Carving Japanese Netsuke for Beginners

I love this book! Everything about it is elegant and engaging. After some general sections on the history of netsukes and on tools, materials, and techniques, Robert Judd guides the reader through the carving procedure for six animal figures, all beautiful and charming. The explanations are clear, illustrated with photographs at each step. Less extended descriptions are provided for an additional twenty animals from the author’s collection. In the last chapters we get to admire netsukes from a number of artists and collectors. The exquisite craftmanship and the level of detail match that of a netsuke carving. For example, each chapter is printed on high quality paper of a different color and small white drawings of animal figures adorn the beginning of the various sections.Having recently retired I decided that I needed an artistic hobby requiring fine motor skills, and a moderate amount of space and equipment. I love animal sculptures. So carving netsukes fits the bill. Robert Judd’s wonderful book made me enthusiastic about my choice of activity. For the last month, I have been happily working toward my goal.

Beautiful photos of a big variety of Netsuke. My husband is a carver and appreciates the effort and the traditions of these Japanese treasures. The small size makes it a challenge.

Perfect for the beginner. So pleased I purchased this book. Instructions are clear, as are the photos.Couldn't be happier.

Great photos and instructions to get even a beginner started- fantastic book!I think the book is well presented and quite inspiring.

This is notably a good picture book (I could have gotten a 'nice' photo collection for near $100).This one not only has the how-to but offers enough pictures to inspire the carver'sfurther imagination. Love it.Bought it from Amazon.

I bought this book because I am new to carving and Netsuke really interests me. I love this book. It covers everything I could think of to get started carving these. It gives a history of the art form and the different types + a LOT more! It also has beautiful examples of ancient and modern Netsuke! I am very happy I bough this book.

Excellent book on how to design and carve Japanese Netsuke. Takes you through the whole process and discusses special techniques for creating eyes, hair, feathers, and other features. Nicely illustrated.

I purchased three of these books for my students. I am a carver of miniatures and teach details using wood. This book explains and shows you step by step how to create a netsuke. You will not regret purchasing it.

Muito bom para se iniciar ou para conhecimento de netsukes

I've ordered this book as I'm just getting in carving. It is a really nice book, only what you should be aware of, that it's not entirely beginner. I mean it does explain everything very well, but you should have a quite good amount of tools in hand to be able to attempt and Netsuke carving. Really enjoy it thought.

I like the book very much, and learnt new carving tricks that I haven't heard of anywhere.

PETIT OUVRAGE SYMPATIQUE ECRIT PAR UN HOMME D'AFFAIRES QUI LORS DE SES DEPLACEMENTS SCULPTAIT DES NETSUKES A SES MOMENTS PERDUS... DE SON EXPERIENCE EST NE CE PETIT GUIDE QUI PROPOSE DES PIECES A REALISER SOI MEME EN SUIVANT DES ETAPES SIMPLEMENT ET JOLIMENT ILLUSTREES. BELLES ILLUSTRATION PIECES FASCINANTES POUR CERTAINES, TOUJOURS D'UN FORMAT COMPACT.

Having done a netsuke beginners carving course I found this book. It extends and inspires and is I think more or less definitive on the subject. If you are interested in carving such figures this is an excellent resource.