Simple Question

[yahya]

Ive been using just a normal quarter inch chisel trying to get down the basics and perfect my hand-control. But I cant figure out how to consistently have the background negative space come out flat without its surface level varying.

I see alot of people that pull it off... and Im sure its possible to do it without resorting to routers or other machines - so people that are able to do it by hand, do you have any tips/suggestions for me?

Much appreciated.

[Ian the carver]

Try using a primitive but effective measuring guage comprising a length of wood (say 300 x 19 x 19) with a screw protruding out from mid length as much as the depth you want. Do spot carves and keep using this guage as a test of the depth. Once you've done a few spot depths you can join them tegether to get a nice level backgropund. P.S. use a slightly curved chisel to cut out background to avoid the corners of the chisel digging in.
Hope I haven't totally confused you.

[yahya]

no that makes sense, much appreciated