First sculpting attempt (WIP)

[ultrasquid]

I've done some minor modifications and gap-fills to some figures, but here's my first attempt to sculpt a miniature figure mostly from scratch.

Well, maybe my second, but that other one was over 20 years ago

 

 

I started with a Reaper 75001: Starter Level Sculpting Armature. As I was working it into this pose it nearly fell apart from metal fatigue. Fortunately I managed to get some blobs of 5-min epoxy into the waist and other joints just before they snapped.

 

Edited August 18, 2013 by ultrasquid

[Girot]

keep it goin dude! back in the day when I was learning sculpting i used wax to practice with.

[Crimson_king_of_the_tower]

what kind of wax? ive been looking for a few different mediums to mess around with while i get ready to try out sculpting minis i REALLY wish there were some classes i could take. One of these days ill actually make it out to Reaper since its only 5 hours away. And to begin with should i try to make my own armatures or should i start off with the reaper dollies?

Edited August 18, 2013 by Crimson_king_of_the_tower

[Girot]

Honestly, just to practice technique on something non perminent, I would go pick up a block of original Sculpty from Hobby Lobby/Michaels. It softens as you work it but it doesn't set unless you bake it so you can just keep reusing the same blob over and over again until you're ready to throw that sucker in the oven.

[Crimson_king_of_the_tower]

I started with original sculpey and now i have super sculpey firm but i find both very hard to use for minis (i mainly used it for making things like tables and dungeons accessories). I'm looking for some art books to help me draw since I've never really been great at drawing people. I suppose I just need to get some corks and start trying to practice. In the long run it will end up being the best way.

[Girot]

Too true. FIMA is another option. Reaper teaches a class on just that at RC.

[Pragma]

Super Sculpey Firm and FIMO are good for practising, but they won't stick so easily to an armature.

[ultrasquid]

I'm using Magic Sculpt for the rest of the sculpting, as I have a 5 lb kit that I've barely dipped into already on hand. I got a sample of BeeSPutty, which is a bakeable polymer clay from Germany formulated specifically for sculpting miniature figures, but I'll save that for the next try.

 

Microcrystalline wax is a traditional carving medium for preparing prototypes to cast in bronze. It's brown and sold in foil loaf pans at art supply stores, if anybody is interested in that sort of thing.

[Crimson_king_of_the_tower]

Yea thats what i noticed about sculpey i tried to put some on a wire to practice doing hands but instead of sticking it just kept hollowing it out and would eventually fall off i wish it would hold better i want some more practice before i start using greenstuff cause of the cost i really dont want to waste alot in practice and i might look into that wax just to try it out. Thank you for all the information

[Pragma]

I found the same thing: unless the sculpey was very freshly mixed it would hollow out just as you describe. Many who use sculpey start with a layer of green stuff just to coat the armature. You can even add a layer of sculpey before the green stuff cures and the two will bond together. It doesn't take very much green stuff.