Sculpting question - multiple parts and casting

[Craftergoddess]

I do sculpt better than I paint, honest

And now that I am moving to a better apartment, I might have a chance of continuing this side of the miniature hobby.

Couple of weeks ago I was leafing through D&D3E Monster Manual and Monsters of Faerun, and a thought struck me: I could try to sculpt a dragon.

I have some experience regarding small miniatures (25mm mostly) and how to craft them so the mould-creation process would be a less painful experience.

I\'ve done some moulds with RTV rubbers (but I had to stop doing that because of a serious allergy I got from chemical exposure), and I\'ve done some castings as well; however, what I am curious to know (since there are companies that offer to do moulds and castings and I have this delusion/illusion/dream of getting this sculpt casted someday), how should I try to sculpt a dragon, since those beasties usually come in two, three or more pieces?

Is there a quick-and-dirty manual somewhere for multiple-part miniatures; how to sculpt them, if there are things to avoid and so on? I *could* do a Google search, but then I would miss the input from other people: \'these instructions are good, I\'ve tried it myself\' or \'do not do what this says, for heaven\'s sake!\'.

The dragon I\'ve been pondering would be about of the size of Amethyst Dragon (About 2.5+\" tall, 2.5+\" wide), or maybe a notch bigger.

The wings would spread out (like in T\'Char) because I like painting large surfaces.

The tail would curl along the ground and balance the dragon (I\'d like to sculpt this one without a base, so it could be placed freely); both hindpaws and one forepaw would also keep the dragon balanced and upright.

Because the wings are spread, they\'d have to be fairly thin so they would not topple the miniature (although it\'d be likely that it is glued to a base of some sort).

(If I only could decide *which* dragon, too -- I like the pictures of the green, white, brass and silver dragon, and I\'ve decided to use one of them as a guideline... *hmf*)

Another question is, \'Should I also try to sculpt some humorous dragon miniature, or are people sick and tired of those already?\' I once had a mint-green dragon (in a RPG game) in a bathtub, happily scrubbing its back with a huge brush, with its pet humans and elves helping with grooming...

 

[No Such Agency]

Hey, in my opinion, sculpt whatever you want to! Personally, I\'ve seen very few of these \"humorous personality\" dragons anywhere, so you making one can\'t hurt... Unless you hope to sell a bunch of them to make back what will likely be a substantial casting cost ;-) Even then, better to make one with true artistic merit, that stands out, rather than yet another fierce rearing/slithering/flaming/devouring dragon...

 

[Errex]

Hacking and slashing

As far as I know, you have to sculpt your model complete, and then you must actually CUT IT in several pieces to facilitate the mold making process.

This approach requires the use of a rather hardy material, like sculpey or green stuff, so you can saw off each piece. If you use plastiscene you might have an easier time cutting throug the model, but detail loss is more likely to happen.

The other way I can think of, is partial sculpting. In it, you start with, let\'s say, the neck of the dragon. You sculpt it and detail it completely, leaving at the extremes some rough notches-pegs, were the head/torso are supposed to be.

Then, you make pieces that fit over the aforementioned pegs, letting them harden. Over this pieces you will start sculpting the rest of the pieces of you model.

 

[spike_92]

lovin it!
only please refrain from sculpting it as one piece. sculpt it as different pieces, stick them together, then smooth over more gs over the joins