amagire

Amagire

@amagire

Werewolf consultant.

  • they/them, þey/þem

Genderdeer. The meat was paid for, but the bones were stolen.

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amagire
@amagire

oh no, I can't procrastinate any longer, it's time to carve

THE REST OF THE FUCKING HORSE

by which I mean, it needs a face. and no, looking at other carvings of horses in image search isn't a highly advanced form of additional procrastinating, I promise I'm deciding what to do by seeing how other artists have done it. yeah, it's an advanced technique, you probably never heard of it.

there is... a range of ideas out there.
Intricate carving of a horse's head and neck, with a rough, gouged texture aesthetic at odds with the sensitivity and expression of the portrait

like this fucking exquisite piece I found unattributed on Reddit, which of course said "$19,000? my kid could do that/ I'm gonna get a chainsaw and become a millionaire" because "shitting on the very concept of art" and "reddit" are often synonyms. that's a little too advanced for my skill level though so, moving on.

Crude carving of a horse, done carousel-style with the head and neck, body, and individual legs carved separately then attached to make the finished piece. the joints of the legs and the mane and tail are roughly shaped, more of a suggestion than anything. It looks very sturdy and may have been a toy for a child.
this is about the level of detail my horsie is at now, and I won't lie, it's tempting to leave it. adding eyes and nostrils and other fine details present a wondrous opportunity to screw up the whole piece, and the "nose" section of my particular bit of wood is dry and crumbly and it will be easy to take off too much and ruin it.

but on the other hand, if I don't try, I won't learn what I can get away with. plus, even if I do make an irreparable mistake (harder to do in wood than you'd think), the next horsey I carve will be better. two things I do have: free time, and a virtually limitless supply of wood. next.

dialing in on a skill level and style I think I can reproduce, there are a lot of options, including Extremely Judgmental:

a wooden horse with a beautifully arched neck. it is carved in minimal detail and polished very smooth, but the eye has been painted a vivid ivory white that stands out very strongly from the dark wood

Technically Intriguing:
A carved wooden horse with a carved halter marking out the planes of its face, and a hatched mane.

and Kind of Scary:
an articulated antique toy horse with a mane and tail made from presumably real horse hair. its paint has worn and its body is speared on a platform so its awkwardly jointed legs swing freely. its head has been carved to emphasize its teeth and round, blank eyes. kinda awesome ngl.

and of course if I do completely screw up my horse, what is that but a chance to grab some wood glue and all these chips lying around and Get Fucking Creative:
a weird but compelling bust of a horse made of scraps of wood fitted together
and this isn't really relevant but as a thank you for letting me ramble, here is a carved rhodochrosite horse head available on ebay to anyone with $1981.72. it is so MEATY.
horse

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amagire
@amagire

the chonkyness and the pink coloration of the interior wood makes me think of the horses in BOTW/TOTK specifically. I might not varnish this one (my woodworking oil turns the pinkish raw wood color brown).

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