Electromancer tidies his work desk, a sculpting/scratchbuilding log
- Thread starter Electromancer
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Electromancer
New member
Cheers, here's a close up of El Flamio:
Electromancer
New member
cheers cheelfy lol ^_^
Anyway i got some feedback that the pics were too dark to make out details so as i was taking pics of my next sculpt in progress i went back and took a pic of the tzeenchian deamon:
Hopefully thats better?
On to the main part of the post. So I found another deamon sculpt that i started after seeing an awesome sculpted bloodletter, now i tried to emulate it but it didnt turn out well so i ditched it, heres a pic of how it looked:
And how it stands now:
The proportions were off so i cut it in half and extended the torso, also the feet would have been tiny so i added a few mm to underneath, he stands at about 40mm. Also i've already removed the head so it can sit better on the neck and tidied up the horns and inside of the mouth. Im going to sculpt entirely over his since i cant salvage anything, he will be pretty muscley with spikes and such.
Thanks for looking
Anyway i got some feedback that the pics were too dark to make out details so as i was taking pics of my next sculpt in progress i went back and took a pic of the tzeenchian deamon:
Hopefully thats better?
On to the main part of the post. So I found another deamon sculpt that i started after seeing an awesome sculpted bloodletter, now i tried to emulate it but it didnt turn out well so i ditched it, heres a pic of how it looked:
And how it stands now:
The proportions were off so i cut it in half and extended the torso, also the feet would have been tiny so i added a few mm to underneath, he stands at about 40mm. Also i've already removed the head so it can sit better on the neck and tidied up the horns and inside of the mouth. Im going to sculpt entirely over his since i cant salvage anything, he will be pretty muscley with spikes and such.
Thanks for looking
Electromancer
New member
so i got working on bulking up the upper body, now he looks like he hit the roids pretty bad:
I dont have much experience doing musclature, which also gave me practise in symmatry since i usually sculpt weird stuff i deffinatly need to work on these two areas so any tips will help.
There will be spikes running down the spine and in a few other places, might add a leathal looking tail aswell.
I dont have much experience doing musclature, which also gave me practise in symmatry since i usually sculpt weird stuff i deffinatly need to work on these two areas so any tips will help.
There will be spikes running down the spine and in a few other places, might add a leathal looking tail aswell.
Electromancer
New member
wow didn't realise it was so long since i posted, been slacking on the big guy so did a little work tonight to get me in the mood for more sculpting tomorrow when i have more time
Anyway I bulked up the legs, added better hooves/hair and of course the spikes going all the way along the back and tail. I'll be adding a few more spikes and defining them and the edge where it will look like they've burst through in places later, also i'll be adding another layer to smooth the tail and add some kind of spike on the end.
thanks for looking, comments appreciated
Anyway I bulked up the legs, added better hooves/hair and of course the spikes going all the way along the back and tail. I'll be adding a few more spikes and defining them and the edge where it will look like they've burst through in places later, also i'll be adding another layer to smooth the tail and add some kind of spike on the end.
thanks for looking, comments appreciated
Electromancer
New member
cheers guys. The face was going to be a bit more skull like but i quite like how it turned out, reminds me of the old hero quest gargole(?) model for some reason (dont think it looks anything like it tho lol). Also yeah there are quiet a few messy areas, the camera hates me! Actually kinda helps to see where i can improve, which is alot x_x
Electromancer
New member
well its been a while! I finished this guy a while back but unfortunately the internet exploded in my house severing my hands and i have only just got them reattached!
Seriously though its good to be back, sorry to anyone that was following this log and got disappointed that it vanished...anyone? haha
Here are the pics, im still trying to find the optimal photograhy rig but its hard with limited room.
Thanks for looking, have a few other things to show you so stay tuned!
Seriously though its good to be back, sorry to anyone that was following this log and got disappointed that it vanished...anyone? haha
Here are the pics, im still trying to find the optimal photograhy rig but its hard with limited room.
Thanks for looking, have a few other things to show you so stay tuned!
Electromancer
New member
Here is a Nurgle daemon prince i sculpted in my absence:
He is about 60mm tall, thanks for looking.
He is about 60mm tall, thanks for looking.
Electromancer
New member
Now another demon! This one is just some random demon that can be used for something i guess, i dont really have a use for it at the moment:
Electromancer
New member
hi again, hope no one minds the spam but this time its not a demon so hope you forgive me!
Going to show you a quick squig i sculpted, had a horrid lump i started a while back so this is sculpted over it. As i was making it i decided it looked a bit like the horned squig from warhammer online artwork so added spikes.
C+C more than appreciated
Going to show you a quick squig i sculpted, had a horrid lump i started a while back so this is sculpted over it. As i was making it i decided it looked a bit like the horned squig from warhammer online artwork so added spikes.
C+C more than appreciated
Electromancer
New member
Been a bit quiet here lately
Here is a chaos figure i sculpted, i didn't really follow a plan just randomly added bits till it looked finished and decided he looked chaos priest like.
Thanks for looking, C+C always welcome.
Here is a chaos figure i sculpted, i didn't really follow a plan just randomly added bits till it looked finished and decided he looked chaos priest like.
Thanks for looking, C+C always welcome.
SkelettetS
New member
they are all pretty strange i like the nurgle prince most, best of the lot imo. keep it up!
i like the nurgle prince most, best of the lot imo. keep it up!
BPI
New member
I quite like the Nurgle SM, chunky & a bit rounded but enough of a sense of a bloated/disease ridden individual that it could be fun to paint.
I'd like to see a bit of refinement coming in now. You've obviosly got the basics of getting the putty to stick to the wire dolly & there are muscle shapes etc in there but the detail is all very soft.
Are you working exclusively with Green Stuff? An oft read tip is to 50:50 mix it with Milliput to enable finer work.
While your ideas for each mini are good, they all look to me "...just randomly added bits 'til it looked finished...". A bit of design prep & research will go along way though. Cloth probably being the simplest thing to work from in real life, hang a sheet over the back of a chair & see how the folds work, how it sits on the floor & drags tight over the corners. It's the old artists business of learning to "see" rather than just "looking"
I wish I knew more about sculpting so that I could offer better tips but it feels as though it's time for a jump in quality now & learning some new techniques or concentrating on getting a particular texture down (cloth/metal/fur/etc) will quickly show in your new work.
Any sculptors out there prepared to throw in a "work on this aspect next" comment?
Keep it up Electromancer :good:
Cheers, B.
I'd like to see a bit of refinement coming in now. You've obviosly got the basics of getting the putty to stick to the wire dolly & there are muscle shapes etc in there but the detail is all very soft.
Are you working exclusively with Green Stuff? An oft read tip is to 50:50 mix it with Milliput to enable finer work.
While your ideas for each mini are good, they all look to me "...just randomly added bits 'til it looked finished...". A bit of design prep & research will go along way though. Cloth probably being the simplest thing to work from in real life, hang a sheet over the back of a chair & see how the folds work, how it sits on the floor & drags tight over the corners. It's the old artists business of learning to "see" rather than just "looking"
I wish I knew more about sculpting so that I could offer better tips but it feels as though it's time for a jump in quality now & learning some new techniques or concentrating on getting a particular texture down (cloth/metal/fur/etc) will quickly show in your new work.
Any sculptors out there prepared to throw in a "work on this aspect next" comment?
Keep it up Electromancer :good:
Cheers, B.
Electromancer
New member
well i can see where you are coming from, the thing on top of his head seems to be confusing just in green, its meant to be mutations covered with cloth in places, some of the other clothing is a bit worse than i'd have liked but overall its another thing i have to learn. Thinking of painting this guy too since i think i can just about manage it (im not much of a painter
)they are all pretty strange
thanks matey, i sculpted him pretty fast but had a good idea of what i wanted to do. Might paint him as i need the practise and nurgle is quite forgiving
I quite like the Nurgle SM, chunky & a bit rounded but enough of a sense of a bloated/disease ridden individual that it could be fun to paint.
I'd like to see a bit of refinement coming in now. You've obviosly got the basics of getting the putty to stick to the wire dolly & there are muscle shapes etc in there but the detail is all very soft.
Are you working exclusively with Green Stuff? An oft read tip is to 50:50 mix it with Milliput to enable finer work.
While your ideas for each mini are good, they all look to me "...just randomly added bits 'til it looked finished...". A bit of design prep & research will go along way though. Cloth probably being the simplest thing to work from in real life, hang a sheet over the back of a chair & see how the folds work, how it sits on the floor & drags tight over the corners. It's the old artists business of learning to "see" rather than just "looking"
I wish I knew more about sculpting so that I could offer better tips but it feels as though it's time for a jump in quality now & learning some new techniques or concentrating on getting a particular texture down (cloth/metal/fur/etc) will quickly show in your new work.
Any sculptors out there prepared to throw in a "work on this aspect next" comment?
Keep it up Electromancer :good:
Cheers, B.
Thanks for the C+C, its nice to go into more depth and i completely agree with you. I suppose that's the danger of chaos its easy to just become lazy and sculpt random stuff instead of testing my skills, going to finish the next couple of things which i'll post soon and then move on to some more human characters, thinking of just a classic thief, mage and warrior/barbarian.
Electromancer
New member
Hi! haven't been around for ages which is a shame, i don't really like just popping on and posting stuff and buggering off!
I sculpted this as a test piece to cast up, sculpting was straight forward and i learnt a lot when i cast it (although i have a lot more to learn!).
not the best pic since its fairly shiny. I made it to be used as a terrain feature or something and decided to paint it which is rare for me, its a quick paintjob and i will probably donate it to the LGS just cause im nice
I sculpted this as a test piece to cast up, sculpting was straight forward and i learnt a lot when i cast it (although i have a lot more to learn!).
not the best pic since its fairly shiny. I made it to be used as a terrain feature or something and decided to paint it which is rare for me, its a quick paintjob and i will probably donate it to the LGS just cause im nice
I'm in the same boat as you, but I'll throw in my 2p anyway.
I'd like to see a bit of refinement coming in now. You've obviosly got the basics of getting the putty to stick to the wire dolly & there are muscle shapes etc in there but the detail is all very soft.
While your ideas for each mini are good, they all look to me "...just randomly added bits 'til it looked finished...". A bit of design prep & research will go along way though. Cloth probably being the simplest thing to work from in real life, hang a sheet over the back of a chair & see how the folds work, how it sits on the floor & drags tight over the corners. It's the old artists business of learning to "see" rather than just "looking"
Agree 100%. although I still have trouble figuring out cloth, meself...
In my experience green stuff mixes well with a lot of different types of putty: procreate, brown stuff, apoxie sculpt, magic sculp, etc. Milliput is good (I mentioned elsewhere I like using a GS/Mp mix), although it can take a little while to get used to it. At least with the uncut stuff. Mixed with GS: you can mix it in all kinds of ratios, though it only takes a little Milliput to 'loosen' GS nicely. At least a fifth Milliput, or a bit more.
I have a generally low personal opinion of uncut GS. More on that below.
It's a rationalisation and a trap I've seen a lot of beginners and non-sculptors fall into, with Chaos (esp. Nurgle), undead, and general fantasy creatures. "It doesn't matter because it's not real/magic/rotting," ignoring the fact that the nurgly, monstery stuff coming out of GW is still carefully designed by trained and experienced sculptors and artists. Well, most of it, anyway.
That's not to say that only hyper-competent professionals can (or are allowed to) sculpt the gribblier things, but it's an indication that the gribblier things sometimes need thought and care too, rather than treated solely as a fallback for an unwillingness to learn. There's a difference between sculpting a rough figure, and roughly sculpting a figure.
Note I don't include you in that, Electromancer. Your quote above makes all the difference, IMO. My little speil isn't about the level of experience or skill, but the frame of mind. In my experience the former is more easily addressed than the latter...
The first, though probably the smaller issue I'd bring up is green stuff. I'm convinced it's not the ideal single mini-sculpting medium - for beginners and students at least - despite it's pedigree. I've mentioned it mixes well with other putties; in those cases the invariably low-memory putty neutralises GS's own memory to some degree. On it's own, GS's memory - the property that makes it 'spring back' - is the strongest of any putty I know, and makes it more difficult to smooth, blend, and form sharp edges. I think this is a big reason why new sculptors, starting with GS, fall back on the 'nurgly imperfections' idea.
In the interest of some kind of fairness: on one hand there's something to be said for persevering with a single medium, learning it's quirks without faffing about with mixes and cuts, and discovering how to turn it's disadvantages to your advantage.
On the other hand, it's easier to paint a barn with a spray gun than a toothbrush. Cutting GS does make it easier to handle and quicker to learn to sculpt, IMO; and the disadvantages of accidental pits and lumps don't always translate well as purposeful sores and boils.
The second issue is anatomical proportions and references. Even the designs of otherwordly monsters and fantasy creatures usually have a basis in human or animal anatomy. (See the GW article about Jes Goodwin's Cold Ones)
Looks like you've already got an idea of human musculature (and I can see a lot of good points and potential, there), but I think more's needed. I don't think there are many quick fixes on this subject. If there are I've forgotten them. Best I can say is to get yourself 2-3 good anatomy reference books or articles and stare at them. Sculpt studies from them. Look up different pics and poses from other (and cheaper) sources. Get at least a basic understanding of how bones and muscles slot together and how fat and skin drape over them; then when you've got a better hang of things, you'll also have a better idea of what to shift and exaggerate for the more inhuman humanoids. And keep your references to hand - even top pro artists, almost effortlessly turning out excellent figures even without references, keep theirs close by.
If I can be so bold, you'll find lists of some online references and recommended reading on Minisculpture, here.
