Sculpting!

[Tyrannax]

I would like to start sculpting. Can someone please tell me what to use (would normal old clay work? rofl) and how to actually model without creating a piece of garbage (like do I go piece by piece and then put the body parts together when I'm done? Also, how do you make them dry as the clay have used is always flexible. Cooking it? Sorry if that whole paragraph sounded odd. Thanks

[Dinotoyforum]

I think any material will do They all have different challenges and benefits.

Clay hardens if you leave it out, but you can fire it in a kiln to finish it off properly.

Personally I use a single piece, rather than sticking together separate pieces. The final model is then more robust and its a more natural process I feel.

[Tyrannax]

Man how do you sculpt teeth with clay jaws in the way. Ive tried and screwed my model up evey time I stuck my fingers in its mouth. Also, can I cook the mold in an oven ?

[dinocollector2009]

Use Super Sculpey.... Its MUCH better than any clay out there..

Start with a wire or wooden frame, add some muscles with alluminum foil to bulk it out and cover it with a thin layer of the sculpey and cook it...

Add paint... and you have an instant Dinosaur!

I'm going to do a few shortly and i'll be sue to post!

[Tyrannax]

1. On the wooden frame, do u mean Popsicle sticks that you glue together? or? (if Popsicle sticks it might be hard for me to put clay on them w/o braking them XD
2. Can you show me a pic of what you mean by using aluminum? wouldnt it bend when you add clay? am i all turned around? rofl

Thanks for the advice. Sorry I'm so paranoid with the questions. im a newb to sculpting

[dinocollector2009]

Its no problem...
I don' have any pics, but the best way to do it, as I have found is to use wire... to make a frame...
Go to youtube, or google and do a search for Aluminum Foil Armature..

[dinonikes]

As a professional paleo artist, I thought I would share with you all some methods I use to sculpt prehistoric creatures. First let me start off saying that these tips are for making casts, and not for direct sculptures (direct sculpting is when there is no mold or casting, just going direct to finished sculpture). I sculpt a clay pattern, make a plaster mold and cast the models in a rigid latex material- or make the mold in silicone and cast the models in resin/fiberglass. I realize that not many of you can work in these materials unless you have a separate garage or some such studio as there are fumes not good to live in. That being said the sculpting tips may still be of someuse to you.I use Roma plastilene clay (this clay comes in different firmness levels rated by number, i use no. 2 a medium firmness)which is an oil based clay that won't dry out ever, and can be reused repeatedly once the mold is made just smash it up and throw it back into your storage tub. This clay has the best properties for sculpting, I feel, as it is easy to meld to itself and accepts pressed textures of the finest detail, much better than sculpey does. This clay is the standard material in our industry, and can be found at any good art supply store. I have a large plastic garbage can with a lid that I store the clay in. I cut a hole in the top that I stick a hair drier through. When I am working, I run the hair drier on low and this keeps the clay really warm and pliable and saves you a lot of kneading the clay to make it pliable.
When I start a sculpture, I google search the one I am doing and try to finda real good profile, a great source for these if you are doing a carnivore is Gregory Pauls book. Once i have a profile, or if i cant find one I draw one using skeleton reference for measuring lengths of legs necks heads ,etc., I take the profile and enlarge it to whatever size I want to make my model. I then cut it out of a stiff cradboard or thin masonite. I take a wire hanger or other rigid wire and hot glue the wire to the profile and glue it to a board. Then i can just fill out the model using this profile as a guide. If its a big model i fill out with balled up newspaper with duck tape over to fill in the rough shape then I fiberglass over the form and then apply the clay.
One tip I can give is when making skin textures, you can take some balsa wood and shape it into a sort of rounded paddle shape then take a bic pen and press a skin texture into the balsa wood, When you press this tool into the surface of the clay, it gives you a nice round scale texture. Experiment with other tips to press into the balsa wood to get other scale patterns. Dipping the balsa tool in water before pressing into the clay will help it to not stick and you get a cleaner impression.
When i sculpt real large life sized critters, like a platybeledon or a moropus, i make a scale maquette model which I then slice up and trace each sliced segmant's profile. These traced segments are then blown up to size and I make a plywood armature that is very similar to those wood kits of animals the you see sold in museum stores and such. Once i have the wooden plywood armature, i chicken wire the wholething, and then fiberglass it. Then i can apply the clay and detail it.
I realize that i am probably creating a lot of questions as I might be answering others. If you have any questions or want any advice, feel free to ask me, i enjoy sharing talk about sculpting paleo models.

[dinonikes]

Not too sure anyone is finding these sculpting tips any use or not, but I will continue them when the mood strikes me until told to knock it off already.-
Another tip for sculpting prehistoric beasts- use wooden or plastic toothpicks for the teeth. You can actually heat up the plastic ones or soak the wooden ones in water to get a little bit of a curve on the tip, then cut the tip off(the part you will use so don't let it fly away into the room). The length of the tip that you cut off should be a bit longer than you want the tooth to be, this extra length gets stuck into the claw jaw/gums. Sculpt the inside of the mouth the way you want it first, before putting in the teeth. Next stick the teeth in with a needle nose pliers or tweezers. Start putting them in working back of the jaw out to the front.

Tip- Once you have the form done and have roughly smoothed the skin out, you can smooth the clay out to a real nice smoother finish by wetting your fingers or tools with water, depending on the clay you are using. Just don't get too wet with the water, you are really only using the water to lubricate the surface so your fingers or tools will have less drag to them which is the cause of all those irritating dips and pits in the surface. Take the time to really get a nice surface before trying to impress any textures into the skin. If you have dips in the surface, the texture press mold tool won't make a good impression, it will span across the pit so you are left with a gap in your pressed scale texture.

TIp- (not for sculpey, don't bake anything you have put shellac onto)- when using clays that either air dry or for patterns to make molds from(plastilene clay mentioned in previous post), you can shellac the armature you make before applying the clay. This will help some clays to stick properly. Some clays are wet enough to begin with and have no need for any further assistance in getting a good grip.

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

Just practice, tyrannax. You will get the hang of it.

[Tyrannax]

Thanks

I'm sculpting a Tyrannosaurus head out of styrofoam, but its harder then I thought.

[dinonikes]

Stytofoam is a hard material to sculpt in so don't feel bad. Your best bet is a good sharp knife. Sharp is the key.Try using rasps for the final shaping, and try to remove a little at a time, once you have the big chunks out of the way. Stryrofoam can be cut with hot wires but the smell is terrible and toxic. Some have tried electric steak knives. At work we use a foam to carve that is real similar to the type of foam that florists use. That stuff is very duty and scratchy though so it must be used somewhere that will contain the mess. ALways wear a dust mask when carving in any foam.

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

Dec 4, 2008 0:03:35 GMT Tyrannax said:

Thanks

I'm sculpting a Tyrannosaurus head out of styrofoam, but its harder then I thought.

Yikes! I hate styrofome. The only thing I can make out of it is rocks.

[Tyrannax]

Well you certainly are talented at clay. I'll give you that.

[stoneage]

;D When do our scuptures have to be ready for the sculpting contest? ;D

[Tyrannax]

*Pats stoneage on the head* One day...stoneage...one day...

[dlindeman]

Check out dino tech on youtube

[Tyrannax]

Wow, what an old thread..

Ah, yes- I remember seeing dino tech. It's incredible how much one can learn in several months. I have learned almost everything there is to know about sculpting (The basics of course. I'm no expert)

[stoneage]

Where are all those sculptures you were making? Do you have any pictures?

[Tyrannax]

I really have no time for my sculptures to be honest. However, I managed to find the first armature I had ever created (It was made before my original Tyrannosaurus as well). I had lost it some time ago and decided to give it a bit of attention.

The process is starting out much better than my previous sculptures that I'm working on. I can show you a progress shot, but I'd rather not open an entirely new thread about my sculptures until I actually finish one. (Does that make sense?)

[Seijun]

You could also give Kato Polyclay a try. I used sculpey a few years but find Kato to be much more to my liking.