- 1). Sketch out a wood spirit on paper. Determine the elements of nature you want to include as well as the human attributes you wish to give to your particular wood spirit. Decide whether you want the character to be smiling and happy or menacing. Choose from large eyes, nose or mouth and determine how you will be incorporating the blend of nature with the human features; for example, a beard could turn into tree bark or autumn leaves.
- 2). Choose a suitable stick. The wood surface should be large enough to create a face upon. Look for a mostly straight piece of solid wood.
- 3). Clamp the stick to your work surface. Use a small chisel and your rubber mallet to create a series of initial notches in your wood. Start by making a deep notch in the center of the area you have determined for your wood spirit face. This is a V-shape cut into the wood horizontally that will be the bridge of the nose.The depth is determined by the circumference of your wood. It should be approximately a third of the way in to the wood. The second notch will be the bottom of the nose and will not be quite as deep. Follow this with one more notch, again, not as deep as the first two notches, to determine where the forehead ends.
- 4). Hollow out deep eye holes on either side of the bridge of the nose. Use your carving tools to round out the cheeks, creating two small indentations on either side of the bottom of the nose. Once these basic planes are set, finish carving the eyes and detail the facial elements such as the lips and nose.
- 5). Pencil in the nature elements and begin carving the hair. Use a variety of wood carving tools to create different cuts.
- 6). Lightly sand the image of your wood spirit and the hiking stick. Apply a light coat of varnish or stain if desired.
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