Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Hi everyone, I'm fairly new here. I don't normally take work in progress pics while I sculpt, but I remembered to do it with this one... at least, I remembered eventually; I forgot to take any armature pics. Anyway, I'm running a Kickstarter project http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oathsworn/oathsworn-miniatures-heroes and I'm showing the backers the sculpting process - I thought I might as well show it here as well... What I'm doing is making a dragon for my 28 / 32mm range. I want it to be castable in metal, in a standard 9 inch mould. But making a dragon sculpt for casting in a 9 inch spincasting mould places certain constraints on the design. Firstly, there's the size - there's only so much space in the mould. Secondly, it's flat - and this means the model has to be either tall and thin, or low and wide... or in lots of pieces, and I want to keep it down to 4 pieces at most. Thirdly, no single piece can be more than about 27mm thick at the widest point... I experimented with a tall thin design first of all, but it was proving very difficult to achieve a good look without being in lots of parts. And with metal models, you want to avoid that really. So I switched to the low, wide design. I also decided at this point to do something a bit different - to try and make a (nearly) physically-possible dragon, or as close as I could get within the design limits... and this means no more than 4 limbs, so the arms have to be the wings. And I went for a pterosaur-style wing, with an elongated finger down the outside edge. I also decided to make the dragon in a crawling pose, to get him on a level with the other figures in the range. So I bent up some armature wire, and mixed up some Milliput putty, and made the basic shape. Then, using a different colour Milliput, I modelled the main muscles onto the dragon. Finally, I attached a couple of ball bearings for eyes. Then I laid the pieces out onto a sheet of paper with the shape of a 9 inch mould drawn on, to make sure it would fit! Next I stuck the pieces together to make sure it would work as a model... And here's an adventurer's-eye-view... more cute than menacing at the moment, really! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 I decided to clean up the wings after that... added a few more folds, and sanded them down. Next I began working on the head... firstly I added some more Milliput (White, this time - no real reason, but it's easier to see I guess!) to give some shape to the skull. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Once the Milliput was dry, I started working with Green Stuff over the top... First layer: Then while it is still soft, sculpting details into it: ...and adding a few extra details... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 (edited) Then I decided he needed a row of spines down his back, so I drilled a lot of holes, and attached little bits of brass wire. Next, I sculpted the spines, and started working down the neck... Edited September 25, 2013 by Lovejoy 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 While that putty was curing, I made a start on the wing membranes. (You can see there that I added spines to the wing edges as well... but I decided they didn't really work, and have cut them off.) And I started on the body again: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 And onto the underside of the wings... And then, a quick test fit - now the adventurer's-eye-view looks a bit scarier! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Next I continued working on the body, and got one of the wings finished. I started by extending the skin down the side of the body: Then I added a strip of putty to the spines, to blend them in a bit: Then I started adding a few more large scutes / osteoderms to the body, and shaped them: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 Next I started on the wing - I covered the shoulder and upper arm in putty and sculpted the scaly skin pattern: Then I did the same for the rest of the arm - a layer of putty, then marking out the scales: Then I added a bunch of extra scales, to make it look a bit more 'dragony': 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 And putting it together - this is where we are at so far: I'll get back to sculpting now... I've got a leg to do next. I'll post more when I've done it. cheers Michael Oathsworn Miniatures http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oathsworn/oathsworn-miniatures-heroes 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trystangst Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 (edited) Awesome stuff. Every time I see something like this, I get all excited to break out the putty and make my own (fill in the blank). Too bad I have a pile of misfit sculpts haha. Interesting too to see that you actually laid out musculature. Edited September 25, 2013 by trystangst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniCannuck Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 Truly inspiring work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solauren Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 It is very inspiring work. Also serves as a great step by step tutorial of sorts, if one wanted to try sculpting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corporea Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 The face is so expressive! I love the wings- reminds me of a bat. Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanael Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 That dragon is fantastic! What are the chances you could fit an additional tail piece in the mold? I'd love to see a tail with some length and a stinger; this would be a pretty great beefy wyvern. Really love the crocodilian look he has. Is it possible to see video of you sculpting the scales? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Inner Geek Posted September 25, 2013 Share Posted September 25, 2013 It's a great sculpt and it very cool to see how it comes together step by step. Thanks for sharing the process with us! That dragon is fantastic!What are the chances you could fit an additional tail piece in the mold? I'd love to see a tail with some length and a stinger; this would be a pretty great beefy wyvern.Really love the crocodilian look he has. Is it possible to see video of you sculpting the scales? I'd agree about the tail... well, not the stinger, but the length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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