Sara Barraclough - Quick Whittles: 16 Caricature Projects to Carve in a Sitting

People come into our lives in all sorts of disguises. So heres to my friend, who showed up disguised as the baldest, saltiest, sarcastic-est, scariest, rather intimidating, but really awesome carver of a guy named after a cowboy hat, Dave. For not only teaching me an incredible amount about how to become a better carver, but also about how to become a better human.

In a world where you can be anything... be kind. Because kind people are my kind of people.

2022 by Sara Barraclough and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

Quick Whittles is an original work, first published in 2022 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. The patterns contained herein are copyrighted by the author. Readers may make copies of these patterns for personal use. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.

Project Team

Acquisition editor: Kaylee Schofield

Editor: Colleen Dorsey

Designer: Chris Morrison

Project photography: Mike Mihalo

Step-by-step and other photography: Sara Barraclough

Specific images: )

Print ISBN 978-1-4971-0279-8

eISBN 978-1-6374-1075-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021951251

To learn more about the other great books from Fox Chapel Publishing, or to find a retailer near you, call toll-free 800-457-9112 or visit us at www.FoxChapelPublishing.com.

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For a printable PDF of the patterns used in this book, please contact Fox Chapel Publishing at , with 9781497102798 Quick Whittles in the subject line.

I am really excited to share this new group of projects with you! My hope is that there will be a takeaway for anyone and everyone to help build sand expand their skills and ideas. One of my favorite parts about carving is giving expression and life to the piece. Learning how to convey emotion in an inanimate project isnt always easy, and it takes practice, so dont get discouraged!

I have always loved the cartoonish or caricature style of art, which has carried into my preferred carving style. There is (in my opinion) a greater level of freedom in how much or how far you can stretch the expressions and silliness of the subject. This book is geared toward helping you become familiar with conveying expression and adding extra elements to your carving. These projects are intended to be stepping-stones, to help build an arsenal of sorts that you can apply to future carves and projects. Try swapping expressions from one carve to the next, change up the paint, and just have fun.

I wanted to provide a variety of different styles for eyes and mouths in these projects, and also convey a twist or new way of approaching ordinary subjects. These aspects will hopefully help you in your carving journey to learn how to make the ordinary just a little more extra. So think of the projects in this book as a blueprint or road map, not rules written in stone. As you learn some of the basics, you can start to stray from the path and put your own thumbprint on the projects.

With all of that said, approach this book with a lighthearted sense of humor and fun. Enjoy the process, and when you hit a roadblock... just wing it.

Sara

Keep in mind that the more you put into carving, the more you get out of it. There are a lot of resources out there to help you learn and grow your carving skills, but there is no one comprehensive guide to carving. The things I have covered in this section are the essentials and the tools and techniques that I have found to work, but that doesnt mean anything is the only way, the only tool, the only brand, etc. If you dont have a particular tool or the exact item that I have listed, use what you have and adapt it to the project!

As the projects in this book are geared toward whittling, the tool list is fairly short. When you boil it down to the absolute essentials, the only thing you truly need is wood and a sharp knife. With that said (and as is the case with just about every other skill that involves tools), there are tools that will make your journey in carving a little easier, as well as tools that will allow you to add different features to your carvings. The more you carve, the more this will make sense. Nevertheless, there is A LOT to be learned by figuring out how to do most of the work with just a knife.

North American basswood (comparable to linden or limewood in Europe) is the most commonly used wood among caricature carvers. It is a very clean wood with tight grain and is considered a soft wood. It generally doesnt contain a lot of knots or figure, which yields a very clean finished product. Keep in mind that not all basswood is created equal, so paying a little more for quality material is definitely worth it. All projects in this book were carved from basswood.

Note: For the purposes of this book and to keep things simple, the projects were all carved with a knife. However, there are places where a V-tool or gouge would make things a little easier. So, if you have a tool that you feel would be easier or more appropriate on a project, use it!

For the projects in this book, it isnt necessary to switch back and forth between a detail knife and a roughout knife. Carving (and whittling) does not require a huge arsenal of different knives and gouges. You can carve any project with just one carving knife. There is a variety of different knife handle shapes and blade lengths out there. There is no set rule for what blade to use for what cut. The most important thing is that you use a knife you are comfortable with.