How To Carve a Sculpture

Basic Steps for Wood Carving

This tutorial demonstrates the process of carving a relief design into wood, focusing on preparation, safety, and the use of common gouges and chisels.

Essential Tools & Preparation

• Safety: Always use an anti-cut glove on the hand holding the wood.
• Design Transfer [00:00:27]: Draw your design directly onto the wood or use carbon paper to transfer a design from a sketch.
• Tools: The primary tools used are gouges (curved cutting edges) and straight chisels.
• Sharpening: Ensure all tools are sharp. A razor-sharp edge is key to control and safety.

Core Carving Techniques

• Outline with a V-Gouge [00:00:46]: Use a V-gouge to cut the entire outline of your drawing. This establishes a "stop cut" boundary for your design.


• Separate/Isolate the Design [00:01:28]:
  • Use a straight chisel or a wide gouge to cut around the entire outline, sinking the background area a few millimeters lower than the main design.
  • This makes the design stand out and defines the edge of the relief.


• Background Leveling [00:01:58]: Use a flat chisel to level the background area, removing material to create a clean, consistent depth for the relief.


• Internal Shaping and Relief [00:02:44]:
  • Start working on the interior of your design using smaller gouges to create depth, shadows, and curves.
  • The key is to use the curves of the gouges to scoop out and shape the wood to give the design a 3D, non-flat appearance.


• Detailing and Finishing [00:03:10]:
  • Use a small, sharp V-gouge to add fine lines, textures, and small details (like veins on a leaf or hair).
  • Clean up any unwanted wood fibers or uneven edges with small, controlled cuts.

Video Credit: Unleash your creativity : wood carving! Tutorial by KK woodcarving, published on August 2, 2025.