With regard to lubrication I generally use saliva instead of water but the same general rule as kinko6 said applies - reapply constantly and sparingly. I used to dampen my tools in my mouth but that\'s a bad habit so I now use the back of my left thumb as a kind of palette. You can also use a light dusting of talc, which works really well in some cases.
I\'m against using Vaseline and oils to lubricate tools on the surface of putty, as despite their working advantages I don\'t want to risk ever having a greasy spot left behind. But if you want to give it a shot they\'re excellent at preventing sticking of tools to even freshly-mixed putty; just be sure to thoroughly degrease afterwards.
You can also try moisturiser, I\'ve heard of some people having great success with that. KY\'s also been mentioned and that\'s certainly worth trying too.
As far as the working method goes, press the blob home well first (fingernails tend to be good for this) then using a
damp tool you should be able to move the putty around without it sticking unmanageably to it. Some sticking with GS is inevitable, but with practice you can work with teeny tiny applications (like a single eyebrow on a 32mm mini) and it will stay where it\'s put while you manipulate it.
Originally posted by Elly3438
I tried using GS, and milliput... the same thing happens with both putties.
Well part of your problem here is that these are both very sticky putties. Few things you can do here, other than the tips above.
For both putties you can also mix them and then let them sit for a while (10-15 minutes) before you use them; the curing process will have progressed a little, making the putty less sticky. Also with GS in particular it will tend to cool, and warm GS is sticker than cold GS.
GS is tolerant of varied proportions of blue and yellow, for general sculpting I would recommend about 3:2 yellow to blue. This makes it less sticky and also slightly softer.
With Milliput you can try adding in a dusting of talc to the mixed putty itself. This works quite well with some other clay-like putties and should work similarly with Milliput.
Last but not least, instead of Milliput you could try MagicSculp which is better in a lot of ways
Originally posted by Elly3438
... if I try to water down the tool, it just ends up making the putty slide around on the mini, so it\'s even worse!
You working on plastic, metal or both? Slightly roughening the surface will help give the putty something to grab onto, if the area you\'re working on will allow this.
Something that doesn\'t tend to get said is that every time you put some putty on the surface of a figure things don\'t go perfectly, even for experienced sculptors. It\'s perfectly normal if every now and then it goes wrong and has to be removed and more putty put on, it comes off by itself because it stuck to a tool, it goes too thin and you have to apply more putty etc. With experience this kind of thing tends to happen less, just a matter of practice and experience.
Originally posted by Elly3438
vincenti - you sculpt those amazing sculpts with a toothpick?? who would have thought, nice
talcum powder? I think I actually may have some of that somewhere....
Do you know the work of Bill Horan or Mike Good? Mostly done with superglue-coated cocktail sticks too.
Einion
