Cut and Rough Out the Body

With the head roughed out, it is now time to take the body to the same level so the head and body can be joined for the final refinement of the bird.

The top view of the body was marked out using the pattern and the all but 1/2" I each side of the body outline was cut out. This left the sides of the block attached on which the side view pattern was aligned and marked on the block.  The whole side outline was then cut out.  This photo shows the side profile being cut out.

This photo shows one  of the 1/2 " tabs on each side of the body being cut  to remove the  sides.

The beginning of the the body rough out.  This is about 1 hour in and already there are plenty of pencil lines marking out the feather groups and flow.

I've place the head on the body to ensure this is" headed in the right direction" in the neck area.  The side is beginning to take shape and as can be seen, I am have this bird show the wing on this side of the bird.  I generally start on the sides and then work toward the back and then fit the head before working on the breast of the bird.  i find this helps me keep the right shape and proportions.

As I move to the rear end, the first step is to get the butt "rounded".  To do this, I draw circles around the butt and then look at it from the rear to see if the circles are indeed circles and are concentric.  These lines are a clear roadmap of where to make adjustments.  

Once the rear end is rounded, I then move up to the tertials and to the primaries.  By having the sides done and the butt rounded, it becomes very evident where the placement of the feathers that go on top of these areas should be placed.

More roughing out  of the top and tail.  This is a great shot of the concentric circles of the butt of the bird.

The next step is to join the head to the body so that the refinement of both can be done with the two pieces together .