self portrait in clay

[pontes]

Hello everyone, im new to the group.

I am going to attempt to do a self portrait bust. Has anyone done any of these and how do you set up to do it from life.

Were there any artists in the past that did this?

I cant afford models, so i think using myself would be good. :D

[fritchie]

Hello everyone, im new to the group.

I am going to attempt to do a self portrait bust. Has anyone done any of these and how do you set up to do it from life.

Were there any artists in the past that did this?

I cant afford models, so i think using myself would be good.

Doing a sculpture self portrait will be quite difficult. Painters have done this for centuries, but they need only one point of view. (Not trying to knock painters, but sculptors need to work from side and back views as well.) I really recommend asking a patient friend to pose, but if you really want to do this yourself, at least get two large mirrors and a way of supporting them at various points near your head - sides, back and so on.

One mirror will reverse your image, but the second one will get it back in the correct view, and the combination of two also will let you choose a variety of points of view.

Good luck, and if you do this, please let us hear how it goes!

[iron ant]

Fritchie is right on with the mirrors,but you can also have someone photogaph yourself at a bunch of angles,blow them up and use them for a little help,but will be 2-d.My uncle did his bust with mirrors,and it is freeky because it looked like someone molded his head then cast it,and he is self taught and was 60 years old when he did it.Good luck it can be done,well probally not by me................

[rickb]

If you are after realism and looking for a "method" I really like how Martine Vaugel approaches portraiture. Its not cheap, but I think her video is great:
http://www.vaugelsculpture.com/pages/videopages/videosentrance.html . She really stresses nailing and balancing the important anatomical landmarks first.

However you approach this, have fun!

Rick
http://www.richardbecker.com

[mtd]

I totally agree with rickb. hitting the anitomical and proportional landmarks is key. You can get most of your landmarks and proportions from good photos. But make sure to use a long lens prefferable a 70 or 100 mm, you'll get less distortion. Blow them up to life size so you can caliper off them. The photos will make an invaluable aid to mirrors.

Also this book is great
Portrait Sculpting - Anatomy & Expression in Clay
By Philippe & Charisse Faraut.

http://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/books/book-clay.htm

good luck
MD

If you are after realism and looking for a "method" I really like how Martine Vaugel approaches portraiture. Its not cheap, but I think her video is great:
http://www.vaugelsculpture.com/pages/videopages/videosentrance.html . She really stresses nailing and balancing the important anatomical landmarks first.

However you approach this, have fun!

Rick
http://www.richardbecker.com

[pontes]

Well, i started this several times. But my armature is too weak. Need to buy some thicker gauge wires. :D

Got 2 mirrors. Only problem is that they are very small. I cannot find large mirrors anywhere.

I have done many self portraits(drawings), so i am going to use those as reference.

Ill keep everyone up to date with my problems. :D

[fritchie]

The mirrors I had in mind are "bathroom mirrors", or something similar, which I think I have seen at Walmart, Home Depot, or similar locations. These are about 15 x 24 to 30 inches, with lightweight metal or wooden frames. Hobby shoppes of the decorative sort also may carry something of this nature. A major problem with mirrors of this size would be mounting in a flexible manner. That you can figure out on your own. In fact, one mirror, the one closer to you and the one you look at, probably could be as small as a foot square.

At the same time, good photographs also are an excellent way to go. The advice about using some sort of telephoto lens is absolutely on the mark. Any camera will distort its image, but telephoto lenses cause the least distortion. BEWARE of digital cameras for this purpose. They almost always are wide-angle, and would be a very poor choice for this use.

[pogie111]

I tried doing my self using a mirror. i used ball clay and painted , its the one in my avatar.