Van Rossmann Illustration

I’m learning to carve at the Albany Carousel Studio as a volunteer. I’ll try to update my progress and see how it goes. The pineapple was the initial piece. The next step in training was to learn Bas Relief so I started on “Munchie” (one of the carousel animals).

1/24 – Munchie gets a little more detail in his hind quarters and the tail takes on a better swoop. I’m starting to figure out that bas relief is a lot like thick and thin lines in 2D line art.  Emphasizing the dimensionality through line weight or alternative depth in the background.  Seeing the relief background as 3D instead of like a piece of paper was a big Aha moment for me.  So instead of just concentrating on the figure in relief you can give the background dimension just as much effort. It’s like adjusting your negative space.  Dur.

2/8 – Munchie gets close to being done. Seems like Bas Relief can be “done” at any level but I need to feel like it’s my best work.  I’m finding it easier to capture depth and emphasizing body structure helps the overall image. Munchie is basically seen straight from the side which makes it more difficult to provide a specific focal area to the image.  I’m, therefor, learning to simplify the presentation and make the whole thing more consistent. Don’t need to make it more difficult than it has to be.

2/25 – Starting to clean up Munchie. Doing some sanding and edgework as well as fur patterning. Feels like I’m ready to move on. Bas relief has been a challenge and I’d like to do more in the future. For now we’ve started working on “Foxy”, the carousel animal, so I’m switching gears.