Dedication

Every ounce of credit for this book goes to my mum. I’d still be on the preface if it weren’t for her. I also want to give a shout-out to my little love bug, who has proudly taken sole custody and ownership of all carvings in this book. In loving memory of my uncle Ron, and to Wendy—I love you dearly.

I must also add that this project was fueled by copious amounts of Red Bull and a whole lot of no sleep.

• Layout Designer: Chris Morrison

• Producing Editors: Hannah Rachel Carroll and Kaylee Schofield

• Contributing Photographer: Mike Mihalo

• Step-by-Step Photographer: Sara Barraclough

© 2020 by Sara Barraclough and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls, and Mythical Creatures is an original work, first published in 2020 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. The patterns contained herein are copyrighted by the author. Readers may make copies of these patterns for personal use. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.

Print ISBN: 978-1-4971-0112-8
eISBN: 978-1-6076-5822-1

To learn more about the other great books from Fox Chapel Publishing, or to find a retailer near you, call toll-free 800-457-9112 or visit us at www.FoxChapelPublishing.com.

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to acquisitions@foxchapelpublishing.com.

Preface

My biggest hope is that you have as much fun carving these characters as I had coming up with them.

I am so excited to share these projects with you! My one and only inspiration for everything is my three-year-old little girl. She has more imagination and character in her pinky finger than anyone I’ve ever met—which makes life pretty darn fun. She lives in a world of magic and fairies, talking animals, and all things cartoons … and to be quite honest, I’d much rather live in a world with talking animals and magic than one without. My goal with these projects is to capture that magic and wonder in a small space.

I tried to design carves that would be fun and new, and hopefully have a little something that everyone would enjoy. My hope is that as you go through the book and take on these projects, you can find ways to change them and make them your own. Carving books and patterns should be viewed as blueprints and guidelines, rather than hard-andfast rules. The wonderful thing about art, in all its forms, is that no two people produce the same thing—even from the same pattern. We all have our own artistic fingerprint, and that is worth celebrating.

St. George, Utah

Table of Contents

Materials

Tools

Projects

Beginner Projects

Hoot Owl

Simple Acorn & Leaves

Tiny Woodsman21

Sleepy Fox

Happy Hedgehog

Mushroom House

Intermediate Projects

Sassy Squirrel

Romantic Raccoon

Cheeky Toad

Oma Elf

Friendly Gnome

Advanced Projects

Darling Dragon

Forgetful Wizard

Troll with a Will-o’-the-Wisp

Starlight the Unicorn

Patterns

About the Author

Materials

All of the materials referenced in this book can be purchased at your local craft and woodworking supply stores. Affordable options are available for everything from paints to wood; these projects are infinitely adaptable, so use the brands and products that work best for you.

Basswood

Basswood is my go-to wood for carving, as it’s soft and lightweight with a tight, consistent, and understated grain. Some carvers prefer poplar, pine, cherry, or even walnut, although these are typically more expensive and harder to work. (Each wood absorbs paints and finishes differently, too.) Use what you’re comfortable with and what’s available to you.

Acrylic Paints

My preferred paints are acrylic; I don’t use watercolors or oils. I love the painting process as much as the carving and enjoy experimenting with acrylic paints to achieve different effects. As you’ll see in the pages to follow. Plaid Crafts makes some fun varieties of paint that can really add personality to your carves. Don’t be afraid to try new things!

I thin my paints substantially before applying them to carvings to see a hint of the wood grain peeking through whenever possible. Another benefit of thinning your paints is that you can stretch them farther, so they last longer.

Basswood is soft and lightweight with a tight grain.

I use acrylic paints from my local craft store.

Boiled Linseed Oil

I always treat my carvings prior to painting. This is a personal preference—not everyone likes or wants to use boiled linseed oil. Acrylic paint is water-based, and boiled linseed oil is (obviously) oil, so a slight learning curve is required in order to make the two work together harmoniously. I will dip my carving (or apply the BLO with a sponge brush if it’s too big to fit into the jar) and then let it sit on a paper towel while I get my paints and supplies all set up (so only a few minutes). Once I’m ready to paint, I will wipe down any standing or residual oil still on the carve with a clean paper towel or rag. You don’t want oil to pool in the creases or anywhere else; it should only just be absorbed into the wood.

Antiquing Wax

A common question I get about painting regards the use of antiquing wax. I did not use antiquing wax on any of the projects in this book for a reason. I have found that it’s easy to misuse or abuse antiquing wax, which can make a really good carve look dirty rather than adding the depth and character you may have been going for. Instead, I use a common acrylic painting technique called ‘floating’ or shading, as demonstrated in many of the projects throughout this book. Shading provides a graduated look to give a project dimension and depth.

Sealers

There are a number of ways to ‘finish’ or seal your carving. Clear polyurethane, Krylon®, Howard’s Feed-n’-Wax, beeswax … each of these will give a different finished look to your carve, so it all comes down to personal preference. Krylon comes in satin, matte, and gloss and each look different. Howard’s Feed-n’-Wax doesn’t change the overall finished look of the wood. Decide what kind of finished look you want, experiment with different products, and determine which works best for you.

Wire

I use a lot of aluminum craft wire in various sizes, ranging from 6 to 22 gauge. Whenever I see some on sale at the craft store, I grab it ... you never know when it might just be the perfect addition to a project. For example, you’ll see that I used it as the stem for the Romantic Raccoon’s flower (see here).

Other Useful Items

I carved the “accessory” items, such as the Friendly Gnome’s pet bird (see here) and the Forgetful Wizard’s wand (see here), as one piece with their respective blanks, but if you choose to carve them separately from scrap wood, you’ll need a trusty wood glue (such as Titebond or Gorilla Glue) or cyanoacrylate (CA) glue. These are good products to have on hand, in general.

I use Coban self-adherent wrap to improve my grip on knife handles, and toothpicks to paint on small details such as eye highlights. A firm toothbrush or denture brush will come in handy for the projects in this book, as well; if your carvings tend to get dirty during the process, a light scrub with water will remove any surface grime before you apply finish.

Tools

One of my favorite things about carving is that it really can ultimately be done with just a knife. Of course, there are tools that make certain tasks easier and more time-efficient, but having one knife need not limit you. You may just have to be a little more innovative with your methods. That said, here’s a look into some of the tools I use in my projects.

Safety Gear

Every carver should invest in a carving glove, thumb guard, leather strop, and stropping compound in order to keep blades sharp and hands safe from injury. You’ll wear the carving glove on your non-carving hand (the one holding the carving) and the thumb guard on your carving hand (the one holding the knife). No project is too simple or small for safety gear; I have drawn blood on simple whittles as well as complex carves. Wear a dust mask and safety goggles when using power tools such as band saws. Taking precautions ensures that you can keep carving without difficulty for years to come!

Band Saws

Because of the size of most of these projects, you will need a band saw to cut the blanks (the rough shapes of the pieces) before you begin to carve. Practice proper precautions as you cut. All blanks for this book were cut on a 10" (25.4cm) band saw.

Knives

A classic bench knife with a 1"-1½" (2.5cm-3.8cm) blade should suit you for most everyday projects, but not all knives are created equal. Carving knives come in an endless array of shapes, sizes, and materials, but one of the most important things to consider is how the tool feels and fits in your hand. The knife is quite literally an extension of your hand, and if it isn’t comfortable to hold and you don’t have complete control over it, you’re creating a mess for yourself before you start carving.

Case in point: because I am a fairly petite female, knives with a large or girthy handle don’t work for me. When you’re out looking for the perfect knife, hold each one in your hand. If you have friends that carve, ask if you can visit their workshop and test some of their knives. Figure out what you like and don’t like. Helvie makes some fabulous knives and blades; I am fortunate enough to have a friend that took some Helvie blades and made handles for them that fit my hand perfectly.

A classic bench knife with a 1"-1½" (2.5cm-3.8cm) blade works well for the projects in this book.

Gouges, V-tools, and Micro Tools

I also use an assortment of gouges, V-tools, and micro tools.

Gouges are great for scooping out large quantities of wood in just a few passes, or adding small details like nostrils and buttons. You’ll notice throughout the project instructions that the numbers next to the gouges vary. The lower the number, the flatter the gouge. A #9 will have a more dramatic curve than a #3, for example.

V-tools are great for adding textures—such as hair, fur, or grass—because of the clean, sharp lines they create. They’re also useful for separating clothing layers.

I use Dockyard micro tools for a number of things; they’re useful for adding close textures, facial features, and small details on clothing and accessories. As with your knife, strop these tools often to avoid tear-out.

Other Useful Items

I recommend investing in some stylus tools. You can find them at most craft stores; they often come in a pack of two or three with differently sized ends. I also use a micro hand drill, which I found online for under $10, with regularity. In this book, I used it to attach the flower for the Romantic Raccoon (see here) and to affix the Forgetful Wizard (see here) to his rock base.

Gouge

V-tool

Micro tool

Micro hand drill

Each of the sections and projects builds on the previous one. As you go through the beginner, intermediate, and advanced projects, you’ll use techniques that will show up in one (or many) of those after it. I designed these patterns so they could be easily scaled up or down, or adapted into something else (Oma Elf [see here], for example, could very easily become a Mrs. Claus). All the projects fit together, in a sense. The Cheeky Toad (see here) and the Forgetful Wizard (see here) make a great pair, the Mushroom House (see here) looks as though it was custom built for the Tiny Woodsman (see here), etc. Maybe the Friendly Gnome (see here) and Oma Elf are even an item. I’ll never tell.

With each section and carve, you should start to see more character come out in the projects. You’ll get more comfortable adding details and personality until it becomes intuitive.

No woodland collection is complete without a wise old owl—this guy acts as the sentinel of the forest, watching from above as various residents pass by. He takes his job very seriously, often filling several scrolls a day with notes on their antics. The overall shape of this winged creature is quite simple, but once painted, he will really stand out.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 1½" (3.8cm) thick: 2¼" x 2½" (5.7cm x 6.4cm)

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Acrylic paints, such as FolkArt: bark brown, honeycomb, pure black, pure orange, vintage white; such as DecoArt: bittersweet chocolate, golden straw, tangerine

Clean paper towels

Finish, such as Howard Feed-N-Wax or Krylon

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

#4 gouge: 7/₁₆" (11mm)

#8 gouge:¼" (6mm)

#9 gouge: 5/₁₆" (8mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Roughly shape the head. Using a rough out knife, start rounding the top of the head. Make stop cuts along the bottoms of the cheeks and carve up to them. Roughly round the cheeks and chest to soften the carved lines. Draw the beak shape in the center of the face, and then make stop cuts along the lines you just drew. Use the same tool. Carve in toward those stop cuts from the cheek areas to make the beak stand out from the face, keeping in mind that the beak will be the most “forward” part of the bird. Separate the beak from the belly by removing a triangular chip on either side.

Deepen the separation between the beak and the cheeks. Then round the belly up so the cheeks overlap it. In terms of layers, the most superficial is the beak, followed by the belly; the eye will appear to be the deepest layer. Don’t be afraid to remove material, as there is a lot to work with. Round the top of the wing section under the eyes.

Refine the head and torso. Round the entire front of the body, leaving a small, flat area on the bottom. (You’ll want him to perch without tipping over, after all!) Use the same tool. Leave plenty of wood remaining on the sides for the wings. Tuck the cheeks into the underside of the beak.

Hollow the eye area. Use a 7/₁₆" (11mm) #4 gouge to give the eye area a shallow dish-like shape, which will be deepest in the center. Do this for both eyes.

Detail the eyes. The inside of the eye will sit next to the widest part of the beak. Draw the circles for the eyes, and then make stop cuts along those lines with a detail knife. With a ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge, gently carve in toward those circles on both sides, creating little bicycle spokes that radiate out from the center of each eye. Leave the circles intact. Once the center of the eye begins to protrude, round it with the detail knife. Note: Make sure your knife is sharp!

Separate the eye from the winged feathers on the head. Use the rough out knife.

Remove the sharp sides from the head. You won’t need to remove too much material–just carve off the saw marks. Pencil in the shape of the wing and separate it from the body with the rough out knife. Separate the feathers with little V-shaped cuts.

Sketch the tail feathers. Follow the lines with your knife of choice. Work one layer at a time, starting with the single top feather in the center. Relieve the areas around it to make it stand out. Then do the same for the next level, removing the material equally on either side. Carve the lowest and final level, and round the tail feathers. Relieve the areas around the wings, and round the wings.

Add the chest feather details. Use a 5/₁₆" (8mm) #9 gouge. Push the gouge straight in, back the tool out, and re-enter that cut at a slight angle to remove a fingernail-shaped chip. You can be methodical in your feather placement or make a cool, crazy pattern. The choice is yours.

Finish the owl. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container of oil, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Paint the owl with a base coat of bark brown (except for the eyeballs and beak). Once dry, drybrush over the body with bittersweet chocolate and let dry. Paint the beak with pure orange and apply a dab of tangerine to one side. Paint the edges of the chest feathers with vintage white. Drybrush honeycomb around the eyes and on the top of the head. Then, allowing each layer to dry fully in between, paint the outer edge of the eyes with golden straw. Add a circle of pure black to the center, and apply the reflection dots with vintage white. Seal as desired; I prefer a natural finish such as Howard Feed-N-Wax.

Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite season. These little quick-carve nuggets, taken from the forest floor around the Mushroom House (see here), will make a fabulous centerpiece for any coffee table or countertop. Carve a handful of acorns and leaves; paint them a variety of fall colors, and you’ll have an awesome gift or conversation piece in no time.

You can texture the acorn cap in a few different ways. In my shop, I found a dull drill bit that made the perfect indentation when tapped into the wood. You can also use a V-tool to carve the lattice design, or get creative and raid the garage for different things that could achieve the texture you desire. The leaf can essentially be any thickness you want; the thinner it is, the less you have to remove but the more fragile it becomes.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of each blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically up the leaf and acorn blanks. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the shapes from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Patterns on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 3/₈" (1cm) thick: leaves, 2 each 2 3/₄" x 4½" (7cm x 11.4cm)

Basswood, 2" (5.1cm) square: acorn, 2½" (6.4cm) long

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Acrylic paints, such as FolkArt: bark brown, raw sienna, yellow ochre; such as Ceramcoat: barn red, burnt umber, dark foliage green, dark goldenrod, medium foliage green, walnut; such as DecoArt: saffron yellow

Clean paper towels

Finish, such as Howard Feed-N-Wax or Krylon

Tools

Band saw

Rough out knife

V-tool of choice (optional)

#4 gouge: 7/₁₆" (11mm)

Drill or power carving bit of choice: 3/₁₆" (5mm)-dia.

(optional)

Mallet (optional)

Vise

Paintbrushes: assorted

Round the edges of the acorn. Use a rough out knife. Draw a line around the top to mark where the acorn cap will begin.

Define the cap. Make deep stop cuts around the bottom of the cap and cut up from the acorn toward the cap to make it stand out. Be aware of how much pressure you’re applying, as too much could slice through the stop cut and snap off a piece of the cap.

Round off the cap and stem. Use the rough out knife. Be careful as you approach the stem, as too much pressure or a poorly controlled cut could have you reaching for the wood glue.

Add the cap details. As I mentioned earlier, there are several ways you can do this. You can add ornamentation using a V-tool or make indentations using a drill bit or power carving bit of choice, tapping with a wooden mallet to seat the design. In either case, secure the acorn, cap up, in a vise before adding the final details.

Shape the leaf tops. With a 7/₁₆" (11mm) #4 gouge, lower the center of each leaf top to give it a slight concave shape.

Shape the leaf bottoms. Flip the leaf over. Round the back edges so they curve toward the top. You can make the leaves as thick or as delicate as you like; just be mindful of the thickness as you go, to avoid carving through to the other side. Add the finishing touches.

Finish the acorn. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Let dry. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container of oil, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Apply a coat of thinned raw sienna to the body and let dry. Then lightly drybrush walnut around the rim to create some shadow under the cap. Blend yellow ochre into one side to add highlight. Then paint the cap with a 5:1 mixture of water to walnut, let dry, and drybrush some bark brown over the surface to highlight the carved facets.

Paint the first layer of color onto the leaf. I covered around 80% of the surface with thinned medium foliage green, but you can use any color you prefer.

Add a contrasting color to the unpainted area. I added saffron yellow and barn red to the top left corner and blended that into the green. The colors will blend nicely if you wait until the paint is slightly set (but not dry). Layer on and blend more colors, if preferred; I added spots of burnt umber and dark foliage green to give the leaf a mottled look. Seal as desired; I prefer a natural finish such as Howard Feed-N-Wax.

Tiny woodsmen are some of my favorite characters to carve. This guy, in particular, works closely with Hoot Owl (see here) to keep the forest in this magical realm safe from thieves and naughty wizards. And, of course, he keeps the trees from getting too rowdy. Once you have the general shape down, you can adapt the design and make him into a Santa, gnome, sea captain—whatever you can come up with.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the shapes from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 1½" (3.8cm) square: 2½" (6.4cm) tall Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Acrylic paints, such as Delta Ceramcoat: burnt umber, midnight blue; such as DecoArt: bittersweet chocolate, Hauser dark green, light avocado, metallic gold, true red

Clean paper towels

Finish, such as Howard Feed-N-Wax

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

Micro V-tool: 1/₁₆" (2mm) (optional)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Draw the guidelines for the hat. The front brim will fall approximately a third of the way down from the top. Then angle it down around the sides so that the back of the hat lands halfway down. Make a stop cut at each of the corners and cut up toward the brim to separate the hat from the head. Use a rough out knife. Start rounding the corners and shaping the top of the hat.

Start to shape the nose. This is easier with a smaller blade length, so I switched to a detail knife. Separate the top of the nose from the brim of the hat and outline the bottom of the nose, making a stop cut and then carving up to it. The deeper you make these cuts, the more personality and definition your carving will have. Make the nose bigger than you think it needs to be, so you’ll have material to take off in the shaping and detailing phase. Continue tapering the hat upward, leaving plenty of room for the bend at the tip.

Continue rounding the hat and body. Use the detail knife. Then clear more material from around the nose to make it stand out. Round the nose until it begins to look like a slightly flat oval, and pencil in the shape of the mustache.

Establish the mustache. There is plenty of material to remove, which will allow you to place the outer brim of the hat, the nose, the mustache, and the body all on different planes. (The nose sticks out farther than the mustache, the mustache overlaps the body, etc.) The goal is to give the woodsman multiple ‘layers’ when viewed from the side. Pencil in the shoes roughly ¼" (6mm) up from the bottom.

Carve the shoes. Follow the lines you just made with extended V-cuts to separate the shoes from the robe. The deeper you make your cuts, the more dimension you give the overall look. Then draw the belt and belt buckle in the space between the mustache and feet. If the shoes or mustache are bigger than expected, you can tuck the buckle under the mustache and extend it around the body as usual.

Add the belt details. Make stop cuts to separate the belt from the body, and then carve up to them on the top and bottom so the belt protrudes slightly.

Add the mustache texture. If you have a small 1/₁₆" (2mm) micro V-tool, it will make the job easier, but you can also use a regular detail knife. Make small V-cuts fanning down and out from the center of the nose. Give them a slightly random look. Then add the buckle to the front of the belt. At this point, do an overall inventory to round any flat areas and add final details.

Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container of oil, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Paint the clothing base coats. For the hat, mix two drops of light avocado with one drop of Hauser dark green and about 15-20 drops of water. If it’s too light for your liking, add more paint. For the robe, mix two drops of midnight blue with 15 drops of water. Paint in washes until you’re satisfied with the colors.

Paint the nose and cheeks. Dip the tip of a paintbrush into the cap of true red, and then wipe that onto your paint pallet. Add a few drops of water; it should be an extremely watery red. Apply that to the top of the nose and the cheeks. Paint the mustache with watered–down burnt umber.

Paint the belt and shoes. I used one drop of bittersweet chocolate mixed with about 12 drops of water. The belt and shoes should be relatively light to mimic a weathered look. Paint the buckle with slightly thinned metallic gold. Let dry and seal as desired; I prefer a natural finish such as Howard Feed-N-Wax.

Foxes are said to be friendly and curious. They love to play among themselves, as well as with other animals. But as we all know, serious playtime calls for serious rest. With a few strategic cuts and one or two tricky angles, you’ll soon have a simple, sweet, sleeping fox—who’s probably dreaming of future adventures with Sassy Squirrel (see here). A great thing about this project is that the pattern can be easily scaled up to fit your needs. You can also have fun with an array of painting variations.

Getting Started

Prepare the blank. Using your preferred method, attach the pattern views so the grain runs vertically (from his back to his front). Orienting the grain vertically will help keep the fox’s snout and ears from easily snapping off. Cut the pattern views using a band saw. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on page 97)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 1¼" (3.2cm) thick: 2½" x 3"

(6.4cm x 7.6cm)

Pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as DecoArt: ebony black; such as FolkArt: pure orange; such as Ceramcoat: antique white, barn red, Georgia clay

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

#8 gouge:¼" (6mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Round the body. Using a rough out knife, remove any sharp edges and round the top and bottom of the fox with small, precise cuts.

Separate the features. Use the knife to make a stop cut into the fox’s shoulder. Next, use the knife to make a stop cut along the bottom of the fox’s leg to begin to separate the tail. Use a pencil to mark the bushy tip of the tail to separate it from the snout. With a ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge, begin to shape the head to separate it from the body and tail—the stop cut at the shoulder and the pencil mark at the tip of the tail are your guides. Use the gouge to begin to define the curve of the back leg, separating it from the torso.

Define the features. Use the knife to make a curved cut between the ears. Make symmetrical cuts on both sides of the face; cut away the cheeks and begin to shape the face into a triangle. Leave space between the face and ears for a hooded effect–you don’t want to remove too much yet. Make a stop cut under the fox’s body. Deepen the separation of the head from the body using a deep triangular cut, cutting into the fox’s chest and belly. Cut into the same stop cut from the tail to separate it further from the rump and the torso. Use the knife to curve the tail around the front of the body and bring it under the fox’s snout.

Shape the face and ears. Use the knife to make a stop cut under the bottom of fox’s right cheek. Cut into the tail, working toward the stop cut to further separate the tail from the face. Use the knife to carve the face into a cone shape, rounding the snout into a soft, defined point. Further define and separate the ears using the ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge, making them triangular in shape. Use the tip of a detail knife to carve out small half circles inside each ear.

Create the eyes. Draw lines for the eyes. Remember, the fox is sleeping, so draw soft ‘S’ curves to mimic closed eyelids. Next, use the pencil to outline the snout. Using the tip of the detail knife, make a deep cut along the line of each eye and make a small parting cut to define it. Use the tip of the knife to cut along the perimeter of the snout and round it slightly.

Paint the face. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, paint the tips of the ears and the snout ebony black. Using a clean paintbrush, brush a small amount of antique white around the tip of the tail and inside the ears. Feather the white paint from the snout into the face so it can later blend with the orange.

Paint the body. Apply a base coat of thinned pure orange (5:1 ratio of water to paint) over the entire body. Do not paint over the antique white, but blend with the orange around the edges.

Add depth of color. Once the base coat of orange has mostly dried, lightly drybrush the body with Georgia clay. Don’t overdo it. Allow the base coat to show through.

Add finishing details. After the second coat is dry, use the tip of a very fine detail brush to apply a streak of ebony black into the crevice of both eyes. Apply a streak of barn red between the head and the shoulder, the tail and body, and around the curve of the leg.

One of the cutest animals—in my opinion—is a tiny hedgehog. My version is a fairly easy and straightforward carve, and with a few precise cuts, you’ll see his personality pop. He likes to scuffle around the forest floor, searching for treasures dropped by travelers such as the Forgetful Wizard (see here). The technique used to create his cartoon eyes can be used on several other carves in this book, making it an excellent one to keep in your back pocket.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2½" (6.4cm) square: 4" (10.2cm) long Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Acrylic paints, such as FolkArt: vintage white, wrought iron; such as DecoArt: ebony black, plum suede, titanium white

Clean paper towels

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

V-Tools: 5/₁₆" (8mm) 60°, ¼" (6mm) 90°

#7 gouge: 9/₁₆" (14mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Round the body. Using a rough out knife, begin rounding the body and removing the saw marks. The ears will sit on the very outer corners of the head, so scoop down behind them to create some separation between the ears and the body.

Shape the ears. Use the rough out knife to scoop out the area between the ears at the top of the head. Continue rounding and shaping the body. Work each side evenly, taking care not to remove more from one side than another. Taper the face down slightly from the ears. Shape the face and carefully round the long nose.

Define the features. With a pen or pencil, mark little half circles for the eyes and ears, and widen the outer edges of the mouth into a smile. Use the rough out knife to bring the smile up toward the ears. Make a stop cut around the tip of the nose and carve up to that cut to shape it into a ball. If you happen to slice the nose off–don’t fret! Just make it shorter.

Establish the eyes. Use a detail knife to make a parting cut along the outline of the eyes. Without using too much pressure, carve into the cut from just inside the line. Together, the cuts will make a deep outline of the eye area and create a cartoonish look. Aim for clean and precise cuts.

Remove the inside of the ears. Make a straight cut into the base of the ear using the tip of the detail knife. Next, use a 9/₁₆" (14mm) #7 gouge to scoop out the inside of the ear. Make several passes with the gouge to create depth.

Add texture. Now that the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose are done, create fur-like texture around the front of the body and face using the 9/₁₆" (14mm) #7 gouge. Move from the outside of the body to the inside, making shallow scoops that start and stop in different places.

Create the spikes. Use a 5/₁₆" (8mm) 60º V-tool to press straight into the hedgehog’s back so that the point of the V is facing his bottom. Back the tool out and come back in just under the first cut at a slight angle until the two cuts meet. If the little piece of wood in between the cuts doesn’t pop out, don’t force it with the V-tool. Run the tip of the detail knife along the cuts to release it. Stagger these cuts all over the hedgehog’s back, leaving space between them.

Diversify the texture. Using a ¼" (6mm) 90º V-tool–and the same process you used in Step 7–add smaller spikes between the larger ones to create variety and dimension.

Paint the body. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, apply a base coat of plum suede to the nose and mouth, the back of the ears, and the rest of the body. Apply wrought iron to the tip of the nose, the inside of the mouth, and the inside of the ears. Use a fine-tip paintbrush to apply wrought iron to the inside of the V-cuts on his back. Paint the inside of the eyes with titanium white. Once the eyes have dried, use the end of a paintbrush to apply two black dots–just barely touching–at the center of the inside eye area. Allow the eyes to dry completely and then add a white reflection dot to each black pupil.

Finish the hedgehog. Drybrush vintage white around the hedgehog’s face, feathering it into the plum suede. Add a dab of vintage white to the inside point of every V-cut, then add some wisps of vintage white and wrought iron between the cuts to mimic bits of fur.

This simple mushroom cottage could play host to any number of characters from the book, such as Oma Elf (see here) or Sassy Squirrel (see here); after all, with enchanted houses, size can be misleading! The possibilities for upgrades to this project are endless—extra windows, shrubs or greenery, rain gutters, mini mushrooms on the side, stones that outline the front door. Your imagination is the only limit. Feel free to change up the colors or cap shape to gussy up this cutie to the max. Make sure to use the band saw to your advantage when doing so; it’s possible to remove most of the excess material before the rough out stage, saving your hands from most of the preliminary work.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the shape from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 3" (7.6cm) square: 5" (12.7cm) long

Pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as DecoArt: bittersweet chocolate, bittersweet orange, saffron yellow; such as FolkArt: bark brown, parchment; such as Ceramcoat: black cherry, flesh tan, tomato spice

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

Micro gouge: 3/₁₆" (5mm)

#4 gouge: ¼" (6mm)

#5 gouge: 9/₁₆" (14mm)

V-tool: 5/₁₆" (8mm) 60º

Paintbrushes: assorted

Round the stem. Using a rough out knife or a 9/₁₆" (14mm) #5 gouge, start removing material around the stem, carving off all saw marks and creating a gentle taper from the base to the bottom of the cap. Decide where the door will go, and leave yourself extra material in that area; this side will be significantly less angled than the others.

Shape the cap. Round the top of the cap, giving it a slightly irregular shape; no mushroom is perfectly symmetrical. Use the same tool. Then give the area under the cap a concave, umbrella shape to add depth and dimension.

Define the chimney. Use the rough out knife to separate it from the cap, and then separate the rim from the main chimney. Chamfer (soften) the edges of the rim. You could even use a V-tool to add brick texture at this stage, if desired.

Draw the outline of the door. With a 5/₁₆" (8mm) 60º V-tool or a detail knife, carve along that line to create the outline. If using the V-tool, lay it with the outer edge flat against the stem; if using the knife, make a stop cut along the door outline and then carve in toward that cut from the outside on all sides. Draw the doorknob. Then remove wood within the outline (avoiding the doorknob area), carving the door down so it sits lower than the stem by around ⅛" (3mm). You do not want the door to sit flush with the stem; creating levels will add more visual interest.

Shape the doorknob. I used a 3/₁₆" (4mm) micro gouge to create a circle, pushing the gouge straight in to create two connecting half-circles and then carving up to them from the outside all the way around. Be very gentle at this stage; otherwise, the knob could pop off.

Add the windows. Draw them on with a pencil and then follow the lines with a ¼" (6mm) #4 gouge or the detail knife. Carve down the insides of the windows on the cap and door, so the lattice and frames stand out slightly. Inspect your piece and add the finishing touches.

Prepare the piece for paint. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Let dry. Paint the cap with a base coat of thinned (two parts water and one part paint) tomato spice and the stem with a base coat of thinned flesh tan. Do not paint the door or windows at this time. While the flesh tan is still wet, blend a small amount of bark brown into the base of the stem, dragging the paint from the bottom up toward the cap.

Add more layers of color. Drybrush black cherry around the middle of the mushroom cap. It doesn’t have to be perfectly symmetrical all the way around–just make sure to blend it seamlessly toward the top and bottom of the cap. Then, when the stem base coat is mostly dry, drybrush bittersweet chocolate around the base to create the illusion of dirt. Paint the door and the window frame on the cap with thinned bittersweet chocolate.

Add the finishing touches. Using a small detail brush, outline the bottom half of each pane in the door, and the two bottom panes in the upper window, with a small amount of saffron yellow. Apply a small amount of black cherry to the two top panes in the upper window and the top half of each pane in the door. Blend bittersweet orange into the central areas to create a smooth transition. Paint the doorknob with a mixture of flesh tan, parchment, and bittersweet chocolate. Paint the chimney with thinned bark brown, and use parchment for the polka dots. Let dry.

The first thing I thought about when designing my Sassy Squirrel was how much fun I could have with the tail. Flouncy and curly, the tail is key in conveying this little guy’s big personality. I like to imagine that he’s supposed to be helping the Tiny Woodsman (see here) to keep the trees in line, but keeps wandering off to daydream about acorns (such as the one on here) instead.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. This project will be easier to cut out with a smaller band saw blade, as the space between the torso and tail can be tricky to navigate. Cut the views a little at a time, using a light touch, and then remove the shape from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2¼" (5.7cm) thick: 2 3/₄" x 4½" (7cm x 11.4cm)

Pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as FolkArt: pure black, pure orange, titanium white, vintage white; such as Ceramcoat: burnt umber

Toothpick

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

Paintbrushes: assorted

Rough out the squirrel. Draw a reference line down the center of the squirrel, continuing past the feet and up the tail in the back. This will help you to keep all the features relatively symmetrical as you carve. Using a rough out knife, start to round the front of the body and head. Make long, decisive, angled cuts up to the neck, and then carve down from the widest point of the head to meet that cut from the opposite side. This will begin to separate the head from the torso. Taper his head slightly toward the nose.

Rough out the tail. Round it from base to tip, removing equal amounts of wood on either side of the centerline. Use the rough out knife. Taper the tail further toward the base where it meets the body. Don’t make the connection too thin; that connection point runs with the grain, making it very easy to weaken as you carve.

Mark the locations for the arms. Using the rough out knife, begin making large, V-shaped cuts to separate the arms from the legs. Keep the cuts fairly uniform in relation to the centerline. Round the arms from the shoulders down, so the elbows fall about halfway between the neck and paws.

Refine the torso and tail. Continue shaping the arms and separating them from the body. Use the rough out knife. Further distinguish the head from the neck, and continue rounding the tail, maintaining its ballooned shape as you go. Narrow the tail further near the bottom; the final width of the base of the tail will be around ¾" (1.9cm).

Carve the tail swirl. First, draw a line on each side to mark the direction of the swirl. Then follow the line by pushing straight in with the knife to make one continuous stop cut. Carve in toward the stop cut from either side, starting with the point closest to the base of the tail and moving gradually inward toward the curled-in tip.

Finalize the tail details. Continue rounding and refining the tail, making sure to remove all remaining saw marks. Round the tail into the curls on the sides, always checking the centerline for reference. Give the swirl some good definition. Once complete, the tail should slightly resemble a snail shell in its flowing curves and spirals.

Refine the arms. Establish the inner elbow by creating a triangular chip in each corner with a detail knife. I do this by pressing the knife straight in along the upper and lower parts of the arm, and then sliding the tip of the blade along the body to pop the piece out. Make the arms a little larger than you think is necessary so that you have some extra wood to work with.

Shape the hands and feet. Use your knife of choice. Thin the feet down slightly so the haunches appear to overlap them. Then add fingers and toes. Note: Make extra sure that your knife is sharp for this; it will save you a headache–and possibly save your squirrel a few toes! I used the detail knife to make very small V-cuts between the fingers and toes. Be careful not to snap off any of the delicate pieces.

Add the eyes. The squirrel’s eyes are a smaller version of the hedgehog’s (see here). Draw the eyes, and then follow the lines with the tip of the detail knife. This cut doesn’t need to be extremely deep–just deep enough to add definition and depth. Carve up to the lines from the inside, relieving the eye area so it sinks into the face slightly. Define the nose, so the squirrel appears to be balancing a tiny ball on his snout. Make all final cuts.

Prepare the piece for paint. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Let dry. Then apply a base coat of thinned pure orange to the entire squirrel, except for the front area from the underside of the nose to the section between his feet and his eyes.

Add the body details. Using slightly watered-down vintage white, paint the belly and underside of the head, feathering the vintage white into the pure orange to create a softer transition. Paint the nose with burnt umber. Then, once the belly has dried, drybrush over the entire body with burnt umber, applying it more heavily to the fingertips and toes and less heavily over the rest of the body.

Paint the eyes. Paint the eyes with a base coat of titanium white and let dry. Apply two black dots for the pupils using the end of a paintbrush dipped in pure black. Once dry, add the reflection dots; I used a toothpick.

Raccoons are, to say the least, mischievous little buggers. They seem to have an innate ability to break into almost anything—especially my trash can. Despite their hijinks, raccoons have always been a beloved animal in my family, and I could not pass up the opportunity to carve one. Mine scurries about the forest floor in search of the elusive Sleepy Fox (see here), his one true love. This raccoon is a clever little critter and is sure to weasel his way into your heart as well.

This project will teach you some new techniques, such as how to incorporate different elements, such as wire, into future carves. Wire is extremely versatile and fairly inexpensive, found at almost any craft store or super center. The flower may prove to be a bit tricky but is definitely worth the challenge.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Do the same for the flower. Cut the views on the band saw (if desired, use a scroll saw for the small flower) and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2½" (6.4cm) square: raccoon, 43/₄" (12.1cm) long

Basswood, 1" (2.5cm) square: flower, 1" (2.5cm) long

Pen or pencil

Glue: cyanoacrylate (CA)

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as Americana: coffee bean, walnut; such as Ceramcoat: sunkissed coral; such as DecoArt: antique white, cadmium yellow, ebony black; such as FolkArt: parchment

Wire: 22 gauge, green

Tools

Band saw

Scroll saw (optional)

Knives: rough out, detail

#7 gouge: 9/₁₆" (14mm)

#8 gouge:¼" (6mm)

Hand drill with bits: micro

Paintbrushes: assorted

Round the body. Use a pencil to draw a centerline down the blank. Begin to round the body with a rough out knife, referencing the centerline to retain symmetry. Use a 9/₁₆" (14mm) #7 gouge to begin shaping the face and nose. Taper the face slightly down from the ears.

Shape the tail. Pencil in the shape of the tail. Using the rough out knife, round the back sides of the legs to separate the tail from the body. Next, round the back of the head and accentuate the curve of the back.

Shape the legs. The raccoon’s front legs are a lot like the ones you carved for the squirrel (see here). Use the rough out knife to shape both hind legs and feet. Use the pencil to draw separation between the inside of the hind leg, and the elbow with the belly. Repeat on the other side.

Shape the upper body. Deepen the separation between the underside of the arms and elbows from the belly. Use the rough out knife to carve into the shoulders and neck. Shape the snout and cheeks, and separate the ears.

Shape the hands. Define the shoulders with triangular cuts. Carve back the chest so that it is slightly flatter than the protruding belly below. Remember, the raccoon will be clutching a flower, so carve one hand behind the other. Pencil in the facial features.

Reveal the face. Separate the nose from the snout, making small, shallow cuts. Finish shaping the ears and make a deep stop cut at the base of each. Scoop into the stop cuts with a ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge to hollow out the ears. Next, use the tip of a detail knife to create a smile along the bottom of the snout.

Establish the shape of the flower. Draw an ‘X’ across the top. Draw a circle along the edge of the blank and at the center of the X. Use the detail knife to cut out the small circle. Then use the ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge to make shallow cuts that fan around it. Remove the chips.

Round the flower. Make several passes with the ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge to create the petals, taking care not to carve all of the material away from the middle. Round the overall shape of the flower and taper the underside to a narrow, rounded point.

Refine the details. Drill into the underside of the flower (approximately halfway–do not pierce through the top) with a small hand drill. Then drill a hole through the back of the hands. Use the detail knife to make two small cuts in the top hand for fingers. Next, use the detail knife to create the eyes, making two circles just above the snout. Without applying too much pressure, carve into each circle’s perimeter to create a small mound.

Paint the body. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, apply thinned walnut to the face, down the back, and to the inside of the ears. Paint the eyeballs antique white and the tip of the nose ebony black. Use walnut (not thinned) to create the rings on the tail.

Add depth of color. With a round brush, apply parchment to the top of the head, around the snout, and under the chin. Using thinned coffee bean, fill in the areas painted with walnut (the back of the head, the legs, the back, and the bottom of the belly). Paint the eyes ebony and add two dots of antique white to the tops of the eyes.

Paint the tail. Fill in the tail with parchment, lightly feathering it into the darker rings. Drybrush the entire body with coffee bean.

Paint the flower. Apply slightly thinned sunkissed coral to the entire flower. Once dry, heavily drybrush the inside of the petals with cadmium yellow, leaving the outside edges of the flower untouched. Paint the bottom and center of the flower cadmium yellow. Put a few dots of cyanoacrylate (CA) glue where the hole was drilled into the hands and thread the bottom portion of the wire stem through. Then, add a dot of glue to the underside of the flower and slip it onto the wire stem.

Who knew a little toad could have so much personality? Makes you wonder what he could possibly be looking at. Given how much this guy loves treats, such as flies and colorful flowers, I suspect that he has just caught a glimpse of the neighborhood troll’s cheerful pet will o’ the wisp (see here) and is now lying in wait, hoping to snatch it with his sticky tongue. Let’s hope the troll sees through this cheeky toad’s camouflage in time!

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 3" (7.6cm) square: 2 3/₄" (7cm) long

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as such as DecoArt: fawn, titanium white; such as Ceramcoat: Gamal green, medium foliage green, walnut; such as FolkArt: pure black, raw sienna, yellow ochre

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

#9 gouge: 5/₁₆" (8mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Toothpick or stylus

Roughly shape the leg area. Generally round the piece with a rough out knife. Draw the shape of the legs on both sides. Then, round and shape the top arc of the leg and separate it from the body using a 5/₁₆" (8mm) #9 gouge. Using the rough out knife, make a long stop cut along the inner curve of the leg, and then carve up to it in several passes. Deepen the cut until you are satisfied with the shape. Work back and forth on both sides to keep it symmetrical.

Roughly shape the eye area. Round the mouth mound and begin to taper it slightly toward the nose. Use the same tool. Remove material from the top eye area; one eye will be quite exaggerated to accentuate the “cheekiness” of his expression. Draw and carve the shape of the front leg, keeping in mind that the feet will be turned in so that the toes on either side face each other. Using a series of V-shaped cuts, remove material between the leg and the chest. Do this on both sides.

Define the legs. Deepen the cuts between the legs and chest to create more shadow and interest. Round the belly and accentuate the area under the chin. There is a fair amount of material on this carve, so don’t be afraid to make deep cuts. Round the feet in front, adding creases between the feet and legs.

Define the back. Remove all saw marks from the back, giving it a slightly bumpy, irregular look; he is a toad, after all! With the rough out knife, make V-shaped cuts to separate the backs of the legs from the body, curving them under slightly so he appears to be resting. The bend at the back of the legs should stick out further behind the toad than his back, so bring in the rump slightly. Then, round it into the crevices at the base of the legs.

Shape the sides. Define the area between the elbow of the front leg and the knee of the back leg. I carved this toad so he leans slightly toward the left, so the back left leg should look as though it is tucked in a little closer to his body. Giving him slight asymmetry will add movement and ensure that he doesn’t simply look like a blob.

Carve the larger eye. Most of the character in this piece is conveyed through the eyes. Draw the larger eye and then make a deep stop cut along the bottom with a detail knife. Coming from the inside, work away from the eyeball toward the stop cut, cutting at an angle until you meet the first cut defining the bottom portion of the eye. Release the chip.

Detail the larger eye. Now is a great time to strop your knife, if you haven’t in a bit. Then, add the eyelid by making a stop cut around 1/₁₆" (2mm) out from the perimeter of the eye and then carve up to it from the outside to make it protrude. Refine the eye with the detail knife. Round the eyeball; I used the same tool to carve small, triangular chips into the two corners where the upper lid and lower lid meet.

Carve the squinty eye. Use the same method as for the first eye. The more squinty you can make the eye, the more character he’ll have. Draw and then roughly carve the line for the mouth. Give the toad some neck rolls by making shallow, V-shaped cuts in a few places below the chin and then carve in toward them to soften the transitions.

Refine the mouth. Use the detail knife. Curve the corners of the smile up almost to the level of the eyes. Add a wide, triangular cut at each corner to create some shadow.

Finish the toad. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, paint the belly with a mixture of three parts water and one part fawn. Paint the eyeballs with full-strength titanium white.

Paint the remainder of the base coat. Paint the frog’s body (excluding the area with thinned fawn) with a mixture of three parts water and one part raw sienna.

Add the splotches. Mix four parts water to one part walnut. Then, add it in messy, irregular patches to the entire body (with the exception of the chest). The goal is to give the piece a mottled look; go with your instincts and add splotches until you’re satisfied.

Add the tiny spots. I applied un-thinned Gamal green, medium foliage green, and fawn randomly to the surface of the carving with an assortment of toothpicks and pen tips; a stylus can come in handy, too. Be sure to vary the sizes of the spots to give him a speckled look.

Paint the eye details. Draw the irises and pupils. Then, dip a fine-tip detail brush lightly in walnut and outline the outermost part of the eye. Working quickly, apply a line of yellow ochre just inside the line of walnut and allow the two to mix just slightly. Once dry, apply a dot of pure black in the middle of each outline, followed by a reflective dot of titanium white.

This sweet elf lives a simple life in her mushroom house (see here). She spends her days nibbling homemade porridge, whipping up wonky spells, and caring for her fellow forest friends. Oma is a fairly small carve with some tight spaces. If you get caught in a troublesome area, simply alter your approach so the design works for you. The bulk of this carve is also achieved with one tool, making it an excellent project to take with you on the go.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2" (5.1cm) square: 3" (7.6cm) long

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as such as Ceramcoat: antique white, crocus yellow, dark goldenrod, deep sea coral, liberty blue; such as DecoArt: ebony black, slate grey, titanium white

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail V-tool:¼" (6mm) 90°

Micro gouges: 1/₁₆" (2mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Toothpick

Shape the body. Use the rough out knife to shape the body. Separate the ears from the head and the head from the body. Taper the face down from the top of the head and accentuate the curve of the nose. Decide where the bottom of the arms will be and round them toward the front of the body.

Round the body. Round the upper body. Deepen the separation between the bottom of the arms and the waist. Round the dress in the front and back.

Separate the arms. Use the rough out knife to make two deep V-shaped cuts in the center of the waist to separate the arms. Push the knife in between the cuts to remove the piece.

Create the bun. Use the pencil to mark separations between the arms and the body and where the hands will be. Use the rough out knife to round the head back and create a large bun, sitting just above the crown of the head.

Define the arms. Use the rough out knife to cut along the lines of the inner arm, making the same type of triangular cut as in Step 3. Connect the two edges to remove the chip. Repeat on the other side. Shape the hands, and round both arms into the shoulders.

Shape the skirt. Use the rough out knife to taper the top of the skirt into a waistline. Don’t carve away too much from the bottom–this will help create the illusion of a poofy dress. Feel free to exaggerate the angle of the skirt in relation to the size of the waist.

Create the pleats. Draw where the pleats will go. Make a deep stop cut into each pencil mark using the rough out knife. Then cut into each side at an angle, meeting your first cut to remove the chip cleanly. I made four pleats, but you can make as many as you’d like.

Add fine details. Use the pencil to mark the hem of the skirt, the sleeves of the dress, the collar, and the fingers. Use a detail knife to cut into the marks. Remember, Oma Elf is small and delicate, so be sure to use light pressure as you add the fine details. Use a ¼" (6mm) 90º V-tool to hollow out the ears, and draw the rest of the facial features.

Carve the face. Use a 1/₁₆" (2mm) micro gouge to scoop into each side of the nose area. Use the rough out knife to deepen the separation between the hairline and forehead, and to round the nose, chin, and cheeks. Then use the detail knife to carefully carve into the eye area, making a straight line for the eyelid and a half moon shape for the lower portion. Make shallow V-cuts next to the corner of the eyes to create smile lines, and a few more above the cheeks to create wrinkles. Use the tip of the detail knife to carve a smile just above the chin.

Add the hair. Using the ¼" (6mm) 90º V-tool, add short, shallow cuts to the top of the head and bun to mimic hair. Don’t worry about making the lines too symmetrical or even.

Paint the body. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, apply a base coat of thinned liberty blue to the apron. Apply thinned deep sea coral to the ears, face, and hands. Paint the eyes titanium white. Paint the hair slate grey.

Paint the dress. Paint the pleats and sleeves with thinned crocus yellow. While the yellow is still wet, apply a small amount of dark goldenrod to the creases in the pleats and sleeves.

Add depth of color. Heavily drybrush titanium white onto the hair and then very lightly drybrush the remaining dregs of that color over the apron to highlight the carved facets. Paint the hem of the dress and the collar antique white. Using a flat paintbrush, paint the eyebrows slate grey. Once dry, add a few dabs of titanium white to each.

Add the finishing touches. Using the flat paintbrush, paint small black pupils in each eye. Once dry, use the end of a toothpick to add a dot of antique white to each. Then use the toothpick to add dots of antique white to the apron.

Everyone loves gnomes. No mythical lineup is complete without one. Mine is a quiet, intelligent fellow. He enjoys spending time alone with his bird, but never passes up the chance to tag along on an adventure with the Forgetful Wizard (see here). Gnomes are one of the most versatile characters to carve, so having a good pattern up your sleeve can lead to a number of fun future projects. Get creative with this one.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood. Draw the basic landmarks.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2" (5.1cm) square: 43/₄" (12.1cm) long

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as such as Ceramcoat: deep sea coral; such as DecoArt: blue harbor, ebony black, Hauser dark green, light avocado, raw sienna, saffron yellow, slate gray, titanium white, yellow ochre; such as FolkArt: raw umber

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

#8 gouge:¼" (6mm)

#9 gouge: 5/₁₆" (8mm)

#12 gouge: 1/₁₆" (2mm)

V-tool:¼" (6mm) 90°

Paintbrushes: assorted

Toothpick

Shape the hat. Use a rough out knife to round the tip of the hat so it droops to one side. Generously remove the material at the waist for the hands.

Round the body. Start to shape the head and face, deepening the angle leading up to the top of the hat. Use a pencil to mark where the hands will be. Use the rough out knife to shape the area under the arms. Round the sharp edges.

Define the brim of the hat and the cheeks. Insert the tip of the rough out knife straight into the edge of the hat; try not to go in at an angle when making the initial cut. Remove the material by coming up from below to meet the cut. Use this process to define the cheeks and nose, separating them from the beard. Then use a ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge to remove the material on either side of the nose. Draw the eyes.

Carve the eyes. Use the process described in Step 3 to define the brows. Do the same for the lower portion of the eye, then make a small, triangular cut at the outside edge to define the eyeball and add depth. Note: If you aren’t comfortable with eyes yet, bring the brim of the hat down and across the nose. Round the tip of the nose and add shallow nostrils with the tip of a detail knife.

Round the back of the body. Use the rough out knife to shape his backside. Define the body by making the shoulder area narrower than the hips. Separate the back of the arms from the body using a ¼" (6mm) 90º V-tool.

Create the beard. Use a 5/₁₆" (8mm) #9 gouge to shape the beard and arms. Remember, the beard sits behind the bird and the arms, so don’t be shy about removing material.

Shape the lower body. Use the rough out knife to shape the legs and shoes, rounding the sharp edges. Make a deep stop cut between each shoe and come in at an angle from each side until you meet the cut.

Define the shoes. Make deep, angled cuts with the rough out knife to create the little creases on the top of each shoe. Bring the tips of the shoes to a point and define the heels. Then use the knife to clearly define the underside of the arms.

Create the mustache. Use the rough out knife to carve the mustache. Using a triangular cut, separate the arms from the beard. The less you cut into the arms, the cleaner your gnome will look– so go deep the first time and pop out a large chip.

Shape the hands. Using the detail knife, shape the thumbs and separate them from where the bird will be. Separate the hands from the sleeves and the beard from the arms.

Add hair. Using a 1/₁₆" (2mm) #12 gouge, the ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge, and the ¼" (6mm) 90º V-tool, create texture in the beard and mustache. Use the rough out knife to carve the shape of the bird. Just focus on creating its shape; the details will come later with paint.

Add detail to the back. Use the rough out knife to carve a belt around the waist. Exaggerate the shape and size of the hips below the belt. Separate the legs; make a deep stop cut down the middle and come back in at an angle from both sides until you meet the cut. Add some wrinkles to the pants behind the knees.

Separate the legs. Use the rough out knife to make three V-shaped cuts that meet in the center to form a ‘Y’ shape. This will indicate where the legs meet in the middle.

Add the fingers. Use the tip of the detail knife to make short, parallel, V-shaped slices into the hands, being careful not to cut too deep.

Paint the body. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Mix a 1:1 ratio of Hauser dark green and light avocado. Thin the mixture and apply it to the jacket. Paint the hat with thinned yellow ochre and the beard with slate gray. Apply titanium white directly to the eyes.

Add depth of color. Paint the hat and belt with thinned raw umber. Once the slate gray has dried, drybrush the beard with titanium white. Paint the pants thinned raw sienna. Add a dot of ebony black to the eyes. Then, once dry, apply a reflective white dot with end of a toothpick.

Paint the bird. Use thinned blue harbor for the bird’s body and saffron yellow for its beak. Lightly drybrush deep sea coral onto the cheek area.

Add the bird details. With a fine-tip paintbrush, use ebony black to create the outline of the wing and some wispy feathers, allowing some of the blue harbor to show through. Use the other end of the toothpick to add a black dot for the eye. Once dry, add a white reflective dot.

The Darling Dragon is one of the stars of this magical realm my characters call home. She and her best friend, Starlight the Unicorn (see here), try their best to assist the Hoot Owl (see here) in keeping his quiet vigil over the forest, but they don’t do a great job staying quiet or blending in with the undergrowth— they are just too colorful and fabulous. When carving this project, keep in mind that dragons are imaginary, so there are no rules! If you want to turn it into a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people-eater—have at it! You are completely entitled to whatever design choices seem best to you.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern view to the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the perimeter on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on page 99)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 3" (7.6cm) thick: 5¼" x 6"

(13.3cm x 15.2cm)

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Acrylic paints, such as such as Ceramcoat: dark foliage green, eucalyptus, antique white; such as DecoArt: baby blue, cadmium yellow, lamp black, navy blue, titanium white; such as FolkArt: eggplant, confetti glitter

Acrylic glazes, such as FolkArt Dragonfly: gold, red, violet (optional)

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail #4 gouges:¼" (6mm),9/₁₆" (14mm)

#5 gouge: 9/₁₆" (14mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Mark the blank. Draw a centerline down the entire width of the blank, all the way up from the front of the body to the back of the tail. Draw the general shape of the dragon in front. Note: If desired, you can cut this view on the band saw to cut down on the material to be removed by hand. I only cut the side view on the band saw because I wanted to offset the tail.

Roughly shape the dragon’s body. Use a 9/₁₆" (14mm) #5 gouge to remove wood down to the profile lines you just drew on both sides. Bring in the neck to make a definite distinction between the head and body. As you bring in the body, begin to shape the wings.

Begin shaping the head. Use the same tool. Round the nose and chin, and taper the face slightly toward the snout; this will make detailing the arms easier in upcoming steps. Because the widest part of the face will be the cheek/jaw area and you’ll be adding teeth later, leave yourself a good amount of material to work with.

Roughly shape the tail. Use the 9/₁₆" (14mm) #5 gouge to remove material on either side. I chose to offset the tail to the left, which required me to remove more material on the right side. Taper the tail down slightly at the point where it connects to the rump; as she has a fairly round bottom, the carving will flare out from there.

Refine the wings. Use the same tool to taper the wings in slightly toward the body. The outer edges should be the widest part. Note: The connection point between the wings and the body is small, so don’t remove too much material; you can fine-tune that area later.

Define the arms. The ridge created when you cut out the pattern is where the claws will rest. Draw the general shape of the arms and claws, and then follow the lines with a rough out knife. Cut back the material to allow the arms to sit on top of the body. Do this on both sides.

Block in the upper part of the face. With the centerline as a guide, separate the eyebrows. Use the 9/₁₆" (14mm) #5 gouge. Block in the horns on each side of her head; placement doesn’t have to be exact, as a little asymmetry can sometimes make a carving more believable and lifelike.

Detail the arms. Using a detail knife, make two deep stop cuts along the upper and lower portion of each arm. Take care not to cut into the arms and claws as you do so. Then finish the upper arm area by completing the triangular cut at the crook of the elbow. This will create interesting shadows and separate the arm from the upper chest. Do this on both sides.

Remove the material between the hands. Use the 9/₁₆" (14mm) #5 gouge and the rough out knife. Slope the chest inward to emphasize the potbelly, and then carve up at a sharp angle to remove wood under the chin. Define the outlines of the hands and feet. Make some deep separating cuts to create two distinct feet, and round the belly dramatically.

Add the claws. Pencil in some triangular shapes to establish the placement of each toe. Using your knife of choice, make deep triangular cuts to separate and define each toe in the front. Then, follow the track of each triangular cut with a long, thin V-shaped cut that runs from the front of the foot to the back (this defines the individual toes). Add some small, V-shaped cuts perpendicular to these in areas where the knuckles fall. Repeat this technique for the hands.

Draw the mouth line. I chose to give my version a smile, but you can do as you like. With the knife of your choice, make a deep stop cut along the line you just drew. Then, meet the first cut with a lower cut angled upward along the entirety of the mouth line. Clean up your cuts.

Establish the teeth. Draw the outlines for the teeth, and then remove material under and between the teeth using a combination of stop cuts and triangular cuts. Cut back enough bottom lip material that the teeth sit under the upper lip and over the bottom lip and jaw. This dragon has a bit of an overbite.

Add the nostrils. Draw on the nostrils. With your knife of choice, make a deep stop cut across the bottom of each nostril. Then, angling the blade inward, rotate the knife from one corner to the other along the curved line of the nostril, being careful not to snap the tip of the knife off. (Been there, done that– no bueno.)

Add the eyes. Draw the eye shapes. Using the tip of the detail knife, make deep cuts along those lines. Then, working from the inside out, round the eyes to give them depth and dimension. I made little triangular cuts in the corners of the eyes to add some shadows and make the eyeballs appear to protrude. Define the eyebrows and add some creases between the eyes and snout, so she appears to be wrinkling her nose slightly.

Detail the wings. Keep in mind that the more material you remove, the more fragile they become. Go carefully. Then, using a 9/₁₆" (14mm) #4 gouge, start removing material in the back, working in toward the midline. Work evenly from both sides; the middle of the wings should essentially go all the way in, stopping at the level of her back.

Add the structural wing bones. Draw the placement lines and then make deep cuts along those lines with the detail knife. Remove the material between each section with a ¼" (6mm) #4 gouge. The wood should come out easily as the gouge meets the cuts you just made with the detail knife.

Finish the dragon. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Then, with a 2:1 ratio of water to eggplant, paint a base coat over the dragon’s body, avoiding the horns, tip of the tail, nails, and belly. Paint the teeth and eyes with full-strength titanium white. Paint the belly and tip of the tail with a 1:1 ratio of water to eucalyptus. I added depth by applying dark foliage green to the lines on her belly and blending them slightly into the eucalyptus. Paint the sections between the structural wing bones with antique white.

Paint the eyes. Paint the outer line of the iris with navy blue, using a very fine brush. While that is still wet, fill in the middle with baby blue, blending it slightly with the navy blue. Avoid blending it all the way so that you leave a very thin outline of navy. Once dry, apply lamp black to the middle of the blue. Once dry, add the white reflective dot. Do this for both eyes.

Add the finishing touches. Paint the nails and horns with cadmium yellow. While you still have the yellow on your brush, wipe it onto a paper towel to remove most of the paint. Then, using a sort of drybrushing technique, brush in between the segments on the belly to highlight the highest areas. Add the glitter to the back of the wings and the structural bones on the front side. (I applied two or three coats to make it very glittery, as ordered by my three-year-old supervisor.) Lightly drybrush over all areas (except the horns and belly) with baby blue.

When I think of a wizard, I think of an old guy with a long beard, a quirky hat, and a big personality to match. My Forgetful Wizard is nothing short of that. He’s an eccentric fellow who conjures spells and mischief while bounding about on adventures with the Friendly Gnome (see here). The wizard has a million tricks up his sleeve, but sometimes he forgets the magic words. Standing on a rock and squinting one eye helps!

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on a band saw and remove the blank from the block. Use the saw to open up the area between his wand arm and body. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2" (5.1cm) thick: wizard, 3½" x 7¼" (8.9cm x 18.4cm) Basswood, 2" (5.1cm) square: rock, 1½" (3.8cm) long

Wood dowel: 1" (2.5cm)-dia.

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Clean paper towels

Glue: wood

Acrylic paints, such as such as Ceramcoat: black cherry, dark goldenrod, deep sea coral, drizzle grey, Georgia clay, hippo grey; such as DecoArt: ebony black, crocus yellow, saffron yellow, titanium white; such as FolkArt: coffee bean, wrought iron

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

#7 gouge: 9/₁₆" (14mm)

#9 gouge: 5/₁₆" (8mm)

#11 gouge: 1/₁₆" (2mm)

Micro gouge: 1/₁₆" (2mm)

V-tool: 5/₁₆" (8mm) 60°

Drill with bit: 5/₃₂" (4mm)-dia.

Paintbrushes: assorted

Toothpick

Shape the body. Using a pencil or a pen, mark the approximate placement of the face and beard. Use a rough out knife and a 5/₁₆" (8mm) #9 gouge to round the sides of the body and the hat.

Shape the features. Use the rough out knife to separate the brim of the hat from the top of the face. Taper the face down from the brim. Begin layering; separate the mustache from the bottom of the nose, shape the beard, and round the right hand and wand.

Round the backside. Define the brim of the hat in the back by making a stop cut along the line and carving up to it. Round the back of the right hand and separate it from the sleeve of the robe. Open the space between the hand and side of the face, but don’t take away too much material.

Carve the open eye. The wizard has one eye open and one eye closed. The open eye is carved the same way as the gnome’s (see here). The first cut will define the brow; press the tip of the rough out knife straight in and come up from below the cut to remove the material. Use this process for the lower portion of the eye, and then make a small, triangular cut at the outside edge to define the eyeball and add depth.

Shape the ears. Use the pencil to mark the ears. Use a detail knife to create separation between the beard and hair that goes behind the ear and shoulder. (This is also where you will shape the top of the shoulder.) Next, use the knife to separate the beard from the cheek, rounding it up past the ear and temple and into the hat. Repeat on the other side.

Carve the closed eye. The closed eye is carved the same way as the toad’s (see here). Make a stop cut, and then remove a small sliver of material by coming in from underneath with your knife until the cuts meet. Make a small, triangular cut next to the bridge of the nose to create the brow.

Shape the fingers. Use the detail knife to separate the right hand’s fingers from the wand and then from each other. Make V-cuts to define the fingers. Use the rough out knife to separate the beard from the robe.

Shape the left arm. Complete the left sleeve of the robe, making sure you have removed all saw marks and separated the arm from the body. Remember, robe sleeves are big and baggy. Use a 9/₁₆" (14mm) #7 gouge to remove some of the material on the bottom of the sleeve, leaving just enough for four dangling fingertips. Use the detail knife to separate the fingers.

Create the feet. The feet are slightly offset. Use the pencil to mark one foot slightly in front of the other. While working from the underside of the carve, use your rough out knife to shape the feet. Try to keep them positioned under the middle of the robe and about the same size.

Shape the bottom of the robe. Separate the feet from the bottom of the robe. Use the 9/₁₆" (14mm) #7 gouge to create open space under the robe and define a hem. Make deep, angled cuts with the rough out knife to create little creases on the top of each shoe. Round the tips of the shoes and define the heels.

Carve the beard. Texture the beard to your liking using a 5/₁₆" (8mm) 60º V-tool, a 1/₁₆" (2mm) #11 gouge, and/or a 1/₁₆" (2mm) micro gouge. Use the 1/₁₆" (2mm) micro gouge and detail knife to define the right arm and droopy sleeve. Add fingernails and knuckles to the fingers on the right hand.

Carve the rock. Use the rough out knife to remove the sharp corners, making the shape good and wonky. There is no right or wrong way to carve a rock–just make sure it isn’t symmetrical and that it is wide enough for your wizard to stand on.

Attach the dowel. Carefully drill a hole into the base of the front foot, about ½" (1.3cm) deep, using a 5/₃₂" (4mm)-dia. drill bit. Add a dab of wood glue to the dowel and insert it into the foot.

Secure the wizard onto the rock. Drill down into the rock about ½" (1.3cm). Add a dab of glue into the hole and insert the exposed dowel into the rock. Let dry.

Add hair. Using the same tools and method as in Step 11, add texture to the hair on the back of the head.

Paint the body. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, apply thinned deep sea coral to the hands, arms, face, and ears.

Paint the robe. Apply saffron yellow, dark goldenrod, Georgia clay, and black cherry–in that order–from the shoulders down. Smoothly blend each color into the next.

Add depth of color. Allow the carve to dry completely, and then lightly drybrush crocus yellow over the entire robe to highlight the facets.

Finish the wizard. Apply black cherry to the hat, let dry, then drybrush it with crocus yellow. Paint the beard with drizzle grey. Once it has dried completely, drybrush it with titanium white. Paint the wand and boots with thinned coffee bean, and the open eye with titanium white. Once the eye has dried, use the end of a paintbrush to add a black pupil, and once that has dried, use the end of a toothpick to add a white reflective dot. Paint the rock drizzle grey, and then add wrought iron in the creases. Drybrush hippo grey on some of the high points.

This project taught me that you can give even the most gnarly-looking creatures something cute to hold and bam … the gnarly thing becomes cute, too. Since trolls are known to live in forest and swamp areas, and will-o’-the-wisps are only ever seen in bogs and marshes, it’s logical that the two would become friends. Both being misunderstood, these guys keep mostly to themselves, barring the occasional run-in with Cheeky Toad (see here)—who sees the will-o’-the-wisp less as a playmate and more as a tasty treat.

There are many possible ways to make this guy your own. Add a bow to the head and call it a lady troll, or change up what he has in his hand. (Don’t like the wisp? Add a club!) Keep your cuts “chunky” on this guy; it really makes his trollish-ness pop out. A general knowledge of masculine upper body musculature is helpful but not required—it just helps to know where to exaggerate some outlines.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2¼" (5.7cm) thick: 3" x 5¼"

(7.6cm x 13.3cm)

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Acrylic paints, such as such as Ceramcoat: eggplant, eucalyptus, Gamal green, walnut; such as DecoArt: bittersweet chocolate, lamp black, light avocado, navy blue, titanium white; such as FolkArt: coffee bean, minted aqua, Navajo turquoise

Clean paper towels

Tools

Band saw

Knives: rough out, detail

#8 gouge:¼" (6mm)

#11 gouge: 1/₁₆" (2mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Draw the basic landmarks. With a rough out knife, start blocking out the head and separate the head from the shoulders. I wanted my version to have a wide, broad jaw with a bit of an underbite, so I left the chin fairly wide at the bottom.

Refine the head. Round the head and taper it toward the nose. Remove wood around the shoulders and neck, and shape the ears, thinning them slightly toward the tips. You will need to remove quite a lot of material between the ears and neck in order for the ears to be proportional to the head.

Separate the left arm from the body. Remove wood in front of the arm and round it down from the shoulder. His arm is long and awkward, so turn the area for the left hand back, leaving plenty of room for the fingers to curl backward and up.

Block in the hand. Make a V-shaped cut to separate the hand from the wrist. Start rounding the legs, back, and bottom.

Rough out the right arm area. With the rough out knife, carve back the material around the belly and chest. Leave enough wood for the fingers and wisp to sit forward outside the body.

Refine the right arm. Begin to establish the musculature, creating a rounded bump for the bicep. Cut back the material for the forearm and hand, separating the wisp further from its surroundings with a series of V-shaped cuts.

Detail the wisp. Carve the eyes using the technique you used in the hedgehog (see here) and squirrel (see here) projects. With a detail knife, give him a large, round nose and little toes. Then, define and separate the troll’s fingers and thumb. Define the chest–I added a suggestion of pectorals here–and make a stop cut along the waist to establish the pants. Carve down to the stop cut from above, so the pants appear to overlap the belly. Round the belly to give him a little muffin top.

Carve the eyebrow area. Draw the brow line and follow the lines with your knife of choice. Carve up to the stop cuts to create overhanging brows. Carve back the upper part of the forehead and brow so that it sits further back than the jaw.

Carve the nose. Draw the nose and relieve the areas around it, scooping wood out between the base of the nose and where the bottom jaw juts out. Use a ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge. Define the bridge of the nose.

Clean out the ears. With the detail knife and a 1/₁₆" (2mm) #11 gouge, round the insides of the ears. Shape and refine the ears as desired; I flopped one over to give this guy’s personality a goofy little twist.

Shape the jaw. I gave my version a friendly smile. Draw the smile line and follow it with the detail knife, making a deep stop cut and carving down to it from the upper lip. Deepen the cut to make the lip protrude more, if desired. Clean up your cuts.

Refine the left hand. Make several V-shaped cuts to remove material around the wrist and palm. Use the rough out knife. Establish the curl of the hand and detail the fingers. Remove the sharp edges in the legs and feet. Round the heel and begin to round the toes.

Carve the finishing touches. Contour the feet. Separate the pant legs from the tops of the feet, and make small V-shaped cuts between the toes. Use the detail knife. Add a simple belt around his waist, along with any other details you feel he needs. Add arches to the bottoms of the feet, and carve the bottoms of the toes. Inspect the carving and clean up your cuts once more, making sure to leave large, carved facets (especially over the arms and scalp).

Paint the troll body. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, paint a 1:1 ratio of water to light avocado over all parts of the troll’s skin. Paint the wisp’s eyes with titanium white.

Add the shadows. With a stipple brush (or a wide flat brush), apply Gamal green to all of the deep cuts and shadow areas, such as under the chin, between the toes, and between the arms and the torso. Use a drybrushing technique.

Enhance the shadows. Mix a 3:1 ratio of water to bittersweet chocolate. Then, with a rather haphazard approach, add the brown to the areas of Gamal green to enhance the depth and give him a patchy, slightly rotten color.

Highlight the facets. Once the green layers have dried, lightly drybrush eucalyptus on the body.

Paint the final details. Cover the pants with a 3:1 ratio of water to walnut, and paint the belt with unthinned bittersweet chocolate. As a wisp is said to be an atmospheric ghost–a little ball of flame and gas–you can paint him as you wish. I applied eggplant to his toes and very slightly to the bottom of his torso (where he meets the troll’s hand). Starting with navy blue and working upward to Navajo turquoise and minted aqua, apply horizontal lines of color up the torso, and then blend them together to create a smooth transition between colors. Paint the troll’s teeth with titanium white mixed with a dot of walnut, and paint the wisp’s eye details with lamp black and tiny reflective dots of titanium white.

Being helpful is important to Starlight. Each morning, she and her best friend, Darling Dragon (see here), eagerly show up to assist Hoot Owl (see here) on his quest to quietly protect and serve. But they are so noisy! They make jokes and giggle and sing and dance. Sometimes they laugh so hard they fall out of the trees. Being helpful is important to Starlight, but so is having fun—and this unicorn has a lot of fun.

This pattern can be easily adapted if you find yourself ever needing a horse. Make sure you understand how much wood you need to remove on the bent leg before you start carving. I enjoyed painting on this one. However, don’t feel obligated to use these specific colors. Do what Starlight would do: use what you have and have fun with it.

Getting Started

Attach the pattern views to two adjacent sides of the blank using your preferred method; I trace around the pattern lines with a pencil. Make sure the grain runs vertically. Cut the views on the band saw and remove the blank from the block. Set aside the waste wood.

(Pattern on here)

Materials & Tools

Materials

Basswood, 2" (5.1cm) thick: 5" (12.7cm) square

Pen or pencil

Boiled linseed oil

Acrylic paints, such as such as Ceramcoat: antique white, crocus yellow, eggplant, parchment; such

as DecoArt: lamp black, lavender, navy blue; such as FolkArt: dragonfly glaze, minted aqua, Navajo turquoise, pink flash

Clean paper towels

Tools

Rough out knife

#8 gouge:¼" (6mm)

Paintbrushes: assorted

Shape the body. Use a pencil to draw a centerline down the entire length of the unicorn. Then use a rough out knife to begin separating the front legs.

Shape the head. Use the rough out knife to shape the head, making it narrower than the body. Leave yourself extra material on one side for the mane.

Round the body. Use the centerline as a guide. Taper the face slightly toward the snout, and round the bottom into the area where it joins with the tail.

Define the features. Continue shaping the body and round the front legs and the horn. Shape the neck, remembering to leave extra material for the mane. Begin to shape the belly and accentuate the curve of the back.

Shape the tail. You can take a fair amount of material off the tail. Use the rough out knife to exaggerate how far it comes up and off the rump, and then bring it to a point at the end.

Shape the mane. Using a ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge, round the non-mane side of the neck all the way over to the midline, so it appears to be flowing over the back.

Separate the front legs. Use the rough out knife to remove the area between the front legs. Be sure to leave material at the front of the body for the chest. Separate the hooves from the legs and give your unicorn some knobby knees.

Define the head and the mane. Separate the mane from the head and the body. Separate the bangs from the top of the head. Block in the ears so that they pop out between and behind the bangs. Slightly taper the face down from the hair. I left the mane fairly thick in order to have defined waves.

Refine the front body. Use the rough out knife to shape the horn and deepen the separation of the mane from the body. Round the legs into a sleek shape.

Separate the back legs. Using the rough out knife, make deep V-cuts to remove the area between the back legs, just as you did for the front legs in Step 7.

Shape the back legs. It is important to note that the shape of the back legs is different than the front. Separate the hooves from the legs and the legs from the rear.

Shape the hooves. Make short, precise cuts to separate the hooves from the legs. Carve knobby knees on the backs of the back legs. Round the legs further.

Refine the details. Use the pencil to mark the facial features. Use the rough out knife to make a stop cut following the line of the upper eyelid. With your knife slightly angled, come into your stop cut from just below and remove the little sliver (this doesn’t need to be deep; you’re just defining the eye). Use this method to outline the rest of the eye. Next, use the pencil to create spiral rings going up and around the horn. Deepen the rings with the knife. Use the pencil to mark luscious, wavy curls in the bangs, mane, and tail. Use the knife to deepen the lines. Round the nose and carve out two small holes for nostrils. Round the ears. Use the ¼" (6mm) #8 gouge to gently scoop out the inside of the ears.

Paint the body. Dip the carving in boiled linseed oil. Allow the excess to drip off and wipe it down with clean paper towels. Note: Dispose of used paper towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the container, as oil-soaked rags can spontaneously combust. Once dry, apply a base coat of thinned parchment to the entire body of the unicorn. Paint the eyes antique white.

Paint the mane and tail. Paint different sections of the mane and tail with lavender, Navajo turquoise, and pink flash, alternating between colors.

Add shimmer. Apply a coat of dragonfly glaze to the entire body. Then use the pencil to mark a half-moon shape inside the eye. Paint navy, Navajo turquoise, and crocus yellow inside the half-moon and lightly blend the colors into one another. Add a very fine line of navy to the outer edge of the moon. Paint the base of the horn with pink flash. Paint the tip of the horn parchment, and then blend the colors into the center.

Finish the unicorn. Apply lamp black for the pupil and really exaggerate its size. Use a small paintbrush to add two white reflective dots where the pupil meets the iris. Use lamp black to add a few eyelashes to the outer edge of the eye. Paint a small amount of lamp black into the nostrils. Paint the hooves with eggplant. Let dry.

Patterns

To make the blank, cut along the dark perimeter line with a band saw. The inner detail lines are for reference only. All patterns are actual size.

Hoot Owl

Romantic Raccoon

Sleepy Fox

Mushroom House

Sassy Squirrel

Oma Elf

Friendly Gnome

Cheeky Toad

Darling Dragon

Tiny Woodsman

Wizard’s Rock

Forgetful Wizard

Simple Acorn & Leaves

Troll with a Will-o’-the-Wisp

Happy Hedgehog

Starlight the Unicorn

About the Author

I am first and foremost a mom; it’s my most favorite job and title. I stumbled upon carving in 2017 when I was going through a difficult time and needed something to learn. I believe that when you are going through tough things in life, you need to find a way to channel that energy toward positive things. It works. My great–grampa and great– great–grampa were Scandinavian master carvers—it is an art that I didn’t want to die out of our family. So, I thought I’d try my hand at it. It was love at first cut and the rest is history. I have been extremely blessed and fortunate to find some wonderful people in the carving community that have offered support and endless knowledge.

My daughter and I live in the sunny Southern Utah desert surrounded by the red rocks and a whole lot of heat. It’s my hope that one day she asks the question, “Mom, will you teach me how to carve?”