.

Then you need to cut out all the excess, that is to carry out rough processing.

As a result, the master receives a ready-made form, which requires curly, that is, detailed elaboration. This stage does not require haste. You should not immediately remove all possible surplus, it is better to use embossed processing. It is important to understand that the roughing stage is only the beginning of the work on the figure.

After receiving the finished shape, it is worthwhile to take up the sketch and pencil again. Now a drawing with all the details must be applied to the prepared workpiece. It is important for this stage that all tools are well sharpened.

If after that the desired figure has already turned out, this does not mean that it is completely ready. After all, irregularities remain on it, and the surface has roughness, which must be processed with sandpaper.

Also cracks may appear, which should be treated with putty... You can prepare it yourself by mixing fine sawdust and PVA glue. Before applying the putty, the cracks must be treated with linseed oil and left to dry for 7 hours. After that, they can be covered over and left for 24-48 hours. If you have a blowtorch, then the product can be burned with it to acquire a warm shade that is as close to natural as possible.

Application of special varnish will give the wooden figurine a wonderful shine and preserve its beauty for many years.

It is best to learn how to carve out of wood using the simplest figures. It is worth stocking up with patience and understanding that mastery is achieved over time. Moving gradually from simple to complex, it will be possible to develop the necessary skills and learn how to create real masterpieces.

Animal figurines most often done by beginners. Often, cute owls or a dignified lion are the inspiration for getting started with wood. Quite often, a hulking bear can become the first one to be cut out with your own hands. This character is one of the most popular among wood craftsmen. A fabulous bear can be a great home decoration.

It is worth noting that bear figurines are a little easier to make also because they can be large... This is very convenient when it is still difficult to work out small details at first. Experienced craftsmen also recommend practicing cutting hares. Since for the product you will need the simplest threading algorithm and you can learn the technique of texturing wool.The latter technique is very often needed when cutting animals.

Wooden figures are easy to create yourself, especially if you do it step by step. Moreover, you can first make a sculpture of an animal using the simplest scheme. And then choose the same character, only in a more complex version.

Cat, tiger, turtle, fox, raccoon, squirrel and many others are also very popular with wood craftsmen. Before starting work, it is advisable to follow the behavior of the selected animal in order to better understand its plasticity and highlight some of the features. To do this, you can watch documentaries, of which there are many on specialized channels.

Among birds, the most popular as wooden figures were received owls, eagles, ducks. They are perfect as home decoration. They can also be safely made part of the furniture.

Images of people are also often used for wooden figures. It is best for novice craftsmen to opt for fairy-tale characters, for example, Buratino, Ivan Tsarevich and others. Funny gnomes are perfect as decoration for the personal plot, and for the New Year holidays - the figure of Santa Claus or Snow Maiden.

There are a huge number of beautiful carved wood sculptures. A special place among them is occupied by Japanese figurines made of wood, which are called netsuke. They are interesting little sculptures that are often used as talismans. Among the figurines you can find the image of various deities, animals, people in a caricature style. The original look of such products made them very popular far beyond the east.

Chinese craftsmen are also famous for the art of working with wood. Their sculptures amaze with the smallest details worked out and the magnificence of the subjects. Moreover, most of the products are created in dynamics and are very realistic. It seems that the lacquered figure of the dragon will now flap its tail or wings, and the girl will spin in an incredible dance.

How to cut a mushroom figurine with your own hands from wood, see the next video.