“THE PROCESS”

• Blueprinting—-A process used to ensure proper scale and spacing of fins gills and other prominent features.   Pics
• Rough carving—–bandsaw, chainsaw, reciprocating saw, angle grinder……whatever gets wood gone in a hurry. Hollowing the head for an open mouth is the toughest part.      Pics
• Getting down to shape—-carefully getting down to size without going too far using an angle grinder and orbital on both the head and body. Pics
• Hand sanding—–slowly shaping the body and smoothing all curves getting down to 220 grit.
• Detail carving—–using hand tools and rotary tools to get fine detail on the face, in the mouth, and around the fins.
• Eye Mounting—-probably one of the most challenging and most important parts of the piece. Eyes are first hand painted and airbrushed and then mounted and smoothed with epoxy.
• Teeth—-if it’s a toothy fish….now is the time
• Head attached to the body.
• Fin slots
• Fin bending and mounting.
• All scales are burned into wood and carved into epoxy areas.
• Final touch up and final detail…its now or never.
• Vinyl sealer- prevent moisture from entering or exiting
• White primer
• Antiqueing—a process of blasting the whole fish with a dark color and then sanding it away leaving darker colors in the low lying areas.
• Paint….Airbrush, hair brush and sponge. Many translucent layers makes for a realistic fish.
• Clear coat—commercial grade lacquer applied with many coats leaving a rock hard glossy finish