Carved wooden bear. How to carve a bear from wood: description, tools, finishing of the sculpture How to make a bear from wood
You should start making three-dimensional figures with your own hands only after familiarizing yourself with the rest of the techniques and techniques of carving. A particularly popular theme for creating wooden sculptures is the image of a bear.
Design wooden sculpture carved bear
This mighty owner of the forest has inspired creativity among craftsmen since ancient times. It can be said that no animal appears so often in carved art as the bear.
The choice of wood for work largely depends on the size of the carved figure. So, for making a small figurine of a bear, large branches and small logs can be useful. The main thing is that the material is free of damage, cracks and signs of rotting. For large sculptures, thick, massive logs are chosen.
Experienced woodcarvers recommend that beginners use rectangular bars. It is easier to transfer the image onto the block and the spatial perception of the future sculpture will be better. As for wood species, the most common are:
Wood for carving must be well dried - no more than 15% humidity. Products made from material with high humidity will begin to crack and warp when dry. Dry the workpieces better at home, in a warm place, wrapped in polyethylene.
Although it is recommended that beginners start with soft wood, its structure is much easier to cut through with a loose motion than harder varieties. Therefore, in some cases it is more convenient to use harder wood.
Equally important in carving is a convenient, high-quality and well-sharpened tool. You will need the following set:
DIY carved bear sculpture
So, inspiration and a suitable image of the future sculpture have been found, and the tools have been sharpened, which means you can start making a carved bear with your own hands.
The main stages of creating a sculpture from wood To make a bear sculpture or any other three-dimensional figure
the following actions are performed:
How to carve a bear's head
Since the head and muzzle of a bear is the most difficult part to carve, before creating a full-fledged sculpture, it is better to practice a little and carve the head of the animal separately. 
Example of step-by-step cutting of a bear
The principles for creating a carved sculpture of a bear will differ little from the basic recommendations for creating three-dimensional compositions. The sketch is transferred to wood, and the bear is cut out in several stages - from rough finishing to detailing small features. 
Rough finish large sculpture can be done with a chainsaw. The space between the legs must be cut out with an adze. Sometimes it makes sense not to cut down the legs of a bear until the detailed work on the upper part of the animal has been done. This way, the stop will be more reliable and there is no risk of breaking the legs of the workpiece.
Some craftsmen polish the figurine before detailed work, and only after that the fur and small parts of the sculpture are shaped.
This method is faster than lengthy rounding of parts with cutters and chisels. The only drawback is that the tool becomes dull faster on a polished surface.
Manufacturing carvings DIY requires experience. In this type of applied art, mastery and full understanding of the process can only come with time. Although, once you have mastered the basic carving techniques, it will not be difficult to carve a decorative bear sculpture for your garden or interior.
One of the most popular characters that wood carving offers is the bear. The traditional hero of Russian fairy tales could not help but find a visual embodiment in such an artistic direction as wood carving. You will learn from this article how to carve a cute bear yourself, what tools you will need to work on the sculpture and what you need to use to process it later.
Wood selection
To make a bear you will need soft wood. Each master decides for himself which material to choose. Refer to the description of the wood.
Optimal wood species for carving:
- Linden. It deservedly ranks first on this list, as it is lightweight and soft material. It is not afraid of drying out and cracking, it cuts well and, in general, is considered a convenient wood for processing.
- Willow. This wood can also be called light, tough, and elastic. Willow is easy and convenient to cut, grind and polish. Ripe wood is perfect for sculptural work, including a three-dimensional bear.
- Aspen. And even a beginner will be comfortable working with this material. The wood is resistant to low temperatures, to light, moisture and even acid. Master carvers highly value aspen, since this wood allows you to make cuts in any direction, the wood will not chip or wrinkle.
You can also consider poplar, alder, walnut, birch and chestnut options. If the sculpture is for the garden, you can take a closer look at larch. Without treatment it will crack, but this issue can be resolved.
Required Tools
If you're just starting out, don't put off collecting carving tools. Each master has his own set, although there are also universal options.
The tools you will definitely need are:
- Hacksaw, hatchet. If the sculpture is large, you may also need a chainsaw. These tools are required for rough initial trimming of the figure.
- Adze. It is used for rough cutting of parts of the figure, those that are smaller.
- Cutters. This is the name given to knives with a beveled short blade.
- Blunt knives. Required for a number of small tasks.
- Chisels. Useful for rough notching, background sampling, and detail work. Vary in width cutting edge. They can be curved, as well as flat, oblique, etc.
- Bogorodsky knife. Equipped with a straight, short blade, it is practically indispensable in the creation of wooden products.
- Sander, rasps, sandpaper– needed for finishing carved figures.
If the product has through holes, you will need a drill.
Stages of creating a carved bear
Before starting work, make sure that the tools are in good condition and sufficiently sharpened. You should start carving a bear from wood by creating a sketch. This means that the bear must appear on the paper first. It’s good if you can depict it in several projections - front, rear, side views.
Wooden sculpture - bear step by step:
- Sketch to be transferred to the workpiece. It will be more convenient to transfer the contours of the image onto a rectangular block. And if your sketch is drawn up in a number of projections, then try to work with a rectangular blank.
- Making a molded model. And this stage should not be skipped either. The sculptor must first embody the conceived figure of the bear in plasticine (or clay). This will be a guideline for the sculptor’s work - in front of him there will be a three-dimensional figure, the contour of which he will repeat on the tree.
- Rough cutting. Next with wooden block you should remove all excess that remains behind the contour, hatchet or saw. Small parts need to be cut out with an adze. Sculpture including rectangular parts, assumes output to 4 faces.
For the bears big size Primary processing of wood is often carried out with a chainsaw - Work on the relief. The carver must remove the corners of the figure with cutters and chisels. After this, the silhouette will begin to be visible. But it’s still too early to round off the craft.
- Detailing. The time has come for filigree detailing. The master proceeds to the formation of such small elements as wool with all the features of its texture. At this stage, the carver works with a chisel, jambs and a Bogorodsk knife.
- Grinding. Next, the master takes sandpaper or a grinding machine.
The work will be completed by treating the figure with varnish, wax or stain, i.e. those means that will protect the bear from external influences. 
The most difficult step for a carver can be making the head. It’s great if, even before work, you have decided on a drawing or photo, a finished sketch of a bear’s head. Beginner carvers make a stencil for carving, working in three projections - front view, back view and profile. Then the master takes a suitable block and transfers the contours of the animal’s head without detailing.
After this, the excess pieces of wood are cut off (except for the bottom). You should not cut off the lower base, since the master must comfortably hold on to the workpiece, because further small parts will need to be cut out. The bottom base is removed last.
Next, the craftsman will apply additional graphic lines to the angular blank - nose, ears, forehead and brow ridges. The carver grinds the head with semicircular chisels and jambs. Then he works out the little things and rounds them off with a Bogorodsk knife.
How to process the finished sculpture?
If the sculpture is outdoor, no matter what height and overall size it is, such a figure is located in a deliberately aggressive environment. And her condition is more difficult to control than the condition of the figure that will be in the house.
For processing garden sculptures can be used:
Synthetic compounds can also increase the weather resistance of wood, but a mixture is considered a universal, time-tested product beeswax with linseed oil. You can do it simpler: cover the bear with stain of the desired shade, and after it dries, apply a couple of layers of varnish to the figure.
This video shows how to make a sculpture of a little bear out of wood.
If you do not have such experience in wood carving, and the bear will be your first such work, do not take on complex sketches with labor-intensive detailing. You can start with a small figure or even a separate carved bear head. A skill is strengthened by experience, and the path to the top (in this case, mastery) always begins with the first step.
Happy creativity!
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Wooden carved bear
The large statue is considered the most complex look artistic carving on wood. You should start making large figures with your own hands only after familiarizing yourself with the rest of the techniques and techniques of carving. A particularly popular theme for creating wood sculptures is the image of a bear.
Wooden Carved Bear Statue Design
This mighty owner of the forest has encouraged craftsmen to create since time immemorial. We can say that no animal appears so often in carved art as the bear.
Material and tools
The choice of wood for work in almost everything depends on the size of the carved figure. So, to produce a small bear figure you may need large branches and small logs. The main thing is that the material is free of damage, cracks and signs of decay. For huge sculptures, thick, powerful logs are chosen.
Experienced woodcarvers advise new ones to use rectangular bars for sculptural carving. It is easier to transfer the image onto the block and the spatial perception of the future statue will be better. As for tree species, the most common are:
The structure of the linden tree is light and unblemished, without a pronounced pattern. The wood species does not warp much and does not actually crack.
Read also
Figurine of a carved bear made of nuts
The wood for carving must be perfectly dried - less than 15% humidity. Products made from material with high humidity will begin to burst and warp when dry. It is better to dry the workpieces at home, in a warm place, wrapped in plastic.
Although beginners are advised to start with soft wood, its structure is much easier to cut through with an imprecise motion than harder varieties. Therefore, in some cases it is more convenient to use harder wood. More important in carving is a successful, high-quality and well-sharpened tool. How to carve a bear from wood with your own hands. In the photo: only people can make similar wood products using a chainsaw with their own hands to an experienced master
- . You will need the following set of carving tools: A hacksaw, a hatchet, and for huge sculptures you may need chainsaw
. These tools are needed for rough initial cutting of the workpiece.
Chisels. Designed for rough notching, sampling the background and working out the details of a carved figure. They can have different cutting edge widths. The shapes are curved, flat, oblique, semicircular, spear-shaped (rivets).
A drill for drilling through holes, if any. Sculpture from wood chainsaw
. This is gorgeous! You will be amazed! A man makes a sculpture out of DIY chainsaw wood
. Great video.
Chainsaw carving a small, simple sculpture. first I cut it out chainsaw
, then I’ll work a little with chisels
DIY carved bear sculpture So, inspiration and a suitable image of the future sculpture have been found, and the tools have been sharpened - which means you can start making.
DIY carved bear
Read also
The main stages of creating a sculpture from wood
To make a sculpture of a bear or any other three-dimensional figure, perform the following steps:
How to carve a bear's head
How to carve a bear's head
Example of step-by-step cutting of a bear
The parts are rounded with a Bogorodsk knife, and thin shavings are removed with gentle movements. Small elements, the cutout of eyes, ears, mouth and fur are processed with small chisels.
The head is wiped of shavings and dust and you can begin decorative processing.
Bear sculpture
The principles for creating a carved sculpture of a bear will differ little from the basic recommendations for creating three-dimensional compositions. The sketch is transferred to wood, and the bear is cut out in several stages - from rough finishing to detailing small features. 
A rough finish on a large sculpture can be done with a chainsaw. Work on creating a wooden sculpture of a figure consisting of wood with your own hands; The space between the legs must be cut out with an adze. Sometimes it makes sense not to cut down the legs of a bear until the detailed work on the upper part of the animal has been done. How to make a circular grinder with your own hands. This way, the stop will be more reliable and there is no risk of breaking the legs of the workpiece.
First, we’ll make a figure from plasticine - it’s easier to work with, change shapes, sizes and proportions.
Also, guidelines can be drawings from different angles. And the simplest thing is real photographs of the necessary forms.
We scale the figure of the bear onto the log. The chosen material is linden.
For roughing, an ax and impact chisels are used - straight and semicircular.
In our case, the diameter of the log is not enough - we increase the material for the front paws.
We adjust the board (also linden or similar in density - important!) and glue it together using clamps and screws.
For the claws we also glue on the plastic, taking into account that there will be fish in the paws.
We apply wool and fit the fish under its paws and claws.
Cover the first layer with stain. This prevents the material from cracking (our log closer to the core is partially dry - about 14% moisture content).
We are finalizing small details.
After thoroughly sanding the first layer, taking into account the natural color, apply a second layer of stain.
Sand again with coarse-grained sandpaper, then with fine-grained sandpaper.
Salmon
In our composition, another character is a fish. It’s a little easier here; using the plasticine sketch as a guide, we prepare the blank. Material - linden
