1. General: Remember that this is not rocket science. But to do it properly you must be relaxed and stay loose. Don't over complicate the project. Use your practice boards often, especially when you are unsure of the heat or the type of stroke. You will notice that the steps below start with the easier part of the animal and then progress to the harder parts. This gets you use to the tip and the feel of wood burning before you have to do the intricate parts. Also remember that most mistakes can be sanded out and redone.
The main thing is to have fun and develop friendships with your fellow students. These are the main things you will take away from the course.
Before you start, ensure that your board is as smooth as you can get it. Start with 120 grit. Then go to 220 and follow that up with 400. Dust off well!
2. Start by placing the pattern of the rabbit on the basswood slab or round so that it looks centered and is the appropriate size for the board. Tape it down with the carbon paper beneath. Ensure the carbon paper is the right side up.
3. Trace out the pattern onto the wood with a red pen or pencil. This will indicate when you have traced the complete pattern. NOTE: just outline the rabbit - as few solid lines as possible please! Use very little marks on the chest and other areas where the wood burning will be light.
4. Practice your strokes at different heat values for 10 - 15 minutes before you start the piece. Use the 'orange' boxes provided. Look over the accompanying notes on fur and eyes
5. Using the skew start by burning in the tall grasses and the flowers and stems as this will be for the most part behind the rabbit. Leave the short grass in front of the rabbit until later.
6. Begin burning on the top of the head with short strokes using the skew. Use the skew to outline all of the head remembering to outline the nose without fur. Circle around the eye with short strokes. Now be very careful and outline the eye in a slightly oval shape. There should be an area between the pupil and the short fur for the white of the eye which will bring out the pupil. Draw some longer eyelashes away from the top of the eye. Use some longer strokes about midway between the eye and the neck and at the neck. Remember to look at the way the fur is aligned (follow the direction of your pencil line). Fill in with shorter strokes throughout the face area.
7. Still using the skew, outline the ears with short strokes going from the outside to the inside. Put in one or two lines in the middle part of the ear to simulate veins. Remember this part is one of the main focal areas that you will colour later to show light shining through the ears so don't do too much in these areas.
8. Outline the body with longer strokes always observing the way the fur is flowing. Outline the hip area to differentiate it from the rest of the body. Darken the lines between the neck and body and the head and ears.
9. Put in the grasses in front and to the right of the rabbit - remember not too straight and of different lengths.
10. Now switch to the shader tip and fill in the black part of the eye. Also do the dark area of the nose and the mouth. Remember to burn at a medium heat - Do not over burn at this stage. You can always add darkness later.
11. Go over darker burned areas again to add definition. Now stop and begin the next section by adding colour.
Use Walnut Hollow oil pencils - keep sharp
Colours: Grey, White, Raw Umber, Yellow Orange, Hot Pink, Red Violet, Bright green and Olive green.
See above photo for reference
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Use the yellow orange on ears and back of head at neck.
Use grey, white and raw umber on face.
Use grey and white only on body.
Burn in darker areas on body with shader. DO NOT USE BLACK - this colour does not blend with the others well and darkens the lighter ones badly.
Use greens and raw umber on grasses and stems. Blend the hot pink and red violet for the flowers. Use the yellow orange at base of flower.
Blend colours dry with Q tip. Dab Q tip with odourless varsol and blend colours into the wood.
Remember to put the spots of white in the eye.
NOTE: Use an air filter unit to filter the smoke from your wood burner and the fumes from the varsol. It is possible to obtain odourless varsol.