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!

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