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Bas-relief wood carving of a snarling wolf gripping a cracked human skull in its jaws
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Gothic & Skull Art

Snarling Wolf Clutching a Skull 3D Relief STL Carving

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  • 📦 Instant digital download (STL file)
  • 🛠️ Tested in Aspire, VCarve Pro, Carveco, ArtCAM, Fusion 360
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📐 Design facts
Carving it at your size
Carving size
5.2 × 8 in (132 × 203 mm)
Relief depth
0.72 in (18.2 mm)
Board thickness
1 in or thicker
Rough with
1/8 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/16 in tapered ball nose, 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 4 h 10 min (roughing 1 h 5 min, finishing 3 h 10 min)
Carving size
7.8 × 12 in (198 × 305 mm)
Relief depth
1.1 in (27.3 mm)
Board thickness
1.5 in or thicker
Rough with
1/4 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/8 in ball nose, 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 4 h 25 min (roughing 55 min, finishing 3 h 30 min)
Carving size
11.7 × 18 in (297 × 457 mm)
Relief depth
1.6 in (41 mm)
Board thickness
2 in or thicker
Rough with
1/4 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/8 in ball nose, 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 11 h (roughing 3 h 5 min, finishing 7 h 55 min)
Carving size
15.6 × 24 in (396 × 610 mm)
Relief depth
2.1 in (54.6 mm)
Board thickness
2.5 in or thicker
Rough with
1/4 in end mill, 40% stepover
Finish with
1/4 in ball nose (1/8 in for the finest detail, about twice as long), 10% stepover
Estimated carve time
about 14 h 15 min (roughing 7 h 15 min, finishing 7 h 5 min)

Estimates for a mid-size hobby machine (Shapeoko, X-Carve, Onefinity class). Scaling all three axes together keeps the depth in proportion; for thinner stock scale Z on its own. Hardwoods with fine grain (cherry, hard maple, walnut, basswood) hold this detail best. Check your exact setup in Will it cut, free, nothing uploaded.

How we estimate carve time

Finishing is one raster pass over the whole carving with the ball nose shown, at 10% stepover and half of a 1,800 mm/min (71 in/min) feed. Roughing assumes about 45% of the block above the base is waste, cleared with the end mill shown at 40% stepover and 3 mm per pass (1.5 mm for the 1/8 in end mill) at the full feed. The model leaves out acceleration, tool changes and moves between passes, so a real job usually takes somewhat longer. Times are rounded to 5 minutes.

File format
STL only decimated high-quality mesh, binary STL
Model size as supplied
293.5 × 451.25 × 40.42 mm
Shape
portrait, 0.65:1
Carve depth
13.8% of the width
Mesh
2,023,830 triangles · 96.5 MB
Base
flat and sitting at zero, ready to machine

Opens directly in Aspire, VCarve Pro, Carveco, ArtCAM and Fusion 360, and in any slicer for 3D printing. For a laser, the relief is first turned into a greyscale depth image, which our Laser Studio app does from this STL. STL only, no OBJ or DXF: the DXF files used in CNC work hold 2D outlines, not the 3D relief surface. Scale it to whatever panel you are cutting. Scaling all three axes together keeps the depth in proportion; scale Z on its own for a shallower carve. How to open it in your software.

759 five-star reviews from carvers
"This design turned out great on my CNC machine. Lots of detail."
— Verified buyer
"Nice CnC STL, carved very well, can't wait to finish it."
— Verified buyer

About this design

A wolf bares its teeth over a cracked human skull, hackles raised, jaw locked tight. It is the kind of scene that stops people in a hallway. Carved into walnut or oak, the deep shadows pull you in close, and the fur looks like it might twitch under your hand. This is dark, dramatic work for makers who want a piece with real bite. What you get is a high-detail bas-relief STL built for clean machining. The depth is generous, so the snout, the gripping paw and the splintered bone all read sharply once finished. It runs smoothly through Aspire, VCarve Pro, Carveco and ArtCAM, and the relief height holds up whether you cut it on a CNC router, print it on a 3D printer, or run it through a 3D laser workflow that supports grayscale relief. For the cleanest result, rough the shape with a 6mm end mill at 40 percent stepover, then come back and finish with a 3mm ball nose at 10 percent stepover to bring out the fur and the cracks in the skull. Scale it up and the detail only gets better. A dark stain or paint wash settles into the low spots and makes the whole carve feel hand cut. This works as gothic wall art, man cave decor, a tattoo shop centerpiece, a cabin panel, or a striking gift for anyone drawn to predators and bone. Download it the second you check out, with commercial use included so you can carve it, sell your finished pieces, or give one away. Add it to your shop and put your machine to work.
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Laser Studio opens this STL with zero conversion and turns them into a ready-to-burn 3D-illusion engrave. Carving on your CNC instead? CNC Match lines up a name, a date or shading on a photo of the finished piece, so the laser burns right onto the carving.

Windows desktop app · $40 once · free updates · it prepares the files, your laser software burns them

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$5.20