Wood carving comes in various forms, each demanding specific tools and methods. Common techniques encompass whittling, chip carving, relief carving, and carving in the round.Among these, relief carving, one of the oldest, employs an array of tools. If you're a novice embarking on relief carving, this post offers insights into relief carving types, essential tools, and beginner tips for a successful start.
Defining Relief Carving
Relief carving involves incising a design onto a flat surface. This artistic technique is practiced on various materials like wood, stone, clay, linoleum, and synthetic carving blanks. The resulting relief carving displays a raised design, creating a perception of depth. The greater the background depth, the more prominent the design appears.
Varieties of Relief Carving
Sgraffito
Sgraffito stands as the most straightforward form of relief carving, involving surface scratching with basic tools like bench knives and V-gouges. In Sgraffito, designs take shape through shallow, delicate incisions on a flat surface. While Sgraffito relief carving is primarily employed with clay due to its rough wood texture, creating a polished finish can be challenging.
Shallow Relief Art - Bas-Relief
Low relief carving, also referred to as bas-relief (from the Italian "basso rilievo," meaning low relief), involves a subtly elevated image on the surface. Think of a coin as a classic example of low relief carving.
Low relief is an ideal starting point for beginners due to its simplicity and reduced sculpting demands. Additionally, it's a cost-effective and efficient option since it necessitates the removal of only a small part of the background.
High Relief Sculpture
High-relief carvings are characterized by a prominently raised image from the background surface, offering intricate detailing that can challenge beginners.
In high relief, besides carving deeper, a technique called undercutting can be employed. This method positions joint lines between elements beneath the higher elements, using concave or convex curves, enhancing realism.
Certain areas in high-relief sculptures may be cut to stand freely within the overall design. For instance, a blade of grass or tree branches can be undercut to create separation, casting larger, darker shadows in the finished piece.
In addition to these fundamental relief carving types, there are also deep relief, pierced relief, sunk relief, and counter relief techniques.
Instruments for Relief Wood Carving
Various wood carving methods demand distinct tool sets. If you're just beginning, it can be challenging to determine your tool needs. I suggest investing in a versatile starter kit initially, like the Schaaf Wood Carving Tools 12-piece Chisel Set with a canvas case, and expand your collection as you gain experience in the craft.
Ideal Wood for Relief Carving
In the realm of relief carving, various wood types with distinct carving characteristics are available. While each wood has its unique qualities, it's advisable for beginners to opt for a wood that's easy to work with. This choice enables you to familiarize yourself with your tools, refine your cutting skills, and gain control before venturing into carving with other wood species.
Basswood
Basswood, also known as Lime or Linden in Europe, falls under the hardwood category, yet it boasts one of the softest surfaces for carving. Its creamy white color, fine, straight, and uniform grain make it a beginner-friendly wood, suitable for intricate and detailed carving projects.
Butternut
Butternut, scientifically known as Juglans cinerea, goes by the names white walnut or oil nut. It's highly favored among relief wood carvers due to its capacity to capture intricate details and develop a beautiful, shiny finish. However, caution is advised when making deep cuts along the wood's straight grain, as it can lead to tearing or splintering.
For beginners entering the world of relief wood carving, both Basswood and Butternut are excellent choices. Nevertheless, you may explore other wood options like Red Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Cherry, Jelutong, Mahogany, Soft Maple, Obeche, Sassafras, and Walnut.
While most wood carving woods are safe, some may pose toxicity risks, potentially causing respiratory and skin irritation. Always conduct thorough research on the wood type you're working with to ensure safety.
Keep in mind that the quality of your wood directly influences the quality of your carvings. When selecting wood or carving blanks, seek clean, unblemished wood without warping or cupping signs.
Relief wood carving patterns
Relief wood carving patterns encompass both the overall shape of the carving area and its intricate details and accent lines. If you trace the entire pattern onto the wood, it can disappear as you carve. To avoid this, you can simplify your relief wood carving pattern following these steps, inspired by Lora S. Irish's book 'Relief Carving Workshop':
1. Begin by examining the relief carving pattern, identifying its basic outline and finer details.
2. Next, outline the outer edges of the main elements in the pattern that you'll carve in the initial stages.
3. Color each major element, creating a pattern of distinct elements rather than fine lines.
4. Further simplify the design by grouping and recoloring elements. For instance, combine the hair and hair ornament into one larger element.
5. Assign numbers to the groups of elements based on their depth within the final design. For example, mark the highest areas as one, high and mid-ground as two, low mid-ground as three, and background elements as four.
6. With the patterns numbered, you're ready to trace the outlines onto your carving blank. This allows you to carve each group to the desired depth and then shape them.
Transferring a pattern onto a carving blank
Transferring a pattern onto a carving blank can be accomplished through various techniques.
First, graphite paper, a lightweight paper with a waxed graphite coating on one side, is employed. Placing the graphite side against the wood while tracing yields medium-gray lines. Graphite paper comes in various sizes and can be reused multiple times.
Secondly, carbon paper, historically used for copying typed or written documents, is an option. It's available in dark blue or black and produces bold, dark lines when used for tracing. Carbon paper is especially suitable for long-term projects as the traced lines resist fading or smudging over time.
The third method involves pencil rubbing. Simply use a soft pencil (ranging from number 2 to number six) to shade the back of the pattern. The darkness of the shading corresponds to the darkness of the lines transferred to the wood. After shading, trace the pattern onto your wood blank. This method offers the advantage of being able to erase the pencil shading on the pattern's back and even use the pattern for pyrography work.
To improve your skills in relief carving:
1. Begin by crafting a practice board to experiment with various cuts, strokes, and relief woodcarving techniques.
2. Familiarize yourself with the array of tools available and discover which ones yield the finest results.
3. Once you feel confident, commence your primary carving project.
4. Remember that progress in any craft takes time. Happy relief carving as you refine your skills.
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