"Mommy?
Where do resins come from?"
Hi there! Well. . .I was starting a new piece
last night and it occurred to me that it would be
interesting to take pics of it every so often as I
worked. I had hopes that it would help me to stay
enthused during those times when it *seems* that
nothing is progressing. Perhaps, if I could look
back at where I'd been, I could feel a bit more hopeful
that things were going to improve if I just kept at it.
As I looked through the first group of photos I was struck by the way
they showed how the clay behaves. Sometimes it's difficult to imagine
the process when all a person has a chance to see are finished
sculptures or pics of *near* finished clay originals.
So, just in case they might be of interest to others who are sculpting, or thinking about sculpting. . .
or maybe just for those people who wonder how it all happens.
I will post these progress pics whenever I can and I will do my best to try and show a true beginning to end clay sculpture.
My technique isn't the prettiest or most efficient, or the most technical, but it works for me. It just goes to show how people can use
different methods to achieve similar results. So, enjoy the pics while I keep working. :^)
How do I start? With a 5 pound block of clay, and a dream. . .hehe. O.K. maybe 2 blocks of clay and a sketch. This is the loose working sketch done to scale with the armature drawn in.
Here is the armature. . .freshly finished and looking distinctly un-horselike. Block of wood, pipe, and twisted wire to give the clay something to hold onto.
Here we go! First I have to bend the wires around so
they will *hopefully* fit well within the parameters
of the horse I'm sculpting. There's nothing more
frustrating than running into the armature when you're
working. . .especially bad when you've got a lot of
detail finished. Sometimes, when the armature proves
to be waaay out of whack it pays to just sculpt around
it and remove it in the pattern casting later.
At this point, I just start piling on the clay. I have a basic idea of where I'm headed from looking
at the drawing. I don't worry about measurements at this point AT ALL. The main goal here is to just get the clay on there so you
have something to work with. It is important to make sure that the clay that's *right*
next to the armature is REALLY stuck to the armature securely. Everything needs to be solid so you don't run into problems
later.
More clay. . .and more clay.
Around and around it goes, adding bits and pieces at a time. I do my best to make sure I build the horse up evenly. Checking him from the front and rear to be sure he's staying 3 dimensional
and not starting to appear like he's been pressed in a book. I can see, however, that I've been neglecting his head. . .haha, he's pin headed!
Starting to plump out nicely. Still not worrying about measurements. Just going by eye. .. I'll probably regret that later but, eh, I'm on a roll! heh!
O.K. filling out the head some here.
Took a second to run and find the right size beads for his eyes. Originally felt like I need bigger beads than usual (6mm)
But reconsider since all horses have the same size eyeballs (supposedly.) So, put away the 8mm beads and stick on the 6's. At this point
he is MUCH too fat and roly poly. That's o.k. I will whittle him down to size. It's easier to take the clay off than it is to put it on. (ouch my aching fingertips! Blisters starting AND the skin has been torn away under my fingernails a wee bit from all the smearing and pushing! Yipes)
He is a BIG horse. 18.2hh in life-size. About 13 inches tall to his ears. There is approximately 7 pounds of clay on there at this point. Even though I use REALLY soft clay,
It's a bit stiff when it's brand new. *sigh* (owie!)
"How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use a stick of dynamite as a bit!?!" hehehehe. . .remember how I wasn't measuring? Well I finally started measuring and ran into the armature almost instantly!
This is where oil based clays really shine! Just cut it in half, pull out the wire, loop it shorter, and press the two sides back together.
Getting the head down to the right size. It was HUGE! Wheee! Too wide and too long. :^) I'm using the measurement charts in the back of the Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists.
(there's a link to it on Amazon.com from my home page. Just check out the resources page)
My biggest problem is that of the three draft horses they have measurements for. . .not one is as large as the horse I'm doing.
So, I'm compromising by using the largest measurements from each of them and adding a few inches. Gaaah! We will see how well that works for me in the long run! Haha! Ah. . .as you can see the sun is coming up. . .and that means that I've been awake all night. (yes, I'm odd enough that I didn't actually start on him until 2:30 am!)
When I start doing measurements, my main tools are these charts,
a medium sculpting loop, proportionals, a ruler, and a calculator. Some of these are visible in the photo above. This where I decided to give it a break.
Four hours have passed since I first started adding the clay,
so it's pretty good progress. I'm discovering that
he is going to be easier to work with than
the smaller horses have been. His clay stays firm and his details won't all be so delicate. With smaller sculptures, the clay gets a bit
wonky on the legs since the wire is thinner and the clay wants to twist around instead of staying put.
Makes it hard to manipulate things.
This guy is coming along quickly at the moment. . .
I'm sure I'll run into a road block or two soon. ;^P The most exciting time when I'm sculpting a new horse is always the first day and the last day! hehe! Everything in between can be a bit tedious and frustrating, and I'd like to take you on that magical journey with me. . .mwahahahahaha!
Ya wanna see more? click here.
