Ebook Carving the Little Guys Easy Techniques for Beginning Woodcarvers Fox Chapel Publishing SkillBuilding Introduction to the Art of Caricature Carving Wood Tools Sharpening Finishing More Keith Randich 0783324950069 Books

Product details Paperback 32 pages Publisher Fox Chapel Publishing (May 1, 2013) Language English ISBN-10 1565237757

Carving the Little Guys Easy Techniques for Beginning Woodcarvers Fox Chapel Publishing SkillBuilding Introduction to the Art of Caricature Carving Wood Tools Sharpening Finishing More Keith Randich 0783324950069 Books Reviews

• When I decided to pick up a caricature carving book I was thrilled by the number of titles available. This excitement soon turned to confusion as I tried to decide which books to add to my cart and which to leave on the shelf. A large part of the problem was that most of the books within the field of caricature carving seemed to carry a 4 or 5 star rating which prevented me from enacting Rule No.1 of my AMAZON RULE OF PURCHASE which states All things being equal, purchase the item with the highest customer rating. So with Rule No.1 nullified I found myself pouring over page after page of LOOK INSIDE in an attempt to narrow down my choices. Unfortunately, that wasn't much help either so I took the unprecedented step of just buying EVERY caricature carving book I could find that carried a 4 or 5 star rating.
  
  10 days and 5 titles later I'm ready to offer you my feedback, based on a few essential criteria, in the hopes that I'll save you both the time and the money I invested. Before I get to my ratings, let me run down the criteria I used to make my assessments
  
  1) Larger books with good color photography trump smaller books with black & white photography.
  2) Books that provide step-by-step instruction are far superior than photographic collections of finished projects.
  3) Books that provide complete instruction, from wood selection to painting techniques, are better than books offering scant or piecemeal instruction.
  4) Because individual carvers have unique styles, I found that the books that contained the works of numerous carvers were far more instructional than those containing the works of just one carver.
  
  With those 4 criteria in mind, my top 5 caricature carving books are
  
  1) Caricature Carving Expert Techniques & 30 All-Time Favorite Projects ~ The BEST of the bunch. Wonderful photographs outlining the steps required to carve the works of numerous different artists. Instructions run from wood selection all the way to paint selection with everything in between including which tools to use. If you have a limited budget or you just want to own one caricature carving book then this is the one for you. 5 STARS
  
  2) Caricature Carvers Showcase ~ Unlike the #1 selection, this title does not include ANY step-by-step instructions on carving so if you're looking for an instructional guide, this ISN'T it. So why do I rate it so highly? Because it contains wonderful color photographs of the work of 50 different carvers; and while it's a mystery HOW the artists created their work, you can't help but shake your head in amazement at the finished product. 4½ STARS
  
  3) Whittling Little Folk ~ A smaller text from a single artist. The work here is more basic than most caricature carvers which is not necessarily a bad thing for the novice carvers among us. Good step-by-step color photography. The first 2 projects are covered in detail from wood selection to final coat of paint. The final 15 or so projects are described in far less detail. Not as flashy as some of the other titles, but this one grew on me and was actually the source book for my very first carving effort. 4 STARS
  
  4) Caricature Carving from Head to Toe ~ A decent text that contains thorough, step-by-step instructions and photographs leading to the creation of an elderly gentleman caricature. The book contains the work of just one artist so you'll garner just one perspective which I think is a major limitation. A gallery of the artists work rounds out the text, and while his work is of the highest quality it's not as varied as that of a collection of artists. 3 STARS
  
  5) Carving the Little Guys ~ With just 31 pages this is more of a pamphlet than a book. The text is again the work of a single artist who's forte appears to be basic caricatures. Good photographs instruct the reader in the production of just a single, basic caricature (is the black thing under his nose a tongue or a moustache?). Overall, rather disappointing. 2 STARS
  
  So there you have it, I hope that saves you the time I lost as well as the money I spent!
• ... you like to learn the basics, then quickly branch out into doing your own thing, or experimenting. If you are looking for "insert Tab A into Slot B" instructions for every Little Guy pictured on the cover, you may not like this.
  
  As other reviewers noted, the book is thin - only 31 pages. But the majority of that is taken up with detailed instructions for how to carve one Little Guy, complete with large, detailed pictures. Then there are several pages of information on how to modify that basic form into anything you want (with more good, clear pictures).
  
  That's what I love best about it! I've never been very good at doing the simpler, beginner pieces when learning a new hobby. I always want to jump ahead to something of my own design. It's a curse, and has caused me a lot of grief in the past, as sometimes I'm not ready, skill-wise, to do that, and I end up frustrated. But this book is set up perfectly for that. You learn the basics on the detailed project, then you can take off on your own, modifying and experimenting, with tips from the book.
  
  Will I screw up a lot of Little Guys before I start getting them the way I want them? Probably. But that's okay! It's part of the process of learning any new skill. And just to reiterate, it's not a total free-for-all - the basic instructions are very detailed and more than sufficient to get you on your way. I am a brand new carver with no past experience and no particularly inherent skill at it, but my first Little Guy turned out pretty darned good - not as good as the book's example, but way better than I expected - following those first detailed instructions.
  
  A note about wood, in case anyone is doing what I did. I saw this book on another website sold as a kit, with 9 blocks of basswood to carve the Little Guys. I only came here initially to read reviews on the book (as the other site didn't have any). I thought maybe those blocks of wood were specially selected to be the exact size you needed to carve Little Guys, and it might save me the trouble of finding some place to buy wood. But it was pricey ($20 for the kit, so about $11 just for the wood). In the end I decided to buy the book from and wait and see what the requirements were for wood. I'm glad I did. That kit was pointless, as the author recommends starting with blocks that are 1" x 1" by 2" - and none of the blocks in the kit were that size anyway. I got a bag of different size basswood blocks from my local Michael's Craft for about $5 or $6 and they are perfect for carving these guys. (They ranged from 1 x 1 1/2 to 1 x 2, and I did trim them to 1x1 using a bandsaw, but you could trim them with any small saw, or just carve the extra bits away, or just make your Little Guy a slightly different size).
  
  The author recommends starting with basswood because it's easy to carve (true!) but also says you can use anything carveable, and recommends experimenting with found wood - I love that concept, and not being told I HAVE TO buy such and such particular, expensive piece of something in order to do this. In theory, except for a good knife, you could carve a village full of Little Guys (and Gals) without spending another dime. That's my kind of hobby.
  
  So, to sum up, if you're okay with learning some very detailed basic instructions, then moving on to experimenting, this book couldn't be better. I can't wait to try all the ideas I have, and since they're adorably small and inexpensive to make, I can experiment to my heart's content without breaking the bank. I'm really, really glad I got this book, and have a feeling it will amuse me and keep me busy for a long time. (Little Guys are addicting!)
• Maybe if you were just starting carving, there is not enough detail in this book.
  
  First, the brief section on honing is very inadequate. He could have included some polishing compounds and grit. There are also commercially available honing kits (see - Flexcut).
  
  Next, the safety section didn't even mention a carving glove for the hand not holding the knife. Not guarding your "off" hand is extremely dangerous. Again, there are some on . I have a problem getting the right fit on gloves, so I went to a wood working store so I could try them on.
  
  As far as a carving guide, there are no patterns, and he only shows how to do one character. You will find more and better instructions on YouTube.
  
  I was expecting more about how to carve figures, with some attention to eyes, mouth and the other hard parts.
• I suppose weather you like and enjoy this book will depend upon what you are looking for. This book is rather brief consisting of only about 30 pages. It gives you the basics and then shows you via picture and written work how to carve (Whittle) one figure using a block of wood.
  
  To be honest once you carve this one wooden figure you should, with out much trouble, carve out just about and sort of figure which will be limited by your imagination only.
  
  Now that being said, I have had experience in carving (I no expert, it’s just that I did not just fall off the pickle wagon when it comes to this art form). I did did not want a 500 page book covering everything step by step (Joe Friday “just the facts m’am, just the facts). The basic cuts gave me what I wanted and added to my enjoyment.
  
  This book gave me just what I needed but I suspect that this would not hold true for all – depending upon your experience.
  
  Give this one a 3.5 stars