Step-by-step: Carving a 3D HDU fish graphic

By Troy Koskiniemi

Posted on Monday, November 7th, 2022

Back in 2011, I did a sign that was a pretty neat application for a longtime client—a hand-carved, hand painted salmon mounted to an overlaid plywood panel with an ACM backer. They bought a business and building and had upgraded things quite a bit. They said they wanted to do something interesting on the front that people would notice.

I did the logo design then they mentioned maybe a having fish on the sign so I suggested a realistic 3D carved salmon. I think that was because I can still remember a hardware store that I would go to with my Dad. They had these huge hammers on the wall and I still remember them. An oversized object like that catches your eye.

I’ve carved and fished all my life, so I was able to do and quite an accurate replica of a real fish—what we call a “June Hog” here in the Northwest. It took me about 18 hours to carve and paint it, and I had a lot of fun with it. These photos show how it came together.


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