Post #180333 by Aaron's Akua on Wed, Aug 17, 2005 1:05 PM

You guys never let me down - Mahalo to you all. This full body is uncharted water for me because all I've carved were tiki heads before this. Thanks for the encouragement!

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Hewey, if you guys don't mind all of the in-progress shots, I'll keep sharing. To be honest, I'd love to see more of everyone else's progress too. It definitely helps to streamline the carving method.

Thanks, Flacookz. I really like that airbrushing technique of yours. It adds a whole extra dimension. On the feet - I'm really trying to be careful. It's a balance between making them look somewhat realistic and keeping them bulky enough to support the piece. And this wood really wants to split!

Conga, you're right. It's getting to be like an on-line carving school around here. Somebody's always willing to offer up opinions or tips. Very cool!

Rodeo! What are we gonna do with you? Keep carving those great looking tikis or we'll have to send a TC goon squad up there to rough you up.

Vic- Frog skins, samolians, clams, I'll take 'em all. This one's for my neighbor, so I'm sure she'll get a good discount. I hate trying to price my work!

Freakbear, Power tools are great for shortcuts where you can use them. I really like the burrs and the recip carver, but it's hard to beat regular chisels and mallot, which is what I have used mostly on this one (so far). I will use power tools wherever I can, as long as it doesn't mess up the details.

8 ft - thanks! If I lived nearby I'd stop by to show it to you and have a carving session or two. When are we going to get some clues on your next "mystery" tiki???

Thank you Mr. Gambino! The Hypno-Mask is next on my carving list. It's all marked up & ready to go - just waiting on me.

Ben, keep it up - you'll make a real carver out of me yet! My little Benzart #61 Lono has been by my side for good luck and inspiration!

Mctiki, it's not Pine. It's the last of my Ficus. The wood looks nice when it's finished, but the cracking is getting old. Maybe I'll try some pine after I go through some of the palm, redwood, cedar, mystery wood, and AAC blocks that I've got stockpiled under my porch. Oh, and there's this huge piece of cherry log sitting in the middle of my garage floor. How could I forget that, my wife reminds me about once a week!

Palama, an old master carver once told me that every piece you do is practice for the next one (Sorry, Ben - did I say old???). Here's some advice. Pick a design for your next piece that is way over your head. That's what I did with this one, and it has taught me a lot. I still have to figure out how to carve hands and feet, and we have yet to see how it turns out. Your pieces are coming out really nice. One day we'll all be master carvers helping out the new guys.

Manokoa, mahalo for the props. I'm a fan of your work also. This tiki will have 10 fingers and toes. It's kind of hard to tell from the photos that I posted, but the legs and feet are just blocky pieces right now, and the fingers are just drawn on with a sharpie. Lots more detailing is needed. I'm kind of following Ben's advice with this one. Rough it out, refine it, then keep adding detail until there's nothing left to improve. Well, that's the plan anyway - it just takes lots of time.

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Thanks again for all of your props and good thoughts. :)

Aaron