How to Carve a Cat

Projects, Woodcarving

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.

Table of Contents

Do your research
Things you will need
- Tools
- Materials
Resizing a drawing
Carving the head
Carving the body
Final sand
Finishes
Summary
Further reading

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.

Cat carving outlay and feature proportions

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.

1. Scan or download the scale drawings provided, and enlarge or reduce them to your desired size – make sure that your piece of wood is also big enough! Next, print and cut them out on card to use as templates, and transfer them onto your block of wood. Make sure they are in perfect alignment with each other, and that the grain direction is running vertically through the block. Leave an area of 30mm depth at the base to attach to your faceplate. Cut this shape out and secure it safely onto your vice. Measure and draw a centre line on all four sides

Carving the head

2. Using the template supplied, transfer the details of the head and face accurately onto your wood

Shaping the head

3. Using a No.7, 6mm, remove the waste wood around the outline of the jaw and chin areas back to the position where the head joins the neck. Then use a No.9, 10mm gouge to curve the straight edges of the band sawn form around the neck area, from the centre line on the sides to the centre line on the front

4. Next, draw the details of the cat’s face in their correct positions. Do not proceed to carving until you are satisfied with the look. Use the No.7, 6mm again to round over the square edges of the head – from the centre line on the side of the form, up to the curved line on the side of the mouth area. The area above the eyes up to the ears can also be shaped

Eyes and ears detail

5. Use the side view template to measure the depth of the mouth and eyes. Mark these onto both sides of the head and check that they are both at the same depth. Now carve the wood back between the curved line of the mouth area on the front view, to the rearmost position of the mouth on the side view.
Do the same with the eyes; from the inner corner of the eye on the front view, to the rearmost position on the side

6. The straight edges around the mouth and eyes can now be blended evenly into their surrounding areas

7. The back of the head is next to be shaped. Use a No.2, 20mm to create an even curve, from the centre line on the back of the head, to the centre line on the sides. Work up and over the flat bandsawn area on the top of the head, and then shape the ears from their outer to inner edges

8. The ears can now be slightly hollowed. Use either a No.9, 7mm, or a spherical/conical rotary burr to carve between the outer and inner edges of the ears, gradually working into the ear until you have reached a depth of approximately 3 or 4mm, or until they look effective

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.

9. Sand over the complete head with grits 100, 150, 240 and 400. Use the template to transfer the eyes, nose and mouth details back into their correct positions again. Next, use either a razor-sharp knife or a gouge with the correct sweep to cut squarely along the very outer edge of the upper and lower eye lines

Setting in the eyes

**10.** Use a No.2, 2mm gouge to curve the eyeball, from the surface of the eye into the knife cuts. The inner and outer corners of the eyes should be made deeper than the upper and lower eyelids. Repeat these steps until the eyeballs look realistic, and then sand over with grits 240 and 400

11. The natural shape of a cat’s iris can range from a circle, like a human one, to a very thin slit, like a snake’s. The example on this cat is approximately halfway between the two. Either make a small template, or draw these on by hand. Then use a No.5, 3mm gouge to cut in at a slight angle from both sides to meet in the middle, causing the centre piece to chip out. The deeper you make this recess, the more shadow will fall into it, giving a greater effect

Setting in the nose

**12.** The nose is formed using a combination of a very small V-tool, to ‘sketch’ around its shape, and then the knife, to cut a deep slit into the V-tool cut. The areas adjoining the knife cuts are blended evenly into the knife cut, and then all of the details are sanded over with grit 240 and 400 abrasive

**13.** The cat’s nostrils are semicircular in their appearance. It will help to study your reference material to fully understand their shape. Draw these in position on the nose, and use either a 1mm diamond rotary burr or a 1mm drill bit to make the small holes. Sand the sharp edges naturally into the holes with grit 240 and 400

Setting in the mouth

**14.** Next, move directly underneath to the mouth area. There is a very small vertical line directly under the nose, which connects the nose to the two sides of the cat’s mouth. Use the knife to make a deep slice into this position, and then along the line of the mouth around each side of the head

**15.** Use the No.2, 2mm gouge to shape the areas above and below the knife slit, into the knife slit. Repeat this procedure two or three times, or until it looks realistic in comparison with your reference material of a real cat. Finally, smooth over the complete area with grits 240 and 400 to bring these details to life. The head is now complete!

Carving the body

**16.** Next, we start working on the body, which will be carved in a semi-abstracted style. Starting with the back, use the No.2, 20mm gouge – or a larger one if you have one – to curve the back naturally around, starting from the centre line on both sides to the centre line down the back

**17.** The front of the body is a little more difficult to carve due to the concave section below the chest and above the feet. Start at the top, and shape the areas below the neckline on both sides, from the centre line on the side to the centre line on the front. Then switch to a No.7, 20mm gouge to carve across the grain underneath the chest, and across the legs

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.

**19.** Pare the depth of the gouge cut evenly into the adjoining areas to create a flowing contour from the shoulder and hind quarter to the tail. Repeat steps until the depth of the tail is at least 7mm thick

**20.** The inner edge of the tail that rests against the body needs to give the visual impression that it is a separate volume from the body. This is achieved by using a No.12, 6mm V-tool, carving at an angle down and in towards the body to create the parting

**21.** This top of the tail can then be curved into the V-tool cut and also rounded over the outer edge to create the desired cylindrical shape. Repeat this and the previous step until the tail looks like it is naturally wrapped around the body

The legs

**22.** The lines of the hind legs can now be drawn in their correct positions to be carved. Starting on the right side, use the No.9, 10mm gouge to carve a deep groove along the outside of the line. Then blend the depths of the outside of the gouge cut evenly into the shoulders and front legs

**23.** Next, move around to the front of the form and mark the cat’s left front paw in its correct position, approximately 5mm back from the front line. Carve this small piece of waste wood back to the line and naturally curve it like a paw, around from the outer edge and in towards the tail

**24.** The left hind leg can now be carved into its correct shape using the V tool. The depth of the legs should taper from 3mm at the top down to approximately 10mm at the base

The paws

**25.** The cat’s paw can now be carved to a very basic shape. Use the No.9, 7mm gouge, working from the base, up and over the top of the paw, and then down again towards the tail. The height should finish at approximately 7mm, as should the depth in towards the leg

**26.** You now need to carve a slight hollow in between the legs, to create the visual impression of their separation. Do this with the No.9, 10mm gouge, working from just below the chest, down to the paws. Then simply round the left and right legs into this hollow

Final sand

**27.** Your carving is ready to be sanded

**28.** Start with grit 100, and work over the complete form, apart from the head. Follow the line of the grain wherever possible. Remove every tool mark and smooth the details naturally together. When perfectly smooth, clean the sawdust off all the surfaces, and brush or pour hot water over the complete carving and leave it to dry. This will raise the grain for improved sanding. Work through subsequent grits down to 400 repeating the hot water process in between.

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.

How to Carve a Cat

Do your research