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

[Bluebird]

Rick, you have done a great job on Sammy. I like better the revised blue and yellow you did. That was a good move (to my taste anyway). He's a beauty!

[scrollpup]

Just an update from me... I started again tonight ....Thank gosh for drum sanders! My second cut actually fit! I'm off to the races now!!

Third cut a success! Maybe I should call in sick to work tonight! WOO-HOO!
Jerry

[jim_mex]

Sorry Rick! I seem to have deleted a previous thread complimenting your colour changes - could be the jealous half of my brain took over for a minute! So whilst I'm still in control . Great job!! - that change really has given a different look. I love the contrast now between the blue eyelid and the yellow and orange. Hey, and that cutie highlight on the pupil is neat! Sammy is going to finish up super!

@Jerry - I could email you a sick note in Spanish with the words 'Swine Flu' in big red letters
Brb - Just going for the calculator - Ok 3 pieces in two weeks, 8 more pieces to cut, another 12 - 13 days should do it mate - if you don't run out of timber again! - ROFLMAO

[jlyn069]

Hi,
Rick: Thank you

Jim: Thank you. I was looking for any shaping suggestions or corrections before I start painting. Now I see, it looks like the beak and the part around the eye should be a little higher than the rest. Am I seeing it correctly? Now I do see on your second one, I have to go back out there and texture the beak. LOL. By the way, he looks so good. I basically do segmentation all the time. Sorry, I did have to change your pattern. I was afraid the black paint on the edges would run into the beak. That is my excuse and I am sticking to it. I know I would have messed up that part, trying to paint that skinny black line.

Kathy: Your wood choices look great and the grain too.

Ktown: He really looks good.

Jackie

[jim_mex]

@Jackie - Morning ! Regarding shaping - there are no hard and fast rules and it comes down in the end to individual choice. In reply #60 to Jerry I outlined what I did for my first toucan and the second one pretty much followed the same path. Your comment about the beak being a bit higher is correct. In actual fact this is a bit of an illusion because I slightly lowered where the yellow head part runs in to it to make it seem much higher. Also the white part of the chest curves down towards the lower beak which itself is almost flat and at the maximum height of the toucan.

To emphasise the shape of the toucan I opted to heavily round the top part of the upper beak and leave the lower parts at practically the maximum height apart from slightly dropping the height at the tips of the two beaks. If you look at Rick's toucan you can see he went a little differently by rounding over the edges more where the two beaks meet and maybe dropping the hieght at the tips a little more but he didn't give such a sharp roundover curve on the upper beak. Both results look good and again its comes down to personal choice.

As to the thin black parts - I didn't put these as cut parts in the original pattern because I wanted to keep it real simple for newbies but you have a good point about the painting not being so easy. For some folks maybe the cut parts would have been a better option! Again, if people wish to modify this then I would say go for it.

As to the texture on the beak for the second toucan - well that was just a bit of eye candy which seems to have worked this time - which is not always the case!!!

In summary, don't get too buried in the technicalities, do what you feel looks ok. One thing is almost certain. If you make another toucan in the future you are sure to change things a little!

Looking forward to your finished birdie
Cheers

[Scrolling Days]

Hi, Jim.

I haven't gotten close to even starting this project yet as I have a couple other projects going on (very little of them scrolling, unfortunately) but look forward to doing so soon.

I have been reading through the thread and it looks like you've done a really great job here. I can tell you've put a lot of time and effort into this thread and this project.

Just want to say that the effort is appreciated and that my (Tilley) hat is off to you, my friend!

[Wood Dog]

Rick your Tucan looks great just don't let him fly over and sit on your clock. Going to have to paint mine too, don't have the proper wood, but I still wanted to make him. What kind of finish did you put over the paint?.....smooooooth looking.

[Wood Dog]

Not having the proper wood handy right now, I still wanted to make Mr Tucan, so I was looking in my scrap box for some wood to use, and kept hearing "pick me, pick me". This is the piece I settled on...... Yikes! Guess it will be sort of a segmentation project, and painted. Kind of a cheeting intarsia per se. Got this done so far, and I have downsized the pattern.

[scrollkat]

Rick - Your toucan looks fantastic! I'm jealous. It'll put mine to shame. Once I get it finished that it.

Have most of the shaping done but due to some other things going on the last couple of days, haven't been able to work on it. Hopefully tomorrow I'll find some time.

Now for my stupid question - once I get my pieces all shaped, the next step is to glue them together? Then the finish? Then put it on a backer board?

Kathy

[jim_mex]

Hi WD - keep going, keep going ......LOL!

Kathy - I'd prefer you get a definitive answer from our professionals since you are going for a clear finish on natural wood colours. However, what i would probably do is fine sand all the pieces finishing with #220 or similar fine grade, wipe the peices down with cloth damped in mineral spirits to remove all the dust and then give one coat of your top coat. Let it cure until its perfectly dry and then lightly sand away any fuzzies with a #400 grade paper or maybe fine wire wool. Then glue and after setting apply your remaining top coats. Last job for me would be the backer

Hopefully someone will read this and give a second opinion

Cheers