{"id":1248,"date":"2021-03-04T20:56:36","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T17:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/?p=1248"},"modified":"2022-09-07T12:00:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T09:00:54","slug":"9-easy-animal-to-carve-out-of-wood-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodiswood.com\/9-easy-animal-to-carve-out-of-wood-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Easy Animals To Carve Out Of Wood (tutorial)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Every woodcarver at one point or the other has thought about carving an animal out of wood. Whittling an animal out of wood is fun and challenging and serves as a great practice no matter if you are a beginner, intermediate or expert carver. It also requires patience, skill, and practice, we can guarantee that you will enjoy the entire process and most especially love the final result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article you will learn the basic theory behind carving any animal you want, and we will provide you with 9 of our favorite animal carving projects and give you everything you need to know on each one of them. Without further ado, let’s get into everything you need to know about carving wooden animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Carve Any Animal Out Of Wood, Step-By-Step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  1. Print out the picture of the animal you wish to carve out and attach it to a block of wood<\/li>
  2. Using graphite, trace out all the necessary parts of the animal and transfer it to the wood. Ensure you print out as many views of the animal.<\/li>
  3. Remove excess wood and shape the animal to form a blank.<\/li>
  4. Use carving knives, U and V gouge to bring the animal to look natural.<\/li>
  5. With the help of a detailing knife, add finishing touches and round the body. Include hairs, eyes, tail, whiskers, if possible, to make the animal look very real.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Essential Requirements For Carving An Animal Out Of Wood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Once you know what is required before you begin your carving, your carving will be easy. You wouldn’t need to worry about making terrible mistakes that can lead to wasting the log of wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Requirement One – Establish the level of Difficulty, size of the animal, and the cost <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Determine the level of difficulty of the animal you are about to carve. As we stated earlier, some animals are relatively easy to cut out of wood, while others may prove to be more difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After determining the difficulty level, the size of the carving, and the final product’s size, determine some of the tools you will require to get the job completed. The final product size will also play a vital role in the size of wood you will need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, size and difficulty will most likely affect the cost of the materials you will purchase. It is generally said that the larger the carving, the more expensive<\/a> it will be, and the difficulty will also play a part in the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Requirement Two \u2013 Find out the appropriate type of wood for your carving<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This is one big question that you will face when trying to carve animals out of wood. Beginners are advised to pick wood that is soft and easy to whittle. Some of the woods we would recommend include Butternut, Basswood, and Black walnut. We have a Complete list of softest wood<\/a> that any beginner should try for their animal carving project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With the exception of Black walnut<\/strong>, beginner carvers will love how easy it is to use the other two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Black walnut is recommended for professionals only since it is a hardwood that is actually quite hard (many hardwoods are rather soft). It does have its advantages, some of which include the fact that it requires minimal finishing. With the right tools, the results are magnificent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Requirement Three \u2013 Required Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The Carving knife is an essential tool for whittling and carving animals in the round. Some of the two tools you will require are<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. A band saw<\/li>
    2. Chip knife<\/li>
    3. Chisel<\/li>
    4. V-Tool<\/li>
    5. A carving gouge<\/li>
    6. A workbench<\/li>
    7. A mallet<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      If you are planning on buying any tools, you can support us by buying them on Amazon with our associate’s link.<\/a> It will not cost you anything extra, but significantly help the wood carving source grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The tools you would be using are not limited to the ones listed above, and you can also choose to use power tools. However, we will not be focusing on power carving animals with power tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Once the necessary tools have been selected, decide on the size of the carving. The carved animal’s size will determine the size of the carving blocks you will be getting from Amazon. If you are more of an outdoors person, you can cut the raw log yourself to your desired size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Do not forget that you will need to account for an extra 20% carved from the wood to estimate the size of your carving more accuretly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Requirement Four- Brush up on your wood carving skills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Brushing up on your wood carving skills is essential, especially if you don’t use a whittling knife to carve regularly. Carving animals are great for all the 7 cuts<\/a> present in wood carving, as they are very realistic and can require a lot of detail to perfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Another critical step before you begin to carve animals out of wood is constant practice. Practice using the correct tools and the specific wood you will be using for this project. By doing this, you will become more efficient with handling these tools. You will also be able to get a good grasp on the nature of the wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Requirement Five- Decide on the best finish and the desired durability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      The last and most important requirement you will need to consider, is deciding whether to apply finishing to your carving. There are several methods of applying finishing to wood to achieve durability and improve aesthetics. Some popular finishing methods include; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. sing Sandpaper to obtain a shiny finish<\/li>
      2. Wax finish<\/li>
      3. Deft spray finish<\/li>
      4. Using Polyurethane<\/li>
      5. Using oil as a finish.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Tutorials on How To Carve Animals Out Of Wood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        In this article, we will be focus on nine easy animals to carve out of wood; the animals include<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. An owl A mouse<\/li>
        2. A bird<\/li>
        3. A fish<\/li>
        4. A bear<\/li>
        5. An elephant<\/li>
        6. An eagle head<\/li>
        7. A lion<\/li>
        8. A moose<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          As you can see, these nine animals are easy. However, some may prove to be more challenging than others. Our personal favorite aminal to carve is the owl<\/strong>, so if you don’t know where to start, start from the owl tutorial, keep in mind that an owl is one of the more advanced projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Also, it is worth mentioning that primarily we would be focusing on the carving animals in the round (a combination of relief carving and whittling) method in this article. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          How To Carve An Owl Out Of Wood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          Dimensions:<\/strong> 1inch by 1inch by 23\/4-inch-tall basswood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Tools:<\/strong> V-tool, Knife, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Carving owls is incredibly fun, it can be done with both whittling tools and pwoer carving tools, but as we mentioned earlier in this article we will primarily focus on whittling tutorials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 1: Define the Beak, Head, and Body area<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          First mark 7\/8 and 13\/8 inches from the top of the wood. This will be the beak.<\/strong> Move to the other side and mark 3\/8 and 1\u00be inches at the other side. The 1\u00be inch marking represents the separation between the head and the body of the owl. You can extend the markings around the wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 2: Start to cut away pieces of wood<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          At the 3\/8-inch marking, use your knife to carve out the wood, take wood away from both the top and bottom of the line. Do this for the two 3\/8-inch markings. Move to the top of the wood and connect both the two 3\/8-inch carvings with a line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 3: Continue carving all the marked lines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Move to the back of where the beak would be, away from the 1 3\/4inch mark carve upwards towards the line connecting the 3\/8inch mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Carve from the 1\u00be inch line to the bottom also but it doesn’t have to get to the center at the bottom <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 4: Establish the Beak<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          At the front the line one-eighth of an inch below the side lines from the bottom carve up. Moving to the line above, do the same, only this time carve down. Next draw a line slightly angled down and cut above the line to define the beak a little more. Make a v-cut just below the point where the beak will be to make a rough beak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Remember the lines 1\u00be line we talked about in step 3, now connect that cut all the way to the beak. This is why we didn’t cut all the way through earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 5: Define the eyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

          At the top, extend the line all the way to the center, this will be the top of the eyes. Draw the top of the eyes and cut inside them with your knife. Remember to clean up the pencil lines. Draw the eyelids and cut them in. Remember to separate the eyes, make a 45-degree cut on each side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 6: The Head<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Connect the top of the eyes to the head using the line connected at the top in step 2. Carve from the point at the top of the eyes to that line. This will give the head that owlish look. Round the head starting from the points connecting the face and body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 7: The wings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Taking the lines from the side of both eyes down, bring them all the way down to the bottom. This will form the wings. Using your knife, stick it into the wings and make a cut; do this for both the front and back of the owl. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 8:<\/strong>  Create more owly features<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Draw a line in between the wings at the bottom. Also, draw a semi-circle just below the neck. Use your knife to cut into the circle below the neck. This will create a feathered nape for the owl. Try to put a little triangle within the semi-circle. You can use a v-tool. Remember the line you drew at the bottom, carve into it, and split it into half. This will form the claws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 9:<\/strong> Feathers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Make several 45-degree cuts across the belly of the owl. Do it in both directions, from left to right and right to left. Next, cut off all the upper points to create nice belly feathers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 10:<\/strong> Define back wings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Repeat everything done in step 6 to define the back of the wings of the owl. Round out the fat bottom on the wing and color the eyeballs <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Step 11:<\/strong> Final touches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Use a v-tool to add some texture to the feathers and paint your owl in colors you like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Carving an owl is one of our personal favorite projects! Be sure to watch the video below for an even more instructive and very illustrative guide on carving an owl:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
          https:\/\/youtu.be\/LXY3wuRn5yo<\/a>