Grizzly Head Wood Burn

 

14 August 2025

I did this small 8"x8" wood burning of a grizzly bear face in just a couple of hours. I used various wood burning nibs: shader, spoon shader, and ball shader for eye area. I began by lightly outlining the head and then shading over the entire area of the grizzly basswood to give it a little tone. The contour of the face and head requires some three-dimensional perspective. Using mostly the edge of the heavy duty spoon shader, I laid out the hair in patterns and direction to give it a realistic look. In areas of shadow, I increased the numer of hairs, and increased the heat slightly, as well as shading the area slightly with the spoon shader. I did the eyeball with a ball stylist, beginning with low heat and gently increasing it around the exterior to give it an oval look. When finished, I coated it with 2-3 coats of miniwax Helmsman spar urethane spray. I've found this spray to be good for preventing fading due to ultra violate sunlight.