Fellow sculptors (finally I can say that!!),

I just started on my first real sculpture, although I started one about a year ago but never finished it, but I need a little advice. Here's what I have so far.



Now I've been trying to do this right, paying attention to balance and posture, just like people 'in the know' are always explaining people to do. I'd appreciate it if you guys could 'check' what I did so far.

For this figure I'm going for a pose with a certain degree of elegance, authority and perhaps a little arrogance. The figure has his weight on the hind leg at which side he will also hold a walking cane. Don't mind the size of the head, it is just a spare to give an indication of the whole figure.

Now I angled his shoulders to counter balance the angle of the hips but his left arm (camera right) won't be raised but will be stretched slightly forward (similar to extending a hand for a hand shake). But when I look at it now it seems like the left arm should be raised to get the shoulder to angle like that.

What are your thoughts? Thanks !

- Marvin -

Marvin,
Your basic figure and pose are nice, but, (there's always a but), I think the head is too small for the body you've modeled, (see my figure posing SBS for more information on proportions, not advice I came up with but rather that I use myself having borrowed it from others who know much better than I ) and the figures right foot should be more under the center of the body to comfortably, and naturally support his weight. Your torso may also be a bit long, but it is difficult for me to say with the head being so very small. I say these things knowing that I am almost never spot on with my work either.

Ray

"....never spot on with my own work...." :lol:

AMEN, brother! I've never got one completely right yet!

I agree completely with what Ray says. The head is too small. In this case, it will probably be easier to look for a larger head vs. re-scaling the whole figure. I think the torso is definitely too long, whether you change the head or not. You'll need to take a section out of the middle. You should re-orient the right foot also - easily done.

I use the proportions chart that was provided some time back by Einion (If it was someone else, my apologies! Failing memory!) Basically all you have to do is scale that chart using good old Adobe Photoshop. Working with a given actual height use the chart and possibly the Scaler tool from pF. That and a calculator maybe and a good small metal metric ruler.

Having those tools and understanding how to use them has made all the difference for me!

KEEP AT IT! I'll give you the advice that both Jon Smith and Steve Warrilow gave me. The only thing that works is doing it! Like playing a musical instrument - practice, practice, practice. Also, remember to have fun.

All the best,
Dan

Marvin, Stand in the pose you've given your figure. You'll notice that the right buttock should be underneath the head. Likewise the right foot will be positioned underneath the right buttock. If you are using a larger head that should do away with any problems that the figure may have with a long torso. You are off to a very good start.~Gary

Guys,

Thanks for the quick replies! With regards to the head: I know it is too small. This figure represents a 2.10m and very slim character in scale 1:15. It's a sci-fi subject so it's a man in a suit and prostetics on his face so I'll be filling out the head to get it 'into scale'. :lol:

You guys are right about the right leg. I just saw the difference between the armature and the fleshed out figure myself. The armature is much more balanced like you guys say, don't know what happened during the fleshing out.... Do you think the left shoulder is OK knowing that the figure is not actually raising his arm?

- Marvin -

P.S. By the way this is the character I'm going for (not the pose)

Marvin,
The left shoulder should be okay since the right is at rest with the hand laying (if indeed it is laying) on the stick/sword. Your existing torso might, long as it is, well work for the figure you're modeling as he seems to be kind of stretched overlong himself.

Ray

Hello Marvin

They are in agreement with the participations of the other Sculptor ........... if you want a good counterbalance tries to give watching to this JPEG I make before to design that to explain with the words unfortunately I have a insufficient English.

Good job

MAB

That coat is so unusual, very angular and with the inset triangle thingies. Is there a related optical illusion making the coat front look much flatter than it really could be? I predict that is going to give you some problems getting the coat right! I know it would give me heartburn. Forget what I said about the overly long torso. Given the photo you're using as a reference, the long torso is anatomically wierd but I think necessary as an armature for the coat.

Maurizio - a suggestion. Could you post the anatomical chart here for Marvin to download? Sorry I didn't remember who had originally posted it!

Marvin - Let us see WIP on this frequently, please. This is an interesting project with some sculpting challenges I've never seen before, so I'd love to see how you resolve them.

All the best,
Dan

PRIMO

SECONDO

TERZO

I hope can be enough and that they can be of aid

Salutes

MAB

Marvin,

Interesting project for a first sculpt. Not as straightforward as one thinks as you've found out from the comments. I'm looking forward to the next step.

Regarding anatomical charts.

You may want to check this OLD THREAD from the Planet's archives.

HTH
Quang

Oops, link in the thread won't work.

Anyhow, here's the chart I made up for my own figures.

HTH
Q.

Done good .... Quang

MAB

Thanks guys!! Way to pitch in and help a newbie!

All the best,
Dan

Guys thanks for the help! I've already started on adjusting the pose and it should be better.

Maurizio:
Thanks for the drawing and images: it really helped. The images are saved for future reference.

Dan:
I though it would help if I posted a picture of the character It's a weird figure: extremely tall and slim, so that's why my proportions looked a bit off. When the character walks the front end of the coat moves more or less as a whole so yes it is flat and very rigid... Don't know how I will handle the combination of the bent left leg and the rigid coat just yet. The coat is probably going to angle right (camera left) as a whole.

Quang:
Thanks for the illustration. But you don't make figures this way anymore right? You use cast pieces for the pelvis and chest? What size are these, the same as in the graph or slightly smaller?

Thanks guys for the help. I'll post pics of the reposed figure soon. Then I think I'll start on the head...

- Marvin -

Marvin,

Although I've cast the head, torso and pelvis in resin for the sake of convenience, I'm still using the same chart (in various scales). Wire is all-purpose hardware stuff.

HTH
Q.

Marvin - Posting a pic of the character or the reference photo or whatever for the figure being sculpted helps a lot! In your case it explains why (obviously) your anatomical proportions are so unusual. Just curious - did you have any or all of the anatomical charts that Quang and Maurizio were kind enough to post? I find them to be marvelous, indispensable aids and references!

All the best,
Dan

Dan:
I didn't have the charts that were posted by Quang or Maurizio. I found a drawing of a skeleton on the www and manipulated it in Adobe Photoshop to get the slim and elongated skeletal proportions of a 2.10m figure in 1/15 scale.

By the way I've reposed the legs so far and am working on balancing the torso. By reposing the legs the figure looks even slimmer: an added bonus as I found it to be a little on the heavy side for this character.

Quang:
That's a great pic. I think I'll work on a set of resin blanks to mold and cast myself, although I won't be able to use it everytime seeing as I'm more into sci-fi subjects right now.

- Marvin -