I can look back at my early attempts at carving and recall how intimidating it was. Once done, there it is for all to see. What helped me was drawing a buttstock and cheekpiece, or whatever area I intended to carve, on a piece of paper. Then studying a carving design I liked and drawing it on the outline of the buttstock. Lots of eraser time. A small-sized French curve helps get rid of the “elbows.” For someone without drawing skills, it can help to photocopy a design and break it down into quadrants. Top left, top right, etc. This helps with scale and reach of the different elements. Start with drawing the backbone, then move to the details after the backbone looks good. Do this several times with different designs. Maybe one a night. Look at your drawings the next day, compare to the pictures, and tweak the drawing until it’s pleasing.
Tracing an outline won’t help integrate the carving design into the architecture. It might give you a decent starting point.
