How to Whittle a Wolf From Wood

With their striking features, wolves make excellent whittling subjects.

Pick up a knife and some wood and get creative by whittling a wolf.

Preparing to Whittle

1. Choose a piece of wood. It should be a soft, straight-grained wood that fits comfortably in your hand.

2. Check that your wood is dry. This will give you better control when whittling.

3. Draw the desired shape of your wolf onto the wood with pencil. A sitting wolf will be easier for beginners as the shape will be easier to achieve.

4. Gather and study pictures of sitting wolves to get a mental picture of what you want your wolf to look like.

Whittling Your Wolf

1. Hold the wood in your dominant hand and begin to remove the wood in very small layers with your blade angled away from you. Keep your blade's angle consistent to help you control your shavings. The more control you have, the more detail you will be able to make.

2. Whittle until you have two rounded shapes, with the top one half the size of the bottom (as if it were a snowman). The smaller top ball will become the head, while the larger bottom ball will be the wolf's sitting body.

3. Start whittling the wolf's ears and snout. Be careful about getting proportions right. Carefully carve the eyes, nose and mouth.

4. Whittle the wolf's four legs on the bottom ball. Make the back legs sitting by carving a curved line (the wolf's haunches) onto each side of the ball. Carve four parallel vertical lines beneath the wolfs head to create the two rounded front legs.

5. Carve in fine details.

Tip

Go slowly and be patient

Warning

To avoid cutting yourself, always cut away from your body, especially your hand and fingers. Keep knives out of reach of small children and always supervise children when they are whittling