Lesson 2 - How to Carve A Wood Spirit | Nose, Brow and Eye-mounds | Face Carving Beginner Tutorial

Lesson 2 of 5

We recommend you start this tutorial series at the beginning. Here are the links to each previous lesson:
Lesson 1 - Prep and Roughout Stage

In this Schaaf Tools Video Series, woodcarver Lucas Kost will take you through the process of carving a wood spirit from start to finish. In this exciting second lesson, your wood spirit's face will begin to come to life! Lucas goes over:
- Shaping the nose
- Refining the eye-mounds
- Creating the brow/forehead area of the face
- Woodcarving tips and tricks Lucas uses while carving

The 5 gouges we'll be using today:

From the 7-Piece Expansion Set
https://www.schaaftools.com/products/premium-schaaf-full-size-wood-carving-tools-set-of-7-for-beginners-hobbyists-and-professionals
#3-20mm
#12-10mm

From the 12-Piece Foundation Set
https://www.schaaftools.com/products/premium-hand-sharpened-schaaf-full-size-wood-carving-tools-set-of-12
#11-3mm
#9-10mm

From the 4-Piece Fishtail Set
https://www.schaaftools.com/products/premium-hand-sharpened-schaaf-tools-wood-carving-fishtail-set-for-detail-work-4pc
#3F - 6mm

Shaping the Nose
Timestamp [0.52]
- Bring the tip of the nose forward from the nostril flares
- Use your #9-10mm gouge to follow the circular shape you've drawn out for the tip of your nose
- Remember, you want to carve a rounded shape

Carving Tip
Timestamp [1:55]
- Anchor your left hand to the piece and use your thumb and forefinger to do the fine articulating work
- Use your 3F - 6mm Fishtail gouge to round off the tip of the nose
- Draw in your nostril flares and get out your #11 - 3mm

Carving the Nostril Flares
Timestamp [3:15]
- Use your #11-3mm gouge
- Anchor with your left hand again and follow the drawn nostril flare line with your right hand, swinging the gouge up and around. This is a challenging cut!
- Round off the hard edges you just created using your 3F - 6mm Fishtail gouge, or another small fishtail.

Carving Tip
Timestamp [4:52]
- Another great way to hold your wood carving tool for finer detail work is like a pencil
- Then you can anchor with your pinky and hand on the piece. This allows you to articulate the tool with a lot of precision

- Carve in the nostrils using the #11-3mm
Tip:
- Be cautious - at this stage its better to take more away below the nose in the mustache area than taking away material off the nose itself

Shaping the Brow Ridge and Forehead
Timestamp [6:58]
- Draw in where the eyebrows should go
- Use your #9-10mm, remove just a couple mm of material surrounding the eyebrows so they are raised.

Carving Tip
Timestamp [7:29]
- When you need to use a lot of force, but also want to have a lot of control
- Anchor left hand and leave the left thumb available to control and oppose motion of the right hand.
- You're using a lot of force with your right hand, but you're opposing that force with your left hand, so you have more control.

- Use your #3-20 mm gouge (or any flat gouge) to level out and smooth the rest of the forehead.
- Use your fishtail gouge to eliminate and round off the hard lines, removing a very small amount of material

Refining the Eye Mounds
Timestamp [9:07]
- We want a little more depth underneath the eye mound, especially in the corners
- Start with your #9-10mm
- Use the technique where you anchor your left hand and use the left thumb to oppose your right hand
- Create more depth in the corners with your #11-3mm gouge
- Begin to smooth out some of the hard lines and round the eye mound a little bit using your #3-20mm gouge.

And that's a wrap for Beginner wood carving lesson #2. Next Lesson, We'll continue to add detail to your wood spirit.