halfeye's going back to carving, painting done now, a little finish work left

[half eye]

second set of pics

[half eye]

Today consisted of finishing the left foot, ready for texture and burning, fitting the pikes' paired fins to the rock and in the proper attitude to expose the belly area to carve the "bite" which will be carved out. Also started laying out the tail feathers and relieving the flanks for the insertion of the six  added tail feathers to form a "fan".

I'm going to post the pics in 2-3 sets here. Now I'm going to start the finishing process by disassembling the piece and starting from the rock up. so I will post the wood burned pike after carving in the scales and bite damage, then the feet will get finished....and then the bird will get pounced on. It'll be a few days till I get the pike scaled.
rich 

[half eye]

next set

[half eye]

last ones

[Danzn Bar]

very "cool"...Rich..................
DBar

[wildman]

If I happen on a bald eagle skin I will send ya one along with water snake skins when I get a matched set!!!! Seriously Rich this is amazing art work.

[Gsulfridge]

Looking good!!

[JW_Halverson]

I have seen a lot of carved birds including plenty of carved raptors.  Many of them are fantastic works but spoiled by a minor thing like posture angles.  Your bird, Rich, is sitting at a very realistic and believable angle, and that's the thing that adds that last touch so that the whole thing is believable and lifelike. 

Every day I check this thread to see more details and it's like Christmas morning all over again. 

When it is finished, I would like a small set of digital photos so I can send them out to some raptor rehabbers I know.  They would all get a big charge out of this!

[half eye]

Thanks so much fellas, appreciate all the nice comments.

JW, thanks, means a lot from a man who knows his raptors. You are absolutely right on composition and attitude of subject. That's why I do all the rough-out work and early composition.....the idea is that the rough sculpture should give you the exact visual and feel as the finished work would. If the whole thing is right then it looks right....and if not something needs to change.

After all of your help the very least I could do is send you a set of pictures, both general and close-up shots. I can not thank you enough for the first-hand expertise, there is no substitute for having access to such knowledge.
rich

PS: will post up some burnt wood tomorrow.

[tattoo dave]

It's looking incredible already Rich! Nice work my friend.

Tattoo Dave

[half eye]

fellas, here are some photo's of the pike with the woodburning completed. It will need to have the dorsal and anal fins blended in, and coated with sanding sealer. After that he gets a final checkup and then a coat of gesso.....and then finally the paint job.

The scales are my least favorite job because it's so tedious but it's the only way to make them look real of the finished carving. enjoy the pics and if any questions please advise.
rich

[JW_Halverson]

Walleye be danged!

I would agree that would be tedious in the extreme. But the effect is amazing!

[lesken2011]

I too, am checking on this daily, Rich. You are a real master!

[half eye]

Hey Fellas, here's today's work so far.

The first 2 pics are actual fish to show some detail that you dont usually see in wildlife carvings. Pike have 8 sensory pores on the top of their head and have 6 or less pores (on @ side) on the bottom of their jaws.

The second set of pics is the carving detailing the head and a shot of the fin muscles with their partial scaling. Pics 1 and 2 are the pores and 3-4-5 show that the eyeballs are set correctly as the pupil follows you around. next thing is the jesso and paint.

[half eye]

sorry about the first 2.....they were too big, so here they are now
rich