HabanaesculturaHabanaesculturaDíaz Piñero

Tutorials · Intermediate · Coming soon

The Ringed Fish

📘 This tutorial will become part of the workshop handbook. The complete illustrated step-by-step will be available soon.
~2 hTime
IntermediateLevel
Log cross-section with visible circular grainMaterial
Saw · knife · sandpaperTools

Here the wood designs the piece, not the sculptor: the growth rings of a cross-section become the eye and pattern of a stylized fish. The exercise teaches you to read the material before deciding the form.

A real log cross-section — oak, pine, or rescued júcaro, where the growth rings are clear and reasonably centered. This piece doesn't translate to foam: the whole design depends on the real grain.

From the Shop: saw, carving knife, and a finishing oil. See tools →

What you'll need

Before you start: when cutting a log cross-section, check it for internal cracks before carving — they can open up as you work.

Step by step

Initial block with the outline of the ringed fishphoto coming soon
1

Initial block

Start with a rectangular block of wood or high-density foam. Draw the front outline of the ringed fish on all four faces of the block, and mark a center line on each.

Cutting the finished front profilephoto coming soon
2

Cutting the front profile

Remove the excess material following the outline you drew. The piece is still flat, like a cut-out silhouette, but you can already recognize the overall shape.

Stages 3 through 10 are in the Habanaescultura book — currently in the works, with tracing patterns, renders of each piece, and the technical sheet for all 21 projects in the route. In the meantime, this preview shows you how the process starts.

What you'll need

Saw, carving knife, and a finishing oil — the wood itself supplies the material.

See in the Shop

Want to keep going? The complete process for this piece — and the other 13 — will be in the book. While it's finished, pick another tutorial from the route, or write to us to be notified as soon as it's out.