Now I have the bear ready for texture. I have carved the body to shape put in a few muscle and fur lines, and drawn in some rough guidlines for the flow of the hair. When I carve the body to shape I use the Saburrtooth or Karbide bits, these leave a rough texture on the bear. I can't  always go in a downward and back direction like the hair flows. The horizontal scratches may be fairly deep and can somtimes be seen in the final texture. To make sure all the hair will be going down and back I go over it agian with ruby and diamond bits to smooth it. I try as much as possible to go in the right direction, once again down and back. At times I may have to go over the carving by hand with sandpaper to get it smooth. When I say smooth I am not talking like glass, far from it, I want some small bumps and valleys as this helps to highlight the texture.

No matter how many animals I carve before I get ready to texture I draw in some basic guidlines for the hair. This way I can work out, with pencil, the areas where the hair changes direction. Under the legs, muscle lines and transition areas from courser hair to shorter hair are main areas to concentrate on.