An Owl Tutorial??
 

Hi. I tried to make an owl a few weeks ago and it was pretty pathetic. Saw some incredible ones recently in the Show and Tell. Was wondering if there was a tutorial somewhere? If not, would really appreciate any hints or help.
Thank you,

Lavender Creek (Teresa) makes the most amazing owls but she hasn't posted any in a while. Perhaps we could beg!!!! I must admit I have been trying to make owls for 12 months now and am still not happy with the result. I would love a tut.

Jenn

I can beg. LOL. I am actually good at begging.
Please, Teresa, pretty pretty please.
I don't think I have ever seen a Lavender Creek owl, but the beads I have seen have been spectacular so I can only imagine that an owl would be just as awesome.

whisper to Jenn, So how did I do??

:(

lol I would love to make an owl too. I have an aunt who is like the owl of our family (no she doesnt swoop down LOL) but would love to make one for christmas

They are pretty easy. Make a barrel using ivory, put a bit of frit on it if you like. Partially flatten, or not. For the eyes, put a big dot of a silver glass on each side. Poke deep and put a big blob of clear on it. Take some raku cane and make a beak. A dot pull up and down. Ears are raku. Dots pulled up. For the feet I just made a few little dots with raku and melted in. That's a basic owl and you can take it from there. Someone made some beautiful more realistic owls and I guess you'll just have to practice for those.

Brandie, that's an awesome bead in your avatar!

~Michelle

Thanks Rose.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...=8IZs2LFu4csrC

Here is another one done by Trish!!

WOW, WOW, WOW!!! What a wonderful and helpful tutorial! I think I love her - and you, Deborah, for posting the link!!! Thank you so much...

This is great!!!

Hugs,
DeAnne in CA

I do owls too....one way, and the easiest IMO is sculptural...you would be amazed at the myriad of different creatures you can make with a basic tab...that is how this owl started:



Another way I do owls...this is a little trickier...is to put it on a landscape.....you only have to worry about one side of the owl, but it is a little smaller so that is harder....I don't even want to get into the eyes on this one.....ugh!



The first owl has lots of silvered ivory, which makes great feathers...very earthy. I just looke at lots of owl pictures and then started experimenting.:)

Cute owls Anna. Thanjs for the link to the tut Deb.

Jenn

I'm sorry, I just now found this thread. I haven't been on the forum for awhile.
Anna gave some great advice, I love her owls!
I agree that with a simple tab bead you can create all sorts of critters. It would also be a really great place to begin with sculptural stuff. Pin up pictures of the animals you want to make as a reference. I do this a lot, it really helps.

I'm afraid that I would have a really hard time trying to write a tutorial on my owls (not to mention most of my sculptural work) because most of it is done in a very free form sort of way. They almost never turn out looking the same and I don't really follow any specific formula when I make most of my stuff. I do usually begin with a recognizable shape. For the owls it is usually a barrel shape. Then I just keep adding glass where it looks like I need more glass. I use dental spatulas as sculpting tools to help shape and to move the glass around where I want it.

Most often I use silvered glass for my owl's eyes (it probably doesn't even matter which one you use, I have tried picasso, silver mist and gaia, and they all look great) and then cover it with a thick layer of clear.

I'm sorry I can't be more specific. It is so much easier to show in person how I make stuff...it's sort of like that saying goes...one demo is worth a thousand words!

Thanks Teresa! I just saw your owls! They are fantastic (as are all your sculpted masterpieces!) :)

Thanks Jen!

Finally, I have pictures! Special thanks to Trish for her Tutorial (link in Post #9 above, posted by Deb), and inspired by Kerri and her darling Owl Babies - here are mine:

BROTHER AND SISTER:
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...BabyBrown3.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...BabyBrown2.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...BabyWhite2.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...BabyWhite1.jpg

YOU BETTER GET DOWN HERE - OR I'M TELLING..........MOM!!!!
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...OwlBabies2.jpg

FINE!!!!
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...OwnBabies1.jpg

DeAnne in CA

What cute little owls DeAnne, is one an angel and the other from the dark side? LOL

How'd you guess (giggle!) Sort of like my "two personalities", I guess! Ha!!! It's really amazing to me, especially with the sculpted "critters", how they sort of take on a personality of their own while being "created", do 'cha think?

DeAnne in CA

I sure do, DeAnne, and that must be why we love these critters so much. I'm about to post 2 of my favorite critters in the turtle tutorial but had to stop here and see what your answer was! (as if I didn't know, lol).

I'll be sure to check them out, Carol! I just posted in there too! There are some really great Tutorials here!!! Everyone is so helpful and willing to share!!!

I LOVE THIS PLACE!

Hugs to all,
DeAnne

I love this place, too!

WOW!! Great owls DeAnne. They are so cute.

Jenn

Thank you! I sure had fun making them!

DeAnne in CA

I love my first owl
 

Ok, here's my owl that I named "Hollow Al" and I didn't notice the dandruff till I downloaded it already, so he must have been flying around last night when I was up till 4:30 AM trying to get my second treasury! LOL........

I had too much fun making this owl, but it's BIG!

Carol!

What a HOOT!!! He's darling and I think he's ready to do a few more "laps" around the studio - DUCK!!! Incoming owl doing a fly over 'yur head - ha!!!! By the way, I took out my glasses and tried to see "dandruff" - still looking...maybe I need to upgrade the spectacles!

Thanks for sharing!
DeAnne in CA

Oh my goodness, Carol he is soo cute.

Oh! Owls are the one thing I collect. I don't have any in glass yet though, Duh!
Carol, I love your owl! I've got to try this. Better get out my DVD for sculptural tips ;-)

thanks DeAnne, Diane and Angela! I never knew how much fun torching could be (although I already loved it making the beads) until I made critters!

Angela, I sold my mini cc and along with it went my other copy of that DVD. I kind of miss being able to watch it. I just try and play it back in my head, lol. Anyways, it's good and it has lots of eye candy at the end of the dvd.

Hi Carol, Which torch did you get now? I've got to try critters, having never attempted any before. But it sounds like even more fun, if that's possible. :)

Not sure if you understood my comment about the DVD. It's not that I didn't watch it, I just want to watch it again 'cause my memory's not that good. LOL!
:wave:

OWL
 

Here is mine, but I dont hav a tut. Hope you can se how is done.
=:smile: