Think I had a breakthrough.

Brandon Yuchasz

Brandon Yuchasz

Well-known member
I have been carving for a while now and my heads have all looked the same for a while now. I have been able to crank out a head fairly quickly from memory transfering from patern to blank by eye and cutting away.

Lately I have been thinking about different styles,woods, paints and my lack of my own style. A few nights ago I was carving on a Bluebill and check a refernce photo and a light went off. I set the blank down and picked up a head waiting to be sanded and started cutting. How the hell I didn't see it before I dont know but I sure was missing the entire shape because of the way I was laying in the eye channel. I finished held it up and looked at it. Smiled and started to laugh. My wife would have thought I had lost it except she is used to me by now.

I just finished taking the knife to three more Bluebill head that were sanded and eyes set but I just could not stand to look at them until I tried to fix it. It is exstreamly difficult to carve and sand after the eyes are set!

Anyway I just wanted to share since I know many of you carve and probably had a similar thing happen.

Work might have sucked and it might be cold outside but tonight was a good night because I got better at this!

How the heck did I not see that before !!!

:)
 
OK Charlie,
I know how everyone loves the pictures.

The one on the left is the before the light turned on the one on the right is the one I had set down to sand and the picked back up and fixed.

09-03-23-carving01.jpg


09-03-23-carving02.jpg


09-03-23-carving03.jpg

 
I've not progressed in life to carving decoys yet, so maybe I'm missing your point. If so, forgive me, but I like the chunky, aggressive detail the head on the right displays. There's sort of an inverted jaw-line that you picked up that really well that is a better representation of the picture behind it. I hope you don't sand it too much! Very nice!
 
Brandon - Looking good. When viewing a duck head from head on, you should see a figure eight meaning the crown is smaller part of the oval and the cheeks larger. I see that in your heads. Great start. Also, when carving your bill, you should see an "M" from head on. These are just references and interim guides to look for in a good head.

You're doing well my friend. Keep up the good work and God bless!
 
I realize a picture is worth a 1000 words, but I will need a few actual words to explain what the breakthrough was. I am not good enough to figure it out.
 
Andy,
I dont think the pictures really point anything out. The break through for me ( if there really was one) was that I stopped carving by the numbers and started taking off material until it replicated what I am seeing. I just hope I can translate it into bodies and paint next. I was following the rule to learn to carve round from point a to point b. Which of course I still need to do but I wasnt seeing the fact that even though it was round I needed to cut deeper and remove more material to make it look like what I feel a duck in that possition looks like from that angle.
 
Brandon - Looking good. When viewing a duck head from head on, you should see a figure eight meaning the crown is smaller part of the oval and the cheeks larger.
Click to expand...


this is a good description of what I Brandon is now doing. If you look at the picture in the background of his photo you can really see the shape. Both heads are nice but the one on the right has the correct front profile.
 
and by the appearance on the deke's bill to the right, withough the eyes, it was the knife breakthrough the skin!! you appear to have even picked up the widening of the bill at the end! just keep playing--the dna profule is a must on beginning dekes!!!
 
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