My Sculpturing Journey

Sculpture of Girl

2006-10-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

Simple update!
I found these pix from my PC. They were from the final document submitted for grading. I thought I have lost these photos completely due to a damaged hard disk.

The bust took about 2 months to complete. It was fun when the model was pretty.

:)

Final Score

2006-06-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Finally the course was over and I scored a "B" for my submission. So what's next? I dunno. Well at least I haven't really figure out what I'm going to do with the new skill set I have acquired, or learned through the one year meddling with terracotta clay. I may have scored a B because I have not submitted my sculpture of Hellboy. I may think I deserved an A but what's with the score anyway. Noone's going to look at what I've. I wouldn't be applying for a job as a sculptor. There isn't a job like that in Singapore anyway. Maybe with Lucas Light & Magic or Weta, but definitely not in Singapore. That's the reason why everybody was asking me what the hell am I going to do with a certificate in Sculpture, in Singapore? Oh well, I am doing it for my interest sake and no body is going to ask that silly question again!

I got a B, and it ain't gonna stop right there. I've plans but I'm not sure what they are right now. They will come some day but I'm not sure when. ")

Hand Sculpture - Finished

2006-05-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

Another update on the hand project after so long... the hand sculpture was completed almost 2 weeks ago, during which I painted the polished resin cast with a layer of black gesso and then a final layer of bronze and brown acrylic with a dabbing action. The final appearance is one of an etched, and aged bronze sculpture. Actually I am pretty pleased with the result.

Click here to see the actual views of the hand sculpture.
")

Hand Sculpture Process

2006-03-15T23:46:00.000-08:00

A long over due post... click image to see the process.

Here's a quick update. The hand model took 4 weeks... the mould making took 2 weeks... the casting took 1 week.... it has been a long long process, just to make a resin cast of a pair of hands... sculpture is a tedious hobby...

I will post the final sand out and smoothened cast soon...stay tune...
:)

My Hand Cast

2006-02-28T02:52:00.000-08:00

Just happened to have some extra plaster. Making full use of what's left, I cast my own hand. Now it is lying dormant undernealth my sofa! :P

School starts...

2006-01-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

Class started indeed. I missed the first lesson because I was too lazy to attend the class. I missed the second because I had to work. The third, I attended and went back home with a sore arm. I din know plaster carving was so tough. Now I do understand. But we worked furiously as though the dead line for the project was that day. By 3 hours, most of us, now left with 4 students after a gruesome 6 months, managed to complete almost half of what we intended to carved, with chisels and mallets. My arms were so sore I couldn't really lift them up to wash my hair when I showered that evening. Sculpture is not for sissy!

By the way, I started another project on my own accord at home. It was not really a new project. I started it last year Sep but only managed to complete the armature just this week. It is a dinosaur! The proportion is a little exaggerated because I wanted to emphasize the head. I managed to mount it on a wooden chip block using a piece of very thick wire that formed the legs at the same time, and finally supporting the tail with a screw. You will see from the diagram below.

My next step is to decide whether I would make it textured or cartoonish, like a vinyl toy... any idea? :)

Class Starting Soon...

2006-01-05T06:18:00.000-08:00

Class is going to start soon, probably, if I am not wrong this coming Sunday. Oh how I missed sculpturing. We are removing the mold from the clay models we made before school break. I wonder what has ever happened to it. It has been so long!BTW, the project was hand clay modelling... we took about 3-4 weeks to finish the clay model. The coming few weeks would be casting them with resins.

HellBoy Bust Tutorial

2005-10-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Finally someone from Russia (if I am not wrong) has done a good job making a Hellboy bust. Look at the pix... it has done Mike Mignola a great tribute to his comic character.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=47324

Making a 2 part Mold

2005-10-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful tutorial on making a 2-part mold from Sculpt.com

http://www.sculpt.com/technotes/2_piece_mold/1_intro.htm

Complete cast of Hellboy 2

2005-10-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, after another 2 weeks, the cast is finished! Hard work removing the plaster mold. I managed to remove it without causing too much damaged to the resultant cast which is quite brittle in that sense. However a little portion of the right eyelid has broken off. It doesn't matter because it can be repaired easily.

This pix was taken with a single spot light source. I propped the cast on a book shelf and shine the light from above. It gives a warm and moody feel to the sculpt. Interesting!

The next stage I am gonna do is to polish up the cast to give it a better finish, especially the cheek area. Till then enjoy the rest of the posts, will ya!

Completed Hellboy 2 Sculpt

2005-10-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

My second Hellboy sculpt (relief) was completed about 3 weeks ago, after which I made the mold and the cast out of plaster.

Molds produced in a day

2005-09-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

It was a hard day's worth of work... 3 mold altogether. One for my hand, one for the second Hellboy and the third, my course work, of a classical male head.

My First Hand Cast

2005-09-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

One of the student mixed a tat too much plaster so I decided to use the excess to make a hand cast. But I need the mold of my hand first. Here's the process...

I was simply pouring the excess plaster that we had for the other projects.

A senior in the course came by to place wood support around the plaster to help contain the plaster in a fixed shape... this I supposed was to have a better shaped mold that would be easier to handle while doing the final casting...

After about half an hour, the plaster cured and I have to force my hand out eventually.

The undercuts have got my hand stuck in the mold. They said it was painful if the plaster mold stuck to your hair, but I ain't got so much hair to be plucked out so removing it from my skin was easy. However while the plaster was curing, my hand felt like it was placed in an isolated sauna bath or steam bath or something. Quite fun though.

Preparing the mold for the second Hellboy head relief

2005-09-28T03:17:00.000-07:00

Finally finished the second Hellboy head relief. Here am I pouring the mixed plaster that was coloured. This is going to be the first thin layer of the mold to be removed last after casting. The thin layer would make removal easier and thus the final cast will not be damaged too much during the process. I shall be doing the casting next week. :( Some of them have already done the casting...

HellBoy 2 (Continued)

2005-09-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

So after 3 weeks and about 9 hours, my version of the head relief of HellBoy 2 is painstakingly produced. Here it is. It is still quite uncompleted. I have some problem with making the beard to look natural and flowy. Guess I still need more practice and looking at other sculptures.

I am also posting a pix during the WIP phase. Notice that there wasn't a neck and a collar yet. Advised by my teacher, I should add some neck and collar to make look more like a portrait model. So I added and it does look better.

Hell Boy Series 2

2005-09-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

Being able to finish a sculpturing project is a joy. Without further ado, I stared another, Hell Boy 2. Drawing inspiration from books, and pictures from the movies, and some references, I decided to make another relief. However this time round, Hell Boy is going to be in the front view, instead of in his side profile. I reckon it would be more challenging and more fun to do then the side.

The picture to the left was taken from a website. It shows the head marquette made purposefully for the movie. Eventually, the clay model would be turned into a prosthetic that was going to be worn by the actor, Nelson.

I am of course not doing this as I am still a student sculptor. But I will attempt to do a relief profile.

You can click on the image to see a larger version of the clay model. Or you could visit the site that expertly made this sculpture of Hell Boy's head.

www.kropserkel.com

Finally! The Hellboy Cast

2005-08-30T03:13:00.000-07:00

Breaking the mold can be quite difficult. I have to chisel out the excess first before I can remove the rest on the top of the cast. Extra care has to be taken in order not to break the cast. Anyway, my resultant cast has many broken areas, like the nose, the collar and certain parts on the cloak. The broken areas have to be patched with plaster as well.

Simply dip a wet chinese brush into plaster powder and paint it over the broken areas. Slowly and gradually build up the thickness until the desire height or when the cracks are patched.

At this stage, the cast is still quite unfinish (as you can see from the image on the left). It has to be sanded smooth under running water or we can do it beside a basin of water. Unfortunately I have not taken any photo for this step. I took probably another couple of hours before I redefined all the necessary details. Special dental tools are used to scalp and scraped the plaster cast. These tools have to be sharped enough to remove the plaster with ease. What's left would be a smooth and defined piece of sculpture.

Here's the dental tools.

Comparing with the cast that has just being removed from the mold, this has more details already. But it is still far from a finished work. Let's call it Stage I then.

Stage 1 Sculpture (Closeups)

Stage 1 of refining finished. :)

Day 5 - Removing the mold and pouring the cast

2005-08-30T02:30:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, while removing the mold from the clay model, I accidentally cracked the mold into half diagonally across. The instructor managed to help me salvage the situation by adding additional plaster and fiberglass as reinforcement on the reverse side.

Eventually after another curing period, I manage to remove the clay model from the mold without leaving too much clay materials on it. What a relief. Well, the next step is to wash the mold clean of the clay like the picture below.

Next is to mix sufficient plaster for my cast. This is getting exciting, finally I can see it in its final form. Before I can pour the plaster, I need to coat the mold with a release agent. Since we are casting in plaster, the release agent is soap. Industrial soap is needed in this case, not any ordinary soap. This has to be done systematically as uncoated areas will pose a problem later on. We do not want to see a broken piece of plaster cast. :P

There is however an additional step to just pouring plaster into the mold.

Fiberglass has to be added to reinforce and strengthen the plaster cast.

Fiber reinforcement is needed because generally plaster is still quite fragile. Industrial fiberglass is kindof toxic and care should be taken when handling the material. Try to avoid (as instructed) touching your sensitive areas like armpit, inside of the elbow or neck when you are handling it.

If develop rash or itch, wash the affected areas as soon as possible and see a doctor if complications occur. According to the instructor, the amount of fiberglass we are handling is too little to cause any hazardous results, but care is till needed.

During pouring, as soon as the plaster amount reach 2/3 (2 third) of the mold, lay thin sheets of cut up fiberglass throughout the surface. Work fast to make sure the remaining plaster do not cure. Pour in the remaining plaster to the brim of the mold once done.

Level out the plaster within the mold and finally, you can take a short break after this. The plaster will take 45 mins to cure, after which you will get to see the final sculpture!

See ya again!

:)

Day 4 - Making the waste mold

2005-08-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

Now it is time to create the waste mold - the reason why it is called the "waste mold" is, it would eventually be destroyed after casting. There can only be one cast and it is also the cheapest way to create a mold. A silicone rubber mold is essential to make multiple cast. However as for now, let's be satisfied with the one and only cast - a plaster cast. The first step in creating the waste mold is to create a containment with wooden blocks or planks around the clay model like what is shown below. Alternatively, we can use lego blocks to create the containment which would become the mold itself. Another way is to use a box hard and strong enuff to withstand the weight of the plaster that is going to be poured in.

It is essential to cover all the wooden planks with a layer of clay sludge (mud) to ease the mold removal process later on. (see the second picture).

As you can see on the picture, in order to secure the wooden planks together, lumps of clay are used to weld the seams together. Make sure the wooden boards are securely held together.

Now you are more or lest ready to pour in the plaster.

In our class, we are using industrial plaster which is quite cheap to purchase. Plaster comes in white powder form and must be mixed with water before use. Plaster is poured into the water for mixing and not the other way round. For mixing cement, water is poured into the cement heap.

Our mixing ratio is 1:1 (not sure why).

A basin of water is being filled according to the amount of mold materials required. We are sharing a basin with 2 other students.

The plaster powder is poured until it forms an equal amount just benealth the water level. The trick is not to mix as you pour. The powder will submerged into the water and form a suspension.

Once done, we will mix the suspension by submerging our hand into the bottom of the basin and start doing a fan action horizontally, and at the same time, disintegrate any plaster that has coagulated into lumps. Mix till you achieve a fine and liquid white sludge.

Pour and form a thin layer on the clay model first. Spread evenly throughout. Next pour the rest of the plaster mixture into the mold containment, making sure that the highest point of the clay model is well covered and submerged.

If there is not enough plaster to cover the entire clay model evenly, just make sure the highest point is covered.

Give the surrounding area (table) a few hard knocks to eliminate any bubbles trapped inside the molding plaster.

Now take a break. The plaster will harden (cure) after about 45mins to an hour.

At this juncture, I started out another new sculpture project just to save time.

I will inform you when the mold is ready. See ya!

Day 3 - Refining the Details

2005-08-20T04:03:00.000-07:00

The next 2 weeks are spent refining the details and reshaping the certain areas to make it look more proportionate. There is really nothing much to it, except putting more clay here, and removing some clay there and so on and so forth.

I have tried a few approach to carving the eyes and changing his expression a bit here and there, but I was not very adventurous at this point fearing that I might be making too much damage eventually.

Overall, I like how the sculpture turned out. Since this is really the first sculpture I have created, some technical aspects that I have overlooked are the undercuts, which would become a nuisance later on as I made the waste mould with plaster and recast in plaster again.

I have learned my lessons at a greater cost, but still salvageable. Well, you will see.

Yes. Finally, this is the sculpture that I would be making a mould from. It is a pity that I did not manage to take a better picture of the final sculpt before making the mould. Anyway, this is worth 2 weeks of works, say about 5 hours.
(Click image to see larger view).

;)

Day 2 - Modelling with Clay

2005-08-11T06:06:00.000-07:00

Rough Blocking Today was a day when everyone said I am not doing ok...
No mood to do anything else, even for TV, just feel like bloggin away. Ok, where was I? Yes.

When you finish blocking your subject on the clay foundation block, it will look something like this. I have chosen the profile of HellBoy, referencing from a book I bought not long ago. If you are going to do this for the next 3-4 weeks, might as well do something that you would like and enjoy.

As you can see, I am a great fan of HellBoy!

The trick to doing the rough blocking is to try to get the "virtual" heights of the subject right. The reference pix is 2 dimensional. So you've got to imagine which portion has a greater height than the other. In my case, the shoulder and the cape are the highest as compared (by common sense) to the other parts of the body, esp the gun and the head.

Once you finished this step, the rest of the work would be adding in the details, either by addition or subtraction of clay. It was advised that clay should only be added and not subtracted at this step.

After one and a half hour later, I have added enough details to make it look somewhat like HellBoy, though likeness is not there yet.

It would most probably take another week to capture the essence and the accuracy. Since this is really my first time doing an actual sculpture, I have pardoned myself for commiting so many mistakes, mainly in terms of proportion and the gesture.

It is really hard work. It looks easy here but by the time I have reached this stage, I am already perspiring profusely.

You know, I fell sick the day after.

I am not sure whether I should continue with this... :)

Day 1 - Clay modelling Materials & Tools

2005-08-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Tools
Not exactly day one though. My first project in sculpturing is a 2D relief sculpture. As the name implies, it is 2 dimensional with protruding 3 dimensional relief, hence, the name. I cannot explain this to you. It would be understandable when you see it. To start the ball rolling, here are my tools (image to the right).

These are just wooden scalpels and metal wires bent into a spoon like shape, and a pencil like tool. Basically these are used to shape the clay you are working with. No big deal... I have not really found out the exact use of each tool yet. My instructor said you will discover as you go along.

The Clay
The clay that the school is providing free is the cheaper type which is called terracotta - a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. If left with mositure consistently provided for, the clay will remain soft, malleable and easily handled. If left in the open without adding water to it, the clay will ultimately loose all its mositure content within and start to crack.

To harden the clay permanently, it should be fired at high temperature (about 2500 degC). The resultant fired clay will have the colour of a piece of brick or an earthen ware. In our case, we are not firing it at all.

Where the clay came from
Each of the student would have to prepare their own supply of clay from this well. As you can see, it is a heap of mess! Dried and wet clay all mixed together. It would be hell if not for this fateful machine called the clay mixer, that helps is grind and mix the clay into something that we can work with easily.

You can see the machine on the right. It is so strong that it can even twist a metal spoon into an artistic shape even without raising an eye brow...

Here's how we would do it (someone was kind enough to pose for me). First we dig a lump of clay from the well and dump it into inlet of the clay mixer. By pushing down the level as shown we are actually squeezing the clay into the grinder, which will pull and twist the clay into a elongated tube or cylinder. Once we see the amount that we need, we would simply break the tube at the neck of the mixer.

I din know clay sculpturing can be quite messy. But noone seems to bother. I shouldn't bother as well. It is like returining to our childhood days when we would spend hours on the mud pool or at the beaches building sand castle. Unless you wouldn't mind getting your hands dirty, you shouldn't try this all.

Our 2D relief sculpture would require us to prepare a clay base built on a wooden block for support. (see picture below) The relief would come later as we add clay on top of this.

This is just like baking a tiramisu cake!

We have not even started the real work yet and the entire process until now has already taken us 2 hours to finish.

This guy has already started adding clay to give a rough blocking of the subject he has planned to do. Think I must hurry a little.

Well good luck!