MathFish
Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2015
- Messages
- 181
For the past few years I have been carving trout pinewood derby cars during the week between Christmas and New Years. The first two cars were raced and the last four were made just for fun. I shared those endeavors on this site and figured I would share my newest carvings this year. This year though I didn't make any derby cars, I made some more of my small scale fish carvings, so that is what I have to share this year.
This past summer I tried my hand at carving some small scale trout and I have posted three of those projects. Here is the links to those posts. Small scale brook and brown trout & First gemmie carving
In the past year, I have made 22 total little fish carvings, 19 trout and 3 smallmouth bass. I made each by cutting out the rough forms using a scroll saw and then finalized the forms using an X-acto knife #11 blade and sandpaper. I finally wised up and invested in some proper carving knives last weekend and I am kicking myself for not doing that sooner! I think I'll end up gouging my fingers less and end up carving a little bit quicker.
Anways, here are some of the fish I ended up making this past fall that I would like to share.
Back in September, I made two other 5 inch long wild fish carvings other than the gemmie carving. They were my attempt to replicate true to scale little wild fish. These are the small wild brown trout and the small wild rainbow carvings.
Later this in the Fall I took a crack at making a cutthroat trout. I have never been out west to have the opportunity to fish for any, but it is on my to-do list. I scoured the internet for photos to examine to be able to paint this one. I found it difficult to paint it since there aren't many contrasting colors on their sides and it was kind of tough for me to figure out how to blend the subtle color changes.
With the last week I made a newer small scale version of a larger brook trout. I had only one in my collection that I ended up giving away as a gift to my cousin for doing a favor for me. I made a little tweak to the rock base for this new one though. I was out fishing the day after Christmas and I happened to come across some chunks of coal that must have been tumbling in the creek long enough to be formed into a flat river rocks. I thought that the coal river rock would be a fitting base for PA brook trout given the coal mining heritage of our state. It also serves as a nice contrast to the brook trout coloration.
Lastly, I was asked to carve a smallmouth bass for a friend/coworker as a gift for her son. I don't typically fish for smallmouths, so I don't really have a sense of their form, so I had to scour the internet for pictures of smallmouths to get a sense of the shape. I also ran my sketches past another coworker of mine to critique the taper I drew for the top side of the fish since I didn't have much luck finding this vantage point of a smallmouth online. I ended up making an extra one for myself so that I have a model to base any future ones I might carve. I am pleased with how it turned out, but I haven't given it to her to find out if she is pleased with it yet.
I was able to put a nice curve in the dorsal, anal and caudal fins for the smallmouth, but I couldn't quite pull off putting a curve to the overall fish like I am able to do with my trout carvings, but all in all I am happy with the overall shape of the smallmouth carving. Also, the process of making the smallies has inspired me to make more of a point to fish for some this coming year!
Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!
This past summer I tried my hand at carving some small scale trout and I have posted three of those projects. Here is the links to those posts. Small scale brook and brown trout & First gemmie carving
In the past year, I have made 22 total little fish carvings, 19 trout and 3 smallmouth bass. I made each by cutting out the rough forms using a scroll saw and then finalized the forms using an X-acto knife #11 blade and sandpaper. I finally wised up and invested in some proper carving knives last weekend and I am kicking myself for not doing that sooner! I think I'll end up gouging my fingers less and end up carving a little bit quicker.
Anways, here are some of the fish I ended up making this past fall that I would like to share.
Back in September, I made two other 5 inch long wild fish carvings other than the gemmie carving. They were my attempt to replicate true to scale little wild fish. These are the small wild brown trout and the small wild rainbow carvings.
Later this in the Fall I took a crack at making a cutthroat trout. I have never been out west to have the opportunity to fish for any, but it is on my to-do list. I scoured the internet for photos to examine to be able to paint this one. I found it difficult to paint it since there aren't many contrasting colors on their sides and it was kind of tough for me to figure out how to blend the subtle color changes.
With the last week I made a newer small scale version of a larger brook trout. I had only one in my collection that I ended up giving away as a gift to my cousin for doing a favor for me. I made a little tweak to the rock base for this new one though. I was out fishing the day after Christmas and I happened to come across some chunks of coal that must have been tumbling in the creek long enough to be formed into a flat river rocks. I thought that the coal river rock would be a fitting base for PA brook trout given the coal mining heritage of our state. It also serves as a nice contrast to the brook trout coloration.
Lastly, I was asked to carve a smallmouth bass for a friend/coworker as a gift for her son. I don't typically fish for smallmouths, so I don't really have a sense of their form, so I had to scour the internet for pictures of smallmouths to get a sense of the shape. I also ran my sketches past another coworker of mine to critique the taper I drew for the top side of the fish since I didn't have much luck finding this vantage point of a smallmouth online. I ended up making an extra one for myself so that I have a model to base any future ones I might carve. I am pleased with how it turned out, but I haven't given it to her to find out if she is pleased with it yet.
I was able to put a nice curve in the dorsal, anal and caudal fins for the smallmouth, but I couldn't quite pull off putting a curve to the overall fish like I am able to do with my trout carvings, but all in all I am happy with the overall shape of the smallmouth carving. Also, the process of making the smallies has inspired me to make more of a point to fish for some this coming year!
Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!
