Hi, Thanks for visiting my website. My name is Will and if you have questions
or would like to
contribute projects or ideas you can contact me
How to Carve a Bas-relief in foam
(Part 1 design and drawing)
A bas relief is a carving but rather than being fully three dimensional it is flat with some depth to it.
And I also create something called a Triptych which is a three paneled work of art. It can be a painting a carving or something similar. They were very popular during the middle ages and were often used for religious works.
I also have a video tutorial on this project at the bottom of the page.
Will has a youtube channel with over 700 videos on projects you can make. Check it out right here
The carving I make in this tutorial
It is the front piece for a Wizard's Desk. The desk isn't complete yet. This desk is part of a larger project called The Wizard's Lair. You can learn more about that here.
Here is a closeup of one of the panels.
The carving tells a story in three parts. Each panel tells a part of the story.
Materials and Tools:
A large piece of XPS foam. I use a large piece because I need a large bas relief for the table. But you can use any size piece that you want. (The type I use here is called foamular and I bought it at the Home depot) (If you need a better understanding of the foam I have more about it, what it is, and where to get it at the bottom of the page)
Paint: Brown and white
Suggested Tools, You have a lot of flexibility with this. I used a dremel with various bit, x-acto knife, sand paper, emory boards, rasps
The first thing you should do is some drawings of what you want to carve. This is important. It will make a big difference. You can't just start carving! Alternatively you can draw your sketch directly onto your piece of foam. But this can be a bit challenging if you need to erase lines and change things.
I had my sketches just the way I wanted them for all three panels. Now I need to transfer those drawings to the full size table piece.
I could try to re-sketch them but there is an easier way.
I scanned those sketches in my computer. Then in a paint program (Corel Paint Shop Pro) I resized them to the size of the table piece. Each drawing being as much as 15 inches.
Well, you can print a 15 inch drawing on a single piece of paper. But, I used the Print layout function of Corel and then printed up several sheets.
You can see in this picture the print layout page size is around the dragon head. I printed that, then printed the dragonslayer.
Now I can take those printed sheets and tape them to the table piece.
Now I can trace over the lines, pressing firmly with a blunt pencil. This causes an impression in the foam underneath.
Remove the sheets of paper and the impressed lines can be seen and drawn out. The images have now been transferred.
Take a trip to your local home improvement store and pick up a sheet of home insulation foam. The picture shows the sheet I got. It is 2 feet wide, 8 feet long and 1 inch thick. that 1 inch thick is important to remember because they often sell sheets that are 2 inches thick. You can use it but that extra thickness is not necessary.
It's very light and easy to work with. Have an employee of the store cut it in half for you so you can get it in the car.
Note that different companies make it in different colors. But they are all the same. It can be either pink, blue or green.
Lowes has it, called Green Guard. Here is a picture. It is one inch thick and two feet square. Here is a screen shot I took from their online store.
At home depot they sell the large sheets but they also have smaller ones that are one inch thick and two feet square. They call them project boards:
They sell the foam on Amazon but it is more expensive. So, use this option if you don't have easy access to a home improvement store. Watch for the sizes. YOu want the one inch thick stuff, and consider what size board you want. Mostly they sell it in one foot squares. Owens Corning foams on Amazon
How to Make a Fantasy Map
In the previous tutorial we made a big sheet of paper. Now, in this tutorial we turn it into a map of a fantasy world. I show you tips and techniques on how to do it and I also have a video. How to Make a big Fantasy Map
Ok, the design and drawing is done. 
