Quick Whittles: 16 Caricature Projects to Carve in a Sitting

I am really excited to share this new group of projects with you! My hope is that there will be a takeaway for anyone and everyone to help build and expand their skills and ideas. I have always loved the cartoonish or caricature style of art, which has carried into my preferred carving style. There is (in my opinion) a greater level of freedom in how much or how far you can stretch the expressions and “silliness” of the subject.

This book is geared toward helping you become familiar with conveying expression and adding extra elements to your carving. These projects are intended to be stepping-stones, to help build an arsenal of sorts that you can apply to future carves and projects.

I wanted to provide a variety of different styles for eyes and mouths in these projects, and also convey a twist or new way of approaching ordinary subjects. With all of that said, below is a sneak peek into the projects in my book!

If you would like to try a free sample project, visit the Fox Chapel Publishing blog for the step-by-step ladybug wheelie wood carving project and free pattern!

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Ducks are a wonderful subject matter for caricature
work. On this particular project, take your time when
carving the delicate space between the jacket and the
duck’s head. Work slowly and don’t sink the tip of your
knife too deep into the wood. This will help your finished
carving to have a very clean and polished look without a
bunch of knife marks in the negative space.

I’m not sure if there is any subject matter that is more open to limitless imagination than that of the monster. They can be scary or cute and cuddly, tall or short, fat or spiky or soft.
This is an excellent opportunity to include a tiny human’s
perspective into your project—ask them for suggestions.

A chain link is nothing new in carving, but adding a simple
twist to an old classic can lead to easy and fun variations.
Get creative with this and see what kind of spin you
can add. . This is an excellent
project for getting used to where your knife tip is, how deep to make your cuts, and making clean cuts.

This is a fun little Santa Claus that can stand alone as
is, or, you can easily add a small eye pin to the top and
have a fun ornament. Once you’ve practiced stylized
human features on this project, you’ll be equipped to
try out other human caricatures—so have at it!

Each of Sara Barraclough’s caricature carvings beams with personality! It’s hard to believe that master carver Sara Barraclough has only been carving for 4 years.

Her carving work originally caught the eye of the Woodcarving Illustrated Magazine team where she made her debut in the Spring 2020 issue with her charming bear project. Since then, Sara has been carving her way into the magazine over a handful of times, published her first booklet Weekend Whittling Projects, and authored her very first book Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls, and Mythical Creatures and now her second book Quick Whittles!

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