Sycamore Playful Otter Carving

I carved an otter for a client in Texas this last November. I love otters and this piece is one of my favorites. We decided it would be about 1′ x 1.5 ‘, carved from sycamore and finished with a honey toned wood preservative.

I sketched and roughed out the shape…

Next, I refined the shape and smoothed it out enough to carve the fur.

Then I added in the fur texture.

Next, I burned it to darken the body fur before it was stained.

I stained it and added a few finishing touches to the eyes, nose and chest fur to wrap up this job!

Thanks for looking! Please stay safe and healthy as we navigate this troubled season of COVID-19.