From a Comment to Carved Worlds — First Look at My Wood Relief LoRA

A ship meets something far too large for the sea. Every wave, rope and tentacle seems carved from the same piece of wood.

This is one of the first results from a new LoRA I’m refining — and it started with a conversation right here on Civitai with SynesthesiaSoul.

01 / A little boat. A very bad place to drop anchor.

01 — A kraken rising beside a ship, rendered as a relief carved in pale wood

You suggested woodcut. I accepted the challenge.

In the comments on my RISOGRAPH preview, SynesthesiaSoul brought up something they had been hoping to see: convincing woodcut imagery, especially for eerie Lovecraftian scenes, with fine, closely spaced lines.

We talked about natural wood, carved relief and darker burned textures. I said I’d give it a try. That conversation sent me back to work, and these are some of the images that came out of it. Thank you for the spark.

02 / The sort of door you probably shouldn’t open.

02 — Two explorers facing an immense doorway decorated with tentacles

Little worlds inside the wood

What caught me was the sense of depth: steps disappearing into a panel, roots turning into architecture, tiny figures dwarfed by something impossible. I love how a single warm material can hold an entire scene.

This first series leans toward sculpted wood relief: visible grain, chisel-like facets and shadows inside the carving. The fine-line, ink-on-paper woodcut idea from our conversation is still a direction to explore. For now, I wanted to share where the experiments have taken me.

03 / A library I could get happily lost in.

03 — A figure in a fantastical library with bookshelves, roots and winding stairs

04 / Antlers, roots and ferns — a closer look at the smaller details.

04 — Deer among intricate tree roots and ferns in a carved woodland panel

From cosmic unease to a quiet gesture

I also wanted to see what happens when the subject changes. Can the same carved surface carry a lunar expedition, the delicate spread of a bird’s wings, or a small moment between a mother and child?

05 / Even the Moon has a grain.

05 — Two astronauts and a rover on a lunar landscape, all rendered in wood relief

06 / The wings and the folds of the dress make this one a favourite.

06 — A seated woman holding a bird with its wings spread, carved in pale wood

07 / A quieter story, with just as much room for expression.

07 — A mother tending to her child beside a window in a wooden relief scene

What do you think of these first results?

The LoRA is still being refined, and I’d love your honest feedback before taking it further. These are generated images made with the LoRA.

Which image works best for you? You can use the numbers above — I’d love to know what caught your eye.
Does the wood feel convincing? Where do the texture, depth or small details break the illusion?
Where would you take it next? More carved worlds like these, a darker Lovecraftian series, or finer lines closer to a printed woodcut?

And if you had this LoRA in your hands, what would you try first?

Leave me a scene you’d like to see. Your last suggestion started this whole experiment — I’m curious where the next one might lead.

— Silbrio