bgcdazzler's first ever mini WIP (a confusion of cockups and learnings)
- Thread starter bgcdazzler
- Start date
Thanks folks. Sicks: yep, I'm wrong handed; so guitars are more expensive and I struggle with tin openers, but otherwise I'm perfectly normal, honest. And yes: the bottom was totally necessary!
Arch: I hope to upgrade some day to full man cave, but three kids and a bossy wife keeps me relegated firmly to one corner. Grumble mumble.
Speaking of kids, my eldest (8) decided to finish off my sculpt. I kinda like it:
anyway, I had a crack at doing the head. Major cockup time!
I did it a bit differently this time by starting with dentures:
then building the head around them:
Head and other hand done. The hand is fine, I think, but the head... Too big! Again!
Damn.
Ah well, I'll rip it off and do another tonight. What was that old saying carpenters had? Measure twice and cut once? Yep. That. I should do more of that.
I had never tought on starting with the teeth, Its actually quite cool and efective. Nice stuff
Schwarz-Brot
New member
That metallic beast remembers me of some boston dynamics demos.
Most impressive stuff. https://youtu.be/LJZQ3n-iQYE
Most impressive stuff. https://youtu.be/LJZQ3n-iQYE
ArchArad
New member
Clear! *zap*
bgcdazzler
New member
Owch! That was a cattle prod, not a defibrillator!
I'm still very much alive, thank you both. But gosh, what a week it's been. I shan't bore you all with the details but it's been a mightily dispiriting and frustrating time. Bloody black dog.
To cap it all the lady I was doing for the flesh faire compo has broken. Again. She 'can' be fixed, but I've lost all enthusiasm for doing so, so she is shelved possibly permanently. I am still sticking with the flesh faire, on a much reduced timescale, but more on that in a bit...
so I had a good long rethink about what I want out of this mad little hobby of ours. Lady aside, it has been a pleasurable and entertaining distraction - and even in four months I feel like I've learned a lot. But what do I want to do? What am I aiming to get out of it? It came down to two things for me:
1. I want to learn how to make cool minis.
2. I want to learn how to paint them to make them look even cooler.
I know I can't expect amazing results straightaway, but knowing that these are the two aims can hopefully push me to try out new things, practice, and move on to new figures without getting hung up about exploding ladies.
With this in mind, and as a nice highlight in an otherwise rubbish week, I bought some super sculpty firm and had a play with it this week. I really like it - it dries harder than Fimo, and seems stronger too. The shorter cooking times are a bonus too. It's really hard to get it to stick (to armatures or raw to baked) but otherwise it seems really nice.
So here was my first experiment:
armature on on a jam jar lid - I like this new basing method, it keeps it stable.
Blocking in the body shape and face. No real muscle tone, as I'm going to dress him....
...in some armour, like so.
A side view:
I turned the smudgy bit on his arm into some armour and a gargoyle-style pauldron, here. Also added a sword and cape.
You can see the Chainmail on his tunic and balaclava type thing here. Also I carved off these fingers: I think they got smudged putting him in the oven. Either way they looked terrible.
The cloak.
Then broke out the greenstuff to redo his hands and attach the shield - sculpty just doesn't stick well at all, so needed GS to get the shield on. And that's him done! Not perfect, but a good test with a new medium.
following on from this I've been making a new lady - a smaller, more manageable one - for the flesh faire. I figure why the hell not - we have until mid-March, right? I have no WIP pictures of her but will share something once she's ready to paint.
In the meantime... It's great to be back. Didja miss me?
I'm still very much alive, thank you both. But gosh, what a week it's been. I shan't bore you all with the details but it's been a mightily dispiriting and frustrating time. Bloody black dog.
To cap it all the lady I was doing for the flesh faire compo has broken. Again. She 'can' be fixed, but I've lost all enthusiasm for doing so, so she is shelved possibly permanently. I am still sticking with the flesh faire, on a much reduced timescale, but more on that in a bit...
so I had a good long rethink about what I want out of this mad little hobby of ours. Lady aside, it has been a pleasurable and entertaining distraction - and even in four months I feel like I've learned a lot. But what do I want to do? What am I aiming to get out of it? It came down to two things for me:
1. I want to learn how to make cool minis.
2. I want to learn how to paint them to make them look even cooler.
I know I can't expect amazing results straightaway, but knowing that these are the two aims can hopefully push me to try out new things, practice, and move on to new figures without getting hung up about exploding ladies.
With this in mind, and as a nice highlight in an otherwise rubbish week, I bought some super sculpty firm and had a play with it this week. I really like it - it dries harder than Fimo, and seems stronger too. The shorter cooking times are a bonus too. It's really hard to get it to stick (to armatures or raw to baked) but otherwise it seems really nice.
So here was my first experiment:
armature on on a jam jar lid - I like this new basing method, it keeps it stable.
Blocking in the body shape and face. No real muscle tone, as I'm going to dress him....
...in some armour, like so.
A side view:
I turned the smudgy bit on his arm into some armour and a gargoyle-style pauldron, here. Also added a sword and cape.
You can see the Chainmail on his tunic and balaclava type thing here. Also I carved off these fingers: I think they got smudged putting him in the oven. Either way they looked terrible.
The cloak.
Then broke out the greenstuff to redo his hands and attach the shield - sculpty just doesn't stick well at all, so needed GS to get the shield on. And that's him done! Not perfect, but a good test with a new medium.
following on from this I've been making a new lady - a smaller, more manageable one - for the flesh faire. I figure why the hell not - we have until mid-March, right? I have no WIP pictures of her but will share something once she's ready to paint.
In the meantime... It's great to be back. Didja miss me?
Last edited:
Digganob
New member
OH THANK GOD. I don't have to go mouth to mouth. See Arch, I knew the cattle prod would work. Knew it all along I did. Well I think I know what you mean about how you want to make great mini's. Granted you are more than half way there, you already make incredible sculpts. The detail you put into them is crazy. I think once you master the technique of making each mini crisp and clean you will be making the great mini's you want. I must say though you are a natural.
Maenas
New member
Sorry for that heavy week, anyway I am happy to read you again ^^ and take care with those cattle prod marks... you can always paint your own skintone over them like if it was makeup....
Seems that you are going to lean forward on both worlds. I foresee lots of things to learn on them both, but I am sure you have the talent to assimilate those so keep moving, you really advance at huge steps from what seems a natural understanding of those worlds. Go check lots of anatomy books or have yourself a wooden figurine for posing references
On this last warrior model things I would say (from my point of view) are:
-Perfect head and facial expression, maybe it could benefit from a crisper sculpt but I have seen "pro" miniatures worst than this one so keep improving
-Hands are s little big, but you don't need to correct them as they look good now, just find what suits your style whether its more realistic or comic-book it's on your hands! lol
-Legs look a bit thinner than they should be imo., specially the left one.
-Cape looks great at the top, but a little strange at its endings toward the base.
With these lines I am not trying to discourage you, I am just trying to point out what I would try to correct on subsequent sculpts. I am really trying to help here and I also think that I find myself unable to reach this level of detail, sculpt and proportions so great job!
Seems that you are going to lean forward on both worlds. I foresee lots of things to learn on them both, but I am sure you have the talent to assimilate those so keep moving, you really advance at huge steps from what seems a natural understanding of those worlds. Go check lots of anatomy books or have yourself a wooden figurine for posing references
On this last warrior model things I would say (from my point of view) are:
-Perfect head and facial expression, maybe it could benefit from a crisper sculpt but I have seen "pro" miniatures worst than this one so keep improving
-Hands are s little big, but you don't need to correct them as they look good now, just find what suits your style whether its more realistic or comic-book it's on your hands! lol
-Legs look a bit thinner than they should be imo., specially the left one.
-Cape looks great at the top, but a little strange at its endings toward the base.
With these lines I am not trying to discourage you, I am just trying to point out what I would try to correct on subsequent sculpts. I am really trying to help here and I also think that I find myself unable to reach this level of detail, sculpt and proportions so great job!
ArchArad
New member
*high fives Digga* It's alive! *brandishes cattle prod in victory pose*
Sorry to hear about your blergh week. My grey matter is sadly familiar with that ebony canid on a medicinal level. You know where to find me if necessary.
Your knight looks very cool - nice detail on the armour. Hands are indeed a pain in the posterior! His right leg is a good deal thinner than the left, but that's what practice models are for. He strikes me as the sergeant that all of the new recruits fear instinctively.
Sorry to hear about your blergh week. My grey matter is sadly familiar with that ebony canid on a medicinal level. You know where to find me if necessary.
Your knight looks very cool - nice detail on the armour. Hands are indeed a pain in the posterior! His right leg is a good deal thinner than the left, but that's what practice models are for. He strikes me as the sergeant that all of the new recruits fear instinctively.
bgcdazzler
New member
Thanks for your support guys, much appreciated.
@Maenas, @Arch, yes, keep the critiques coming please! I can't learn without em.
@Digga: yep, a clean crisp sculpt is the aim! I have something on the go now that shows promise so far (I'll take pics tonight hopefully). In the meantime here is a not-so-clean sculpt for the flesh faire. Again more practice, but as with Sprogrot I think painting this will teach me where the problem areas are. Plus it's for the competition, so that should motivate me to getting the paint on!
I went with a little vignette of two figures, so I can do 'proper' flesh and green flesh. The little guy isn't finished (he needs some details... And clothing), but so far I'm okay with this one. Thankfully she is smaller (so easier to paint) and much tougher than the last lady, so she should survive the paint process.
The metal bit between them is going to be a lead, of course.
@Maenas, @Arch, yes, keep the critiques coming please! I can't learn without em.
@Digga: yep, a clean crisp sculpt is the aim! I have something on the go now that shows promise so far (I'll take pics tonight hopefully). In the meantime here is a not-so-clean sculpt for the flesh faire. Again more practice, but as with Sprogrot I think painting this will teach me where the problem areas are. Plus it's for the competition, so that should motivate me to getting the paint on!
I went with a little vignette of two figures, so I can do 'proper' flesh and green flesh. The little guy isn't finished (he needs some details... And clothing), but so far I'm okay with this one. Thankfully she is smaller (so easier to paint) and much tougher than the last lady, so she should survive the paint process.
The metal bit between them is going to be a lead, of course.
Last edited:
Wish I could sculpt like that. I know need a small 28mm little mole sticking his head out of the ground for an idea I have in mind, but no one seems to produce this :thunder: i might have to try to sculpt one myself, but I doubt it will ever ressemble a mole.
Cheers,
Gino(2dope)
Cheers,
Gino(2dope)
ArchArad
New member
Great face on that lady and an awesome idea for the pair.
If you're still going to be working on them I'd suggest looking at her stomach/torso. At the moment it seems a bit square and mannish - a few more curves and softer lines will really help. Even muscular women generally have some curves. Or at least I think they should.
P.S. I'm glad that you take my critique for what it is - helping a friend.
If you're still going to be working on them I'd suggest looking at her stomach/torso. At the moment it seems a bit square and mannish - a few more curves and softer lines will really help. Even muscular women generally have some curves. Or at least I think they should.
P.S. I'm glad that you take my critique for what it is - helping a friend.
bgcdazzler
New member
Thank you - yep, still a fair few bits and pieces to do on her and him.
I'm pleased with the smoothness on this one. There are a few little crumbs on it but beside that I think it is proportionally the best I've made so far, and certainly at this small scale. Early days on him, but I feel like he's coming along okay.
in other news... My Maulgy and Pig and Khorgorath are currently sitting around 8.0 in the gallery after about 30 votes. I'm so pleased (and shocked, frankly) that they are doing so well. If anyone would like to vote and help them eke past 50 votes that would be wonderful.
Links:
Khorgorath
http://www.coolminiornot.com/393235
Maulgy and Pig
http://www.coolminiornot.com/393234
I'm pleased with the smoothness on this one. There are a few little crumbs on it but beside that I think it is proportionally the best I've made so far, and certainly at this small scale. Early days on him, but I feel like he's coming along okay.
in other news... My Maulgy and Pig and Khorgorath are currently sitting around 8.0 in the gallery after about 30 votes. I'm so pleased (and shocked, frankly) that they are doing so well. If anyone would like to vote and help them eke past 50 votes that would be wonderful.
Links:
Khorgorath
http://www.coolminiornot.com/393235
Maulgy and Pig
http://www.coolminiornot.com/393234
BloodASmedium
[img]http://pnp
Really inspiring
bgcdazzler One quick tip, It looks like you are going to fast when sculpting your muscles, I recomend you to do them more step by step, I warranty you your miniatures will have a lot better looking, I mean even better looking than what they do now.
What I do if first the muscles, then I add fat tissue and finally I add the skin.:cute:
What I do if first the muscles, then I add fat tissue and finally I add the skin.:cute:
