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Below are pictures of a study that I use to help show new carvers how to rough out a face. Most experienced carvers develop a process for carving a face and once this process is perfected they use it over and over. And although, the shapes of the faces can change...the process to develop the face is always the same. Notice that in this study the face is not finished. This study focuses on the rough out and shaping phase of the carving. It does not address actually finishing the carving (eyes, hair, nostrils, mouth, etc.) only the rough out and shaping process. Many carvers just starting out, want to do the detail work on a carving far to early in the carving process. They tend to focus on putting in the eyes and not spending enough time on setting the eye sockets, smile lines, etc. Hopefully, this study will help you understand some of the steps that are necessary before doing any of the detail work on a face.

Here we go:


Step 1 - Front	Step 1 - Side	Step 1 - Top
Step 1 - Layout plan and profile views: Front View - Layout the face profile, centerlines and ear locations. Divide the face into 1/3 (this is a general rule of thumb to keep things in proportion, but with caricature carving it is not always necessary) Side View - Layout face profile, centerlines and ear locations Top View - Layout centerlines

Step 2 - Front	Step 2 - Side	Step 2 - Top
Step 2 - Develop Shape of Head Front View - Round top of head and taper neck line Side View- Develop nose profile, block out ears and round top of head Top View - Taper sides of face from centerline along side of head to the bridge of the nose

Step 3 - Front	Step 3 - Side	Step 3 - Top
Step 3 - Develop Nose and Ear Areas Front View - Establish lines for eye sockets and taper ears Side View - Establish hat or hair line & sideburns, cut notch for the nose, cutout area along side of face to shape the nose, shape the ears Top View - Establish ear line to blend with the side of the face

Step 4 - Front	Step 4 - Side	Step 4 - Top
Step 4 - Eye Sockets, Smile Lines, Bridge of Nose Front View - Cut along side of face to develop temple area, Cut in notches to develop nose & smile lines, cut in the eye sockets Side View - Cut in forehead & hairline, notch in the bridge of the nose, cut in the sideburns, cut in the jaw and hairline around the back of the head Top View - Taper ears to blend with side of face

Step 5 - Front	Step 5 - Side	Step 5 - Top
Step 5 - Shape Ear and Mouth Area Front View - Notch in behind ears, extend smile lines with a v tool, mound the mouth area Side View- Cut in shape of mouth with a v tool, develop the lower lip with knife or gouge, finish shaping the ears Top View - Establish hair part and check for symmetry