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How to Carve a Wolf Out of Soap

Using just a few simple tools and a lot of imagination, a bar of common hand soap quickly becomes a miniature sculpture. Due to its soft and pliable nature, soap makes an excellent material for homemade craft sculptures and due to its low cost and ease of accessibility, everyone can participate. To make a wolf, the howling guardian of the forest, a bit of artistic talent is needed as well, to render the majestic beast in a lifelike way.

Things You'll Need

Bar of soap
Paring knife
Toothpick

Instructions

- 1
  Draw a sketch of the wolf you would like to carve using pencil and paper. Use a photo or other image for guidance if you want, but make sure to shade in the details. This will prepare you for the actual sculpting.
- 2
  Scratch the outline of the wolf into both sides of the bar of soap using the toothpick. Make sure that both sides correspond to each other. Legs do not need to be in the same place but the body and the head should have similar outlines on both sides of the soap.
- 3
  Hold the soap in your hand and begin cutting away the corners and other chunks of soap that are not needed for the wolf design. This stage can be done in a rough way, but be sure not to come too close to the outlines that were made by the toothpick. Cut off small pieces of soap as you go as bars of soap often break if large pieces are cut.
- 4
  Rotate the bar of soap to cut to the outlines made by the toothpick, carving the shape of the wolf. Use the knife like you were peeling a potato, cutting long, thin strips off the soap.
- 5
  Mark details, like the eyes, mouth and fur, with the point of the knife and with the toothpick. Use the toothpick to create the texture of fur and to suggest musculature.
- 6
  Let your wolf sculpture dry for a day or two, then give it a thorough polish with a paper towel.

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