A new carving project - a lion figurehead of the ship la Belle Poule

shota70

shota70

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good evening dear friends
Today I decided that in order to advance in the development of my carving skills and especially after seeing at a conference in Augsburg and here on the site.
After some deliberation, I perused the monographs I had at home, and chose the figurehead of the ship la Belle Poule (Which was given to me by my dear friend Thomas)- the lion.
I must admit that I understand that I may have taken a project that is too complex for my existing abilities, therefore I would be happy to receive from anyone who can assistance with guidance and advice on how to proceed with the project (appropriate tools, working methods and any relevant information).
In the first stage, I chose a boxwood whose dimensions are:
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I drew the outline of the lion figure and later sawed off the lump. I must note that I felt how the properties of the boxwood are expressed in the saw’s difficulty in sawing and also there were no wood chips but a thin wood powder.
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I started carving the contours using chisels and also electric drills.
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Friends this is the stage to influence and contribute to the development process of my carving skills :) :cool:

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Hi Shota,

It is not only the carving itself. Most important is to think in 3D. As you are working from 2 x 2D drawings you should train yourselve to see the figurene in 3D just before you. Then you can start to cut away the contours of the Lion so you roughly create the outer shape of the lion before you really start to carve.
If you have the 3D shape not in your mind yet you can start with shaping it in clay and use that as a template for your carving.
Clay is much more forgiving as you can just remove and add material. In carving you can only remove.
 
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I agree with Maarten, when I did some carving I look to pictures of lions and study the anatomy of the head. Printed a lot of pictures of it and keep looking to them till my mind sees the lion in 3D. Then starting to carve.
 
good afternoon dear friends
Today I focused on this figurehead project. After watching the lion of the ship, and of Ivan as well as of SZKUTNIK, I decided to start with a relatively small but complex part, the crown.
Screenshot_20220702-100124_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20220701-152230_Chrome.jpg
I started with a manual drawing of the arches that make up the crown as well as the emblem of the French royal house Fleurs-de-lis.
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then I made an measurements of the crown, as accurate is possible , first the diameter in its different areas - the base ring placed on the head as well as at different points of the four bows / curves And in the diamond in the crown.
The results of the measurements led me to cut two square blocks whose side is about 13 millimeters and the base ring diameter in the inner part is 9 millimeters and the outer 10.1 millimeters. I continued to make drawings of the Curves that make up the crown and the symbols between them.
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After I finished the measurements and drawings I proceeded to make the base ring of the crown placed on the lion's head. I first created the inner circle using the proxxon mf 70. I created the outside of the crown base with the wooden lathe of proxxon Db 250. I did not like the first attempt and therefore I created from the second block a new base that is not perfect, tech is better.
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Next I started to round the corners of the block where I would carve the symbol and also started to mark with a chisel the area of the bows.
Unfortunately in the last few minutes Murphy's Law gave its signals - I injured my thumb with a scalpel and a slightly wide and deep cut was formed. Apparently a combination of carelessness along with time pressure (I also wanted to suffice for sports training).
The bleeding stopped quickly with pressure and the wound was bandaged.
It seems to me that in the coming week I will return to the ship - Alert.
I also attach a picture of the variety of tools and chisels used by me at work.
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Without noticing them , about four hours of work have passed, slowly I realize that this is a complex project that will take a long time !
I do not commit to the result and quality, but as I said at the beginning it is the "Payment of tuition" that I have to "pay" to build relevant capabilities.
Wishing us all a continued happy weekend and a good and blessed week :)
 
This is a HUGE undertaking Shota and one that speaks of your courage and commitment. I will continue to watch and support - more than that I will not be able to contribute.
 
very good start of your work on the lion - hope you enjoy this kind of work - very good work
 
shota70 said:
good afternoon dear friends
Today I focused on this figurehead project. After watching the lion of the ship, and of Ivan as well as of SZKUTNIK, I decided to start with a relatively small but complex part, the crown.
View attachment 316771View attachment 316772
I started with a manual drawing of the arches that make up the crown as well as the emblem of the French royal house Fleurs-de-lis.
View attachment 316751View attachment 316750View attachment 316773
then I made an measurements of the crown, as accurate is possible , first the diameter in its different areas - the base ring placed on the head as well as at different points of the four bows / curves And in the diamond in the crown.
The results of the measurements led me to cut two square blocks whose side is about 13 millimeters and the base ring diameter in the inner part is 9 millimeters and the outer 10.1 millimeters. I continued to make drawings of the Curves that make up the crown and the symbols between them.
View attachment 316748View attachment 316749View attachment 316754View attachment 316760View attachment 316761View attachment 316762View attachment 316763
After I finished the measurements and drawings I proceeded to make the base ring of the crown placed on the lion's head. I first created the inner circle using the proxxon mf 70. I created the outside of the crown base with the wooden lathe of proxxon Db 250. I did not like the first attempt and therefore I created from the second block a new base that is not perfect, tech is better.
View attachment 316758View attachment 316759View attachment 316747View attachment 316756View attachment 316757View attachment 316755
View attachment 316753
Next I started to round the corners of the block where I would carve the symbol and also started to mark with a chisel the area of the bows.
Unfortunately in the last few minutes Murphy's Law gave its signals - I injured my thumb with a scalpel and a slightly wide and deep cut was formed. Apparently a combination of carelessness along with time pressure (I also wanted to suffice for sports training).
The bleeding stopped quickly with pressure and the wound was bandaged.
It seems to me that in the coming week I will return to the ship - Alert.
I also attach a picture of the variety of tools and chisels used by me at work.
View attachment 316746View attachment 316743View attachment 316742View attachment 316741
Without noticing them , about four hours of work have passed, slowly I realize that this is a complex project that will take a long time !
I do not commit to the result and quality, but as I said at the beginning it is the "Payment of tuition" that I have to "pay" to build relevant capabilities.
Wishing us all a continued happy weekend and a good and blessed week :)
Click to expand...
Hi Shota,

The picture with the band aid and the carving shows it all, perseverance and dedication to do this. You will definately get it done.
 
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good evening dear friends
Tonight after the thumb recovered, I went back to creating the lion’s crown.
I worked with small chisels, a small dermal and drills in different sizes and shapes.
I decided to make a bow and a clover leaf that is between a pair of bows.
It is important to say that I am at the very beginning of the process, however the configuration of the crown is created from this beautiful block of wood.
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Good evening friends
I would like to update that today I have created another failure in the process of creating the crown. The main reason for this is the reckless and careless use of dermal mills. There are things that are not right to do with them, but with chisels.
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Life has taught me that from any failure I can and should correct the methods and improve the results.
In the next few days I will start the process again if a new piece of boxwood
 
Mostly when it goes wrong with those mills is when you're not patience and want to mill to much wood at one time. Or use the wrong cutter. It's a learning curve. Good that you don't give up.
Looking what you achieve to make and thinking how I should do it. I would first make the outside form in shape, before I would hollow the crown from the inside. This is the way to pay attention to the material where you working with and how fragile it is.
 
Good evening friends
Today I devoted almost 7 hours to creating the second attempt of the crown.
I changed the methods little bit, a gave more place to the chisels and less to the dermal and milling.
I think today that today I created a new crown that came better than the first try.
I will let you be impressed by the result through the pictures.
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Wishing us all a happy weekend and a blessed week
 
Great job shota what you have done there is quite an achievement. I know how difficult it is to carve in such small detail, your progress is very impressive.
 
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