7 Steps of Sculpting
- Design– Apply the design
- Silhouette– Cut out the silhouette
- Blocking in– Push back the levels
- Rounding– Cut off the corners
- Sanding– Smooth the ice
- Details– Add refractive angles
- Clean– Remove small scratches & chips of ice
Start with a slab frozen to a footer
We carve at room temperature
(this slab tempered for about 1 hour)
The template paper sticks right to the melting ice
Click here to learn 4 methods of making templates
Using a tracing bit, & die grinder
draw through the paper
After the complete design is traced onto the ice remove the template
Using a chainsaw, Cut away all of the ice to create
a “Cookie Cutter” of the sculpture
(Be sure to cut out at 90 degrees)
The finished “Cookie Cutter”
und the areas that your chainsaw
would not allow you to get to
Next carve in the reference lines
Here I cut in lines to define the layers of feathers(still using the bullet burr 125)
Using a long 1/4″ End Mill bit,
I draw the lines between the wings in deep
Using a chainsaw
Angle the feathers back, so it looks like they could overlap
Then shape the back of the wing. Here is a good place to curve the ice. This will make the wing look more natural, rather than stiff.
Using a pistol grip sander,
Sand all of the surfaces that are to be smooth
I like to leave the long feathers plain, others like to detail them heavily
Using a Rotary Knife,
Detail the short feathers
Notice that about 15 minutes went by (that included photography & a phone call).
Precise efficient movements based on experience coupled with the right tools make you faster.
Finished Wing, after spraying with a hose