About
Carve a fox
If you’ve worked through the book in order, you should be gaining skill and confidence by now, ready to tackle some slightly more difficult figures. The fox has a few small, delicate features; these should be cut with the grain to make them as strong as possible. Therefore, make sure the grain is running vertically for this project. There’s a large chunk to remove at the outset, and you may want to use a saw to do this.
TIP
At the painting stage, the colors are mixed and stippled
to blend them together—at the top of the legs, for example. Practice this technique before attempting it on your carving; acrylics dry so fast that you won’t have much time to work
the paint.
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Step 10
Define the paws by cutting in from the front first and then slicing down to meet that initial cut. Maintain control so you don’t cut off the paw at the end of the cut. If you find it easier, for the front paws, you can first make a scooping cut down, then make some small notch cuts to define the angle of the paw.
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Step 11
The ears are still square at this stage and need to be more pointed. Carefully make some small paring cuts until you’re happy with the shape. Look around the piece and see what else needs to be done. At the bottom of the tail, you can use notching cuts to clean up the edges; everywhere else, use simple paring cuts.
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Step 12
The muzzle is one of the fox’s most important identifying features, so make scooping cuts under the chin and as many small paring cuts as necessary to make your figure as foxy as it can be. Make sure all the transitions are smooth. Finish with fine sandpaper, but go easy, because you
can take off a lot of material quickly on such a small piece. Drill a hole for your toothpick, and you’re ready to paint.