Randy Shea (CreganTur)

[CreganTur]

So far I've managed to get ahold of everything I need for this project except for the clay shapers. Looks like I'll be ordering them online today.

The only sculpting I've ever done, besides an ashtray in elementary school, has been conversion work for other miniatures. I did sculpt the hands on most of the Orks in my Ork Poker diorama, along with some other items; I sculpted the bases for these Fury of Dracula figures; and the wall and doors for this diorama I did for a WAMP competition. I've never done a full mini from scratch, though.

My plan is to follow along with the mad scientist step by step so I can easily compare my results to those of cyberSquig. After this project I'll be using my new found knowledge to complete a Clockwork Soldier miniature that I've been conceptualizing for about a year.

 

[ChemicalFencer]

I love the ork poker diorama . . . .

 

[cybersquig]

Me too, it's a giggle! It looks like you're already pretty familiar with pushing putty, so that should be a help as we kick off tomorrow Care to elaborate on the clockwork soldier idea? sounds intriguing...

James

 

[CreganTur]

Care to elaborate on the clockwork soldier idea? sounds intriguing...

Sure- it's pretty much what it sounds like. I've got a number of watch parts that I'm going to use for the majority of the piece. Originally I wanted to buidl the entire thing out of just watch parts with a little putty to hold it all together, but now I realize I'll have to sculpt a good bit of it. He's a mechanical soldier.

 

[cybersquig]

cool! Seen Ben's 'clockmaker'? (he's Rocketandroll on CMON and PB) He took a pocket watch apart for the components and then realised that they were too big, so designed his own in etched brass...awesome!

 

[CreganTur]

It took me two hours, but here's my completed armature:

I honestly couldn't tell what you did with the upper torso section, so I read the text a few times and decided to rough in a shoulder blade shape. If this is horrible I can cut away the putty and rework it- I'm following your Mad Hatter exactly, by the way... or trying to at least

Thursday I remembered that a bookstore near the university I graduated from carries sculpting supplies. I popped in and got a size 0 extra firm Angle Chisel and Taper Point. They're taking a little getting used to, but I love their results!

On a slightly related note: went to the Carolina Hurricane's game last night with the in-laws. My father-in-law is a great woodworker and he's been teaching me to turn wood on his lathe. Together, we made this tool cup that I'm using to store my sculpting supplies:

 

[mickc22]

Sweet cup! Don't want to turn a few more of those do you?
wish i had a lathe, I love turning, haven't done any in years tho

 

[cybersquig]

The proportions seem good, athough the right arm will need to be a little straighter than this if he is going to look like he's throwing the flask. However, not a big point at this stage. As for the groin, it's looking absolutely fine, and you have a good shape to the backside that should bulk up well next week. The shoulder blades look fine, the important thing here is that you are thinking about what his body will look like when you bulk him up. Your shoulderline looks a little low maybe (just a fraction, nothing to worry about)...you can fix that by adding a tiny sliver of putty over the top of them next week.

Nice stuff, and congrats for being the first person to post pics of your progress!

James

Ps. the cup? Fantastic! I'd love to be able to turn

 

[cybersquig]

pps. Sorry some of it was hard to follow, it's been a really difficult thing to get right, I re-wrote it several times before I felt like i had it as near as I could. Describing this stuff in words is really quite a challenge!
James

 

[THEKAPPTIN]

If you get the chance, go out and get the flat chisel clay shaper. I find that the taper point and flat chisel are by far the most useful shapes, followed by the cup chisel, then the cup round, and finally the angle chisel is the least useful. It's just too bendy to use for most flat surfaces, though it can be useful for smoothing inside a hard-to-reach corner.

 

[CreganTur]

I just finished fleshing out the armature this morning. Everything was finished on Monday except for bulking out the thighs and adding a little more definition to the arms. I'm going to wait for feedback before I start on the pants when that part of the sculpt along is posted today.

 

[cybersquig]

hey dude! Looking good so far! I'm sorry I didn't get to this one soon, I know you're looking to continue. In terms of feedback, the only thing that is bothering me a little bit at this point in time, is the width of the shoulders. Maybe they need to be a little wider? As ever, it is hard to tell just from the photographs, and it may not be such a problem in real life. However, it would seem that they are a little narrow at this point, in comparison with where the bottom of the rib cage would be. One other thing, try to stand and oppose that your figure is sitting in at the moment, uncomfortable, right? When we lean back, it is automatic to move one lake behind us in order to brace ourselves. If you were to move one of his legs back at the knee a little bit, he may look more like he's throwing something. You don't want him to look like he's accidentally falling over. Don't be disheartened though, the party is looking really smooth and well finished, the bottom and the hips look good, and I think that as you bulk out the trousers, this obvious skill will absolutely come into its own. I'm looking forward to see what you come up with next. Keep up the good work!

James

 

[CreganTur]

I'm a little behind- I just finished part 3. My goal is to complete Part 4 and be completely caught up by Monday at the latest.

The mini was leaning back funny because I had accidentally bent him back some while working on him. I straightened him back out before I set to work on the pants.

 

[cybersquig]

Really neat work here fella! Really nice I would go as far as to say that it's one of my favourite copycat projects in the sculpt along. The belt is the first thing that i notice, it's really smooth, and the angle on its edges are really nice and sharp. The trousers are a nice width around the legs, and I can see the fly there which will look pretty good when it's painted I reckon. There are two isssues I'd flag with your sculpt at the minute I think. The first is that he's rather thin. Now that's fine, of course, and it really doesn't show from the front or the back, but from the side, he seems a little flat. It's a common mistake by even seasoned professionals, and I could certainly point to examples of it in my own work (valkia's head for example), but it comes from not moving the model around enough as you sculpt. You should constantly be changing the angle you are looking at the mini from. This is why my pictures aren't all from exactly the same angle like other sculpting guides I could point to, it gives a fake view of what the sculpting process is actually like. If you keep changing the angle, and readjusting each of the details until you can turn it 360 and be happy with it, then you're on the right lines The second thing is the pose. Now it looks fine, don't get me wrong, he's fine, and will make for a great mini. However, if you want to get the maximum movement into the mini you need to break up the hip/shoulder line, i.e the shoulders should be at a different angle to the hips as you look directly down from on top of him. Have a look at pictures or slow motion capture of cricketers bowling. That'll illustrate what I mean. You could fix this by twisting the mini a little around the waist/torso.

Great work though so far fella, you should be proud of him. I'm really looking foward to see your efforts with the shirt and belt!

James

 

[CreganTur]

Thanks a lot for the encouragement and the great critique, James.

I added some more bulk to the torso, along with following the first half of your concept. I also added a seam to the side of the pants. I decided to go with the more traditional wiry mad scientist.

 

[cybersquig]

yup, that extra bulk is welcome, plus, if the coat billows a bit at the back that'll help too. As for the seam, I think it improves him, nice one. I'm glad someone went with the initial look, it'll help me evaluate my choice at the end of the project.

oh, and you're always welcome

James

 

[CreganTur]

Thank you so much for the week off- I was laid up with a bad sinus infection last week, so I would have been behind otherwise. I noticed that most of the new lab coats have a strap in the back, so I added that, as well as some folds in the fabric to show that the strap is cinching it in the back- I'm not sure if I like the folds. If you think they look wrong too, then I'll grind them down and redo the folds and strap:

 

[cybersquig]

actually, I really like the folds in the back of the cloak. If I get a chance I may do something similar on mine, it looks good. Have a go at filing/sanding the lapels until the crease becomes a little more pronounced, and you're spot on. Very well done dude! There's nothing you can do about it now, but I think the torso is maybe a little long. Don't be disheartened by that, just bear it in mind for your next sculpting project after this one

You're welcome to the week off, I found it useful too. He is looking really good you know, well done, you've got the hang of using the thin putty for the coat really well.

James

 

[CreganTur]

Finally finished the face. This was my third attempt at the process. During the first two attempts I ended up having to scrap the face at the part where I was using the spoon end of my tool to push in the hollows of the cheeks and raise the cheek bones. I could get the left side of his face to look correct, but I couldn't get the right side to look good because his raised arm was in the way and because I was having to work on my upside down because I'm right handed!

Took an hour long break, started again, and ended up with a guy who I think looks like Patrick Stewart!

Please let me know if these pics aren't good enough.

I'm looking forward to your critiques!

 

[CreganTur]

Here's an attached pic of my pic's current progress, since it's offline until my album at WAMP gets moved over to the new format. Please let me know if you need me to try and take better pictures. I'm looking forward to your critique!