Carving Fringe
Carving Indians has long been one of my specialties. One of the most
noticeable features when carving Indians is the fringes on either the arms
or leggings. Below are a few short tips and pictures that will hopefully
help you the next time you carve fringe.
Once the area for the fringe is laid out, I then rough-shape the outside
area to separate it from the rest of the carving
The first step to carving fringe is to lay out the arm or leg to get a
starting point
Before I begin carving the fringe I like to have the fringe area fairly well
defined
Starting along the line drawn for the bottom edge of the sleeve, I begin
carving the fringe with a V-tool.
Keep gravity in mind while carving fringe. I find it helpful to draw a few
directional lines before I begin using the V-tool.
When making the V-tool cuts I like to lean my tool from side to side with
each cut. This will make some of the fringe look like it is overlapping
others. I also try not to make all the fringe one width, varying it up from
fringe to fringe.
When all the fringes have been carved I like to sort of "break up" the
bottom edges of the fringe to give it a more natural look. I use the V-tool
to randomly shorten the bottom edges of the fringe. Don't make them all the
same length.
Once all the bottom edges have been shaped I then slightly under cut the
area underneath the fringes. Don't try to go too far back in behind the
fringes, this will only weaken them and make them susceptible to breaking.
The results should be natural laying fringe that looks like strips of hide.
I often paint or shade the fringes to give them a slight contrast to the
coat or leggings.
