How do you design your Tikis?

I see so many different styles, I just don't know were to start when trying to design one.
This is probably a hard question to answer, but if you have any tips, please share!

I don't like to copy but I certainly get inspiration from all the great pictures of Tikis on here. Its a great resource for us newbie Tikiers

Start here:
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Tiki-Midsize-Sven-Kirsten/dp/382282433X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259997548&sr=8-1

or here:
http://www.amazon.com/Tiki-Modern-Sven-Kirsten/dp/3822847178/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259997548&sr=8-2

Or here:
http://www.amazon.com/Oceanic-Art-Anthony-J-Meyer/dp/3895080802/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259997683&sr=1-3

I'm no expert as I'm only on my 2nd tiki. My first carve was a culmination of elements I liked form different tiki's I found on the net and on this forum. I took what i liked and what I thought I could pull off. I took a technical approach making rough drawings and making posterboard templates of my design to mirror and trace onto my log for symmetry. The biggest piece of advice I could give is to TAKE YOUR TIME, plan and dont rush. Set your sights high and push beyond what you think you can acomplish. Dont be too afraid of screwing up. Just dig in.

Great advice so far. I took the approach of educating myself on the various traditional styles, because you're tight, there ARE so many differences. Learn what design elements make a tiki a Marquesan, Tahitian, Hawaiian, PNG, etc. Then you can either stay traditional, mash 'em up, or just go your own way to create something new and unique.

Pupule Tiki!

[ Edited by: TikiMango 2009-12-05 02:06 ]

Here my approach:
-First documentation to know the styles, the books cited above are very good and most public libraries contain many other things. Obviously this forum is also a great source of inspiration...
-Then drawing drawing drawing ... So you get used to the shape and lines.
-After I started a few copies of historical or more recent work included here and there.
-And now, a year ago I really started, I managed to start drawing and sculpture on a piece of wood with my own almost design. All this was possible thanks to the support and encouragement of all "great" in this forum who are never stingy with advice ...(Thank's Sensei carver!)

Hope this help!

J.

I am a bit of a style purist because I just looooooove the feel of the ancient Hawaiian body poses. That being said I have never met a Ki'i, traditional or modern, that I didn't like.

I hardly ever plan what a Ki'i will look like when I start carving these days. I let the wood or stone do the talking.

Aloha!

Marcus

my way is to map out the circumference of the wood and the height you want the timi to be on a piece of paper (scaled proportionately) and then draw a VERY blocky cartoon- minimalist- with thick outlines. Then I carve the basic rough form with bigger instruments and work my way down to finer ones. Sand, stain, clearcoat, voila!

[ Edited by: mijaba 2009-12-08 18:21 ]

build up a library of oceanic books. most are a little older, so check ebay and stuff.

I start with the mouth and go from there. I feel that that is where the most expression in my forms originate.

But other than that I'm more inspired by my mug collection and the mid century polynesian-pop aesthetic than traditional styles.
Sacrilege to some, I know, but then again I am an apostate who carves polystyrene rather than wood or stone.

My first ones were basically right off the cuff. I would rough sketch my idea on a piece of paper, then just hack away on the log. Then I started to see things in the wood.(maybe too many mai-tai's) So, I would stare at the log and let it tell me what was inside. Now I've become addicted to TC and my planning and prep have taken on a life of their own. And my latest carving is by far one of my best.
This whole process is in constant evolution.

Me thinks , one can plan out and execute sophisticated carves beyond one's own
(imagined) abilities with just simple patience and determination.

Me also thinks, after a long and difficult piece,
a simple and quick Moai feeds my addiction and soothes my impatience.

keep karving !!

On 2009-12-11 10:59, Kino wrote:

... feeds my addiction and soothes my impatience.

These are very nice words...

J.