Fat Man Bust

[krispee]

Hi guys, long, long, time with nothing to show....finally managed to finish this, a new bust, made from Sculpey again.....around 14cm total height with the base.....











thanks for looking
Kris

[snoball]

Way to go Kris! That's some kinda great work!

[krispee]

thanks, Sno, good to get this done in the end though....

Kris

[ArtsyLynda]

He looks like quite a character. Nice work!

[krispee]

cheers, Lynda...

Kris

[sculpturedolls]

Great job!

May I ask what is your inspiration for sculpting him and is he a portrait of someone or just for fun?

[krispee]

hmm, no inspiration necessarily, wanted to do more work with Sculpey and another bust so decided upon a character that was more overweight and he just kind of evolved, no reference used directly, just a little for some of the features as i went along, but he isn`t based on anyone at all.....

Kris

[sculpturedolls]

Just playing around is so rewarding. Interesting to do all different body types and the challenges involved. Did you bake him in the oven so that you can paint him? Or is this the finished look for him? The rustic metal base is nice.

[krispee]

no baking yet, will experiment with that later, got thin and thicker areas in my bust so need to be careful, no painting though, i like them to look au naturalle lol....the base is a rubbish piece of bronze or brass i found at work, i guess i could keep to the industrial look for the bases.....
at the moment i`m working on water based clay bust but much bigger, again no reference but good practice.....

Kris

[AmritS]

I had a question regarding sculpey. How big a model can I made with it? I wanted to make an Asaro head. At least 1/2 scale. Is sculpey adequate for this? All the sculpey work I've seen is miniature.

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76733

[ArtsyLynda]

You can make anything you can fit in a kitchen oven, since it needs to be baked to finish it. It doesn't have to be upright to bake. If it's too tall, you can put a cookie sheet or a piece of plywood on the bottom rack, cover it with polyfil (the stuffing for stuffed animals or quilts - you can find it in Walmart or any craft or sewing store - it comes in bags), then lay your sculpture down on that. The polyfil isn't bothered by the heat nor does it stick to the Sculpey. And I'd use Super Sculpey rather than Sculpey, which is made for children and has "rebound" (if you press or carve something into it, it bounces back and fills in that place a bit - frustrating). Super Sculpey is made for dollmaking and works very well. And a hint - use those rubber tipped tools and ROLL the creases into the piece (such as the lines around the mouth) rather than trying to carve them, and you'll get a better result. There are TONS of doll-making "how-to" videos online to show you the techniques. Build up your armature of foil, etc. - you only use about a 1/4" of Super Sculpey thickness for the best effect (I work thicker myself, but you don't want the whole thing to be made of polymer clay or it won't bake properly). Good luck with it.

[AmritS]

Thank you! Yes, I've ordered some super scullery and not the plain sculpey. I went for the standard stuff and not the firm one. 2 pounds in weight ought to be enough I hope.

Really looking forward to this. I just downloaded the app L'ecorche by Scott Eaton. Seems a really useful tool to see the muscles for sculpting. I'm doing this to better understand anatomy and hopefully improve my drawing and painting skills. Although I'm sure I'll end up doing more in sculpting.

Yes, YouTube is full of super sculpey how to videos. Will I need some oil if it dries or does it tend to last for ages?

Originally Posted by ArtsyLynda

You can make anything you can fit in a kitchen oven, since it needs to be baked to finish it. It doesn't have to be upright to bake. If it's too tall, you can put a cookie sheet or a piece of plywood on the bottom rack, cover it with polyfil (the stuffing for stuffed animals or quilts - you can find it in Walmart or any craft or sewing store - it comes in bags), then lay your sculpture down on that. The polyfil isn't bothered by the heat nor does it stick to the Sculpey. And I'd use Super Sculpey rather than Sculpey, which is made for children and has "rebound" (if you press or carve something into it, it bounces back and fills in that place a bit - frustrating). Super Sculpey is made for dollmaking and works very well. And a hint - use those rubber tipped tools and ROLL the creases into the piece (such as the lines around the mouth) rather than trying to carve them, and you'll get a better result. There are TONS of doll-making "how-to" videos online to show you the techniques. Build up your armature of foil, etc. - you only use about a 1/4" of Super Sculpey thickness for the best effect (I work thicker myself, but you don't want the whole thing to be made of polymer clay or it won't bake properly). Good luck with it.

[krispee]

Originally Posted by AmritS

Thank you! Yes, I've ordered some super scullery and not the plain sculpey. I went for the standard stuff and not the firm one. 2 pounds in weight ought to be enough I hope.

Really looking forward to this. I just downloaded the app L'ecorche by Scott Eaton. Seems a really useful tool to see the muscles for sculpting. I'm doing this to better understand anatomy and hopefully improve my drawing and painting skills. Although I'm sure I'll end up doing more in sculpting.

Yes, YouTube is full of super sculpey how to videos. Will I need some oil if it dries or does it tend to last for ages?

it lasts for a fair while, i have had models around for a time with only a little bit of hardening going on, nothing much happens to it other than that especially if you keep it wrapped in clingfilm or something similar, fire it within a reasonable period though, would be my advice, don`t leave it forever.....if you leave it for a long long time it will dry a bit and can start cracking....if you have a lump left over and it dries then just add some Isopropanol and gradually knead it until it softens again.....best first time around though.....

Kris

[ArtsyLynda]

Yeah, what Kris said. It's a good idea to not let it sit too long before firing, but if you do get cracks, you can fill them with Magic Sculpt or Apoxie Clay. You can also sand Super Sculpey after it's baked. There are lots of ways to work with it.

[AmritS]

Looking forward to getting my batch in the post. I'll be sure to upload photos of my wip.