Here is my latest carving. My wife is Chinese and her father is an award winning calligraphist.
If you cannot read Chinese characters,
this is the character for Love.
Carved in purple heart, Wood was dyed using TransTint and finished with Zinsser Seal Coat Shellac.
I was attempting for the face of the character being black, raised carving and background being natural purple heart.
A textured background was carved behind the character, (hard to see)
Not sure If I like the deep purple heart color. My wife and her father really like it.
Character was scanned in on a flat bed scanner. Image was prepared for carving in Paint Shop Pro X2, saved as a bitmap file.
Height map and character bevel was created in Mesh Cam. Pattern imported into designer.
Carve time was around 45 minutes at "Best" setting.
Thanks
Joe