What Is Relief Carving?

Relief carving is perhaps the oldest and kindest way to start carving. The word comes from "to raise," to make something stand out. And that's exactly what it is: an image "drawn" into a flat panel of wood (or foam) that stands out from the background once you remove the material around it. You don't carve a figure on all sides; you work a single face, like a picture you can touch.

The types of relief

Depending on how far the figure projects, there are three families:

• Low relief (bas-relief)The figure projects only slightly from the background. The easiest and ideal to start — our wave relief is low relief.
• High reliefThe figure projects far, almost detaching from the background. More volume, more difficulty.
• Sunken reliefThe figure is carved inward, recessed into the panel. Less common, very decorative.

Why it's ideal to start

Relief forgives. Working on a flat panel, you control depth better and don't have to think the piece in 360°. It uses few tools —a V-gouge, a U-gouge— and, since it's almost flat, you paint it at the end and it looks good right away. It's the humble door into the craft: you learn to see, to score and to hollow without the material overwhelming you.

How it's done, in short

The process is always the same: you draw or trace the motif, score the outlines with the V-gouge, hollow the background with the U-gouge so the figure stays high, round the volumes, and finally paint and seal. To see it start to finish, follow the wave relief tutorial — and review the basic cuts before you begin.

A good relief has a touch of magic: it's flat and yet it has depth. That illusion —pulling volume out of a board— is the craft's first lesson.

¡Agarra tu gubia que nos vamos a trabajarrr!