Wood carving is a form of woodworking by which an artist creates a sculpture or decorative object by cutting, chiseling, and sanding a piece of wood. The most common type of wood carving is relief carving, in which the artist carves an image into the surface of the wood. A variety of tools are used for wood carving, but most carvers use hand tools such as knives, chisels, and gouges. The following tips on wood carving for beginners will set you up for starting right.
Relief carving is one of the oldest and most popular forms of wood carving. In relief carving, the artist carves an image into the surface of the wood. The three-dimensional quality of relief carving makes it ideal for creating statues, plaques, and other sculptural objects. Most relief carvings are done with hand tools such as knives, chisels, and gouges.
One advantage of using hand tools for relief carving is that they allow the artist to work in a more spontaneous and expressive way than power tools do. Another advantage is that hand tools require less setup time than powertools; thus they are often used for quick sketches or studies prior to starting work on a larger piece.