Caricature Carvers Showcase: 50 of the Best Designs and Patterns from the Caricature Carvers of America (Fox Chapel Publishing) 30 Featured CCA Members and Their Work, from Woodcarving Illustrated

When I decided to pick up a caricature carving book I was thrilled by the number of titles available. This excitement soon turned to confusion as I tried to decide which books to add to my cart and which to leave on the Amazon.com shelf. A large part of the problem was that most of the books within the field of caricature carving seemed to carry a 4 or 5 star rating which prevented me from enacting Rule No.1 of my AMAZON RULE OF PURCHASE which states: All things being equal, purchase the item with the highest customer rating. So with Rule No.1 nullified I found myself pouring over page after page of LOOK INSIDE in an attempt to narrow down my choices. Unfortunately, that wasn't much help either so I took the unprecedented step of just buying EVERY caricature carving book I could find that carried a 4 or 5 star rating. 10 days and 5 titles later I'm ready to offer you my feedback, based on a few essential criteria, in the hopes that I'll save you both the time and the money I invested. Before I get to my ratings, let me run down the criteria I used to make my assessments: 1) Larger books with good color photography trump smaller books with black & white photography. 2) Books that provide step-by-step instruction are far superior than photographic collections of finished projects. 3) Books that provide complete instruction, from wood selection to painting techniques, are better than books offering scant or piecemeal instruction. 4) Because individual carvers have unique styles, I found that the books that contained the works of numerous carvers were far more instructional than those containing the works of just one carver. With those 4 criteria in mind, my top 5 caricature carving books are: 1) Caricature Carving: Expert Techniques & 30 All-Time Favorite Projects ~ The BEST of the bunch. Wonderful photographs outlining the steps required to carve the works of numerous different artists. Instructions run from wood selection all the way to paint selection with everything in between including which tools to use. If you have a limited budget or you just want to own one caricature carving book then this is the one for you. 5 STARS 2) Caricature Carvers Showcase ~ Unlike the #1 selection, this title does not include ANY step-by-step instructions on carving so if you're looking for an instructional guide, this ISN'T it. So why do I rate it so highly? Because it contains wonderful color photographs of the work of 50 different carvers; and while it's a mystery HOW the artists created their work, you can't help but shake your head in amazement at the finished product. 4½ STARS 3) Whittling Little Folk ~ A smaller text from a single artist. The work here is more basic than most caricature carvers which is not necessarily a bad thing for the novice carvers among us. Good step-by-step color photography. The first 2 projects are covered in detail from wood selection to final coat of paint. The final 15 or so projects are described in far less detail. Not as flashy as some of the other titles, but this one grew on me and was actually the source book for my very first carving effort. 4 STARS 4) Caricature Carving from Head to Toe ~ A decent text that contains thorough, step-by-step instructions and photographs leading to the creation of an elderly gentleman caricature. The book contains the work of just one artist so you'll garner just one perspective which I think is a major limitation. A gallery of the artists work rounds out the text, and while his work is of the highest quality it's not as varied as that of a collection of artists. 3 STARS 5) Carving the Little Guys ~ With just 31 pages this is more of a pamphlet than a book. The text is again the work of a single artist who's forte appears to be basic caricatures. Good photographs instruct the reader in the production of just a single, basic caricature (is the black thing under his nose a tongue or a moustache?). Overall, rather disappointing. 2 STARS So there you have it, I hope that saves you the time I lost as well as the money I spent!

What talent! This book is more about inspiration. There are carvers tips but it is very light on how to. The patterns are good so challenge yourself to study the ones you may choose to do and just remove the wood that's not supposed to be there. It's a great book, well photographed and everything is very crisp and includes some hilarious gallery ideas. This is my number two favorite book on caricature carving, number one being "caricature carving expert techniques -30 all-time favorite projects " This one has very detailed how to photos and text. However, both shouldn't be passed up. .

Great book with wonderful carvings and photos. It inspires me to improve my carving skills.

Informative with good patterns and tips on carving the various patterns in the book. Would not recommend for beginning carvers.

arrived as advertised

The first 20 pages show caricatures from expert carvers and they are really well done! Following those 20 pages are 50 really cool carvings with patterns. This book has a few tips for each pattern but no actual instruction so it is a better buy if you are an intermediate carver wanting to challenge him/herself or and expert carver looking for patterns. I suspect that a carver who is capable of carving these would also be making up his/her own patterns. Anyway, I like it and am excited to try to duplicate some of these patterns.

I am a woodcarver, and am interested in this type of book. Lots of patterns and information. It is more than one experts patterns and you also learn a little about these people. I think the book is between good and excellent. You have to measure the patterns pretty carefully, they tend to have different measurements. They are a lot of fun to carve. The Caricature Carvers Showcase: 50 of the Best Designs and Patterns from the Caricature Carvers of America (Woodcarving Illustrated Books)

Love it !. Its not a instructional book but photos of work by some very talented people. They give a brief history of each carver and one tip based upon their experience. It is really inspiring and can influence one to really delve into this interesting and entertaining art.

This book was a disappointment to me, as I am a beginner in carving and was looking for more of an instructive book with desings, which this book did not give me. It was more a showcase and their work of masters shown in a carving magazine and really gave only view templates to use. It was partially my own fault for buying the wrong book, I should have read the instructions more carefully and twice, which actually stated that this was showing featured carvers their work. I guess I was influenced by the title" ..... 50 of the Best Designs and Patterns from etc ". There where only really one with a pattern a beginner could work with, all the others where just the finished product

I like this book with nice patterns!

Bonjour, encore un sublime ouvrage qui vient agrandir ma collection. Je possède déjà "Caricature carving expert technique 30 all-time favorite projets" ouvrage que vous trouvez aussi sur amazon et sur le qu'elle j'ai aussi laisser un com. Dans l'ouvrage concerner vous découvrirez 50 modèles avec en générale 4 plans détailler de chaque personnage en vue différente, afin de pouvoir les créer, tous plus intéressent les uns que les autres. Réaliser avec un grand humour ce qui m'attire beaucoup aussi. Il n'est pas si facile de réaliser ces personnages, mais je pense surtout qu'il ne faut pas chercher à faire de l'identique. Un bon style qui tire beaucoup sur le western pour la plus par, mais certains sorte du lot avec un autre style. Je tient à préciser que le livre que je site plus haut et tout aussi intéresser et présente une autre gamme de personnages. Si vous aimez créer avec humour, sympathie et un peut d'acharnement pour réussir, alors ses deux ouvrages pourrez vous convenir. Amicalement Mme Billon-laroute Sandrine

Very good book, very helpfull, nice pictures, good tips and trucs, easy reading, can say buy the book, it is oke

Hace poco he conocido esta técnica del Woodcarving y me ha encantado. Estas revistas te dan facilidades a la hora de programar una escultura dando detalles de como se hacen.