Second Attempt

[Carlo83]

Hi as my second try project, im trying to do a little Christmas tree, is not well made as the video but its a beginning:
image_26198.jpg
then i Want to paint it, then what is the procedure to paint it, i mean, i saw that the used colours are Acrylic (checked on the video on the web):
- Any Acrylics are good ? some brand that you use?
- are there some pre/post product to put on them? can you give me the name, english is not my first language then some times is not clear from the video?

Thanks,
Carlo.

[Randy]

Acrylics are the paints many of us use. some use a base coat of gesso primer to seal the wood others may thin the paint with water using it more like a stain and some use the paint itself. You could test different ways on some scrap to see what you like.
Here is another christmas tree project . The free pattern is just below the tool list.
https://woodcarvingillustrated.com/b...hristmas-tree/

[DiLeon]

Acrylics are good...the cheap hobby paints sold at craft stores, Walmarts even on Amazon... that are in a two-ounce bottle are good. Later on, you may want to learn to mix your own colors with art colors. And if your want top color you may want to get into expensive acrylics. Lots of great Youtube videos out there on painting wood carvings. I do not use gesso, paint directly on the wood. I am into cost-effectiveness. Gesso is good when you want the clean bright colors to show up. Oil paint is great but takes forever to dry and expensive. Your tree is a great learning project on cutting and shaping.

[Eddy-Smiles]

Practice makes perfect! Good work!

[uvawyo]

Nice carving, Carlo!

[joepaulbutler]

Aw, you are hooked, good job, are you already looking for a new project?

[Poplar49]

Randy is correct that using a sealer will help. I use shellac as a sealer.

[Claude]

Nice tree, Carlo! I use the cheap hobby store acrylics for paint. The reason to seal the carving before painting is that the paint will soak into the wood on the end grain areas, as usually will be darker. Sealing prevents the paint from soaking in. I use the acrylic water-based varnish when I want to seal the wood. Can be either the gloss or the matte finish varnish. Unsually, one coat everywhere, then a second coat on the end grain, then paint.

Claude

[DiLeon]

One of the best things you can learn about painting is dry brushing on top of your first coat of paint. I do three coats of layer paint. One thing you do not want to do is plaster it on thick....three coats of thin paint are tons better then one coat of thick. Best place to learn how is Lora Irish site.....https://lsirish.com/tutorials/colori...ry-brushing-2/ She has great tips on painting wood carving.

[Carlo83]

Thanks everyone to share your experience, then if I've well Understood the step are are:
Seal -> Paint ->

Thanks a lot to gave the name of the product also, to have a start line.

@joepaulbutler I did 3 tree and the last one is not bad i want to sticky on this easy project for anotehr 3 try, after ill Change it, many of the 'easier' video are not easy for me yet. My goal is to gain manual skill but have a subject that i like, and i like Christmas subjects,gnome,santa,and animal, but not realistic copy, i have not a word to define them at moment maybe caricature could define what i mean.

randy yes i saw that tree and i love it, but without a video i dont know how carve it, infortuantely i never done anything of manual then my skill are really poor, in terms of imagination also. But yes i love it, and i really love the snowman style also.

Thanks everyone, you are a really positive community.

[yolli]

I like your tree... just stay on. I am a beginner too, 'working' on my first Santa... it makes fun, and I am happy to go on tomorrow.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Carlo,
The tree has come along nicely and is a vast improvement from the first effort!!!!! So well done that is the way to go. The thing about carving is that we ALL learn something new EVERY day. That is one of the things that makes it such fun. Seeing our skills develop is part of the thrill of doing it.

Am going to suggest a couple of things that should help you in your work. Just use what works for you and drop what doesn't.

In order to get the shape you want look at the work from all different angles as you carve. When doing this you often see the bits of wood that need to be removed to give you the result you want. The bits that need to be removed look out of place on the work. If you turn the work around you will just SEE what has to be removed.

Check which way the the grain cuts best. For your tree you need to get nice cuts from the bottom of the tree working toward the top. Then enables you to create the cone shapes without fighting the grain.

If you are making stacked cone shapes as the tree is shaped then at the top of the first cone when you think you have cut far enough in toward the centre in one spot. Cut a small strip of cardboard say 5mm wide and hold it under the bottom of the cone and mark it with a pencil. You now have a gauge that you can use as you work around the cone base to tell you exactly how far you have to cut in all the way around. The top of the cone will be exactly in the centre of the base of the next cone to be carved.

You could make the second cone smaller so that the tree tapers toward the top as you make each cone.

To get the shape you want mark the base of each cone all the way around the wood before you start cutting. you may find the tree is more aesthetically pleasing if for instance you had an extra cone in the same length of wood.

Don't be afraid to change a "Pattern to what looks good to you" At the end of the day it is your carving so make it how YOU think it should look. There is satisfaction in making something look a little better than the pattern you started out with.

I agree with the others about the painting use thin coats and build up the colour to the level you want. When you want to put fine detail on your work and in the not too distant future you will want to do that,then thick paint can kill your fine detail.

Lastly let your imagination run wild. You will be amazed at the variations on a theme that you will come up with. For instance you could make v shaped cuts all around each cone from cone bottom to top to make the impression of branches hanging downward from the top of the cone. Or a tiny bird on top of the tree.

Hope this is of some help to you.

Before I started carving I had no idea whatsoever on the perspective of things and the thought of carving animal potraits was just a dream. With watching what other guys have done and learning how they do things In a few short months I have learned to make reasonable animal portraits. I coudn't draw a picture to save my life and still cant so use photos and transfer the patterns to the wood. Find ways that work for you.

Guess what I'm saying here is don't give in just work towards your dream and make it real.

Looking forward to seeing your next piece of work .

Happy carving mate Rock on !!!!!!!

[Carlo83]

I think i can conclude my second project attempt, after 5 trees (first on the left last on the right) seems i have learned something, a sure thanks to the new knife a was able to work better:
Beaver Craft C15
IMG_20211127_162351_resized_20211127_042734622.jpg

Waiting for the coloro to begin to paint them.
What i have learned at moment that my big enemy are the sharpness of the knife, I bought a Lansky tool helped to do something, but my knife doesnt cut as should cut (or maybe is the wood), the beaver c15 have a thinner blade and seems work better then my other knife.

Next Step find a way to sharp as razor my knife i saw video but didnt helped me for the moment.

Thanks everyone for the advices!!!!!

[joepaulbutler]

Practice, practice, practice

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Carlo
I see what you mean by your comment . You got nice shape and form on the last 2 in the line. The centre line is a LOT better on these two as well. Well done. Some of the cuts look as if large pieces of wood have been removed. I would suggest lots of small thin cuts rather than big deep ones might work better for you at this stage.

I find lots of small cuts give you a lot more control over the tool and each cut makes less impact on the work so if you go a little deeper that you wanted it is not a big deal to re- shape the piece.

I re- shaped the entire face of an animal portrait 4 times on my last project before I got it right. . Ed who is a master at doing people busts Had the same issue on his current piece. So you see we ALL do it.

Looking forward to your next effort.