Mini Intarsia Challenge - Jim's Toucan - simple intarsia and tutorial

[jim_mex]

One can play - or maybe toucan?

Hi folks - this is a simple intarsia/segmentation project - only 11 pieces! - which I wanted to produce for a small tutorial for 'newbies' and interested 'oldies' for when I finally put my scrolling website together - sometime in the next 10 years!

I was looking for an eyecatching subject which would be great to decorate a kid's room and a couple of weeks ago during a visit to a local zoo I spotted a really lively cheeky toucan the 'take your picture with an animal' guys had on a perch in their booth. Bingo! - great subject! Back home I found a free to use toucan image on the web and drew up a pattern from it

Compared to my last couple of intarsia projects this one was easy going except for the eye and eyelid - which gave me some grief since the eyelid ring is pretty thin -about 3/4" outside diam. but only 1/8" thick. After thinking for a while I came up with what i think is a neat solution for cutting this which you can see in the small WIP slide show I've knocked up

Toucan Trivia

If you think my 'two can - toucan' play on words is lame and not very original - move to the top of the class .... In the 1940's, Guinness, purveyors of the world famous black irish stout, contracted the advertising company Benson along with artist John Gilroy to spice up their advertising posters. They used a number of catch phrases accompanied by at various times, comical animal figures which included a kangaroo, an ostrich, a seal,a lion and the one that has become almost as well known as their famous harp logo, the Guinness toucan. The catch phrase for this guy went:

"Toucans in their nests agree, Guinness is good for you
Try some today and see, what one or toucan do!"


- -

.
and here's the link for my WIP tutorialupdated to correct a technical error in naming of the eye/eyelid assembly along with an invitation to join in the fun.

Update at Sept 3 - I've now produced a 'modified' second toucan, details of which can be seen in reply #141. Click the thumbnail to view a small slide show of this birdie


Update at Sept 8
Click to view the "Finished Toucans Hall of Fame" - this file will be updated as new touqui's fly in!
Thanks to all who have made this challenge a real fun affair!

CHALLENGE CLOSING TO NEW PATTERN REQUESTS ON OCT 16th!

[scrollpup]

WARNING to all non-intarsiacs.....DO NOT crash the intarsia chat and then answer "No" when they ask if you do intarsia!! LOL.

OK Jim (and Fran and Janette) I'll play along with this one.Both feet....This could be messy (LOL)

Jerry

[Arcy]

Fantastic toutorial, Jim!

That really laid out all of the steps in a very clear, helpful, and entertaining manner. If you want to expand it (or link to another tutorial), some pictures to go with the ebonizing section might help. That's the one part I noticed where you mentioned a technique without demonstrating it. I'm not quite sure what the "Oops" was on the eyes at the end. Is it just that they aren't glossy since you haven't applied the finish?

--Rob

[Fran1942]

Nice toucan, Jim. And a humours note. We went to the zoo, my roomie and I and when we passed the cage with toucans and parrots and such, all of a sudden they started yelling or calling, just what do birds do when they are alarmed?, everyone started looking at us, the darn birds were making so much noise you wanted to put your hands over your ears. We finally figured it out, she had a red "gimmie" cap on. After we left the area, they all quieted down. We found another way out to keep from going by their cage again.
Yep, Pup it was me that suggested it, bet that will be a lesson about dropping in just any place. lol
Fran

[Fran1942]

I forgot to add, Jim. The tutorial was the best.
Fran

[jim_mex]

@Rob - good point on the ebonizing! - I've now put a link in the tutorial to the thread where I posted my experimental results a while back. Thanks pal!

And yep the oops was for the eyes - hehehe!

@Fran - what a wicked lady you are picking on a young pup ! Keep it up! LOL!

PS - I have it on good authority that toucans utter very loud croaking type sounds ! They must have a continual sore throat from doing it all day!



Glad you both liked the tutorial!

[Janette]

He's adorable Jim! Well if Lou's nuthatch and my froggie wouldn't get Jerry, I'm glad you could shamelessly intimidate him into trying the toucan We'll get 'em one way or another over to the ...dark side !

Just looked at your tutorial - it's GREAT !! HOw come you had time to do a slide presentation but not a backer

[tony coleman]

nice job jim,
i dont realy drink guiness anymore,more of a cider man now.
let me make one suggestion,make a piece in the shape of a pint glass,ebonize it,and stick both it and the toucan too a back board,and you will have a 3d picture like you see in many irish pubs,or bars as ye call them

[Bluebird]

Lovely design, lovely project and fantastic tutorial Jim! I love cartoon characters and this toucan is sooooo cute! It would make a nice fridge magnet too!
Great job Jim

[Anneh]

Jim,
Loved your tutorial and the toucan too!
Funny the mention of guiness beer. A friend of mine who is a building contractor just gave me a "guiness oak" board. He said the kegs they brew the beer in are made of oak. When they gett too old, the kegs are dismantled and the boards sold. He just finished a house for a very wealthy dude that the entire kitchen was made with guiness oak, shipped in from Ireland.
I don't know what I';; ose it for but its neat just to have it.
Luv the toucan!
Anne