mortiz076

Just found this fantastic video blog by sculptor David Lemon:   A Day in the Life of a Lemon Where he documents his day to day sculpting process and looks to cover a range of subjects. From what tools to use, armature construction, anatomy, working with bronze and much more. I can't be sure but I think he primarily uses an oil based clay. Well worth keeping an eye on.  

All words and pictures Andy Bergholtz . First, I warm up the Castilene in a microwave and work it in my hands like clay, applying the warm Castilene to the sculpture (Fig. 1)  After I achieve the basic form using just my fingers, I'll then heat my sculpting tool and smooth the surface (Fig. 2, Fig. 3)  I will continue to heat the tool during this process every few seconds, holding the tool very briefly over the flame. I will continue to refine the surface with this tool until I get a basic flow of detail that I like (Fig. 4, Fig. 5)  Next, I will gently heat a small loop tool over a flame (Fig. 6), and will use this to carve some deeper detail into the form (Fig. 7). I will do this briefly, just to add a bit more depth to the form (Fig. 8)   Next, I will very briefly heat a sanding pad over the flame (Fig. 9), and use this to smooth the surface a bit (Fig. 10).  For this stage, you must heat the pad over the flame for only a half-second or so each time, VE...

Some tips and advice on smoothing Casteline from professional sculptors Adam Beane, Keith Kopinski and Ray Villafane.  ...swiped from an old thread on the Clubhouse Forums ... Adam Beane Lighter fluid (Rosonol for a Zippo type lighter) works GREAT! BUT Only use it dead last!  I think people over-use it and the sculpture gets a very soft, melted look on the high points and is still rough in the crevaces. For the 5 years I've been sculpting, I've used soley the "hot sponge" method. This also can turn a good sculpture into an indistinct blob if over used. Basically, try to get your sculpture as good as you can with hand tools. Use the hot 3m sponges very gently to smooth out small sections then finally use lighter fluid on a 3m sponge or brush.  The sponges will "load up" so I cut them into small managable strips and throw them away when necessary. Solvents will also only dissolve the binders in the material, leaving filler, which can result in a "grainy...

Sculpting a Vampire Bust - step by step picture tutorial. Added to the Oil Based Clays and Wax Related Page

Added to the Water Based Clays Page

This tutorial was originally posted by Mark Newman on the Clubhouse Sculptors Forum . Demonstrating his technique for sculpting afro-textured hair, in this example with Super Sculpey. You can see more of Mark's masterful work here All photos and words Mark Newman... These are the basic tools I use for this.  A few ball end tools different sizes and a tool I made out of steel wires bunched together and soldered into a piece of brass square tude. Basically it's a small steel wire brush. I just smash on the hair form and push it around with the different size ball tools.  Then I stipple in the tighter texture with the wire brush tool. I go back and forth with the ball tools and wire brush tool depending on how tight I want the final hair texture. From Jerry Curl to Nappy and in between.  I then lightly brush it down with Turpenoid and a soft brush to knock out the hard edges.  I then lightly stipple the surface with a stippling brush. Especially if I want the tight ki...