questions about sculpting

[Hadier]

ok guys i want to start off by thanking you for any advice you can give i haven't done any sculping so please bear with my stupid questions.

 

1) ok right now i have been using GW greenstuff what do you belive is the best putty to start with?

 

2) next is do you do some kind of framework for the model? or just run straight putty and if you use a frame why?

 

3) what would you advise me to start with i mean should i just do small work on existing minis or try at making one?

 

thank you guys very much ill probally be posting far more questions in the future

[Jeff LaMarche]

1) ok right now i have been using GW greenstuff what do you belive is the best putty to start with?

 

Well, the traditional logic has generally been to use Green Stuff for most of your sculpting, and either Brown Stuff or Green Stuff mixed with a hard putty like Miliput for doing weapons, things with hard edges, and things you'll need to do dry finishing on.

 

Today, I tried a new putty called ProCreate, and I have to say that if I were starting now, that'd be the one I'd start with.

 

2) next is do you do some kind of framework for the model? or just run straight putty and if you use a frame why?

 

Generally, you'll need an armature. You can buy pre-cast armatures from Reaper here, or you can make one out of wire. You can use just about any wire - fuse wire, floral wire, electrical wire, clothes hanger. It just needs to be the right thickness and soft enough to be bent with plyers or ring benders.

 

Personally, I often use pre-cast armatures (sometimes called "dollies" or when they're in the shape of a skeleton, "skellies") if I'm going to be doing a figure that's wearing armor or thick clothes, like a dress. But if I'm going to be doing something where the legs or arms are mostly exposed - especially with a thin character like a female elf, I will make a wire armature because I find that the pre-casts are too thick around the ankle and wrist. Pre-casts also have another downside - you can only bend them a few times before they become weak and break, so you have to know your pose exactly before you start bending a pre-cast. Wire armatures can be bent several times. Wire armatures take more time, but the materials are cheap; pre-casts run about a buck each.

 

I typically use 20 or 22 guage floral wire when making an armature.

 

There are two approaches to making armatures. Twisted and soldered. Twisted armatures are made usually with a thinner wire, and you twist wire together to make a shape. It's easier to do than to explain, and I don't know of a tutorial that demonstrates this technique - maybe I should make one.

 

I don't usually use the twisted method unless I'm somewhere where I have no soldering iron or I'm doing a four-legged creature.

 

I can think of two tutorials that show how to make soldered miniature armatures.

 

Look on page 5 of this tutorial by Drew Williams

A tutorial by Gene Van Horne

 

Personally, I use Drew's method, tweaked a little for my own tastes unless I'm doing a creature, in which case I'll typically use the twisted wire method.

 

3) what would you advise me to start with i mean should i just do small work on existing minis or try at making one?

 

Tough call. A lot of people will tell you to start with a minor conversion just to get used to the materials. I say go for the gusto - do a whole sculpt. It probably won't be as good as you'd like, but it's good experience. It will take a long time for you to get "good", so don't get frustrated, and post your sculpts here for people to give feedback. Nobody bites, and a number of the Reaper pro sculptors are on the board, as well as some other very talented sculptors, and some people like me who aren't very talented, but still have some information that can be useful to beginners.

 

There's a Yahoo Group dedicated to miniature sculpting.. You should join. The FAQ has more information than you can imagine, and there are over 4,000 members, including most of the pros and many, many serious amateurs.

[IG88]

Hi,

 

I too just started sculpting. I bought my first greenstuff 3 weeks ago. This guys knows what he is talking about so I would do what he says. Also read all the articles you can fin on scultping, Geal Geumon, sorry if spelling is wrong but he has a great tutorial on sculpting . here is the link.

 

Coolminiornot

 

I started with a dragon. I figured big was good for a beginner. Also study anatomy of the thing your sculpting that helps alot . Im not good enough to make stuff without looking at a picture yet so I draw what im going to sculpt or look at a picture, My dragon was from a monstorus manual. The one i'm working on now is too, lol.

Good luck, do your homework by reading the articles and you will avoid alot of problems, and most importantly take your time and be patient.

[Crusoe the Painter]

Speak of the devil, my new tutorial on making sculpting tools is up as well.

 

http://reapermini.com/TheCraft/27

 

I'll get one done for wire armatures soon. I make mine by twisting fine florist wire.

[Jeff LaMarche]

Speak of the devil, my new tutorial on making sculpting tools is up as well.

 

http://reapermini.com/TheCraft/27

 

Cool. It's always neat to see what other people use. My homemade tools are mostly brass - it's hard enough to use, but soft enough to bend, flatten, grind, and smooth without expensive tools or using heat. I honestly never thought of using wood for minis!

 

I'll get one done for wire armatures soon. I make mine by twisting fine florist wire.

 

Excellent - that's definitely a hole that needs to be filled. I never knew about the twisted-wire armature until Jason Wiebe showed me it at RAC last year. Seems like kind of an obvious thing now, but...

[Patrick]

I lost my html files for the Armature tutorial previously on our web site, so I am currently in the process of writing up another page. In the meantime, here are a couple of pics of the armatures I use.

 

 

[evhorne969]

Most any kind of metal wire is fine for making vulcanizable figures. I use precast armatures most of the time. I also use copper, brass, and steel wire too. It jjust depends on what I'm sculpting. As long as you stick to using metal and putty you'll be just fine. Stay away from plastic, wood, cloth, etc, etc... Most importantly, if you're going to have anything vulcanized, NO SUPERGLUE!!!!!!! It will melt and run in the mold and ruin the mold as well as the figure.

 

Gene

[mlavanish]

That's actually something I've been wondering about: When making greens for casting, what kinda wire are you guys using? I'd like to know, as I don't want to go ahead and sculpt over something which is going to melt/make molds explode/do something else horrendous I don't know about yet/etc. If you (way, way) more experienced guys could give us a few pointers, that'd be a huge favour.

 

 

Tommy.

 

Like Gene said, just about any metal wire is good as far as casting goes. I would avoid anything with a plastic coating though. Probably end up fouling in the vulcanizer just like superglue.

 

Werner Klocke uses silver-plated copper wire. It gives the flexibility and strength of copper wire, and the silver adds a little bit of rigidity to it. There should be places online that sell it. It's normally used in jewelry making, bracelets and such.

 

Brass wire is probably available in any hobby/train store in various gauges.

[Bodhi]

I bought some silverplated copperwire from Masquerade miniatures. It's OK. Not much difference from before when I used any piece of wire I happened to have lying about though - and much more expensive (still not very expensive though)

 

As long as you stay away from galvanized threads. The putty has some trouble sticking unto them since they are slightly greasy.

[Patrick]

Patrick - what kind of wire is that? Copper? Where do you get it?

 

Here is the stuff I use:

http://www.dickblick.com/zz334/11/

 

Most of the armatures I make are with 24 gauge wire which is pretty general-purpose. I do keep the 18 gauge on hand for larger things.

 

For staves, weapons and pinning I use 1/32" brass wire.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti00...=LXBLW3&P=K

 

It's pretty easy to find drill bits for my pin-vise in these standard sizes too.

[Bodhi]

Hmm, not sure I understand the problem...?

Everytime I pin something I have a lot of excess wire. I drill a hole slightly THINNER than the wire then squeeze the wire in all the way to the bottom using my pliers. THEN I trim the length of the wire. I don't think any air gets stuck that way? Can't be sure though. I haven't had any pinned figure cast yet...

[mlavanish]

 

 

*Bump*

 

 

This one kinda got lost amongst the fallen leaves, so I thought I'd ask it again...

 

Actually, that's something else I've been curious about (sorry for the barrage of questions, people!). When drilling & pinning things into a sculpt (say, for example, removing Heroic Scuplting Dollies' limbs and re-positioning them), how do you pin then pack so that air does not get trapped in the scuplt and ruin it when cast?

 

 

I guess the same question would go for when you've sculpted a head on, say, a toothpick, and wish to attach it to a sculpt. How do you do this without getting air inside the sculpt??

 

 

Tommy.

 

I can't imagine the tiny amount of air that might remain in the hole would really affect a casting. In any event, you would probably want to shove a little green stuff in there to "glue" the pin in, instead of using a superglue or whatever that's going to break down in the casting process. If you're worried about possible problems during casting you could just make sure the hole has a good amount of green stuff in it before pinning.

 

Instead of sculpting heads on a toothpick, why not just use a needle or pin? That way it's already a pin when you're ready to attach it to a figure. I do this and use a hand-held pin vice to hold it while sculpting. Just an idea.

[Jeff LaMarche]

I guess the same question would go for when you've sculpted a head on, say, a toothpick, and wish to attach it to a sculpt. How do you do this without getting air inside the sculpt??

 

Air bubbles are not ALWAYS the death knell for a vulcanized master. Obviously, the more you can avoid air bubbles, the better, but , for say in the example you give, the air is going to be down underneath a fair bit of putty reinforced with some metal. Most likely it won't collapse unless it's a very large bubble or is very close to the surface.

 

Regular air bubbles from mixing in air when combining the two parts of the putty can usually be seen if they are going to cause a problem. As you work the putty, the bubbles will become apparent, allowing you to puncture and fill them fairly easily.

 

Even if you do have a bad air bubble in your green, there's a very good chance that a good moldmaker can get a good master mold off of it, although they won't likely get a second shot under those circumstances, so don't make a regular practice of it.

[Bodhi]

 

 

*Bump*

 

 

This one kinda got lost amongst the fallen leaves, so I thought I'd ask it again...

 

Actually, that's something else I've been curious about (sorry for the barrage of questions, people!). When drilling & pinning things into a sculpt (say, for example, removing Heroic Scuplting Dollies' limbs and re-positioning them), how do you pin then pack so that air does not get trapped in the scuplt and ruin it when cast?

 

 

I guess the same question would go for when you've sculpted a head on, say, a toothpick, and wish to attach it to a sculpt. How do you do this without getting air inside the sculpt??

 

 

Tommy.

 

In any event, you would probably want to shove a little green stuff in there to "glue" the pin in, instead of using a superglue or whatever that's going to break down in the casting process.

 

That's the advantage of making the hole slightly thinner than the thread. With such a tight fit neither glue nor putty is usually required. As long as you intend to build something AROUND the wire pin. Of course with a bare thread I guess you'd still need putty as glue.

I allways sculpt the head on a piece of wire pinned into the body. Never separate. I think that makes for better cohesion with the rest of the figure. Sculpting it separately tnends to accidentally produce a head slightly to small or slightly to big. For me - funnily enough - to small has been more common than to big.

As long as I plan for raised arms and such being made AFTER the head making the head directly on the body is usually no problem.

[Hadier]

Ok its me again i have a question i have started picking up referance material and such but it just hit me.

 

How much Putty is good to buy at a time? Because i started thinking when you build around an armiture you have to use quight a bit of putty just to build it up to the point where you can start getting it to look like you want don't you