First time horse

[lwomack1369]

I would love to get some feedback as this is my first attempt at this type of project.

[workin for wood]

It's a great start! The face, the grain direction is off quite a bit. You put lots of effort into trying to shape it!

[Mike Crosa]

For a first time, it looks pretty good. I hope my first will be as good.

[Rolf]

It looks like you picked some tough wood to get started with. It looks like oak.
I agree with Jeff on the grain direction.

I really like your use of carving tools to add details.

Great start!!

[mrsaw]

thats a good start,i like the horse.tom

[greatdane2]

Looks like you had fun and it turned out good.And seeing as you asked for feedback, I would suggest 3 things. As allready mentioned the grain is a bit off.
On the neck you have rounded the edges down where it meets the mane. I would just lightly sand that edge. The reason for that is the way you did it, it looks like the mane is sunk into the neck. The mane should be higher than the neck so maybe put some shims under the mane to lift it up higher than the neck.
On the mane at the back of the neck you have 4 pieces that vome to a point. If you sand the back of those pieces so it comes up to a point at the tip you will end up with a more 3D look. Also if you take the remaining pieces and sand the front of them down away frum the neck it also will help the 3D look.
Don,t take thios the wrong way as your project is a great effort and it just takes practice and a bit of extra work to really make a difference in the final product.
If what I have said is not clear just let me know and I can post some pictures of what I have talked about.

[marshall]

I've never tryed this kind of project and it looks good to me , I don't know noting about the grain direction , guess I'm also learning from others work too ................................Marshall

[minowevie]

I agree with Jeff. the grain on the face would look better if it went ear to nose. and also the shaping on the face. like alan said. all and all. I can see you did a lot of work hear. and you have the hart to make it better by asking . I totaly commend your effort, and willingness. I would be proud of this first attempt. looks like you will do great in this form of wood work. just some net picking changes. your picture of the project is great. my first project wasn't near this good. your staining is nice too. you have a great start there. your friend Evie

[Wood Dog]

Welcome to the forum for starters. You've got a great attitude about wanting some feedback. I've never attempted intarsia, so this is just my observation, not a opinion, or help.
The eye looks sick. I don't know how to say it differently, or in a way to help you.
Good luck with the directions others have given you, and thanks for putting yourself out there by posting a photo of your project. We love pictures here, it helps lots of us learn. Come by often we love new members here.

[Bluebird]

You did really well on this first project! Congratulations! I also like the carving you did on it. Since you are asking feedback, let me add my 2 cents and give you some ideas to play with.
To add on the 3D effects, I would make the hair that are going straight to the right a bit thinner then the hair coming back on the horse's face. As for the neck you can also make it thinner overall since the horse's face and hair should be "closer" to the viewer. For the eyes, I would try to make it more as a "half sphere" instead of a flat surface. You can do this by sanding a dowel in a round shape. You can burn the dower to make it dark like the eye you did. You can add a little white dot to it to make it more "alive" if you wish. Those are just ideas because as I said at the beginning, your project looks very nice for a first!