5 Modelling

At the beginning of this project, I said you that I found the modelling section quite tricky. Don't let that put you off! It wasn't so much tricky to do, as tricky to describe what I was doing. 

Your dog, or whatever your subject, will be different. However, the process will be the same:

1. Stop, look and think:

• What are the 'high spots'? - where you will leave wood
• The lowest parts?  - nearest the background
• 'Watersheds'? - where we go downhill on either side of a line, or a high spot
• Changes of plane? - such as across the top of the snout and forehead
• What about the anatomy? - the bones underneath support and dictate the rest

2. Visualise the head in the wood. 

3. There is not a lot of wood to remove! This is quite a low relief carving, though it's big; so a lot of the lead is flat, just lightly skimmed. Take it easy. 

4. Main shapes first. Details always come last.