Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood: A How-To Reference for Carvers and Sculptors [Paperback]

Ian Norbury (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

This thorough reference demonstrates how to creatively and realistically portray aspects of the nude female figure in wood. Focusing on the female upper body, two step-by-step projects with complete instructional captions guide woodworkers of any ability level though an entire carving project from start to finish. Details are included for using a band saw to outline projects, roughing out basic shapes, creating a model figure in clay, and proper mounting techniques. Color photographs of models in a variety of poses accompany muscle and skeletal drawings, completing this guide to creating realistic representation of the female forms. This book will appeal both to woodcarvers and to anyone interested in fine arts sculpture.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ian Norbury is the author of Carving Classic Female Faces in Wood, Carving Facial Expressions, and Woodcarving Basic Techniques. He teaches woodcarving in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and throughout Europe. His work includes commissions for Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565232216
• ISBN-13: 978-1565232211
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,641,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, January 19, 2005

By 

NeilUnreal (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood: A How-To Reference for Carvers and Sculptors (Paperback)

I sculpt the figure mainly in clay, but I have been thinking about trying woodcarving, so I bought this book to get a look at what was possible in wood. It is a very good presentation of how to create a figure in a carved medium.

The book illustrates the construction of two figures from start to finish - from making reference photos of the model, to roughing, to detailing, to finishing. The photos are clear, copious, in color, and are large enough to be easy to see when propped up on the workbench. The text is concise, but adequate. Also included are a number of excellent photos of Mr. Norbury's figure sculpture.

Most of the techniques shown are not really specific to wood, and there is no discussion of tools and technique, which is a bit of a disappointment with respect to my goal of learning about woodcarving. However, that is not really the fault of the author, since this is not intended as book for beginners.

On the plus side, I work mainly constructively in clay, and I hope the technique of working by carving will help me add some new approaches to my sculpture. I think many of the ideas and techniques illustrated will also be applicable to stone.

I'll give the best recommendation I can: based on this book, I plan on buying as many of Mr. Norbury's other books as I can.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A formerly frustrated carver, April 8, 2006

By 

M. Burton "A formerly frustrated carver" (Northern Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood: A How-To Reference for Carvers and Sculptors (Paperback)

For years, I struggled with sculpting the human form. Occasionally I got lucky and produced something that was "acceptable" but most of the time my carvings could be considered a contemporary distortion of the form-definitely not, what I started out to do. To say the least, my efforts were frustrating. The frustration ended when I purchased two of Mr. Norbury's books, "Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood" and "Carving Classic Female Faces in Wood"

In "Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood" Mr. Norbury explains sculpting the human torso from model to finished work. I was most impressed with his concept of holding things in the square while defining size, points of reference and protrusions before any rounded forming should begin. This helped me to easily maintain proportion.

Also very helpful was Mr. Norbury's plan of attack or sequence of events. This taught me that trying to work the whole project at once was futile. He defines a well-planed method that works. In the final stages, the anatomical drawings with simple explanations were very helpful. I can now go back to my anatomy books with greater understanding.

Finally, the gallery section was most inspirational. Seeing what another can do and armed with basic knowledge, I now have an attainable goal. Thank you Mr. Norbury.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book From Ian Norbury, January 13, 2007

By 

R. Batzold "the sedulous carver" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carving Classic Female Figures in Wood: A How-To Reference for Carvers and Sculptors (Paperback)

This is a good reference for those interested in figure carving. It has steps on how to create acurate drawings from photos, an important part of the process. There are anatomy drawings to help in the understanding of what is happening as the figure pose changes. There are actual photos of a model to help relate the anatomical sketches and the working drawings.....a well done presentation!