Custom Wood Carvings You’ve Got To See To Believe
Who doesn’t love an awesome wood carving!?
You’ve landed here for any number of reasons – but one of them is that you’re interested in seeing some of the coolest wood carvings in the world. Are we right? Well let’s not waste any more time.
First up…
Carved Eagle
If this eagle looks majestic, that’s probably because it was carved from a majestic looking 150-year-old Oaktree. The man posing in from of the varying is Paul Waco, the artistic genius who carved this magnificent piece of work from an old oak tree. The incredible thing is that he did all of this with just a chainsaw. Fantastic, isn’t it? What an awesome wood carving…
Giant Lion In The Chinese City Square
Right now, this giant lion stands proudly in a central Chinese city Square. But how did it get there, how was it made, and what, exactly, is it? The sculpture is called the Oriental lion, and it was carved from a single redwood tree over three years by about twenty people. It was finished in 2015, after which it was transported over three thousand miles to reach where it is now. The entire thing is 47 feet long, 16 feet high, and 13 feet wide, making it a behemoth.
The Breckenridge Troll by Thomas Dambo
This troll is about fifteen tall and is the reincarnation of an earlier version. The first troll was deconstructed by locals after sparking a massive controversy. The controversy was on the future of the sculpture, as its existence brought unwelcomed foot traffic to the area. After a year of its existence, the troll was deconstructed and was replaced by this version of it. Both trolls were built by Danish artist, Thomas Dambo.
TreeHouse
No one knows exactly who crafted this beautiful treehouse. Despite clearly not being a full-sized house, the craftsmanship of it is still breathtaking to look at. It would certainly be a comfy place to stay. But that’s only if you could shrink to be as little as Ant-man and walk in through the tiny door carved into the trunk.
Game Of Thrones by Chris
If you followed the popular HBO series, Game Of Thrones, the idea of this chair would be familiar to you. In Game of Thrones, this throne was made of steel, but here it’s made of wood. This particular wooden throne sits in the center of Bathurst Park in the UK. It was sculpted out of a Holm Oak that was around 120 years, and the entire thing was done by an artist simply known as Chris. Interesting place to sit, wouldn’t you say?
One of the coolest wood carving ideas we’ve seen!
Lawn Ornament
This is a stunning example of a lawn Ornament. If you don’t know what they are, well here’s a short course. Lawn Ornaments are decorative objects that are put in the grassy area of a property. Most times, these ornaments take the form of animals.
Would you get a wood carving like this on your lawn?
Groot
The Guardians of Galaxy franchise is probably one of the most popular in the world. One of the characters in the movie is an affable tree with arms named Groot. A Groot wood carving! And why is Groot named Groot? Well, he only ever says the word, Groot. That’s why he was given the name. This sculpture is a life-sized representation of Groot. It’s also really interesting because it was carved out of a tree— and Groot is a tree.
Baby Groot
Baby Groot is the son of Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. After the sad death of Groot, Baby Groot took Groot’s place— but not without going through a teenage rebellion. This beautiful carving of Baby Groot was done by a Redditor named BerkshiremTnSculptor and was posted to the r/pics subreddit in 2019.
One of the coolest wood carving ideas we’ve seen!
Good and Evil Guitar by GigsCarvedGuitars
The one idea that has pervaded most of human civilization is the everlasting battle between good and evil. Most religions are based on it, and most cultures have that everlasting battle inbuilt in their traditions. But this battle doesn’t only exist in abstract concepts like society and culture— it can also be carved into everyday objects, like a guitar for example. This particular carving was done by a YouTube channel named GigsCarvedGuitars.
Despicable Me
Many of the most elegant wood carvings you can find on the internet are made by amateurs sculptors who do it for fun. That’s the story of this particular carving. The sculptor is anonymous, but you can see that the craftsmanship is world-class.
Wooden Elk by Jordan Anderson
This looks amazing, right? This 8 feet plus wooden Elk was entirely sculpted (asides from the head) by Jordan Anderson, a wood sculptor from Norway. The entire thing was done over a few days and was completed using a chainsaw, instead of smaller carving instruments.
Giant Sea Creature by Jeffrey Michael Samudosky
This creature carved into the wood may look like a mythical creature, but it’s not. It’s a real creature called the Giant Pacific Octopus. The carving was made by a Washington-based woodcarver named Jeffrey Michael Samudosky. Samudosky has been getting jobs like this done since 1998 and is now a verifiable expert in his field. The entire sculpture was carved from a fallen redwood that was given to him by Redwood Burl, a company that makes bar tops from redwood.
Life-like Sculpture
This looks a lot like a human being, but on close inspection, you’d find out that it’s not the portrait of a human being. Instead, it’s a life-like wooden sculpture by Italian artist Bruno Walpoth. These sculptures simultaneously celebrate the form of the human body, while retaining the natural medium of wood sculpting. It’s a masterpiece. Have you ever seen a sculpture that looks as life-like as this? With the same level of craftsmanship? You probably haven’t.
Driftwood Horses
This group of horses may look like a crafty work of Photoshop, but it’s not. It’s the work of James Doran-Webb. Doran-Webb is an artist who makes use of old materials like driftwood to make amazing Sculptures like these. He’s currently based in the Philippines, where he is constantly searching for driftwood to make new and breathtaking sculptures.
Driftwood Horse by Jeffor
This Sculpture was put together (not carved!) by an artist named Jeffor Uitto. The sculpture itself is made from pieces of driftwood that be found around the Pacific Northwest. After gathering the driftwood, Uitto assembles them into the shape of animals. This might only be a horse, but Uitto has created lots of animals from driftwood. Some of these animal driftwood forms include cats, rhinos, and even giraffes.
Take That by Thomas Dambo
This wood sculpture was made by Thomas Dambo. Dambo is a fairly popular sculptor, and his haphazard collection of trolls littered around parks all over Denmark are a testament to his amazing skill. This particular troll is located in the Morton Arboretum, in Illinois, United States. It also looks like this troll is already halfway through demolishing this car, so godspeed to him!
Forest Troll
Like the last troll, this sculpture was made by Thomas Dambo. Like the last troll, it was entirely made of scavenged wood. So it’s a troll. . .from trash. This troll can be found by hikers in the Danish wilds, and yes, they also tower above normal people. The scale of these sculptures make them so imposing— and so magnificent to look at.
Forest Troll
Here’s another wooden sculpture made by Thomas Dambo. If you hadn’t been told, you probably would never have believed that this entire sculpture was made from scraps. But it seems like there’s nothing Thomas Dambo cannot do or accomplish.
Cadillac Sedan
We’ve seen 15 feet toll trolls, we’ve seen a near-mythical monster of the sea, and we’ve seen horses made of driftwood. Now, it’s time to see a Cadillac Sedan carved entirely out of wood. This sedan may look like a life-sized model, but it really isn’t. It’s just a little longer than a foot. The fact that it looks bigger than this is just evidence of photo manipulation.
One of the coolest wood carving ideas we’ve seen!
Woodpecker
What do you do when you just cut a tree down in your yard? Do you remove the stump and trunk whole, or do you turn it into something extraordinary? For Rob Beckinsale, the answer is pretty simple; you carve the trunk and turn it into a giant woodpecker. You just have to admire the craftsmanship on this piece— regardless of what you think of woodpeckers.
Pouring Bucket
There are some things you just see and wonder how it was made. One of such things is this wooden sculpture here. Sure, the physics works— but our eyes keep tricking us into thinking that it doesn’t. While we don’t know the person who made this wonderful sculpture, we certainly know that they would be a master craftsman.
Woman in Wood
When most people think of wood carvings, they think of making entities out of wood. They rarely actually think of the literal meaning, which is a carving made into the wood. Anyway, this wood carving is an example of a great carving made into the wood. The sculptor, of course, is anonymous, but their skill can’t go unnoticed.
One of the coolest wood carving ideas we’ve seen!
Dead Tree Carving by Mark Acton
The image is carved out of this tree is that of an old man near the end of his life. This image is fitting because the tree it is being carved out of a so-called dead tree. The carver in the picture is Mark Acton, a sculptor with years of wood carving experience. When Mark was originally contacted to make the carvings, he wasn’t entirely sure he could do it. But we can now see that his hesitation was unfounded.
Troll by Thomas Dambo
Yes, you guessed right. This is another troll from Thomas Dambo’s collection. The interesting thing about this carving is that it isn’t just a wooden troll— Dambo also added a pile of stones for the troll to play with. Thoughtful, isn’t it? Cn you imagine stumbling upon this wood carving in the wild!
Troll By Thomas Dambo
What’s better than a huge wooden sculpture of a troll? A huge huge wooden sculpture of a troll that also doubles as a cute little swing for kids. The green leaves at the top of this troll’s head is also a pretty nice touch.
Animals by Giuseppe Rumerio
Rumerio does not typically name his sculptures but they have one thing in common – life-like animals doing wild things. The internationally acclaimed artist, who started at the age of 14, has over 30 years of experience. The Italian artist works from his small studio yet his work has reached global recognition. This wood carving is so realistic!
Policeman Carving by Eldon Humphreys
Eldon Humphreys is a retired Chief Superintendent of the Ontario Provincial Police, living in Guelph, Ontario. Humphreys started carving in 1983, and since then he’s been making magnificent wooden caricatures like this. Ever since he got retired, he’s channeled more energy into caricature carving and today he’s one of the foremost caricature carvers in Canada.
Basswood and Walnut Piranha Plant Carving
One of the hardest things in the world is getting wood, a very hard material, to look soft. And it looks like this sculptor has mastered the art of making wood look soft. This picture was uploaded on a subreddit ten months ago by someone named Abevigodasson. Whether they were the ones who made the carving or not, we don’t know.
Wood Carving – Sea of Skulls
Most people prefer to have guitars that don’t have a sea of Skulls on them. But what can you do when the sea of Skulls is carved so beautifully? Nothing. You can only suck it up and enjoy the view. This guitar was made by Doug Rowell, a wood sculptor who specializes in sculpting wooden guitars.
Wood Carving – Megareef by Joshua Abarbanel
This 3D sculpture by Abarbanel consists of a variety of cut wood. Completed in 2014, this stained wood sculpture has been carefully layered and arranged like a coral reef and is a part of a private collection. The purpose of this artwork is to remind us to take care of our oceans.
This is some unusual, but amazing wood carving!
Wood Carving – Surreal Fused Figure Sculptures by Yoshitoshi Kanemaki
What’s better than a life-like wooden sculpture? A surreal life-like wooden sculpture. This figure looks very human-like from its feet right up to its neck— but the head looks unlike any human head. It has multiple faces and looks like something you may see in a nightmare. This shocking figure is part of a collection of surreal figures made by Japanese artist Yoshitoshi Kanemaki. Kanemaki often makes figures with different faces like this to show how humans can be invested in different things at the same time.
Wood Carving – Potty Wood
Most woodworks are serious affairs that take a lot of thought. Some, like Thomas Dambo’s works, are used to pass a serious message about recycling. And others, like Yoshitoshi Kanemaki’s figurines, are used to tell us something important about human nature. However, it’s clear that these sculptures were made for more practical purposes; they were made as a joke. And you’ve got to admit it’s a pretty good joke.
A hilarious wood carving example…
Wood Carving – Twin Carvings
It’s very rare to see stems divide into separate trees like this. But when it happens, it presents a unique opportunity to make a twin themed carving into the trees. And this twin themed carving may not have the best finish, but it’s evidence of master craftsmanship. The fact that both carvings are looking at each other further proves that whoever made this knew what they were making.
Wood Carving – The Bear Sign by Jonathan the Bearman
This carved bear acts as an accessory to a welcome sign. It was carved by Jonathan the Bearman, a sculptor who, unsurprisingly, carves a lot of bears. The great thing about this sign is how perfectly it fits over it. The Bear is so realistic, yet you know that it cannot possibly be a real bear, simply because even bears don’t look that realistic.
Wood Carving – Logs Of Wood
All of the art before this has been intentional to some extent. But this one is the only one that looks like it may have been unintentional. Of course, the sculptor (or sculptors) may have arranged the logs to look like the face of a wild pig. But it’s also possible that the logs just happened to look like that.
One of the coolest wood carving ideas we’ve seen!
Wood Carving – Minions
We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? Well, it’s so cute that we have to see it again.
Wood Carving – Ear By Jeffro Uitto
Uitto has made some of the most remarkable custom Woodworks on this list, and here’s another simply fantastic work from him. As is his tradition, these Woodworks were made from driftwood collected by Uitto himself. This piece probably has a deep artistic meaning, but right now we can only admire the beauty and skill used to put it all together.
Wood Carving – Carpeta Calada by Mangle
Mangle is the name of a partnership between Diego Fernando Alvare and María Paula Alvarez, two Colombian sculptures who met, fell in love, got married, and joined hands to create this masterpiece. This 2014 work stands out as it isn’t immediately recognizable as woodcraft as it gives the illusion of textile.
This is some unusual, but amazing wood carving!
Wood Carving – Troll by Thomas Dambo
Here’s another wooden troll by Dambo. This troll appears to be quite young. Or is it a dwarf? Anyway, it’s smaller than the other trolls that Dambo has built. And like every troll Dambo built, this one was also made of scavenged wood.
Wood Carving – A Matter of Time by Paul Baliker
One of Baliker’s most acclaimed pieces is A Matter of Time, a meticulously carved masterpiece that features several characters from the animal kingdom. The 3D-like piece took the artist around six months to complete and is designed to remind humans to take care of the animal kingdom.