miniature sculpting

[Idomeneas]

Hi
Im new to this very interesting forum. These last days im wondering around the internet gathering clues about miniature sculpting. Im a graphic designer and anything about arts and crafts appeal to me. I was looking at my minis the other day and thought \'\'how they do it\'\'? So i searched and saw about the material and some articles. The i thought \'\'why dont i try?\'\'.
So what i want is basically info. Some of you are already into this or know more than me. Could somebody point me to some good tutorials? I ve seen that some things are floating around, i even got 2 pdf files that are available, but what i need is something that takes you from A to Z (i would say \'\'Omega\'\' but thats an english forum). I understand good enough because of my involvement with sketching and painting, the human body and proportions. I have noticed that some times the proportions in minis are deliberatelly off, especially the head (bit bigger) and the arms. Is this an artistic exaggeration in the same logic that this happens in comics?
Armature is as basic as stick figures in sketching, what are the secrets of constructing a good armature? Is it best to work the figure in parts? Or with the whole wire sceleton already made?
As you can see i have alot of questions. Is there a \'\'sculpting minis for dummies\'\' out there?
I already ordered Procreate and tools and im eager to start messing around.

 

[bodiscool]

firstly its good to see some 1 starting there sculpting journey.you have so many questions.firstly az of sculpting is something il leave for some off the other guys i dont have links lol.
the armeture i find it best to scetch the design at actual size im most cases 28mm(usaly 30-32 tho) and thn make it based on the drawing.
you will also find that sometimes ur finished sculpt will loose some off the pose so its something to be aware of at the armeture stage.
personaly i only ever do an armeture of the legs then wen there mostly finished glue in a spine bulk ot add dtail then move to the arms then head.
all sculpting is basicly making shapes some simple some complicated.the best and most important thing to master is proportions and compersisions start with that practise naked bodys the rest will folow as long as ur patient and enjoying urself u can achive great things good look mate and dont be put off by messing up eveybody do,e no matter how skilled

 

[Idomeneas]

Originally posted by bodiscool
firstly its good to see some 1 starting there sculpting journey.you have so many questions.firstly az of sculpting is something il leave for some off the other guys i dont have links lol.
the armeture i find it best to scetch the design at actual size im most cases 28mm(usaly 30-32 tho) and thn make it based on the drawing.
you will also find that sometimes ur finished sculpt will loose some off the pose so its something to be aware of at the armeture stage.
personaly i only ever do an armeture of the legs then wen there mostly finished glue in a spine bulk ot add dtail then move to the arms then head.
all sculpting is basicly making shapes some simple some complicated.the best and most important thing to master is proportions and compersisions start with that practise naked bodys the rest will folow as long as ur patient and enjoying urself u can achive great things good look mate and dont be put off by messing up eveybody do,e no matter how skilled

Dont worry, i have enough patience and i am sure that the first tries will be hideous. It takes practice like everything, i know that from my job.
I have a fair knowledge of proportions and basic anatomy, also enough bibliography in the subject from artists that wrote methods like Lumis and Hogarth. The thing is that the proportions in 28mm are off and i suspect that this happens for a reason of well meant exageration, like in comics with the dramatic poses. Those are the kind of stuff i need to know. Is there a basic patern of measurments for the proportions of a figure? What is the standard face and body detail? Some may say \'\'as much as you can do\'\', surely there might be people that sculpt the iris in the eye of a 28mm mini but there must be a general rule, when something is \'\'done\'\' or \'\'overdone\'\'.

 

[cybersquig]

uh oh! now you\'re hooked

the proportions are deliberately off:

http://www.sciborminiatures.com/en_,sculpting.php?id=440

btw to save you some time there are websites where you can buy dollies - armatures that you sculpt around in \'heroic scale\', but I found that the best way to start is to remove and resculpt some detail on an existing miniature. Having said that, it\'s more personal preference, and if you start off (unlike me) as an artist you may be more happy with mastering the anatomy first...probably that will set you up more firmly for the future.

As for the detail, some models are very detailed, and some are less so...
google \'forgeworld\' for very detailed, and compare it to http://www.gamehollow.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=110_113&products_id=7184

hope that helps

Cybersquig

 

[DaN]

Get used to the putty you\'re gonna be using first - I haven\'t tried procreate yet, so I can\'t give any advice on that, but I\'d suggest you first practice with plasticine or a putty which doesn\'t set/cure...

That way, you can do some work, decide it\'s rubbish and squish it - redo it again, come back the next day - redo an area, cock it up and squish it... Etc etc ad infinitum

I bought some FIMO soft only the other day, and I am loving it so far

 

[Idomeneas]

I bought some fimo today for playtesting. As for the putty Im so noob that i bought procreate just relying on what expert people said. We will see when it will be here.
I thought to buy a dollie, there are some out there that are a basic figure bythemselves. I didnt like that cause i think it will misslead me. Their head is very big and thick, imagine that there is gona be some putty on so it will turn thicker.
What is the best way of constructing a full armature with legs, torso and hands?
I think this form is better cause you can pose the figure exactly the way you want. Doing it in parts (legs torso) i think can lead you off proportions easily when you are noob like me.

BTW thanks for your replies guys, much appreciated:beer:

 

[Farin]

hello idomeneas and welcome to cmon

to answer some of your questions:

- the thing with proportions changes from miniature company to miniature company. GW Miniatures for example, are known not to be anatomically correct, some other companys/sculpter keep a more realistic approach. Also , theres a difference if you´re looking at fantasy or historical miniatures. Historical ones are often 54 mm and very realistic, while fantasy enjoys (in my eyes at least) the liberty to say that the beings they sculp are not real and therefor don´t have to be anatomical correct.

In my opinion it is even better if you don´t stick with anatomy. Many models look more dramatic and have a bigger effect when their poses and mimc is exxagerated, just like you pointed it out in your first post. Take a vampire as an example for a nearly humanoid monster: you could do it anatomical correct, yet in my opinion it´s better to exagerate parts like teeth,mimic, or sinews, make the finger longer or the legs shorter to emphasise the predator aspect of the vampire.
plus it is hard to recognize poses on a 28mm miniature if you don´t overdo them a bit

as far as for walktroughs on sculpting.... do you speak german? At the german painter´s forum you can download the free magazin \"TD painted\" in the issue 1 is a complete walktrough on how to sculp a dark elf bust, the pictures are great, maybe that will help you. Here´s the link:

TD Painted

just click the download button

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Idomeneas
I bought some fimo today for playtesting. As for the putty Im so noob that i bought procreate just relying on what expert people said. We will see when it will be here.

There are other experts that would recommend GS, MagicSculp, Milliput, Fimo and other things. It\'s all a matter of experience and personal preference.

There have been reports of irregular performance in ProCreate, but assuming you get a normal batch that isn\'t overly sticky when mixed there shouldn\'t be more trouble getting to grips with it than there would be a number of other two-part putties.

Originally posted by Idomeneas
I thought to buy a dollie, there are some out there that are a basic figure bythemselves. I didnt like that cause i think it will misslead me. Their head is very big and thick, imagine that there is gona be some putty on so it will turn thicker.

It will, but you can add as thin a layer as possible. Plus you can modify a commercial armature before use if you prefer - file the head down if necessary for example. But of course a slightly oversized head won\'t look bad in a mini environment anyway

Originally posted by Idomeneas
What is the best way of constructing a full armature with legs, torso and hands?

Wire for the legs, arms and spine is usual. How this is done in relation to a pelvis/hips and ribcage/chest varies quite a bit. Some people like to just drill into rough shapes and put in lengths for each arm, each leg, others do something similar with much more anatomical parts. Others use a single piece of wire for both arms, extending through the shoulder area, then add putty in blobs to the basic wire stick figure.

What wire to use varies - you can use common paperclips, twisted strands of copper or soft steel wire (a single strand is generally too wobbly) and even aluminium wire used in some kinds of gardening.

Einion

 

[hivetrygon]

For my armatures I like paper clip wire. They are strong and do not distort when I get the pose I want. I like green stuff, brown stuff, and apoxie sculpt. I am one of the few who does not like procreate. I find it is not near sticky enough to hold well on the armature as I work. I like a very sticky putty. As you learn the putty better you will see the benefit of the sticky quality.

 

[moonmin82]

i havent used procreate much yet either. i love the way it holds detail but dont like the lack of stickiness.

 

[hivetrygon]

Originally posted by moonmin82
i havent used procreate much yet either. i love the way it holds detail but dont like the lack of stickiness.

2 ways to solve that, mix a little green stuff with the procreate I recommend 50/50, or just use brown stuff. I think Brown stuff is so similar to procreate yet slightly stickier.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by moonmin82
i havent used procreate much yet either. i love the way it holds detail but dont like the lack of stickiness.

That\'s really strange as sometimes there are reports that it\'s too sticky. Have you tried varying the proportions of hardener and resin, seeing if that makes any difference?

You could try a little trick I use now and then - shoot the putty briefly with a hairdryer, when it\'s warm putty can cling better (not in a truly sticky way, but you\'ll see what I mean if you try it).

Einion