Post #163772 by Benzart on Sun, Jun 5, 2005 3:16 PM

Swank, you will find taht to get the proper look, that a lot of wood will have to come off as you go. I should say you Are Finding..
This is one of the reasone you don't want to start on 1 feature and finish it, because you may have to remove it and "Move it Down" an inch or so to get the correct perspective.
He is definately looking better now that you are evening things out. As far as not wanting to remove the eye and the best way to do it? You have to lower it which is a good thing in this case because it gets them back even again. Just Lop it off a layer at a time with a flat chisel.
You can expect many issues that must be resolved before you are done. Actually if you look at it that way, the whole carving is a set of problems that need to be resolved, a feature at a time. Each step is a puzzle that needs to be solved and each step is different. Work it a little here and a bit there and then some over there and pretty soon you will see the answers lining up to the finish.
Its like you start with a basic drawing on the log and that gets refined as you go and the 1 demensional becomes 2 dimensional then it begins to look alive. You can stop anywhere in between basic and lifelike. Think of all the carvings you have seen some basic, some pretty good and some highly refined and finished. it is all in the amount of time you put into resolving all the little riddles.
Keep going, you are doing great!