2015...among the good resolutions, I am seriously going to put myself to attempt to sculpt. I tried several times in the past, but without success because I have never completed a single project...I hope that this time it will be different!
First of all, i chose an historical subject...a scandinavian warrior. I always like viking history, between historical reality and sagas, tales and legends...and the visual aesthetics of their clothes and weapons decided me to try to sculpt one of those men of the north. More of that, it's a good subject to improve sculpting human anatomy, fabrics and different kind of equipement and weapons.
The scale is 54mm (a big 54mm...) and i used a mix of Fimo classic (90%) and Fimo soft (10%).
These are the first pictures of my Viking man...only the face is over. Anatomy is just sketched because the body will be fully clothed...
By hoping to benefit from your criticisms and your notices about my work...do not hesitate to express your opinion...this is the way to learn.





Cheers & best 2015 wishes!
-Matthieu-

This looks excellent. A beautiful start to an intruiging project. Good luck with it - and finish it!

Head already looks fantastic, and You certainly do not have problems with anatomy !

Sure looks promising even at this early stage.

Cheers
Janne Nilsson

The head looks fantastic, and the basic anatomy looks fine. With a start like this, I can't believe you've never finished a project?
Best wishes, Gary.

Impressive work so far!!!!
It is awesome the way it is now.

Great start...stick with it, this will surely make a great figure.

Very good work - nothing wrong with your sculpting skills - get it finished and reflect on a job well done

-Rich

Great face. I like and now hurry up to finish him

Are you sure you never sculpted before !!!!

Steve

You are an artist. I will folow your work with great interest.

Cheers

That is some very good sculpting, I would like to see this figure finished, it has commercial possibilities judging by the quality of the sculpting so far, providing it is engineered for casting.
Well done !!!
Steve

If you are intending to cast it, now is the time to work out engineering and breakdowns.

Thanks all for your nice comments...it is rewarding!

@Slaj: I tried to sculpt 3-4 miniatures before these one but i have never been able to finish...I was not happy with the result and have not finished these first test. I hope this time it will be a different outcome!
@1969 and garyhiggins: Currently I do not think to cast it...I improve my sculpt and try to do something i'll be happy with ...and above all complete the project! After that...i would see. But if you have good advice to prepare the miniature for casting...i'm very interested.

Thank you very much and see you soon for further work

-Matthieu-

Best advice I can give for engineering the figure for production in resin is to look at good quality commercial cast resin figures and see how they are engineered (seperated) for casting. Alpine miniatures for example engineer their figures, especially their 1/16, in a way as to allow for very clean casting with virtually no seems lines and pour sprues. It is advisable to engineer your figures from the beginning even if you do not intend to have it cast so you gain the skill and knowledge for the future, this is important if you do want to go down the commercial route later, sculpting a well engineered and sculpted figure for production takes more skill than sculpting a one off figure. You show very good promise with your sculpting so I see no reason why your figures should not make good production figures when you are ready to do so
Keep up the good work !!!

All the best
Steve

I see nothing wrong with your efforts. Maybe you're just being a bit hard on yourself. The face on your figure is as well done as any commercial release. This figure shows a lot of promise.

That head is really very good - hope these comments encourage you to carry on and finish this one. Look forward to seeing more.
Cheers
Mat

Next step with the laying of the first clothes. It was hard to get something natural, realistic and graphically interesting...and I am overall satisfied with the result. The back of the shirt is still in the works...as the bags and belt. I have also completed the anatomy of the arm.






And one more picture for the scale...a big 54mm...



Thanks a lot for your comments...

Cheers

-Matthieu-

excellent work and my favorite subject, cant wait to see it finished!!