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How It's
Done!
This is a sculpture of a Scottish Deerhound and
puppy that I just completed for a collector. For the first time
ever, I documented by photo many of the steps I take to do my
sculptures. Lots of you have asked for details over the years - so here
they are! Click on each photo to enlarge it.
I look in my many books, and research online as well, to see how each
animal
moves. Each species is different, and each type of animal within a
species is different also. A deerhound does not move like a bulldog,
and a horse doesn't move like a zebra. I use photos, and personal
knowledge if I have it, to develop drawings that will I will use to
carve the animals.
If the sculpture is to be mounted on a base, I'll use cutouts to place
on the base to see how it all fits and looks.
I rough carve the animals out of wood. In most cases, the animal is
made out of several pieces of wood glued together,
because I always have to consider the way the wood grain runs. Long,
thin pieces such as legs and tails must have the wood grain running
lengthwise
for strength, so they may
be made out of several pieces of wood. Each little section will have
the
wood grain running lengthwise, and all the pieces will be mortised and
tenoned
together.
After the rough carving, I continue to carve finer and finer details.
When the carving is complete, I paint the animals in the colors their
fur will be. This tells me where to place different colored fur, and
hides any areas where the wood might peek though the fur. If the animal
is to be placed on a base, I insert a brass rod into the animal (in
this case, into a back leg). The rod will fit into a hole I drill into
the base. It adds considerable strength to the sculpture.
Once the fine carving and painting is complete, I begin to fur, tiny
bits at a time. I place the fur so that it runs in the same general
direction it does on a real animal; otherwise, it will not look right
on the completed sculpture. After the fur is completed, I begin to trim
it,
shaping it as needed, and then blend it all with paint and a finish
lacquer.
Finished! Each animal is individual, so I can't say how long it takes
to do one. But I can say that each part of the process - design,
carving,
furring, finish trimming and painting - takes about the same amount of
time. Overall, every animal takes many, many hours.
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