WOOD CARVING PATTERN: TINY HIPPO Whittling, Wood Carving Add to Cart - $18.99 CARVE A TINY HIPPO The hippopotamus has simple features that are nonetheless sculpturally interesting and make good fodder for comic exaggeration. With its huge muzzle and plump body, the hippo looks like one of the simplest critters on four legs. I made my hippo’s legs even shorter and thicker. The model I chose came out of a page full of drawings I made while studying hippo themed art and photos. The ears and tail of the beast are tiny and may be difficult for beginners to carve. These features could be painted on rather than carved. I sanded this piece and finished it with acrylic paints, but that is not necessary—the generous curves and toy-like aspects of this carving also lend themselves to a natural finish. For more experienced woodworkers, this design could serve as the handle for a small box or be scaled up to make a pull toy. Getting Started Transfer the pattern to the blank. I sketch it, but you could use graphite transfer paper if desired. 1. Rough out the bottom of the head. Make matching V-shaped cuts under the head on both sides. Repeat and expand the grooves to make them deeper, and extend them inward until they meet in the middle. Expand the grooves up to the front legs. Round the edges and scoop out a slight dip behind the muzzle. 2. Separate the front and back legs. Make V-cuts between the legs on both sides. Use the process explained in Step 1 to extend the grooves across the belly until they meet. Carve away from the legs first, and then carve up to the first cut from the opposite direction. As the grooves expand, smooth the belly with the second cuts. 3. Separate the right and left legs. Use the point of the knife to carve a shallow V-shaped cut on the boundary between the legs. Carve a small slit. Repeat the cuts to make the slit deeper and deeper. I hold the knife like a pencil to carve the slit. Repeat to separate the back legs. 4. Round the rear end. Remove the sharp corners, but preserve the material in the middle for the tail. The length of the tail is up to you. Draw the tail, make stop cuts around it, and then carve up to the stop cuts to separate the tail and blend the rear end with the rest of the body. Round the corners of the tail slightly. Add to Cart - $18.99 5. Rough out the head. Draw the ears. Scoop out two grooves on the top of the head to establish the muzzle and the cranium. Round the edges of the entire head and blend the sides with the top and bottom. The humor in this carving lies in the head and body curves, so take your time with this step. 6. Round the rear end. Remove the sharp corners, but preserve the material in the middle for the tail. The length of the tail is up to you. Draw the tail, make stop cuts around it, and then carve up to the stop cuts to separate the tail and blend the rear end with the rest of the body. Round the corners of the tail slightly. Add to Cart - $18.99 7. Begin rounding the legs. Redraw the round footprints on the bottoms of the feet. Carefully use paring cuts to round the fronts and backs of the legs from the belly down to the bottom of the feet. Clean up any fuzzies where the legs meet the body. 8. Finish the legs. Hold a small knife like a pencil. Make deep cuts on both sides of each slit through repeated knife strokes. Draw the knife through the slit at an angle to remove the material. Slide the knife between the legs from the belly, front to back, to remove the excess material to finish shaping the legs. 9. Finish the hippo. First, spend a few minutes cleaning up any rough areas with the knife. Use durable, flexible sandpaper to smooth away the tool marks, if desired. This is also the time to finish carving the details, like the eyes and mouth, or correct any mistakes. 10. Paint the hippo. I drill a small hole in the belly and insert a toothpick into the hole to hold the hippo as I paint. Paint any designs or details you wish. The hippo doesn’t have to be realistic; a famous hippo statue from ancient Egypt was decorated with river plants. Treat this figure as a canvas for your imagination. Add to Cart - $18.99 MORE PROJECTS INSIDE SCRAP WOOD WHITTLING: The Minotaur was a beast of myth in the origin story of the Greek world, a murderous character confined inside a labyrinth. I’ve reinterpreted it as a toylike figure wrapped in a coat of chaotic confetti. The design is goofy, vibrant, and full of life-giving energy. In a spirit of levity, it’s meant not to scare, but to delight; after all, small as it is, there’s little chance of it being a bully—it could hardly hurt a flea. From the artist’s perspective, penguins can be carved in a variety of dynamic poses despite their stilted stride: they swim with elegance underwater, and their terrestrial form is easily caricatured. For this project, I’ve designed a form in which the beak follows the grain of the wood so it’s less likely to snap off accidentally as you carve. I’ve also included a pattern for a baby penguin so you can carve a whole family. This carving is an homage to the natural world, the source of the substance and subject of my work. It’s largely a naturalistic treatment, a mirror to the minutiae of nature, designed to pleasure the eye. As with all my work, I’ve used some artistic freedom by exaggerating the features, thereby giving the figure a somewhat caricatured look. Add to Cart - $18.99 WOOD CARVING PATTERN: CHIP CARVING PRACTICE BOARD by Stephanie Jordan | Sep 17, 2021 | Wood Carving Every carver should use a practice board for chip carving! Grab a scrap piece of wood and this free wood carving pattern to practice your chips. WOODCARVER SPOTLIGHT: GILES NEWMAN by Stephanie Jordan | Aug 31, 2021 | Whittling, Wood Carving Giles carves intricate spoons and jewelry using nothing but a knife, an axe, and wind-fallen wood from Coed Tegid, his personal nature reserve in North Wales. NBC’S WOODSHOP MASTER ON ‘MAKING IT’ TALKS SHOP WITH FOX CHAPEL PUBLISHING by Elizabeth Martins | Aug 24, 2021 | Press Release, Wood Carving, Woodworking Fox Chapel Publishing interviews Jimmy DiResta, a woodshop master on NBC’s primetime competition show, “Making It.” OLDER ENTRIES Get Exclusive Email Offers And Receive 15% OFF On Your First Book Order! SHARE: PREVIOUS Wood Carving Pattern: Chip Carving Practice Board NEXT 6 LIve Edge Wood Project ideas RELATED POSTS Horse Caricature: Free Wood Carving Pattern & Tutorial by Desiree Hajny May 26, 2020 Wood Carving Pattern: Chip Carving Practice Board September 17, 2021 Classic Song Bird Whittling Tutorial July 2, 2018 Carver Spotlight: Māori Woodcarver Broxh August 2, 2021 LEAVE A REPLY Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. RECENT POSTS 6 LIve Edge Wood Project ideas Wood Carving Pattern: Tiny Hippo Wood Carving Pattern: Chip Carving Practice Board Woodcarver SpotlIght: Giles Newman NBC’s Woodshop Master on ‘Making It’ Talks Shop with Fox Chapel Publishing RECENT COMMENTS FoxChapelNews on 10 Scroll Saw Projects to Make for Kids Tony Moon on Classic Song Bird Whittling Tutorial Jim Wickersham on 10 Scroll Saw Projects to Make for Kids FoxChapelNews on Undercover Santas: Wood Carving Designs James Birch on Free Scroll Saw Pattern: A Portrait of a Dragon ARCHIVES Select Month November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 CATEGORIES Adult Coloring Arts & Crafts Children's Books Family & Children Featured Food & Drink Home & Garden Intarsia Kids Page Kids Page 2 Lifestyle & Travel Metalworking Pets & Animals Press Release Pyrography Quilting Scroll Saw Sports & Outdoors Tutorial Whittling Wood Carving Woodworking © Copyright Fox Chapel Publishing 2021 Happy Fox Landauer Quiet Fox