I love the finish on this hand carved bear. After cutting out the object and removing most of the unneeded material a process called 'chipping' where single cuts with chisels and gouges is used to ruffly shape out the object. As you refine and start to add details the chipping marks become smaller and like in some of the marionettes I've analysed, the marks can be sanded down to a smooth finish.
This is the exact finish I want to achieve on my final marionette. It gives this bear a true rustic feel particularly the way the paint has faded on the edges around the chisel marks, just like its been well handled over the years. I'm not going to be painting my puppet like this but maybe just a light coat of polish or wax. I'll have to test if a can still get the same effect.
In the picture above a woman's face has been carved straight into the trunk of a tree. This image shows the importance of remembering the depth of the face when carving. It can be very easy to carve the face flat as I might be working from a picture or drawing of a front view, you can tend to just recreate the flat picture. Obviously whoever carved this may have had problems checking depth when looking at its side and top profile but still managed to shape depth into the face.
Another Pinocchio character this time looks like its been carved from a block made from laminated boards/pieces, the different directions of grain especially after shaping will look very nice. If I cannot find a solid carving blank I will have to be aware of where the join marks show as I don't want one down the middle of my face. Also direction of the grain should be taken into account as it is easier and better finish to carve with the grain than against it.
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