Have you ever looked at a sketch or painting of an animal and marvelled at the accuracy of the curves, or the mastery of the proportions?
With this wonderful woodcarving of a cat, Andrew Thomas shows us how to achieve the dimensions and textures worthy of the most aristocratic of creatures. This is a great exercise for anyone wishing to develop their skills in carving with gauges, and to understand how relief can give definition to features. To achieve accuracy, make sure you regularly review your work from a distance to see how the proportions and features are developing.
Do your research
I am going to look at how to carve a cat. The outline of the front and side profile on the plan are of a real cat. You can use this design, or use your own research and drawings to produce a different cat with as little or as much detail as you wish. If you choose to design your own cat, make sure that you research various breads and shapes. Familiarise yourself with the dimensions and details of the heads, ears, eyes, nose and body, using any sources you may have access to. This familiarity will be particularly useful when you start working on the detailed sections of your carving. It is best to read through the complete step-by-step guide, and study the images to understand how the project develops.
Things you will need
Tools
Swiss gouges:
- No.2, 2mm
- No.2, 20mm
- No.5, 3mm
- No.7, 6mm
- No.7, 20mm
- No.9, 7mm
- No.9, 10mm
- No.12, 1mm
- No.12, 6mm
- Knife
- 1mm diamond sphere rotary burr or 1mm drill bit
Materials
Tulipwood (Liriodendron tulipifera) 185 x 100 x 80mm. Alternatives are Beech, Maple or Sycamore, with varying effects.
Resizing a drawing
To enlarge or reduce size of drawings right-click on the image and download it. Watch this video about how to use grid paper to up or downsize any template.
Carving the head
Shaping the head
Eyes and ears detail
Top Tip
When carving facial details on a small scale such as this, once the basic shape of the head has been carved, it is important to sand through the various grit levels before carving in the eyes, nose and mouth – otherwise their shallow lines may become lost and require re-cutting.
Setting in the eyes
Setting in the nose
Setting in the mouth
Carving the body
The tail
Top Tip
If you wish to, you could alter the angle of the tail so that it curls slightly in the opposite direction, which would expose the front right paw as well as the left one.
The legs
The paws
Final sand
Finishes
Finish off with a coating of boiled linseed oil, and leave for a week to cure before applying a couple of coats of dark wax.
Summary
And there you have it. A beautiful wooden cat to adorn a mantel piece or to sit proudly on a side table. Hopefully this exercise has provided you with an understanding of how to bring curved features out of wood. By continually checking that the anatomy of your piece is developing correctly, you will achieve a well-proportioned article that looks superb, and celebrates your skills as an accomplished craftsperson.