"Eye" Catching Details: Explore Simple to Complex Methods of Creating Eyes in Intarsia

Bradley Eklund
Mar 10, 2024
5 min read

Vampire Crab close up of face and body — Vampire Crab

If eyes are a window to one’s soul, it’s safe to say this plays true with intarsia as well. That’s why we spend a great deal of time when making eyes. If done well, they can truly elevate a piece, and if done poorly, they can make the whole thing look a bit goofy (not always a bad thing!). There are so many ways to incorporate eyes into designs. Of course, there is no best way to create eye details, so over the years we tested out lots of different styles, each having some pros and cons.

Closed Eyes

A cute cat sleeping and curled up in a ball carved out of wood — Sleeping Cat

It may seem a bit counterintuitive, but the easiest way to create eye detail is to remove the need for the eye all together. I don’t mean that in a one-eyed pirate sort of way, but in a sleeping cat sort of way like in the photo above. If an animal is sleeping, you don’t typically see any parts of their eye, but with intarsia, you still need to indicate where the eye is. One of the simplest ways to do this is by adding a detailed fret line. No segments, no shaping, no hassle. While this is the easiest method, it’s also the least interesting. For a slight “upgrade”, adding a closed eye segment is a great option like the rabbit seen below. The black piece is only one segment with a slight groove down the middle to give it a closed eye look.

A rabbit or hare taking a nap in the middle of a race with a tortoise carved out of wood like sapele — Hare Taking A Nap

Wood Burning

Sometimes segments or fret lines just won’t work in certain projects, most notably with ornament sized intarsia like the drummer ornament below. That’s when I turn to my wood burner for help. If cutting small segments is difficult, wood burning may be easier than cutting the pupils out. Our octopus below has a wood burned pupil. There are a multitude of different burning tips to use for this. I like to use any that comes to a point and basically draw the eye detail in. If you mess up, just lightly sand the burning off and try again. You can typically get a few tries at least before affecting the shaping any. One drawback though is you need to be mindful of the wood you use if you intend on burning such tiny details. Soft wood such as poplar tends to bleed out when burning, while hard maple is more likely to give crisper results. It’s also a bonus if you have a wood burner with an adjustable temperature setting to allow fine tuning.

Wooden drummer 12 days of christmas wood burned eyes

Wood intarsia octopus made out of leopardwood with carved tentacle suction cups.

Dowels

Lots of our designs allow you to make a complex looking eye by cheating (only a little!). While eyes are almost never perfectly round, you can get away with using dowels for a lot of designs. We use dowels for several of our fish designs, like the speckled trout seen below. You will need two different sized dowels and a drill press setup to drill as close as possible to 90 degrees. The dowel sizes can vary, but I generally like to have the pupil be 1/8” smaller for fisheyes at least. Wood burning the pupil is the easy way to darken the dowel, but making custom dowels with black wood via a dowel plate is also an option.

Eyelids vs No Eyelids

Size of segments is typically the deciding factor if eyelids are even possible. Even in large projects, eyelids are still very small and thin. It’s just not feasible to add in every little detail so a simple eye is perfectly fine in these cases. For a more realistic eye, don’t go with a dowel. A slightly irregular circle, like the shark eye below, looks more natural than a perfect circle.

Great white shark out of oak carving wood intarsia with teeth overlays — Great White Shark

If you are brave enough to cut teeny tiny segments, then definitely add in the eye lids and any other little detail you can pack in. While it can be a pain to cut and shape at times, detailed eyes have a way of really making a project POP! Dogs are one subject that we try to add extra eye details. Those puppy dog eyes just wouldn't be the same without the detail! Aside from the occasional annoying lost segment, the more detail an eye has typically means the more fragile it is. There is always a tradeoff so be careful while cutting these delicate sections.

Wooden eye of dog with eye lid, pupils and cornea being held by a man — Dog Eye Details

Fragile piece of wenge wood glued together being held by a man — Broken Piece Glued Together

Complex eyes

Cutting small complex eyes is not something I would recommend to a beginner for sure. For the veteran looking for a challenge…that’s a different story! The animal kingdom has an array of bizarre and interesting eyes for you to test your intarsia cutting prowess. Ever look a squid in the eye? If not, you’re missing out. They have this neat looking kidney bean shaped pupil. Their cephalopod cousin, the cuttlefish, also has a unique and fancy looking eye.

Cuttlefish close up wood carving made out of teak, zebrawood, maple, and shedua — Cuttlefish eye

Reptiles have some crazy eyes also! But how small is too small for detail? Hazel has absolutely tested me on this and pushed me to new limits, as seen in the photo below of a red-eared slider eye. It may take several tries to get a satisfying result, but to get such detail in such a tiny piece is very rewarding. Before moving away from reptile eyes, I need to mention one of the craziest eyes we have made, which belongs to an alligator snapping turtle. They have something called a radial eye, which I find fascinating. I never knew this was a thing before working on this design. The things you learn while making intarsia!

Man holding a recently cut red-eared slider wood eye on top of a scroll saw using woods like yellowheart, morado, and zebrawood — Red-eared Slider Eye

Close up of wood carving of alligator snapping turtle radial eye with various wood such as bocote, shedua, morado and black walnut — Radial Eye of Alligator Snapping Turtle

A Glossy Finish

For extra points, apply some high gloss finish to the eye. This gives it a wet shimmering look that adds even more realism to your project. A can of wipe-on high gloss polyurethane and a small paint brush works perfect for this.

Close up of wood carving of saw-whet owl using high gloss polyurethane made with spalted wood. — Saw-whet Owl Eye with High Gloss Polyurethane

A lot of designers like to add in an artificial white reflection dot in eyes. We use the high gloss poly on eyes instead, which creates a natural light reflection without needing to add in the extra white dot. Either option will give an eye some extra detail.

Eye Think That's All

In conclusion, creating captivating eyes in intarsia woodworking is a sure way to add another level of uniqueness to your projects, breathing life and personality into each creation. Mastering eyes is one step to mastering intarsia and can transform ordinary pieces into extraordinary works of art. As you delve into the world of eye-making in intarsia, be bold, try new methods, and watch your projects come to life. Thanks for reading! Time to make some sawdust.

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