This is my first post here, though I have been reading through your threads for tips on carving/shading foam (thank you all so much--those are super helpful!). I bought a few foam pumpkins from Michaels b/c they were on sale and I figured why not- I hate that I work so hard on real ones and then have to throw them away lol. This is my first experience with foam and shading....and because I'm a little overly ambitious, I decided to try my hand at carving portraits. To my own surprise, they actually came out really good! I just finished my third one (it's a pic of my niece) and when I lit it up I actually high-fived myself! Then I noticed something looked weird, almost like there is a window behind her face. That's when it hit me and I realized that must have been what everyone was talking about when I read through the "how to" posts and references to the dreaded black lines. I think I was initially so overwhelmed with the whole process--learning to use the tools, pattern placement, different bits etc. that I pushed the talk of black lines out of my mind.
So here's a pic of the one I did last night. I'm really proud of it, they eyes were really difficult and I think they came out great (it's way better than my first two)...Do you guys see the cross in the back ground--am I right to assume those are the black lines? What do you think my best option is now? Should I try to sand it by hand? Or the paint stripper wheel? Or maybe just leave it alone and look at it as a learning experience?
Thank you so much for any advice!!
-Ashley
