Giraffe Ring, Skills Manitoba

So I was asked by my jewelry teacher to compete in the Skills Manitoba Competition under the category job skill demonstration. I agreed and we decided that we would show a demonstration of how to make a lost wax casted ring. We decided to make a simple band ring showing the different steps, but I also wanted to show a more complex design that can easily be made. I decided to make a giraffe ring. I had made this ring once before and gave it to a friend, but she had lost it and I had been asked by a few people to remake it, so I decided to do so.

Here's the step by step instructions of what I had done.

I began with sizing the ring to 7 1/2, then I began carving the facial structure of the ring.

Once I acheived a face that I was comfortable with, I began to carve down the neck and form a thinner band.

Next, I detached the ring, separating the head and tail.

I carved the tail some more to make the desired shape I wanted, and smoothed it out.

Next, the arms were added.

Then the...Antennas?

 Then the ears were attached.

Finally I attached the mane. Note, the mane, antennas, and ears are made from green wire wax, while the rest of the giraffe is made from blue wax. The end result will all be the same metal colour though. 

And there we have the giraffe wax ring! All I have left to do is drill out the eye sockets, spruce up the piece, invest and cast, then all the finishing work in metal. I'll be posting another post for the end results of the ring.