When it comes to carving you may not be Ian Norbury, but for puppet characters you don't have to be perfect. I sometimes wish I carved more like I did when I first started out. They were more caricatures back then now they are more realistic. I like your puppets. Your students should know the main carving is feet, hands, heads and when you do it enough it becomes simpler.
I switched to a sloyd knife and a really wide occ tools palm gouge for roughing out (similar to how you started). The stout blades let me lever and push harder on the tool. It has saved my hands. It has also reduced my stropping. If your hands start cramping you might give something similar a try. Great video!
I like the content of the video but if you don't mind me saying the audio needs work. Listening on mobile, the sound of cutting wood is like nails on a chalk board.
Thanks, i will check it out on mobile. I think though that might be just what it sounds like in my workshop. I did try and limit the noise of the fan heater, cause its freezing in the workshop at the moment.
