Monster Head Study No. 3 - Wizened Old Man

Dug North's Monster Head Study No. 3

It's been a while since I shared with you one of my little monster head studies. The weathered and wrinkled old face shown here was the third that I made last winter. For a little background, here is where you can catch up on my posts about Monster Head Study No. 1 and Monster Head Study No. 2. Basically, I carve these heads when I feel stuck.

As with the first two monster heads, this one started out as a 1 inch diameter hardwood ball obtained in a package of 12. I believe they are birch. The are free of knots, which creates a nice clean look. However, they are very hard and difficult to hold and carve with conventional carving tools.

To deal with the hardness of the wood, I tried for the first time my tungsten carbide carving burrs. These 1/8 inch shank Kutzall carving burrs are made for rotary tools such as the Dremel or something like the higher-end Foredom rotary tools (also on my wish list). I used an inexpensive Dremel tool. I have a cylindrical one and a long tapered like the one shown in the photograph to the right. As advertised, the teeth on these burrs are sharp, remove material rapidly, and do not become clogged easily. Isn't it nice when advertisements turn out to be true? I am impressed with these burrs; I plan on buying the other shapes in time.

This carving didn't take me long to make, though I removed a lot of material -- probably because I was power-carving most of the time. For the dark lines above the eyes, I used a Dremel with a 1/4 inch Dremel sanding drum mounted in it. I allowed the spinning drum to burn the wood a little bit by leaving it in one place for a few moments. I like this technique for doing eyebrows, while simultaneously carving out the hallows for the eyes and defining the cheek bones. The squinty eyes were done with a basic woodburing tool.

By far the most human of the faces so far, this figure looks to be an old man. While experimenting with various things, used some black masking tape to create the pieces on his chin and sides of the head. I got used to seeing the head that way, so I eventually replaced the tape with thin pieces of black leather from an old wallet. In truth, I am not sure what those things are. The black piece on his chin might be a beard, but it could also be some sort of ceremonial false beard like those worn by Egyptian pharaohs as a sign of their divinity. In this fellow's case, I don't think it has anything to do with divinity! The pieces on the sides of his head could be ears or radically styled hair. Once again, my impression is this is a headdress of some sort. Together, the beard, headdress, weathered face, and grimace give me the overall impression that this must be some type of wizard, warlock, or alchemist. Whatever he is, I don't trust him.

I hope you enjoy these little carved monster heads; there are many more monsters to come. I have even worked on a new one recently, though I didn't do it because I felt stuck!

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Monster Head Study No. 2 - beady-eyes & fangs

Back in April, I told you a bit about a creative block that I experienced during the winter months and how making little wooden monster heads saved me. My idea was to get into the workshop, use my tools, maintain my tools as needed, and produce something in during each short session. I promised to show you more of these studies. This post is about the second monster head I made.

I would often start with a small hardwood sphere, commonly found at craft stores. These 1 inch unfinished wood balls come in packages of 12 and are a light, clear-grained wood -- probably birch. These seemed like a good place to start since they are already somewhat head-shaped. What I didn't fully realize is how hard these balls are! Power carving with a Dremel tool worked fairly well, though I had to be careful about burning the wood. Working with a carving knife proved to be very difficult -- not only because the wood was far harder that the basswood (lime) I usually carve, but also because they were difficult to hold. The latter problem was solved by drilling a 1/4 inch hole in the ball and inserting a length of dowel. This provided a handle so I could hold the piece while working on it.

Dug North's Monster Head Study No. 2

Once I had nearly finished this guy, I thought it had a somewhat bat-like appearance. So, I found some round red glass beads I had, drilled eye sockets, and glued the beads in place. The pupils are actually the holes used to string the beads. I did a little bit of wood-burning to create those angry eyebrows. Like Monster No. 1, this one has that under-bite of which I am so fond. The two small upturned canines are made of tagua nut -- a hard white material often used as a convincing ivory substitute. The ears (horns?) are made from some scraps of Baltic birch plywood I had sitting in the scrap pile.

As with the first, this monster has no name other than "Monster Head Study No. 2". Taking photos of these monsters is not easy! The wood is so light, they tend to wash out under the lens. They probably need some type of finish to tone them down and give them some depth. I may also need to spend some time learning how to photograph such things.

I liked this one when I made it, but having made many more monster heads since that time, this one has slipped down the list. Still, it served a valuable purpose: I was creating, exploring, and -- most importantly -- getting out of that rut. Hopefully, there are a few useful ideas, tools, techniques, and materials mentioned in this post. There are more monsters to come, so stay tuned.

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