Carving “Little People”
What are "little people"?
Caricature carving is figure carving in which one or more features of the figure are exaggerated or
simplified to achieve a specific effect. It’s also been called exaggerated realism. It is the most popular
form of woodcarving in the U.S. today. A “little person” is a caricature which is 3” tall or less. The
carving of “little people” was popularized by Jack Price beginning in the early 1980’s. Jack’s mission was
to teach woodcarving. He believed that teaching students how to carve “little people” was one of the
best ways for them to learn to carve caricatures.
Why carve “little people” (or “small characters”, “compact characters”, “little guys”)?
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Inexpensive – less than 30¢ per block of wood
Few tools are needed
Can be carved in a relatively short time
Don’t require great strength
Almost anyone can do it
Take up very little display space
They’re cute
It’s fun
Order of carving:
hat
front of legs
rear end
front corners
neck
head
arms
jawline
legs
shoes
define beard
clothes
face (see handout)
ears
hair
beard
Head:
The head of a little person is between one fourth and one third the length of the person. Draw the chin
line ¾” down from the bottom of the hat (or 1” from the top of the head if there is no hat). On the
opposite side of the block draw a mark about ½” up from where the chin line is. Draw lines connecting
the two marks.
The head viewed from the front and from the top is an oval shape. Viewed from the side (profile view) it
is as wide as it is tall. The head is narrower than the shoulders and is set slightly forward on the body.
Cut about 1/8” off the back and the sides of the head.
Separate the head from the rest of the body by cutting a 1/8” deep v-cut along the line around the block
(if there is a beard, don’t cut the line in the front). Cut out the ridge below the v-cut.
Arms (see photos below):
The shoulders are towards the back of the body.
The elbows are at belt level or just above the hips.
The armpit is halfway between the elbow and the shoulder.
When drawing the arm, first locate the elbow, then the wrist, draw the line from elbow to wrist, then
draw the rest of the arm.
What can hands be doing?
In pockets
Against the stomach
On the belt
Holding something
Folded in front or in back
Jack Price’s 12 steps of carving the face of his “compact character” (taken from
http://www.richardstamats.com/JackPrice.html):
1 – brow
2 - eye channels
3 - bottom of the nose
4 - nose clip cuts
5 - nose pyramid cuts
6 - nasolabial gooves
7 – smoothing mouth mound
8 - shaping nose
9 – more shaping nose
10 – eye channels II
11 - mouth
12 - lower lip
13
14
15
16
17
18
- mouth pyramid cuts
- philtrum
- eye pyramid cuts
- crows feet
- chin dimple
- eyebrows
Tips:
The blank is 1”x1”x3” out of basswood, aspen, or cottonwood.
Carve a slight curve in the back of the torso.
Carve a “Y” at the crotch, and carve a “T” under the seat.
Add wrinkles to the pants behind the knees by making small v-cuts with the knife.
Add wrinkles to the bends in the elbows by carving small v-cuts with the knife.
The notch defining the back of the jawline is at the center bottom of the head.
The brow cut is 1/3 down from the top of the skull to the bottom of the chin. If the character has a hat,
make the brow cut close to the hat so the character looks like he is wearing a hat and that the hat is not
just sitting on the top of the head.
The bottom of the nose is halfway between the brow cut and bottom of the chin and 1/3 up from the
bottom of the chin to the top of the skull.
The ears are set just behind the center line of the head. The tops of the ears are even with the
eyebrows, and the bottom of the ears even with the bottom of the nose.
The two cuts for an eye channel make an approximate 90 angle. The wider the angle of the cut the
friendlier the eye looks. The narrower the cut the more serious or mean the eye looks.
There are 4 deep places in the face: the inside corners of the eyes and beside the bottom of the nose
from where the nasolabial lines are cut.
Make little pyramid cuts in the inside corners of the eyes.
Remove a small amount of wood from the outside eye corner so you can see half of the eye from the
side.
If a person is smiling, the “crow’s feet” slant up; if frowning, they slant down.
The corner of the mouth does not touch the nasolabial fold.
If the mouth is to be cocked to one side as in a crocked smile, the nasolabial fold on that side goes out
almost flat.
Cut a tiny pyramid at each end of the mouth, or make tiny downward cuts at each corner of the mouth.
Use these cuts to tuck the bottom lip into the corners of the mouth.
Men have a small concave area on the forehead just above the eyebrows. Women typically have a convex
area above the eyebrows.
The clothes are carved like a relief carving. The top layer is carved first, then the next lowest layer, and
so on.
Finishing:
Scrub with Woolite and water, rinse, let dry, dip in Danish oil, let dry, apply thinned acrylic paints (e.g.,
Delta Ceramcoat), let dry, dip in Danish oil again, let dry, and apply semi-gloss acrylic spray, and let
dry.
Highlight cheeks, end of the nose, lips, and hands with thinned crushed coral or with cadmium light red
acrylic paint.
Resources:
Books:
“Carving Small Caricatures”, Jack Price (out of print)
“50 Character Patterns for Wood Carvers”, Jack Price
“Carving the Little Guys”, Keith Randich
“Whittling Little Folk”, Harley Refsal
Internet sites:
http://www.thewoodcraftshop.com/store/p/5189-New-CD-Combines-Jack-Price-s-book-and-50-FigureCD.html
Jack Price
http://www.richardstamats.com/JackPrice.html
Richard Stamats
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=SharonMyART
Sharon Elliott
http://www.jrcarvers.com/index_htm_files/CarvingLittlePeople.pdf
Cathy Overcash
http://woodbeecarver.com/category/miniatures
Don Mertz
http://woodbeecarver.com/whittle-folk-the-beginning
Don Mertz
http://woodbeecarver.com/whittle-folk-uncovered
Don Mertz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEZC8_dHmiI
Chris Morgan
https://www.pinterest.com/lorettabroberg/carved-little-people
Pinterest – Broberg
https://www.pinterest.com/woodbee5/carved-little-people
Pinterest - Lynch
https://www.pinterest.com/leehglp/carving-little-people
Pinterest – Harold Lee
Gene Messer:
http://flatplanecarver.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/whittler0507
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJY6-W4N0XY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTIFsEcGhU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn_W3eWf2cQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHklslmVrw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Few5PQuXUzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D2q6qZUkbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWzsxYbK-cY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0UQsuKeByU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPDX1UoSydg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOr9G2BwzBc
5/14
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11/14
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Arlene Zomer (carverswoodshop)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pijchvnT5vA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l-Dv7CbiqQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzQLXF2xSwM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esg7eg_cVYk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ2fOKxZroc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y--Xe1JxZDw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYzWtfqnk1I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kWLdJ2uYeA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB45D9MajBw
Uncle Sam
Double cone policeman
Cone baseball player
Cone fisherman
Cone chef
Cone shepherd
Baby Jesus
Mary
Joseph
1”x1”x3” figure
3” old man with a cane
¾”x¾”x2” figure
Miniature cowboy
35 mm canister figure
½”x½”x1½” figure
3” big-headed figure
3” big-headed Santa
2” big-headed figure
1¾” big-headed figure