Hello Quang,
I was glad to see you join planetfigure and I also have a question(actually tons of questions, but I'll start with one). What would you suggest a person start out with if they are interested in trying their hand at sculpting? Simple conversion first? and what do you use for sculpting matter? (sorry....2 questions )

Thanks,
Guy

Well, I can only speak from my own experience.

My very first sculpt was a bust (Plenty Coups) because I thought it would be easier to tackle the hardest part (the face ) first. I also thought somewhat naively that if you can sculpt the head, the rest would be downhill.

So armed with a full-page portrait and a Verlinden 200mm Signifier bust as a reference (for size and proportions), I stuck a blob of Fimo (Sculpey to you) on a bamboo chopstick and started pushing putty. I did three tries as a warm-up and then proceed to the definitive sculpt in Milliput (white).

As for the sculpting material, I've used Milliput, A+B, Duro. Nowadays, I almost use exclusively Magic Sculp. It feathers well, carves easily and has a pleasant waxy texture.

FWIW here are some tips for the newbies:

1– A proper handle (chopstick) is very important. You cannot do a good job unless you're comfortable.

2– Trust your eyes. Try to look at your sculpt as mass, volume and proportions and NOT as nose, mouth, eyes, hair,... Just try to reproduce what you see, not what you THINK you're seeing. (Yeah, sculpting 'from the right side of the brain')

3- Always keep your aborted sculpts and use them to check your progress.

4- Use a mirror to check for errors. You'll get a fresher look of your sculpt. Mistakes will become more apparent.

5- Don't try to finish in one go. If you stumble on a feature (for example the nose), move on to another one and come back later. Often check your progress by holding the sculpt at arm-length. Check all sides by slowly revolving the sculpt.

6- Don't despair. The next one will be better.

Hope this'll help.

Quang

Many many thanks Quang, I appreciate your answer and it is moving me closer yet to breaking out the sculpty I bought a year ago. Would you reccomend trying for a bust before a full figure is attempted? I have accumulated many many tools, dental, etc over the years but wondered what you would reccomend as far as tools go and where could a begginer like me acquire them?

btw...Plenty Coup was the first work of yours I painted and placed a gold in Washington back in 95 or 96. It's still my favorite bust that you did.

Thanks,

Guy

Looking back, I still think a bust would be a good starter. At least you don't have to worry about armature, pose or balance. Also, it would be perfect to get the 'hang' of your putty.

As for sculpting tools, I also have a bunch of dental tools but found out that I mostly use my trusty toothpicks and shaped bamboo skewers (yes, I raid the kitchen a lot).

As I usually work on hardened putty, it involves a lot of carving. Then I use different sizes of files (round, half-round and triangular sections) and X-Acto blades (#11 regular and #22 rounded tip).

Also wet-and-dry sandpaper of various grades and a lot of elbow grease.

As you can see, nothing spectacular.

Quang

When I read your statement [as you can see nothing spectacular] I like to fell out of my chair.....lol......I think all your work is great and have a closet full of your kits backing up waiting to be painted. The elbow grease I think comes with the hobby. I think now is the time to take the plunge, fight the fear back, and grab a chopstick, as you say, and dive in. You said start with a glob on a stick and then what? do I rough it in first (guess I should read up on sculpty first to see how it works huh?).

Quang, you will please my wife as back in June, I found an estate sale of a deceased dentist. In his garage was a fully stocked dental cabinet complete with teeth (need any teeth?) and a couple small jars of gold for filling. My wife keeps asking me, now that you have the tools........when are you starting?

thanks to you....soon!
and thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Guy

ps....do I need a wild Hawaiian shirt to make it all work? lol (saw your pic in TnT

It's a well known fact that most of us (including myself) consider the tools (or lack of) as a pretence for NOT taking the plunge . Hell, what you REALLY need are your eyes and your fingers.

You may discover later that you're not made for it (sculpting). But if you like what you've got, you will kick yourself for not having started earlier!

For the first steps, you can follow Gordy's method in his excellent Mickey Mantle s-b-s.

If you need something more specific, just ask.

Now start kneading the putty.

Quang

PS. As for the shirt, start with a plain one. The colours will come in due time!

Guy, I think the most important thing is sculpting is observation, to get good proportions and good drapery .More so than the tools or type of putty, which is really just another tool anyway. Mine are so basic

I agree with you LCoot and it is just a matter of putting down the fear and picking up the putty and start kneading away. Tools don't matter as much as "feel"

Leigh, from what I have seen from examples of yours it appears that you do a lot of carving. I noticed that that is one of the best things about Milliput - its carvability. I have not had a lot of success sculpting with Milliput as it tends to be crumbly but when it sets it is probably the best of the epoxies for carving. It has the perfect consistency of being not too hard or soft. Is this your experience as well?

Since I have been scratchbuilding I have had some success with everything but heads in 54mm. I can do hands and feet and while I still have to work at it it is managable. Heads in small scale may be managable as well but I need some insight from sculptors as to a good set of building blocks to construct a head in small scale. Since I am an artist anatomy is not a problem but transferring that knowledge to putty is a whole other ballgame. I notice that everytime I attempt a head it turns out too large. As a matter of fact when I first started I had real problems keeping things in scale. Everything ended up being closer to 60mm or larger. I look at Roger Saunders heads and across his whole line the consistency is absolutely amazing. Plus he manages such terrific character in the expressions.

So, I think of all the obstacles to a modeler sculpting heads is by far THE most daunting and it would be great if the sculptors who have mastered this could share their particular techniques. I do believe that it would be of immeasurable help to all of us novices.

Digressing for a moment, aside from Historex or the Preiser Eve set does anyone make good 1/35 or 1/32 female heads commercially?

Guy, As I think NIKE says "just do it". A lot of things, like painting or sculpting involves practice. You might find some parts of the figure/bust easier to do than others. You might want to even try copying a figure or bust in your "gray army". As always there are those of us that scratchbuild, so we're here if you need some help. Good luck and enjoy.~Gary

Bob, I think I'm a novice too and I've got a long way to go to reach the level I would like.
I have never sculpted with anything other than milliput so I don't know how it really compares to other products like magic sculpt which almost everyone seems to be using at the moment. Your're right in that it's very good to carve, it's not overly hard like I think A-B is and it's not plasticy like Duro.
I find that it takes a long time to properly cure in the cold weather and that's when it doesn't carve well, it tears easily if you know what I mean. I have just bought an oven like Gordy's and did a few test pieces, it was rock hard in 10-15 minutes.

I agree with you about Roger Saunder's work, he gets amazing detail in his heads though some are better than others.
I have more studied Lattore's heads and figures , while I'm not trying to copy his work it's a good reference.
Here are some pics of the figure I'm doing at the moment, I think I'm finished with the head apart from the hair.

I think Hornet makes some female heads without hair.

side view

Bob, this is basicly how I start off, then I'll add the features and a bit to the overall size as it's a bit small. This is the Boer war infantryman that I mentioned , if it will help I can take some progress pictures of the head as I go. The only trouble I have had is the head being too small. I'm aware of it now and keep an eye on it.

very, very nice LCoote! I'd love to see an article put together on that

I love it.............I love it.......it was just what I have been surfing for for the last 2 days.....a guide to starting out....something to go by......many thanks..

Guy

Great Leigh, appreciate the progress pictures. Keep them coming.

Leigh, Your figure is coming along nicely. You are doing really well on the head and the drapery, given the scale of your figure. I think it's an excellent idea to use some of the top sculptor's work as an aid. I always have admired Saunder's work, his faces are amazing. I can't get over his ability to put so much personality into a head so small.~Gary

Gordy, I'll try to get some SBS pics together as I go along.

Guy and Bob, hope you find the pics of some use.

Gary, I really should have finished this figure by now but I've been so damn busy with work lately that I have done virtually nothing in the last few weeks.
By the way how is the Continental Marine coming along, what else are you working on ?

Leigh

The next installment.

Leigh

I think this is the most difficult part , establishing the correct overall size of the head along with getting the eye sockets and mouth in the correct position. Ready for some cleaning up.

side view