6 Backing Off

Now the fun begins... Remember to breathe! Take it slowly - it's not a competition.

'Backing off', 'back cutting' and 'backcutting' are all words for the same thing, carving literally from the back. (The opposite of undercutting, carving from the front).

We can do a lot of this work by holding the moth by the little column beneath until the last moment. After this we need to hold the wee beastie in one hand while carving with the other, a different grip and technique to the ones I customarily use on this site. I show you it in close up. Really useful for this sort of delicate work