Carving
A brief analysis of carving techniques
The so-called technique refers to the author's handling of image and space in the creation of wood carvings. This technique is mainly reflected in carving and engraving in the sense of reduction. To be precise, from the outside to the inside, step by step by subtracting waste materials, the form is gradually revealed. In the repeated subtraction modeling, we not only experience the pleasure of the work "coming out of the shell", but also feel the special charm produced by various knife techniques. Some accidental effects can give the work new meanings. rhyme. Therefore, in the creation of wood carving art, the most meaningful exploration is to use various knife techniques to properly reflect our creative intentions.
Knife technique is like the brushstrokes in calligraphy and painting. It can strengthen and enrich the artistic effect of the work. The formation of beautiful brushstrokes is the expression of skilled technique. Often when someone is copying a good painting, they feel that the most difficult thing is the brushstrokes, because the brushstrokes are the product of the combination of the author's mind and skills, and are something that is difficult to embody in any imitation. Therefore, only by mastering skills and constantly accumulating experience can you achieve your ideal knife skills that truly belong to you. The wood grain and carvings, smoothness and roughness, concave and convex surfaces, arrangement with a round knife, cutting with a flat knife...the artistic language they express has a charm that cannot be achieved by sculptures made of other materials.
In short, knife skills are the technical techniques used by sculptors to express their creative ideas, and they are also a means to vividly reveal the content of art. The turnings, pauses, concave and convex, and ups and downs of the knife movement are all intended to make the work more vivid and natural, so as to fully reflect the material beauty of wood carving and the rich beauty of carving. People who do not know the true meaning of wood carving art use the knife instead of writing, but instead draw artificial pictures. In addition, they are timid and afraid of damaging the carving. As a result, the knife technique is rigid and craftsmanlike, and the wood carving cannot be interesting. Therefore, you need to practice more and ponder more, practice makes perfect, and then you can form your own artistic language and style.
Generally speaking, wood carving people all have their own knife skills that they are good at, except for the basic knife-handling techniques. Beginners only need to be familiar with the two different uses of flat knife and round knife, and they will soon be able to master it. You can master knife skills. Let me first emphasize the importance of the knife-holding posture. Whether it is correct or not will not only affect the smooth progress of the engraving operation, but also cause safety problems. Then, in the rough stage of cutting a large amount of wood, we mainly use hammers and tools to work. The posture of holding the knife is like a fist. When the carving is pushing outward or digging deeply, the center of the fist can be downward; when the carving is moving toward When pushing inward, you can make the fist with the center of your hand pointing upwards. When you want to cut off the wood grain threads when engraving the outline, you can make the fist with the center of your fist pointing inward or outward. You can master these three methods flexibly. If the tool is carved too deep, do not shake the handle to pull it out, otherwise the edge will crack or peel. Use another tool and slightly chip away at the wood around the tool until it can be shaken. When engraving reaches the fine blank and smoothing stage, we mainly use tools for engraving work. One is to hold the tool with both hands, such as: holding the upper end of the tool handle with the right hand, pinching the upper part of the tool bar with the left hand, and slowly pushing towards the right hand. . The other is to hold the knife in the right hand like a pen, but the ring finger and little finger should be pressed against the carving and the knife should be moved forward to control the sharp knife. Pay attention to the position of your left hand. When making small round sculptures, the left hand holding the work should be placed behind and below your right hand, and one end of the work can rest against the workbench. When making relief sculptures, in order to hold the board, the left hand should be far away from the tool of the right hand. , or placed behind the right hand. Because of the hard wood of the boxwood carvings in Wenzhou, people often have to use their shoulder blades to hold the handle of the knife forward when moving the knife forward. For soft wood, tapping the tool with the palm of your right hand is enough to remove a small amount of wood.
Flat knife block surface method: It mainly uses a flat knife to cut out the outline and structural parts of the work on a large surface when chiseling the blank, so as to produce a rough and powerful ax chopping feeling, so the knife is used It must be steady, accurate, and ruthless, and it must be powerful, consistent, and refreshing. Each cut must explain the problem and achieve the final effect of the work. The application process of the flat knife and block surface method is actually a process of modeling various complex shapes using simple abstract geometric shapes. This process can reduce every shape, every bone, and muscle into large and small squares, rectangles, Trapezoid, rhombus. Therefore, the author is required to have solid basic modeling skills and the ability to embody natural shapes. The flat knife block surface method can be combined with some round knives throughout the entire carving process to form the final artistic effect. It can also be used only in the initial stage of carving to handle large shapes, and then use other knife methods to make changes from square to round. Rich and detailed characterization.
Round knife carving method and arrangement method: Since the circular knife cutting method is not certain, the outline of the carved shape is relatively vague, and the concave and convex feeling produced is relatively clear, so it is very suitable for exploring and expressing the texture and texture of various objects. The texture effect, as the bottom surface treatment of the relief, is commonly known as "hemp base" and is also an excellent means of expression that serves as a foil. The round knife carving method uses large and small irregular concave and convex to form a volume, and creates a natural, rich and simple aesthetic feeling on the surface. If combined with a flat knife, on the one hand it is smooth and delicate, such as human skin; on the other hand, it is rough and astringent, such as human hair, clothing, etc., then the two will form a strong texture contrast, making the work rich and interesting. expressiveness. The circular knife arrangement method has the same meaning as the carving method, but the author must consciously arrange the knife methods to produce a certain decorative and textural effect.
Technical requirements and basic essentials of wood carving technology
Chiseling the rough blank: The rough blank is the basis of the entire work. It summarizes all the modeling details in the concept with a concise geometric shape and requires It has layers, momentum, coordinated proportions, a stable center of gravity, and a strong sense of wholeness, and has initially formed the outer and inner contours of the work.
The basic method of chiseling a rough blank is from top to bottom, from front to back, from outside to inside, from shallow to deep. From top to bottom, that is, starting from the head to the heel; from front to back, that is, cutting the front body first, then the back; from outside to inside, starting from the surface of the wood, peeling in layer by layer; from shallow to deep , that is, dig out the shallow places first, and then dig out the deep places. When cutting the rough blank, you need to pay attention to leaving room, just like cutting clothes, you need to relax appropriately. There is a good saying in folk jargon: if you keep fat, you can make it smaller, but if you worry about a thin spine, it is difficult to regain fat." "The inner distance should be small, not large, and remember that carving is subtraction."
To dig out a fine blank: start with the whole Focus on adjusting proportions and various layouts, and then gradually implement and form the specific shapes of characters, facial features, limbs, clothing, props, etc., leaving room for lightening at this stage, the volume and lines of the work have become clearer, so The cutting technique is required to be skillful and smooth, and the hollowing out technique in thin blanks requires the use of longitudinal fibers to cut out the excess parts, that is, the ribbing method is required to cut out the easily broken parts of the work. Leave a small piece of material to adhere to the adjacent parts. After the work is completed, use a thin knife to remove the attached tendons.
Finishing: Use fine carving and thinning. The purpose of polishing is to remove the knife marks and scale in the thin blanks with the knife and make the surface of the work delicate and perfect. The knife marks are required to be clear and precise, either round or straight, and strive to get the smallest details of each part. The texture is reflected.
Grinding: According to the needs of some works, use woodworking sandpaper of different thicknesses to make it smooth and smooth. It is required to use coarse sandpaper first, and then use fine sandpaper to follow the wood. Polish the fiber direction repeatedly until the knife marks and sand path disappear, showing the beautiful wood grain. Pay attention to keeping the outline of the work clear and the lines smooth.
Carving hair and decorative patterns: Use a triangular knife to carve hair and decorative patterns. It is required to use the knife quickly and surely, with uniform thickness and meticulousness.
Coloring and glazing: Coloring is not only to make up for the shortcomings or defects of certain materials, but also to enhance the beauty of the texture of the material and the beauty of the form. Therefore, the coloring of the work should be determined as appropriate, and the color should be deep and bright, in line with the beauty of natural wood.
The purpose of glazing is to moisturize the wood and make the work more beautiful. The brilliance on the cake also plays an anti-fouling role for long-term preservation, so it is required to penetrate evenly and be bright and elegant.
Configuration of the base: The base is not only the support of the main body, but also an inseparable part of the sculpture shape. Therefore, the shape and scale of the base must be complementary to the content and form of the work. Works full of curves and liveliness can be set off by a simple and plain base, while works with simple or solemn shapes can be slightly decorated on the base. Pay attention to the proportion and coordination between each other, pay attention to the mutual contrast in tone, and do not dominate the scene. The conception and design of jade carving:
To pursue artistic beauty in jade carving, you must understand the elites of mountains and rivers and the exquisite humanities. The correct meaning. The elite of mountains and rivers mentioned here means that the jade material for carved jade must be beautiful in color and the texture must be moist. Whether the jade is made of soft jade or jade or turquoise, agate, serpentine, crystal and other jade trees, it must be When selecting good jade materials, you must also design carving themes suitable for various jade materials; humanistic exquisiteness refers to the beautiful shape and exquisite carving of the jade, as well as the craftsmanship and social factors that affect the beauty of the shape and carving.
Due to the different jade villages of the past dynasties, the differences in jade-cutting tools and jade-cutting techniques, as well as the differences in aesthetic tastes and customs, the uses and roles of jade articles are different. The shapes and themes of jade articles in each period are also different. Thousands of poses, vying for beauty. Modern jade carving must also adapt to the needs of modern society, which is something that jade carving personnel must pay attention to. Over the years, many Chinese jade carvings have created extraordinary and refined artistic conceptions that make people wonder and marvel. Chinese jade carving is an artistic product with national characteristics and a dazzling wonder in the world's sculpture garden. It contains rich content such as the wisdom, religious concepts, and aesthetic thoughts of the Chinese nation. Rough carving is the substantive stage of jade carving production, that is, through technical means such as measuring, cutting, bottom buckling, scoring, punching, rolling, drilling, etc., the jade material is gradually turned into a three-dimensional carving, but it cannot be called complete yet. Jade; rough carving is the substantive stage of jade carving production, that is, through technical means such as measuring, cutting, bottom buckling, scoring, punching, rolling, drilling, etc., the jade material is gradually turned into a three-dimensional carving or a three-dimensional carving, but it cannot yet be called Complete jade.
Fine carving in the jade carving process is the process of finely modifying the roughly carved jade to further perfect and add charm to the jade carving. In this process, many details of the jade article need to be carved, such as the facial expressions, eyes, and clothing patterns of characters; the eyes, hair, claw tips, and mouths of animals and birds; the stems, leaves of flowers and plants, and other parts that best show the charm. Realistic characterization.
Jade carving pursues lifelikeness, expressiveness and moderate exaggeration. However, making jade carvings lifelike and artistic is not something everyone can do. It can be said that every piece of jade has its own meaning and its own state. Only talented artists can discover the mystery. Based on their long-term artistic practice, they can combine their own inner meaning and state with that of the jade itself. Combining it with one's own artistic ideas and skills to express it in the carved jade, making it a concrete art treasure that can be appreciated by people. The quality of a jade carving mainly depends on whether it has artistic conception, whether the carving is exquisite, whether the colors are used lightly, whether the theme is appropriate and whether the shape is perfect; it depends on the jade quality, color, and quality of the jade carving. Judgment of its artistic value based on subject matter, shape, etc.
In short, a jade carving is a work of art. Its beauty lies in its shape, color, artistic conception, or both. The artistic conception is the overall evaluation of the jade. a very important aspect of. The design and conception of carved jade articles come first, and the puff jade should be used as the benchmark. "Selecting the village according to the test" and "applying skills according to the aptitude" are the basic requirements for jade carving. Appraisal of jade carving is the key. The creation of utensils must have artistic conception, and the shape of jade utensils must be lifelike and realistic in order to produce high-quality jade utensils.