Ice Carving Techniques
This section will cover some basic carving techniques that will help to keep you competitive in the industry. It does not matter if you carve for your customers, competition or just for fun. To know and understand the basic skills is key to being competitive in this industry and improving your ice sculptures.
Learning basic Precision Cutting skills is a must before attempting to carve. Just like studying culinary arts, you must learn basic knife skills before you begin to cook!
It is important to know how to make a perfect cube and sphere before attempting complex and combined shapes of sculpting. Please pay close attention to this section as it is vital to lay a good foundation for your carving skills.
After you are familiar with basic shapes and you can work with a chainsaw it is now time to move into the 10 Steps to 3D Carving. This process will help you from being overwhelmed when carving. It is easy to get lost or fall off track when you are unsure what to do next. Follow these steps and start attacking ice sculpting with a plan.
Fusion is probably the easiest technique to teach young carvers. The art of bonding ice has come along way from stacking ice and adding salt (which you should never do). This section will help you to come out of the block and build sculptures in the round with depth and dimension.
Design and Templates are discussed under the 10 Steps, but this section will be more in depth. If you are interested in making competition style templates then you should look at our section on competition design. There are many ways to make a template and some carvers out there believe this to be a waste of time. The best carvers in the world use templates because it is crucial for making a great sculpture. Even the best ice carving business use templates to ensure good quality and consistent product.
When you are really trying to work outside the box and you need an explosive design, check into our section on Competition Designs. This section will go over detailed ways to lay out competition style sculpture. If you are the chef carver trying to make a name for yourself in the competition circuit, this will really help you out. Remember that the designs listed in this section are not for you to compete with, they are their to help you learn the design concepts of professional ice carvers.
Logo Reproduction is quite easy. If you can trace and you have the right tools you will have absolutely no problem making great logos. Adding color on the other hand is a different beast. This takes a bit more skill and we will discuss some different techniques that businesses use.
ACF Regional Conference in Columbus, OH
Carving techniques
John Kelly learns the 10 steps to 3D process
Future Sections for School of Ice:
Designing Ice Bars
Liquor Displays and Luges
Creating an Ice Fountain
Designing Food Displays
Table Centerpiece Sculptures
Creating Textures in Ice
If you have any input for sections that we already have, would like to help us write up a new section, or have an idea for a section you would like us to create then please email your thoughts and concepts to us.
