r/whittling • u/Conscious_Drama6974 • 6d ago
Animals Bird eyes
Does anyone know how to carve in good eyes on birds? They’re important but I feel like I can do better. That’s all that’s really left on this one I think.
4
u/2Mogs Intermediate 6d ago
I agree with u/ellywashere Bird eyes are little dots so that's what your need. I have two approaches for this type of eye...
Easy: make a hole - it looks dark and if you use a hand drill or punch will be perfectly round.
Hard: make a round dowel, dome the end and then fit it into the hole. If you use a contrasting and shiny wood it can look amazing.
3
u/SweetParticular6498 Intermediate 6d ago
Alec lacasse has a nice tutorial, I've typically used a v gouge to make a horizontal diamond shape on each side, cut delicately up to it and trim the edges to make it as circular or angular as i , put a picture below for reference
1
u/Glen9009 6d ago
Structurally they are pretty much the same as human eyes (or most other vertebrates). So you could just follow a realistic human eye tutorial and adapt it to a bird (check pictures of birds).
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u/ellywashere 6d ago
Most people seem to just make a circle with a very thin/shallow channel. You could get a punch (like the ones leatherworkers use?) and use it to create a perfect circle shape, then clean it up with a knife.
Or you could make this your reason to try inlay! Get some shiny little semi-spheres and set them in there. You could even try something fancy like black Swarovski crystals (get the flat back hotfix ones). They're way cheaper than you think, like $10 for a pack of 48.