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WIP Second Battle for Hoover Dam WIP

Discussion in 'Sculpting' started by smeagolthevile, Mar 7, 2011.

  1. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Ok, as I said in the thread asking for help on sculpting, this is going to be a diorama in 120mm-1/16th scale featuring a NCR veteran Ranger in combat with a Legionary of Ceasar's Legion, from the game 'Fallout: New Vegas'

    Im sculpting it from scratch, so far this is what I have done.

    The leg I have 'finished' still might need some work we will see. Also you can see my work on the armature. I am following the el greco miniatures tutorial, found it very helpful. Since I was not 100% sure of what I wanted the dio to look like I did not putty the joints, elbows shoulders, knees, etc, so I could change the pose on the fly, which I ended up doing. Originally this figure was just laying dead, I changed it to be more dynamic, raising himself up to fire off a last shot at his attacker.

    So this is the armature/mannequin, and the finished leg. Also the feet are not glued onto the armature so I can take them off, sculpt them and put them right back onto the wire armature where they came from for a nice snug fit. for the folds and such I used the internet, searched for guys laying down in jeans... only found one or two workable pictures and a bit to much guy dong for my liking... but anyhow.

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    Ok, this is the work on the helmet and weapons (the weapons are for the Legionair, the pistol is for the ranger (figure above). The spear though, will be inside the Ranger's chest, as you can see by the hole and slot for it.

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  2. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    I have the second leg sculpted.

    I am not happy with the crotch, it doesnt look real for some reason. Ill post pics tomarrow. I did the second leg two days ago, I started working on the base yesterday, waiting for the celluclay to dry. Ill take pics tonight and postem
  3. Armornv Member

    Country:
    United-States
    I am also just starting in this world of sculpting. While I can't offer any advice, I say your off to a great start! I'm very much into the fantasy/video game type characters so this is right up my alley. I don't think there is enough of this type stuff out there. We could really use some figgies that are done in 28-30mm range upsized into 54 or 75, or 90, or.....well, u see where I'm going :)

    Anyways, nice start!
  4. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks mate, Im not well versed on how big stuff actually is, when spoken in terms of 'mm'. I come from a model kit background so I know my stuff in fraction scale, like 1/35th or 1/16th (which this sculpt is).

    I dont think there is enough video game stuff out there either, there are so many AMAZING subjects that are just ignored because there in video games. Fallout is one, I mean massive amounts of stuff for products, super mutants and their variants, the different power armors (brotherhood of steel, enclave, prewar) the various tribals, heck Id love a bhraman kit.

    Scifi games have massive potential. Halo vehichles... starcraft in itself has enough material to last a sculptor YEARS
  5. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Ok guys, here is the update on the second leg. again, I think the crotch is to shallow on the left side, I might just buff it up a bit.
    This is from two nights ago, the base and the legs. Last night I worked on the chest, I took the crappy thing you see there, buffed it up to about what it would be for a normal person, and smoothed it over. Im going to sculpt the plates of the riot armor separately onto the chest. I tried doing one of the boots, did not come out as planned, so im going to have to rip it off and try it again.

    Also, sorry for the color, I took the shots in my dining room, the light bulbs in there have an orange tint and I dunno how to fix my camera to adjust for that. The base is celluclay ontop of class. The part of the tower is just styrofoam with masking tape holding the pieces together.

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  6. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    After pondering this sculpt, taking some photos of myself in clothes close to what I want, seeing the position that felt natural and the folds I decided it would be easier to start over then to fix this sculpt, so I have. Im waiting for the armature to dry right now
  7. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    No pics yet, some soon to come, Iv made alot of progress from the first armature.

    Ok I do have a question though, how do you make flowing cloth, like capes and trench coats?

    Should I just get clay and make it really thin and try my best to keep it smooth then after that sand the rest smooth?
    Should I use some tinfoil to make the basic shape then put really thin clay ontop of that?
    Is there some trick im not seeing, becuase at the moment im a loss for making it look as nice as some of you do.
  8. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Ok, so you will all kill me when you see these photos, I took them with my iPod. Tomarrow or Monday I will get you REAL photos of what I have so far.

    Here are 4 pictures of the new armature and the newly sculpted left leg, its 100% better then the previous try. Last photo is a comparison.

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  9. Jamie Stokes Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Ok,
    flowing robes, trench coats, capes, anything thin and visible, right?

    as opposed to a closed/ buttoned trench coat, toga for example.

    I see you're using celluclay, a material I am not familiar with at all.....

    I have seen others using magic sculpt or milliput make thin cloth.

    first, they laid down some baking paper (or similar) then a light dusting of talcum powder. (prevents sticking to the sheet)

    Roll to desired thinness with a roller, again, light dusting of talcum on the roller.

    Cut to shape, apply to figure, position carefully.

    It may be best to wait for a bit for the putty to partly set, to avoid tearing/ handling issues. experience/ testing will be your best guide on this.

    Search for flag making, that may provide some insights....

    regards
  10. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks, that has given me some ideas, let me ask you this my friend.
    What would happen if I rolled it as thin as humanly possible onto some tinfoil, then did it on the other side, using the tinfoil to grab and hold the shape.

    I could do it on one side, the inside, lets say, let it be alittle rough where it wont be seen, once it hardens do the other side and use water and such to smooth it nice and perfect.

    Also, Celluclay is a paper mache. Basicly a box of powder and clumbs of paper mache powder, put it into a bowl, add water, and it becomes a paste you can use to spread.

    I find it very good for making groundwork, and if you use a trowel to smooth it, it makes very convincing cement.
  11. Jamie Stokes Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    hmmmm......I think the idea of double layering is double work, for perhaps a minimal return. I cant see any advantages to it. Plus, I'm not sure of how well it will stick to the aluminium foil. but, who knows, you may find a new technique. :)

    Plus, I'm not aware of any others using celluclay (for figures); most use either air drying putties, such as magic sculpt (or similar) or perhaps sculpey, a clay that can be hardened in an household oven.
    Celuclay I have seen lots of other sculptors use for groundwork, just not for figures.

    Still, if it gives you the result you want, and you're happy using it, go for it.

    Have you trued other putties, or just using it what was available?

    cheers
  12. btavis Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    First, roll the putty out in thin sheets. There are several ways to do this. One way is to put the putty between two sheets of wax paper that has been coated with talc to prevent sticking. A wooden dowel or large paint brush handle can be used to roll the putty out. I use an ink brayer I bought at a craft store. If you want to get really fancy you can use a pasta machine.

    Once the putty has been rolled out wait until it starts to set a little before using it. You can drape the rolled putty onto the figure where you want it and then use either clay or toothpicks to shape it. The clay will serve as a mold so that parts that flow out will hold their shape until the putty cures. Using clay as a mold maker is very useful and you should try experimenting with different ways to use it either on the figure or off.

    One word of caution. Certain putties are more brittle than others and if you have thin sheets the risk is of them breaking off while handling the figure. For that reason I use Kneadatite as it dries like vinyl and is less susceptible to being broken. Aves and Magic Sculpt can break in thin sheets.
  13. btavis Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    I believe he said he is just using the Celluclay for the groundwork. The putty on the figure looks like MS, Milliput or similar.
  14. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Im using Milliput for the figure, celluclay for the ground work, to clarify.

    The miliput is fairly sturdy when in thin strips, actually so im not worried about that, what does worry me is actually getting the clay into the right folds and such without getting blemishes and such on it from getting it in the right position.
  15. btavis Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Stop worrying and experiment more. Much will become obvious after some trial and error. Semi cured epoxy is very easy to bend.

    It is a good idea to practice techniques as much as possible to obtain good results.
    Jamie Stokes likes this.
  16. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Oh yea, I know. This miliput is expensive though and Im starting to run low, im on my last box, I want to waste as little as possible
  17. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    A small update, Iv done alot of work on the weapons so far, im going to try and do the revolver again from scratch. I also started an armature for the second figure

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  18. Jamie Stokes Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    With regard to practice versus saving on putty... is there any reason why you couldn't get some artists clay (sometimes known as Plasticine) and just practice with that?

    When you get a sculpt in plasticine you are happy with, then you can copy it in milliput.

    Plus you could reuse it indefinitely.

    The only thing being that it behaves differently to putties.....

    just an idea..

    cheers
  19. smeagolthevile Member

    Country:
    United-States
    I suppose, but does it harden? I think it might be a bit hard to try and sculpt details when every time I go to pick it up it gets squished and gets finger prints all over it.
  20. Jamie Stokes Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    Artist clay does not set. As a practice medium, which can be reused ad-infinitum, here's what I do.

    Wrap it in a plastic lunch bag (this stuff is a bit greasy)

    Put in pocket to bring to body temp.

    Practice sculpting (no, it wont set)

    Keep practicing. Till you get it right.

    If you want to preserve a sculpt, put it in the fridge.

    Take out the next chance, and copy with your preferred putty.

    This gives you a option of getting the sculpt right; when you are ready, then you do the sculpt in Milliput (for example) with minimal waste.

    Just offering a solution to get practice in, and preserve your stocks of putty.

    regards,

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