A roughout is the start of a carving that allows the carver to skip the first few steps to go right into the “good part”. They’re great for developing your creative eye, because they have a basic but distinct shape that lets your imagination take off. The rough figure might have its own shape, but no one said which side was the front, back, top, or bottom. That’s up to you to decide. Hold the roughout one way and maybe you’ve got a grizzly old rebel in the making; turn it upside down and there’s a lazy bullfrog. In his friendly, laid-back way, Tom Wolfe guides you step-by-step through the carving of an unlucky fisherman from his own roughout design. The emphasis here is on staying loose with the carving and seeing the endless possibilities you have in carving anything from the most basic shapes to the smallest details. A large full color gallery features a variety of characters all made from the same roughout. Don’t look too far ahead, because you might miss something!