Folks,

Have a few questions on sculpting..

Do most of you sculpt with epoxy resins (Magic Sculpt, Aves Apoxie, etc.) or do you use polymer based clays?

Do you paint directly on your sculptures or do you do resin casting and paint those?

Can only speak for myself - 2-part epoxies, usually a mix of Kneadatite and Magic Sculpt. The combination gives best ability to hold detail and nice stickiness to hold it where you want it to go. I use an old hair lotion, Vitalis, to smooth and soften some parts of the epoxy surfaces. I have tried some of the polymer clays and can't get used to them.

I'm not a painter myself. I have had painters prime and paint "one-off" figures, such as those done on commission, etc. In my opinion, it would be preferable to have everything else cast prior to painting, leaving the masters unpainted.

Since you are a newbie - a short word of caution about the air-drying 2-part epoxies. All the ones I know about contain chemicals that can cause a form of allergic dermatitis and some respiratory problems. Best to use them in a well-ventilated area. You could wear an industrial respirator with an organic vapor cartridge, but general ventilation should be enough. Use thin and tight-fitting nitrile gloves when mixing and working the epoxy by hand. After you have mixed and worked the epoxy, keep your gloved hands out of your eyes.

I posted a great deal of information about this over the years on PF and elsewhere. A bit of caution and common sense will provide adequate protection to most people. Before I retired, I was a board-certified industrial hygienist for 30 years, so I have a background in working safely with potentially hazardous chemicals.

All the best,
Dan

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the hygiene info. I'm an old HR director with OSHA knowledge so I understand the importance of this information.

You mentioned casting in passing. Do you or any of our other folks have resource information on best practices for casting? Products, methods, etc.

Any help is much appreciated.

Hey mate. Just my personal two cents. I have a very low hobby budget so I use whatever I can get my hands on. I do mostly use polymer clays. I paint over my original sculpture. I'd like to cast some stuff but see comment above re low budget. My advice is try some different things as they all have different feels and some will work better for you than others. Practice as much as you can. Its lame advice but everybody will tell you the same.

Take care mate, get stuck in

Chris is right. Buy the smallest quantities possible at first and try a lot of approaches. Practice, practice, practice...

I tried casting briefly and concluded it was not something I wanted to do.

All the best,
Dan

Hi Joe,
I sculpt using Magic sculpt for figures (where you have lots of parts, constantly fitting them together and taking them apart takes its toll an polymer clays) but when doing busts, I like a 50/50 mix of super sculpy and super sculpy firm. But one of the best media for practice is plasticiene.
I prefer to cast everything as I don't trust clays and puttys as a finished medium, figures up to about 120mm in pewter, anything bigger in resin, anyway sometimes you need multiples of parts and it's easier to just cast them than laboriously make them all.
Regarding materials and products, since I think I remembered that you are in California, I can't really help with anything local, but if you look on google for Alec Tiranti Ltd., they have masses of information on their on line catalogue, and they might be able to point you somewhere local?
Hope this helps, best wishes, Gary.

Hi Joe,
By my side I use exclusively Milliput standard yellow grey
Once the figure finished and completely dry I do a wash with soap and water.
You can use the figure right in putty or you can do cast in resin. As you want
I airbrush always with a grey basecoat for metal parts and putty
The acrylic base coat you can find it in all autoparts shops
Regards
Pascal
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.figurines-h-p.net

Thank you all for your info! Lots to consider, and the foundation is definitely ... practice, practice, practice.

Gary,

Looks like I found an online shop in San Francisco - Douglas and Sturgess. Looking into getting some Chavant non-sulphur to work with.

Hello Joe, I looked up Douglas & Sturgess on Google and it seems to be just what you need. Also a good guide is to look at the sculpting tutorials on You Tube, I think you'll find those of David Lemon particularly helpfull. Anytime you want to ask anything, I'm on here most nights.
Best wishes, Gary.

Sources for media and tools, nice web sites, etc.

http://www.2bitstudio.com/
http://www.patrickkeith.com/
http://www.nationalartcraft.com/
http://www.polymerclayweb.com/
http://www.sculpt.com/
http://www.amazonsupply.com/ Used to be SmallParts.com
http://www.widgetsupply.com/
http://www.micromark.com/
http://www.bhigr.com/ Black Hills Institute of Geological Research – a good, cheap source of Magic Sculpt and an interesting web site.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/

All the best,
Dan

Wow, cant thank you guys enough. Tons of info. The David Lemon videos are incredible (as is his work). Will watch all of these. Lots to learn and practice. I've got some super sculpey, and I'm ordering a 2lb block of chavant clay. Now just figuring out how to begin .

If your using Sculpey, try adding a small amount of Fimo Professional clay (I use - 1 part Fimo to 5 parts Sculpey). Its make the clay a little less flaky when fired in the oven and you will be able to get a better finish when carving and sanding in the final stages.

-Rich

Watch everything you can. Always pay attention. Look around at people and watch how they move,stand gesture. Look at how clothes wrinkle and fold. Same as skin and faces. Get some practice in and keep us posted. Good luck mate.

Hi all. I normaly work with Magic Sculpt, but one to test Sculpy. I can bake it many times? Normaly with epoxy you work and dry, work and dry. I know that with polymer clay I can do all at same time, but I like go step by step.

Thanks David.

Hello and welcome to PF,

I use Chavant which is an oil-based clay for all my sculptures. There are three types: soft, medium and hard. My personal preference is for Chavant Le Beau Touché which is mid-point between soft and hard. I like the fact that it doesn't dry and you can keep working at it without having to worry about drying time. It responds well to hands and tools and holds details well. I usually mold the piece so that I can reuse the clay. If I want to paint a piece I just cast and paint it. I only use Milliput for small pieces (accessories etc.).

I've tried both polymer clays and epoxy putty but neither worked for me. I guess the key is to experiment and find what works best for you.

All the best,
Elia

Hi David, yes you can bake Sculpy a lot of times (the most I have done is 10 times), but when you add the next layer use sculpy diluent as a slip. There are problems with Sculpy, if you use regular Super Sculpy the surface is slightly translucent, so it's difficult to see, but if you mix it 50/50 with Super Sculpy Firm (grey) that takes care of it.
Another problem is cracking. It expands at a different rate than your armature hence small cracks appear when it bakes. The way round this is to wrap your armature in tin foil which allows some give between clay and armature. Another way to avoid it is to use a hair dryer for the interim bakings so you can direct the heat just onto the area you're working on. I've seen tutorials on using Super Sculpy on you tube, so check it out and enjoy.
Best wishes, Gary.

Hello Elia, the modelling material my Father used back in the 1960's was a mix of Plasticiene and Beeswax. It keeps workable by holding it in your hand, feels good to use, and when it's cooled is going to be much harder than anything you're likely to embed it in for moulding.
Best wishes, Gary.

Dear Gary,

thanks for the info. Was it pre-mixed or did he have to mix the components himself as one does with epoxy putty? I've also heard of a new material called CX5 that is soft when heated and firm when cool but I've never used it.

I like Le Beau Touché which is of medium firmness because I don't have to use an oven to heat it, I just do it in my hand. It's true that with plasticine you have the added work (and cost) of moulding it but then you have the bonus of having extra copies should you want them!

All the best,
Elia

Ella,

Are you using the high melt (its marked HM) or original? David Lemon uses that same brand but high melt. This is what Intend to order today.

Btw, found another source for supplies in Colorado ... Sculpture Depot..

Hello Joe,

I'm using high melt. I use RTV (temperature vulcanization silicone) silicone rubber for the mould - you just pour it and let it set for 24 hours and then de-mould it. Resin or fine-grain plaster of Paris is used for the cast, although I prefer the latter.

Re: supplies, I got mine from Tiranti's in the UK and from MP artware in Germany (I haven't found a retailer in Greece - someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Elia