Diplodocus sculpture - Clay added, bottom pg1

[Seijun]

5-12-09
I settled on just a regular walking pose, for simplicities sake. Ive never sculpted something this big before.

His tail looks way too long, but I am going off of the "skeletaldrawings" Diplo illustration. Right now he measures just over 3.5 feet.

5-17-09
Here is the completed armature! Now for the clay-up...


(no, he has no head, yet--I always do that part last)

[Pangolinmoth]

I really like the semi-erect stance. Not so dramatic like the Battat but still fluid.


I think this is a really cool head design.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

That art style looks familiar..where you get the pic ?

[Seijun]

Creepy head shot.
I like the stance too in that first pic. I had a book with some really beautiful paintings of diplo's (or similar sauropod) that I wish I had again as reference.

[Seijun]

ill be using this to base the structural anatomy off of, it was the best I could find. Look acceptable enough?
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Diplodocus_size_comparison.png

[Seijun]

5-23-09
Started adding clay - He almost looks kind of like a dinosaur now! Will add new pics this weekend.

[dinonikes]

Looks real good so far- what type of clay are you using? I am working on a Supersaurus right now along with other projects- what scale is your piece? 3.5 feet length seems a bit big for 1:40 scale- is Diplo longer than Supersaurus? Mine measures 33 inches in length -using the skeletaldrawing supersaurus blown up to 1:40 scale- nice to see other artists making cool dino sculpts- have you posted examples of other pieces you have done? I would love to see what you have been up to previously-

[Seijun]

Im using kato.

Err.. Was he supposed to be 1:40th scale? I don't know if there are rules for this kind of stuff or not, I just started sculpting. What scale would 3.5 feet be? I picked that size because I wanted the head to be at least 1". Any smaller and I don't think I could get any detail in!

I don't have any examples of previous pieces. This is my first ever dino

[stoneage]

May 23, 2009 21:08:46 GMT Seijun said:

Im using kato.

Err.. Was he supposed to be 1:40th scale? I don't know if there are rules for this kind of stuff or not, I just started sculpting. What scale would 3.5 feet be? I picked that size because I wanted the head to be at least 1". Any smaller and I don't think I could get any detail in!

I don't have any examples of previous pieces. This is my first ever dino

It seems to me your doing a very good job so far. I would say your about 1/23.5 scale.

[[][][]cordylus[][][]]

OR... This could just be one big old male diplo ;D


Looks great so far

[Meso-Cenozoic]

Just call it a Seismosaurus -- a larger cousin of Dippy. Seismo wasn't as heavily built as Super, but I think he was possibly longer. Really good job so far!

This is so cool! Two huge long-necks being realized at the same time. Is this a one-time deal just for yourself or might you be creating duplicates for sale in the future?

I think he would make a nice pal for my Supersaurus, Malcolm is doing! ;D

[Seijun]

Meh, but I dont want him to be a Seismo! Though I guess considering how little we have of Seismo, he could be that too... Or he could be a diplo longus.

So far this is just for myself, but if he turns out reasonable enough, I might look into making duplicates. If I can figure out how.

[dinonikes]

I could help you figure out how to mold and cast him if it turns out you want to do that- you can get a basic idea from reading my Sculpting/ molding/ Casting tutorial thread in the Art category- I could anwser any detailed questions you might have- it really isn't as difficult to do as it might seem- if you have the skill and patience enough to sculpt you can make molds-

[Seijun]

I do some mold making at my current job, but its a slightly different / more complicated process.
I don't think I will have as much of a problem making this mold as I will just casting it. He will need some sort of semi-flexible plastic or else his tail will snap right off, and I have never worked with plastics before.

[dinonikes]

May 25, 2009 22:49:13 GMT Seijun said:

I do some mold making at my current job, but its a slightly different / more complicated process.
I don't think I will have as much of a problem making this mold as I will just casting it. He will need some sort of semi-flexible plastic or else his tail will snap right off, and I have never worked with plastics before.

What do you do if you don't mind me asking? I am always interested in different sort of molding processes-

You could cast it in a urethane- make a silicone mold- there are many types of urethanes and manythat will not snap off like you worry of- I am going to cast mine in a polyester resin reinforced with fiberglass- virtually indestructible-

[bokisaurus]

Very impressive! Why was I not born with such talent?
I would love to see this guy finished, he looks very impressive so far even if it's just he base so far.

[Seijun]

It involves having a sculpture which is attached to a base plate--clay is put over the sculpture (like a skin), then a plaster case consisting of several sections is built over this. The plaster case is then removed and the clay skin stripped off the sculpture. When the plaster case is reassembled around the sculpture, there will be a thin empty space between the sculpture and the case where the clay used to be. Silicone is then injected into this area to form a thin one-piece silicone mold, which is then used in production for pouring plaster copies of the original sculpture.

Here are some updated photos of my Diplo. Starting to add the first layer of clay..





First layer complete! (more or less, still need to do the core of the legs). Now to start mapping out where all the muscles will go..

[Meso-Cenozoic]

Ooh, ooh, ooh! The boys got a head!

Looking good!! ;D

[dinonikes]

May 26, 2009 5:55:17 GMT Seijun said:

It involves having a sculpture which is attached to a base plate--clay is put over the sculpture (like a skin), then a plaster case consisting of several sections is built over this. The plaster case is then removed and the clay skin stripped off the sculpture. When the plaster case is reassembled around the sculpture, there will be a thin empty space between the sculpture and the case where the clay used to be. Silicone is then injected into this area to form a thin one-piece silicone mold, which is then used in production for pouring plaster copies of the original sculpture.

Your sculpt is coming along nicely-

I am familiar with the molding technique you describe, never really liked it myself though, as there is a risk to damage the details of the sculpt when covering it with the clay, plus the time taken to cover the sculpt with the clay is unnecessary in my opinion. Also for larger silicone molds, i like to add fiberglass cloth reinforcement to the silicone which you can't do with this technique, the reinforcement makes the mold last forever, especially when making a lot of multiple casts, with a lot of pulling to get the mold off of the cast. The technique you describe is usually used as a way to try to save on the amount of silicone used to make a mold, but there are other ways to save on silicone, mainly using a filler powder to thicken up the silicone so it can be brushed over a first initial layer of silicone ,eliminates the need to cover the sculpt with the clay, and saves on silicone. I do this thickening with larger molds, otherwise for small pieces I just pour the silicone.
I was sort of curious what sort of job you had- I work in the museum exhibit business- it sounds like you work for a sculpture shop making plaster statues- I have been associated with a local shop that does such work- Orlandi Statuary. They use latex molds almost exclusively though to cast plaster as it is a real inexpensive molding material-

[Seijun]

My dinosaur, it groweth legs now...