sculpey firm head armature

[Thomgirl]

So, trying to sculpt a head for my figure and I keep running into a problem getting the clay (using sculpey firm) to stick to my armature. I\'ve used a tooth pick, coiled wire, coiled wire with a ball of foil wrapped around it and I still keep getting the same problems... as I push and carve into the piece it becomes loose around the armature and eventually the head just kinda becomes impossible to put up with. I\'m half tempted to go with GS for the head or bake a base \"skull\" on the armature and build up on that. Any tips? Thanks in advance!

(and I did search for this topic before asking, if it\'s posted somewhere, just link me to it, I appologize for missing it if it\'s around here somewhere :drunk: )

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Thomgirl
So, trying to sculpt a head for my figure and I keep running into a problem getting the clay (using sculpey firm) to stick to my armature. I\'ve used a tooth pick, coiled wire, coiled wire with a ball of foil wrapped around it and I still keep getting the same problems... as I push and carve into the piece it becomes loose around the armature and eventually the head just kinda becomes impossible to put up with.

I think most people will be familiar with the problem you describe, even with two-part putties! What kind of room is there between the surface and the armature (lots of clay or just a skin)?

How much are you kneading the Sculpey before you apply it?

Einion

 

[freakinacage]

i add a two part first, then add the sculpey over the top. i would wait for the two part to dry, but i wouldn\'t think it would make that much difference

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Originally posted by Thomgirl
as I push and carve into the piece it becomes loose around the armature and eventually the head just kinda becomes impossible to put up with.

This is real common if you don\'t have enough SOLID material underneath what you\'re doing.

I\'m half tempted to go with GS for the head or bake a base \"skull\" on the armature and build up on that.
This way works real good. I\'m working on some stuff right now using that basic mode.

 

[Thomgirl]

Thanks all for the help! Baked a skull for my head and can keep on the sculpting train. @Einion- I did quite a considerable amount of kneading and I know that that didn\'t help my cause and also the armature was quite thin to build upon; there was a lot of clay between the armature and what I was trying to work on. Gotta love learning curves

 

[Krampus]

As a newbie sculptor (trembling in the presence of the insanely wonderful experience and talent, on this website) I shared the same problem. Research on this website showed me two things that I overlooked. 1) Cleaning and abrading the wire used to build the armature. Practically, it means applying a detergent to the wire to strip it of the fabricator's oils and other grime. Drawing the wire through a piece of 300 grit sandpaper a few times, also contirbuted to the adhesion. 2) Applying vaseline. Incomprehensible though it may sound, I only have experience to bear up that applying a light coat of vaseline to the wire and then wiping it off secures the Sculpey to the wire. Until I tried vaseline I was not even able to achieve failure. Now, I am taking my first shaky hoove-steps into the world of miniatures...