Oh deer, are they really going to take shots FROM this rather than AT this? 😜
a deer head ice sculpture design for Father's Day?
I’m posting this deer head ice sculpture design so that I can include it as a last minute addition to my Father’s Day ice sculpture design collection for 2023. I made it for a birthday party at hunting lodge recently and I realized that if it wasn’t a luge, it could work, very occasionally, for Father’s Day too.
Growing up as a kid in New Mexico, I’ve hunted before, although I don’t anymore. Having lived most of my life somewhere on the southern edge of the country though, I can certainly understand the popularity of hunting. Trophy hunters are assholes though 🤬 This design isn’t for every venue, but it’s a great fit for a few.
Btw, this design is TOTALLY different from the other deer head ice sculpture on this site, my Rudolph design! This design is a lot more realistic and more of an ice portrait, while Rudolph is very cartoonish. And hopefully nobody is hunting Rudolph!
When I was drawing the whitetail deer, I needed a reference. Now, I didn’t do a particularly faithful drawing, but a photo by Matt Hansen was pretty useful to get me started, so thanks to him and his whitetail deer photos!
This is definitely the first time I’ve done an ice portrait of a deer. I have done portraits of other animals though, like a horse, which I’ll likely add to the site down the line as well.
I’ve made subtle changes to the templates and design in the hopes of engraving it a bit better. Some of the engraved areas were a bit too close in the original ice luge. Especially with CNC designs, you should be making slight modifications over time to improve your designs. It’s generally easiest to change the design right after you just used it, since any necessary changes will be fresh in your mind.
you likely won’t notice, but there are slight differences in the lettering on the templates from the lettering on the design pic. I changed the template lettering slightly so that it would engrave better on a CNC. This is a regular thing with CNC engraving since there is no adjusting on the fly when the machine is just engraving what you told it to.
here’s the reversed version of the deer head ice sculpture template so that you can backfill engrave it if you choose. This design is a little shorter than some, partly because it was initially designed as a luge. Ice luges that are too tall are tough to use, especially for short bartenders.
variations on the design
As you can see from the top photo, it’s easy enough to make this deer head ice sculpture into a deer head ice luge. When I made the deer head luge, I added a thin piece of ice in the back to hold the luge tubing. I’ve been experimenting with this method as a way to make the luge tubing stand out less.
When you pack white snow in behind the luge tube, the luge track is very visible and I’m just trying to find a way to tone that down a bit. I could make the entire sculpture from two pieces of ice and sandwich the luge tube inside; I know of at least one sculptor that seems to do that regularly. However, that’s a lot of work and something I’d rather try when I can get a bandsaw or something that cuts flatter slabs of ice than I can cut with my Alaskan mill.Â
links and other info
If you have any questions about my deer head ice sculpture design for Father’s Day, email me or comment below. (It might not let you though if it’s been a while.) If you would like to use this ice sculpture design or any other design on this site, please check the design usage guidelines. The design collection page lists designs on the site.
You might also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets facebook page and you can comment there as well as below. Thanks!
