Valiant Viking wood carving

Bring this caricature to life with just a knife! 

 LEVEL: SOME CHALLENGES

Unleash your inner Norse adventurer with this step-by-step Viking wood carving tutorial!

This easy-to-follow guide walks you through crafting a bold little Viking, complete with a metal helmet and those legendary horns. 

Let the carving begin!  

Viking wood carving

What you need to carve your Viking

  • I used a wood block that is 1.25 x 1.25 x 4 inches (3.2 x 3.2 x 10 cm). Want to go bigger? No problem! I've also included a pattern at the end of this page if you prefer using a band saw to roughout your carving. 
  • Please always wear a carving glove for safety. If you're a lap carver, protect your leg arteries with something flat and hard. 
  • I used a roughout knife and switched to a smaller detail knife to carve the face and other details. But you could probably get away with just one knife.
  • A pencil or pen and a ruler is needed to sketch your guidelines.
  • I've included a free painting guide at the end of the tutorial. 

Quick video overview

Before you start carving, it may help to watch this brief video that summarizes the key steps to this Viking wood carving tutorial. 

Set up your Viking wood carving

Mark your wood block so you know which side is the front and back (photos 1,2).  I marked all sides (F,B,R,L).

Sketch your guidelines about:

  • 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) from the top on the front to mark the bottom of the head (photo 1).
  • 1.5 inches (3.9 cm) from the top on the back to mark the bottom of the head (photo 2). Note: the back of the head is a little higher than the front.
  • Sketch diagonal guidelines from the bottom of the head on the front to the bottom of the head on the back on each side (photos 3,4).
  • On the front side: Sketch a guideline that is about 0.25 inches (1.3 cm) from the bottom to mark the top of boots (photo 1).
  • On the back side: Sketch a guideline about 0.75 inch (1.9 cm) from the bottom to mark the back of the Viking's boots (photo 2).
Front guidelines for carving a viking1. Front guidelines are drawn
Back guidelines on wood carved Viking2. Back guidelines are drawn
Right guidelines for carving a viking3. Right guidelines are drawn
Left guidelines for carving a viking4. Left guidelines are drawn

Make your first cuts on your Viking wood carving

Use stop cuts to separate the head all around (photo 5), removing wood from underneath. I like to start in the corners and work my way toward the middle.

Use the same method to separate the boots on the front (photos 6) and the top of the boots on the back (photo 7). 

Continue to remove wood from the front (photo 8) and the back to roughout the boots.

Making a stop cut to carve a wooden Viking5. Making a stop cut
Separating the shoes on wood carved Viking6. Separating boots (front)
Carving the back of knees on wood Viking 7. Separating boots (back)
Roughing out wood on Viking8. Roughing out boots (front)

Roughout the head of your Viking

Slightly round off all the corners on your Viking wood carving. Sketch a guideline halfway across the top of the block and add 2 guidelines about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) from your middle guideline (photo 9).

Carve back the top of the head on the front to the first guideline (photo 10). Repeat on the back. 

Draw a short guideline in the middle of the top of the block, and add lines about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) on each side of the midline (photo 11), which will help guide your V-cut (photo 12). Tip: You may have to rock your knife back and forth to get through the tough end grain. It is okay if you need to make more than one pass. When completed, your carving should look like photo 14. 

Shave wood back from each side to create a mound for the nose (photo 13).

Guidelines sketched on top of block for wood carved Viking9. Guidelines on top
Carving back top of Viking10. Carving back the front
Tick lines are drawn on wood block11. Lines are drawn
Making a wide V-cut on wood carving12. Making a V-cut
Creating a mound to carve a nose in wood13. Setting up the nose

Shape the head of your Viking wood carving

Sketch some details on the head of your Viking wood carving, including the rim of the helmet (photo 14). This caricature will have a beard and mustache. 

You want the helmet horns to sit back from the front of the helmet. Carefully make stop cuts above the guideline and remove wood from above (photo 15). I removed wood in layers. Take your time and be careful not to slip. You may want to put your piece on a table or in a vise for stability. After a few cuts, you will have greater access to remove more wood (photo 16) to set back the horns.

Facial details are sketched on wood carved Viking14. Face is sketched
Meeting stop cut on wood carved Viking15. Removing wood above stop cut
Setting back horns on wood carved Viking16. Removing more wood

Add details to your Viking

Sketch the horns on your Viking wood carving (photo 17). Remove wood to shape the horns and round the helmet (photo 18). Note: Save splitting the horns for the very end to avoid breaking them. 

Reduce some wood from the back of your Viking wood carving. You can turn your wrist and make a sweeping motion to roughout the back of the horns and helmet (photo 19). 

I used V-cuts to indent the sides of the horns (photo 20). 

Also, start to angle the shoulders on both sides (photo 21).

Horns sketched on wood carved VIking17. Horns are sketched
Rounding front of helmet on Viking18. Rounding the helmet
Shaping back horns on Viking19. Shaping back horns
Using a V-cut on Viking horns20. Making a V-cut
Shaping shoulder on wood carved Viking21. Angling the shoulder

Add more details to your Viking

Sketch the helmet all around (photos 22-25).

Shave off your sketch of the beard and mustache and replace them with a square on the front for the nose (photos 22). Note: For this carving, you will paint the eyes rather than carve them. 

Sketch the Viking’s open robe (photo 22) and the arms on each side (photos 23,25). The Viking's hands are hidden in the pockets. 

Mark wood to remove to narrow the Viking’s body all around (photos 22-25). 

Front details are sketched on wood carved Viking22. Front details
Right details are sketched on wood carved Viking23. Right details
Left details are sketched on wood carved Viking24. Left details
Back details are sketched on wood carved Viking25. Back details

Carve more details 

Separate the helmet from the head and the square for the nose. I ran my knife along each guideline (photo 26) and made a second slicing cut. This gives you greater access to carve the nose. 

Separate the top of the helmet all around, the robe, and the belt (completed in photos 39-42). Continue to remove wood you previously marked. Once you have the desired body shape, use stop cuts to separate the arms on each side (photo 27). 

Use pyramid cuts to carve the crook of each arm (photo 28). 

Carefully make a series of V-cuts to carve the bottom of the beard (photo 29). 

Use a V-cut to split the boots on the front (photo 30) and the back. You can shape the boots further later. 

Separating the helmet on Viking26. Separating the helmet
Separating the arms on wood carved Viking27. Separating the arms
Making a pyramid cut in wood28. Completing pyramid cut
Carving beard on wood carved Viking29. Making V-cut
Splitting legs on wood carved Viking30. Splitting the boots

Continue to shape your Viking 

Sketch the rough shape of the boots on the bottom of the wood block (photo 31) and remove the excess wood. 

Use your knife to separate and shape the boots. I used stop cuts (photo 32), cutting toward the leg. Be very careful here not to break your knife, or crack the boots. Take your time and be intentional with your cuts. 

Sketch where you will carve the shoulders on the back and the tush (photo 33). Also, sketch the new mustache (photo 34).

Shoe is sketched on wood carved Viking31. Sketched boots
Using stop cut to create Viking’s boots from wood32. Using stop cuts
Back details are sketched33. Back details
Mustache is sketched on wood carved Viking34. Sketched mustache

Make your final cuts

To separate the details on the back, you can use stop cuts or slicing cuts to separate the square. I then used pyramid cuts in each corner. This provided more access to cut under the arms and reduce the wood (photo 35). Check for symmetry as you carve. 

Separate the tush (completed in photo 42). I held my knife like a pencil and moved it along the guideline, making a second slicing cut.

I used the same technique to separate the mustache. Carefully use V-cuts to add texture to the mustache (completed in photo 39). You could also use a V-tool. 

Carving the back of a wood carved Viking35. Shaping the back arms
Carving the mustache on wood carved Viking36. Separating the mustache

Separate the horns

Very carefully, make a shallow V-cut to start to separate the horns (photo 37). Continue making gentle V-cuts to get to the bottom of the horns. Take your time here. 

Remove wood to shape the inner part of the horns (photo 38). I turned my wrist as I was carving to shave off wood. In places where I ran into grain issues (while carving upward) I stopped midway, and carved downward from the top to the middle. 

Splitting horns on wood carved Viking37. Splitting the horns
Refining horns on wood carved Viking38. Shaping the horns

Refine your Viking wood carving

Clean up your cuts prior to painting your Viking wood carving.

I added a few additional V-cuts to fill in the beard (completed in photo 39) and added some wrinkles near the elbows (photo 39).

I also narrowed the boots (completed in photos 39-41) and used V-cuts to add heels.

Front view of unpainted wood Viking39. Front view of unpainted Viking
Right view of unpainted wood Viking40. Right view of Viking
Left view of unpainted wood Viking41. Left view of Viking
Back view of unpainted wood Viking42. Back view of Viking

Paint your Viking wood carving

If you're new to painting wood carvings, read this comprehensive article, which explains about paint washes and provides other great tips. 

If you want a Viking similar to mine, use these brands and colors (see the bottom of this page for those I recommend):

  • Skin: Ceramcoat rosy beige wash.
  • Beard: Ceramcoat pumpkin mixed with Winsor & Newton red iron oxide wash.
  • Eye whites: Apple Barrel antique parchment white (100% paint).
  • Pupils: Ceramcoat black (100% paint). Let dry and add CraftSmart vanilla (100% paint) with a toothpick. 
  • Horns: CraftSmart vanilla wash. After allowing paint to dry completely, I dry bushed with CraftSmart chocolate brown.
  • Helmet: CraftSmart deep gray wash and FolkArt rose gold metallic (100% paint).
  • Robe: CraftSmart chocolate brown wash. I dry brushed with the same color.
  • Shirt: DecoArt forest green wash. I dry brushed with the same color.
  • Belt and buckle: Ceramcoat black wash and FolkArt rose gold metallic (100% paint).
  • Shoes: FolkArt Golden Ochre wash. I dry brushed with the same color.
  • Finish (optional): I applied 2 coats of polyurethane spray. After drying, I used homemade "turd" polish (3 parts Minwax Aged Oak Gel Stain and 1 part mineral spirits). Apply with an old toothbrush and quickly remove most of the polish with paper towels. Throw the used paper towels outside in the trash (they are combustible). 


Front of painted wood carved Viking43. Painted Viking (front)
Left view of painted wood carved Viking45. Painted Viking (left)
Right view of painted wood carved Viking44. Painted Viking (right)
Back view of painted wood carved Viking46. Painted Viking (back)

Viking wood carving pattern

Simply photocopy this pattern to size to fit any wood block. 

Free color pattern for wood carved Viking

Viking wood carving tutorial summary

  • This tutorial provides some fun challenges, such as carving the horns.
  • To make it a little easier, you will be painting the eyes instead of carving them.
  • Feel free to vary up the colors of your Viking wood carving.
  • For more information about how Vikings looked, enter "images of vikings" into your Web browser. 

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