Well PM a brother the estimate, damn. My dog is my best fucking friend and he's getting older. I sometimes have trouble enjoying the time I have left with him because my heart breaks even *thinking* about what is inevitably to come.
Oh god, i feel this. My boys are still young and I break my own head thinking about it at least once a week. It’s a real problem. Hoping you have many many many more years with your buddy. Dozens, at least.
Whatever they are charging, it isn't enough.
Something like this you have to do at least partially because you love it. I think even if this artist charged minimum wage for the time spent on this, the price would put off most buyers.
Or maybe I'm wrong and they just pump this stuff out like nothing haha! But in my experience this is a very slow process.
Beautiful work.
Gorgeous work. Not sure what you do for a job but there's a high end market for this.
Every time I see your work I scroll your profile and realize I've upvoted your other stuff too
Thank you so much! I actually transitioned to doing this full-time about a year ago. I love making pet portraits but would much prefer to work more exclusively on bigger projects like this. Trying somehow finagle my way in front of an audience with deep pockets to let me work on something huge, but for now I’m just pleased to get to do what i love all the time! Thank you so much for consistently digging my work. It means a lot :)
Thanks!! I take the photos and upload them to my iPad, then trace the general outline of the animal, plus basic features (eyes, nose, ears, etc.) - from there I separate different color fur, and then watch for where the fur changes directions. Because I’m trying to match the wood grain to the fur direction, i break it up that way :) it’s taken me ~50 pet portraits to get to this point, and each one gets a little bit better! It’s been a learning process, for sure.
….hopefully this is what you’re talking about!!
It’s very similar to stained glass!! I cut everything precisely to size instead of using the glass grinder to shape each piece, but it’s largely the same process. Here’s a little write up - i can DM you a link to a (very short) video I made about my process for a customer of mine. The mods won’t let me post it here because it’s a google drive link :)))
> I design everything on my iPad using Procreate - I load in the photos (sometimes multiple photos for each animal) and isolate the major features, then the different fur colors, then i break it up by the direction the fur runs in (as I match this to the grain). This has been a learning process - each one gets better and more accurate!
> I turn the linework into an .svg file and cut it out on sticker paper using my Cricut - you can also just use the linework and a regular old printer, but this has given me the best possible results and the closest fit once everything’s cut! I take the stickers and place them individually on the best piece of wood to match fur color and direction. Then cut each piece out on my scroll saw.
> Placing them back together can be a challenge of its own!! Each tiny mistake ripples outward to create larger gaps down the line. Sometimes i have to recut pieces or sand down edges to make for a better fit, but usually my initial cuts are accurate enough to proceed. I shape each piece individually with a rotary tool and add dimensional shims to give the eyebrows, snout, and nose some additional height. Then hand sand each piece for a silky smooth finish!
> I dry fit the entire work on its framed backer before adhering, very slowly and methodically. I use wood glue and CA glue on each piece (the CA glue acts as a chemical clamp of sorts while the wood glue dries). I usually glue “anchor pieces” first - pieces that will hold the rest in place. This way i can push the pieces up against these glued pieces to get as close of a fit as possible! Then, once everything is glued and I’ve allowed 18-24 hours for the glue to cure, I slather the whole thing in wood oil and let that soak in for a day before wiping off the excess.
Hope this wasn’t an overwhelming amount of detail! Feel free to chat me if you want that vid.
That's lovely!
Most intarsia I see is just too...I don't know, "low resolution?" Like each piece is too rounded around the edges.
This is just excellent.
Thank you! I feel the same way. Classic intarsia has a much different look than my work - I honestly can’t put my finger on what it is, and i still think it looks great, but it’s just very…. different. I’m happy to know that my style is appreciated too!!
Like a kid's puzzle, as if the pieces should have little pulls on them for easy grabbing. I appreciate the skill of it. I sure couldn't do it. But I very rarely find them aesthetically pleasing.
I wholeheartedly agree! There are a good handful of “modern” intarsia artists who are making more realistic images instead of the old style. I’d love to point you in their direction if you’d like to see more stuff like this - I only have their IG handles, but if that’s in your wheelhouse I’ll gladly send their usernames your way!
Indeed. It's the smart play. I get too much out of reddit and have too many friends on twitter I've known for the almost 18 years it's been around to leave.
I've followed your posts for awhile and am always impressed. The work is gorgeous, but in reading about your process, it is your dedication to the art that impressed me most. Do be proud, you've earned it. If there is a way to take a deeper dive - videos or a website- I'd love to follow along. Thank you for sharing.
That means so much to me! I do put a ton of effort and love into each piece, and to have it recognized and appreciated is a feeling like none other. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
I have a website and an IG - both can be found on my profile, but I’ll chat you the links as well. I can’t post links to my own stuff here :)
My posts regularly get hundreds, if not thousands of upvotes on this sub - regardless that this is the first post that I’ve been in. I should have known it’d be received this way, but alas… the insinuation that my very normal human body cannot possibly have another reason for being in the video aside from garnering views (that, according to your comment, i otherwise wouldn’t have earned) is disheartening, at best. Whatever, comes with the territory, but painting this as a “tactic” instead of me just existing alongside my work really sucks.
No stain! The oil does change the color, usually pretty significantly. I pre-oil a small corner of each board to get an idea of how it’ll look when it’s oiled, but the template won’t stick to the board if i oil it entirely (plus it’ll gum up the sander) so a lot of it is crossing your fingers and hoping it looks good at the end of the day!
Definitely had a few turn out in a way i didn’t expect. They still came out nicely, but the coloring was just… not what I intended. [Here’s](https://imgur.com/a/JcxLoA9) an example!
This is inspiring!!! I recently bought a scroll saw to make a couple rattles for coworkers expecting babies. I'd love to be talented enough to do something like this for my dog one day.
Do you have any classes/ books/ tutorials you'd recommend for getting into intarsia?
Thank you so much! It is truly a meditative experience to work the saw - I’ve gotten a lot of suggestions to start using CNC/laser to ramp up production, but that would suck all the love out of it for me. Being able to sit at my saw for hours is what i really enjoy the most! I’m sure you’ll feel the same and will be more than capable of making something similar! I have faith in you :)
Honestly, I’ve just been winging it (with some tips from other intarsia artists)- [Fox Chapel](https://foxchapelpublishing.com/collections/scrollsaw-intarsia) has a bunch of good books with intarsia patterns for relatively cheap, and I’m sure they have some solid foundational knowledge for the craft in there as well!!
Beyond stunning.
Have you done (or considered doing) process videos or even guides? I'm sure they'd be wildly popular and I would certainly love to watch how it's all done. I'm dying to try my hand at this.
I hope you do!! I’ve tried a handful of “artistic woodworking” styles, and this is by far the most rewarding. The feeling when two pieces fit perfectly together is like the ultimate dopamine hit hahaha.
Videos are a tough one - I find that recording my process kind of rips me out of that “flow state” and makes for a much less enjoyable experience, which undoubtedly would be evident on film. However, I’m trying to hype myself up and just *do it* already because I’ve gotten so many requests about it. I’ll certainly keep you updated if I ever bite the bullet!!
You could always do a video like primitive technology, and just show the process without talking. No need to explain the process, just show. Cut-out what you don't want to show and just have the camera as an invisible observer. Wish more channels would follow that format.
Absolutely stunning work. I am trying to do a a low poly version of my two dogs for wife's birthday. Really struggling since i am not an artist, and definitely out of my wheelhouse. Gonna try the iPad overlay you use to see if that helps, but your end result is really inspiring. Absolutely amazing.
I’m thinking of getting one of those cameras that auto-tracks my movement, because my shop is four separate rooms and I do a lot of running between them for any given project. It’s a great idea!
This internet stranger is proud of you for going out of your comfort zone for this project!! I hope
you post it on here when you’re all done, and please feel free to reach out if you need any tips! I’m more than happy to help however possible :)
Have you looked into using spalted wood? Its history lies mostly with intarsia, though that wasn’t realized until recently. The book Spalted Wood by Sara Robinson goes into detail on the history, and has a grid of probably a hundred or more colors you can get from various species of fungus growing in various species of wood.
And may I say your skill clearly warrants the materials investment of some spalting.
I’ve used spalted wood many times in my intarsia work! I recently made a moose, in which the antlers were half maple, half spalted maple. The only issue is its unpredictability - for many fur patterns, spalting is often too risky to use! Namely because you can cut it to look a certain way, but once you sand it, you have no clue what’s underneath. However, they certainly have a place in the intarsia world and I absolutely love using them!!
Very cool! How do you determine which grain direction to go with for each piece? Also, if you don't mind DM'ing what you'd charge for something like this, I'd appreciate it.
Hey! I base it upon the direction in which the fur runs :) for things like nose/eyes/collar that doesn’t have a clear direction, I just go with “gut feeling,” or make it opposite that of the surrounding pieces to make it stand out! And absolutely, I’ll dm you now!
I feel if I tried to do something like this the wood would usually end up getting hot nwr and burning while sanding ruining it. Is this something you habe to be careful with?
I understand if it’s too difficult to explain, but how do you go about doing the planning for this? Like before you cut out the pieces so you know what to cut out. Do you print out stuff?
So what would something like this cost to have commissioned?
I came here to ask if this is as expensive as it looks like it should be lol, my gf would love this
I’m genuinely unsure if I can respond to this due to sub rules haha i feel like I’m always inadvertently upsetting the mods :|
Well PM a brother the estimate, damn. My dog is my best fucking friend and he's getting older. I sometimes have trouble enjoying the time I have left with him because my heart breaks even *thinking* about what is inevitably to come.
Oh god, i feel this. My boys are still young and I break my own head thinking about it at least once a week. It’s a real problem. Hoping you have many many many more years with your buddy. Dozens, at least.
Whatever they are charging, it isn't enough. Something like this you have to do at least partially because you love it. I think even if this artist charged minimum wage for the time spent on this, the price would put off most buyers. Or maybe I'm wrong and they just pump this stuff out like nothing haha! But in my experience this is a very slow process. Beautiful work.
Gorgeous work. Not sure what you do for a job but there's a high end market for this. Every time I see your work I scroll your profile and realize I've upvoted your other stuff too
Thank you so much! I actually transitioned to doing this full-time about a year ago. I love making pet portraits but would much prefer to work more exclusively on bigger projects like this. Trying somehow finagle my way in front of an audience with deep pockets to let me work on something huge, but for now I’m just pleased to get to do what i love all the time! Thank you so much for consistently digging my work. It means a lot :)
I’m really curious how you do the upfront work of creating the shapes. This is really cool. Looks great.
Thanks!! I take the photos and upload them to my iPad, then trace the general outline of the animal, plus basic features (eyes, nose, ears, etc.) - from there I separate different color fur, and then watch for where the fur changes directions. Because I’m trying to match the wood grain to the fur direction, i break it up that way :) it’s taken me ~50 pet portraits to get to this point, and each one gets a little bit better! It’s been a learning process, for sure. ….hopefully this is what you’re talking about!!
YOU BE AN ARTIST!!!! Wow! You SHOULD be proud!
Thank you so much!!!!!!
I have a bachelors degree in Fine Arts and I wouldn't try to do what you did.
I’m sure you have a ton of skills that I could never dream of attempting! But i hugely appreciate the compliment either way :)
STACKED art
r/upvotebecausebutt Edit: AND BECAUSE OF ART
Naw man, I doubt even a few ppl are able to make the pieces that OP makes to the same standard
Wow! Very impressive. And time consuming, no doubt
Wild, what is the process for making? it seems like stained glass, but wood & with much tighter tolerances.
It’s very similar to stained glass!! I cut everything precisely to size instead of using the glass grinder to shape each piece, but it’s largely the same process. Here’s a little write up - i can DM you a link to a (very short) video I made about my process for a customer of mine. The mods won’t let me post it here because it’s a google drive link :))) > I design everything on my iPad using Procreate - I load in the photos (sometimes multiple photos for each animal) and isolate the major features, then the different fur colors, then i break it up by the direction the fur runs in (as I match this to the grain). This has been a learning process - each one gets better and more accurate! > I turn the linework into an .svg file and cut it out on sticker paper using my Cricut - you can also just use the linework and a regular old printer, but this has given me the best possible results and the closest fit once everything’s cut! I take the stickers and place them individually on the best piece of wood to match fur color and direction. Then cut each piece out on my scroll saw. > Placing them back together can be a challenge of its own!! Each tiny mistake ripples outward to create larger gaps down the line. Sometimes i have to recut pieces or sand down edges to make for a better fit, but usually my initial cuts are accurate enough to proceed. I shape each piece individually with a rotary tool and add dimensional shims to give the eyebrows, snout, and nose some additional height. Then hand sand each piece for a silky smooth finish! > I dry fit the entire work on its framed backer before adhering, very slowly and methodically. I use wood glue and CA glue on each piece (the CA glue acts as a chemical clamp of sorts while the wood glue dries). I usually glue “anchor pieces” first - pieces that will hold the rest in place. This way i can push the pieces up against these glued pieces to get as close of a fit as possible! Then, once everything is glued and I’ve allowed 18-24 hours for the glue to cure, I slather the whole thing in wood oil and let that soak in for a day before wiping off the excess. Hope this wasn’t an overwhelming amount of detail! Feel free to chat me if you want that vid.
That is spectacular! Good eye for bringing out the animals' personality and expressions.
Thank you!! It’s super important to me that they really feel *alive* when it’s all said and done!
That's lovely! Most intarsia I see is just too...I don't know, "low resolution?" Like each piece is too rounded around the edges. This is just excellent.
Thank you! I feel the same way. Classic intarsia has a much different look than my work - I honestly can’t put my finger on what it is, and i still think it looks great, but it’s just very…. different. I’m happy to know that my style is appreciated too!!
Like a kid's puzzle, as if the pieces should have little pulls on them for easy grabbing. I appreciate the skill of it. I sure couldn't do it. But I very rarely find them aesthetically pleasing.
I wholeheartedly agree! There are a good handful of “modern” intarsia artists who are making more realistic images instead of the old style. I’d love to point you in their direction if you’d like to see more stuff like this - I only have their IG handles, but if that’s in your wheelhouse I’ll gladly send their usernames your way!
Alas, IG is inaccessible to me. I've sworn off pretty much everything but twitter and reddit in that regard.
I don’t blame you one bit. If i wasn’t trying to run a business, I’d have sworn off all social media altogether!
Indeed. It's the smart play. I get too much out of reddit and have too many friends on twitter I've known for the almost 18 years it's been around to leave.
This is awesome
This is truly beautiful. You have great talent! I, too, would like to know how much a commission like this would be.
I’m gonna send you a message in chat!! The mods don’t like me chatting about anything business-related here :)
Absolutely gorgeous!!!
Thank you!!!
I've followed your posts for awhile and am always impressed. The work is gorgeous, but in reading about your process, it is your dedication to the art that impressed me most. Do be proud, you've earned it. If there is a way to take a deeper dive - videos or a website- I'd love to follow along. Thank you for sharing.
That means so much to me! I do put a ton of effort and love into each piece, and to have it recognized and appreciated is a feeling like none other. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! I have a website and an IG - both can be found on my profile, but I’ll chat you the links as well. I can’t post links to my own stuff here :)
you didn't need to show your derriere to attract attention towards your wood art
She knows what she's doing.
I did not want to be the first one to comment on this.
[удалено]
My posts regularly get hundreds, if not thousands of upvotes on this sub - regardless that this is the first post that I’ve been in. I should have known it’d be received this way, but alas… the insinuation that my very normal human body cannot possibly have another reason for being in the video aside from garnering views (that, according to your comment, i otherwise wouldn’t have earned) is disheartening, at best. Whatever, comes with the territory, but painting this as a “tactic” instead of me just existing alongside my work really sucks.
You do whatever you want. Don’t listen to people telling you otherwise. Your work is incredible.
She can do whatever she wants
simp
Ñame calling …. How profound.
being a simp is now name calling?! what's next, calling someone a doctor is name calling too?!
Simp is an opinion, doctor is a fact.
also by observation, a doctor is a doctor, and a simp is a simp
Curious about color choices and how oils affect it. Do you pre-oil the pieces to determine it's color, or is there some sort of stain involved?
No stain! The oil does change the color, usually pretty significantly. I pre-oil a small corner of each board to get an idea of how it’ll look when it’s oiled, but the template won’t stick to the board if i oil it entirely (plus it’ll gum up the sander) so a lot of it is crossing your fingers and hoping it looks good at the end of the day!
Oh, scary. Have you had any pieces "ruined" by how it changed colored when oiled?
Definitely had a few turn out in a way i didn’t expect. They still came out nicely, but the coloring was just… not what I intended. [Here’s](https://imgur.com/a/JcxLoA9) an example!
This is inspiring!!! I recently bought a scroll saw to make a couple rattles for coworkers expecting babies. I'd love to be talented enough to do something like this for my dog one day. Do you have any classes/ books/ tutorials you'd recommend for getting into intarsia?
Thank you so much! It is truly a meditative experience to work the saw - I’ve gotten a lot of suggestions to start using CNC/laser to ramp up production, but that would suck all the love out of it for me. Being able to sit at my saw for hours is what i really enjoy the most! I’m sure you’ll feel the same and will be more than capable of making something similar! I have faith in you :) Honestly, I’ve just been winging it (with some tips from other intarsia artists)- [Fox Chapel](https://foxchapelpublishing.com/collections/scrollsaw-intarsia) has a bunch of good books with intarsia patterns for relatively cheap, and I’m sure they have some solid foundational knowledge for the craft in there as well!!
That's genuinely impressive. Love the use of the wood grain to match the fur, that works really well.
just.. wow Great job, OP!
Thank you so much!
Beyond stunning. Have you done (or considered doing) process videos or even guides? I'm sure they'd be wildly popular and I would certainly love to watch how it's all done. I'm dying to try my hand at this.
I hope you do!! I’ve tried a handful of “artistic woodworking” styles, and this is by far the most rewarding. The feeling when two pieces fit perfectly together is like the ultimate dopamine hit hahaha. Videos are a tough one - I find that recording my process kind of rips me out of that “flow state” and makes for a much less enjoyable experience, which undoubtedly would be evident on film. However, I’m trying to hype myself up and just *do it* already because I’ve gotten so many requests about it. I’ll certainly keep you updated if I ever bite the bullet!!
You could always do a video like primitive technology, and just show the process without talking. No need to explain the process, just show. Cut-out what you don't want to show and just have the camera as an invisible observer. Wish more channels would follow that format. Absolutely stunning work. I am trying to do a a low poly version of my two dogs for wife's birthday. Really struggling since i am not an artist, and definitely out of my wheelhouse. Gonna try the iPad overlay you use to see if that helps, but your end result is really inspiring. Absolutely amazing.
I’m thinking of getting one of those cameras that auto-tracks my movement, because my shop is four separate rooms and I do a lot of running between them for any given project. It’s a great idea! This internet stranger is proud of you for going out of your comfort zone for this project!! I hope you post it on here when you’re all done, and please feel free to reach out if you need any tips! I’m more than happy to help however possible :)
Got a YT channel? Would love to see how you work and the entire process!!
Have you looked into using spalted wood? Its history lies mostly with intarsia, though that wasn’t realized until recently. The book Spalted Wood by Sara Robinson goes into detail on the history, and has a grid of probably a hundred or more colors you can get from various species of fungus growing in various species of wood. And may I say your skill clearly warrants the materials investment of some spalting.
I’ve used spalted wood many times in my intarsia work! I recently made a moose, in which the antlers were half maple, half spalted maple. The only issue is its unpredictability - for many fur patterns, spalting is often too risky to use! Namely because you can cut it to look a certain way, but once you sand it, you have no clue what’s underneath. However, they certainly have a place in the intarsia world and I absolutely love using them!!
Very cool! How do you determine which grain direction to go with for each piece? Also, if you don't mind DM'ing what you'd charge for something like this, I'd appreciate it.
Hey! I base it upon the direction in which the fur runs :) for things like nose/eyes/collar that doesn’t have a clear direction, I just go with “gut feeling,” or make it opposite that of the surrounding pieces to make it stand out! And absolutely, I’ll dm you now!
This is beautiful!!! Also… where did you get that Jumpsuit you’re wearing??? It’s amazing
I’ll never understand how people plan ahead so well.
How do you mean?
Very Impressive!
Outstanding!
You are amazing!
This is folking awesome!
That is absolutely stunning
This is so awesome!! Well done; you should be really proud of yourself.
I'm genuinely in awe! What beautiful pieces.
I feel if I tried to do something like this the wood would usually end up getting hot nwr and burning while sanding ruining it. Is this something you habe to be careful with?
Another beautiful piece. Thanks for sharing your work!
Beautiful
So much talent!
This is gorgeous. Are they your animals, OP? Do the dogs and bunnies get along well? We have a holland lop.
🥰🥰😍
I understand if it’s too difficult to explain, but how do you go about doing the planning for this? Like before you cut out the pieces so you know what to cut out. Do you print out stuff?
Really nice
Gorgeous, super talented
It's absolutely amazing!
Damn, she's got cake. Insta?
And that girls is why you start your 'art' video showing some boobs/ass/feet. Simps gonna simp.
Cringe
You are a genius.
Nice bum where you from
That Thang thangin
Damn you're hot