Sculpting material what and why?

[SPRINGFIELD]

I'm new to this forum so maby this questione has been asked and answered many times already. But I am very interested to know what most sculpters are making their original models out of. Water based clay, plastilina, plaster , wax etc. So maby some sculptors out there could please answer my question what material do you use and why? I am now begining to use wax for my sculpting but I'm wondering if it will work very well for larger sculpting say two feet or more.

[dwright]

I almost always use wax. Size is no problem. Your armature takes care of any support issues.

[Merlion]

I use water based clay. But sometimes I use polymer clay to make small pieces to try out new ideas.

[Landseer]

I use and prefer water clay, but there's times when you really need plasticene or to direct work on plaster.

[HorseModels]

I'm new to this forum, but I will contribute when I can. I used to use a clay/wax mixture made up of Roma Plastilina and burn out wax from the foundry for all of my models, mainly because I was casting my work into bronze editions. When I started rotocasting polyurethane editions, I had to learn how to make molds of the entire sculpture intact (not in piece parts). Because of the rigors of the mold making process for resins, I found that a rigid model stood up to the process better than clay or wax. Also, it was difficult to get the original smooth enough in the medium I used previously, so I started sculpting with Apoxie Sculpt, then Apoxie Clay and finally Fixit-Sculpt. I found the details to be incredible and the originals did not get damaged while molding them. The one piece pictured below from my studio, is one of the few pieces I am still doing in the clay/wax mixture. The mermaid title is called Island Flower and she is lifesize WIP.

http://www.horsemodels.com/images/mermaid.jpg

[cooljamesx1]

kind of off topic, but your mermaid is beautiful.

[HorseModels]

kind of off topic, but your mermaid is beautiful.

So sorry! I was not trying to cause trouble, just thinking that a photo of the clay/wax combo that I use might inspire Springfield. They said they wanted to know if the wax would work for a larger sculpture. I did try Victory Brown that I purchased from the foundry for a half lifesize bust of a horse and the result was a bad case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) which I have not recovered from yet (that was 23 years ago). I started mixing the clay with the wax (melting them together and straining out the impurities) and then letting it solidify again before using it. The wax gave strength to the clay while the clay made it easier on the hands. Believe me, if you can avoid getting CTS, you will be more effective as a sculptor than with it. I can't bowl or play lawn darts anymore either because of it, but that is another story. :D

[HappySculpting]

Horsemodels- Let me say that I love your mermaid and your horses on your website. Nice stylistic curves and wonderful faces etc... Please share more ;)

I use water based clay because of how easy it is to smooth. But my last "serious" sculpt took so long and was difficult to keep the right moisture content. So I'm trying out WED clay which is a water based clay that has an inhibitor in it that keeps it from drying out quickly. At first I was cursing it like I did when I tried out some J-Mac (oil based) clay. But it wasn't long before I got the hang of it and now I think this is going to be my medium for sculpts that I intend to mold/cast.

The Wed clay doesn't smooth quite as easily as standard water based clay but it will to a beautiful job of it with just the right amount of water and the right size of brush ran over it. It does stick a little bit to your tools like oil based clay. It doesn't have grog (or if it does it's very insignificant). The clay was designed for Walter E. Disney's sculptors. It can be fired but is not manufactured to do so.

I used a bunch of cut up fine polyester rope(feels like fuzz at that point) and mixed that with my Wed clay for the thinner areas that I wanted strength in such as arms and legs. This completely prevents these items from just falling off if they get alot of water in them. The fiber holds it together like rebar. Only thing to be careful of is to make sure the the clay/fiber mixure is the inner layer of the sculpt. Let that stiffen and be much like a clay armature. Then use new clay without fiber over that. This way the fiber won't be exposed to the surface and cause problems.

My sculpt is not drying out and I don't have to constantly spray it to keep it wet. I don't feel the pressure to hurry and get it done like I did with standard water based clay.

~Tamara

[HorseModels]

Horsemodels- Let me say that I love your mermaid and your horses on your website. Nice stylistic curves and wonderful faces etc... Please share more ;)

~Tamara

Thanks, Tamara! Someday I'm going to get that mermaid finished. I've been so busy doing the rotocast resins, that I haven't found much time to work on her.

As far as the WED clay you use, how large are your sculptures that you make using it? I'd love to see what they look like. I assume you do dolls? Have you ever tried using closed-cell styrofoam as your core under the clay to keep the weight down? I started using this for even my smaller sculptures, as I learned from the foundries how they use this material when pointing up for monuments. It works just great on smaller pieces too.

[cooljamesx1]

horse models, I'M sorry. when I said "kind of off topic" I meant that I was off topic in complimenting your work. no reprimand was intended. I'm sorry I wasn't clear on that. all I meant was to say that I thought your work is beautiful.

[HappySculpting]

Thanks, Tamara! Someday I'm going to get that mermaid finished. I've been so busy doing the rotocast resins, that I haven't found much time to work on her.

As far as the WED clay you use, how large are your sculptures that you make using it? I'd love to see what they look like. I assume you do dolls? Have you ever tried using closed-cell styrofoam as your core under the clay to keep the weight down? I started using this for even my smaller sculptures, as I learned from the foundries how they use this material when pointing up for monuments. It works just great on smaller pieces too.

Hi Debbie,

This is my first experience using the Wed clay and the sculpt is a 17inch seated figure. I've seen it used for larger works and would imagine that it could be used for life size works in exactly the same way that standard water clay is used. Probably using a wooden armature that will be removed after the work is leather hard.

I have used styrofoam as to bulk out a sculpt before but usually I just build up the walls of the sculpt with coils of clay. As it hardens it gains strength. But this probably wouldn't work for very large sculpts. And this Wed clay doesn't get leather hard very fast, so an armature would be needed for sure at the large scale.

Sounds like you use the styrofoam and Fixit-sculpt over that. Do you buy the styrofoam in bulk size and then carve out the form of your sculpt and then add the Fixit over that? Or combine pieces of styrofoam with hot glue? Just curious of your process.

I've posted a few threads of my sculptures here at this community. I don't have a website as yet. :-)

~Tamara

[HorseModels]

Hi Debbie,

Sounds like you use the styrofoam and Fixit-sculpt over that. Do you buy the styrofoam in bulk size and then carve out the form of your sculpt and then add the Fixit over that? Or combine pieces of styrofoam with hot glue? Just curious of your process.

I've posted a few threads of my sculptures here at this community. I don't have a website as yet. :-)

~Tamara

Hi Tamara,

I may be a bit unconventional in my methods, but I find many of my sculpting supplies at The Home Depot! The closed-cell styrofoam I get there is found in the water heater department. They are usually 3'x3'x3" and come in a variety of pastel colors, LOL! If I need bigger sheets, I get them from the building materials department in the insulation section. On my smaller sculptures, I don't need to sandwich them together so I just carve them to the basic shape. On larger sculptures like the mermaid, I use construction adhesives, but you can use a number of different adhesives, depending on how long you want to wait for it to set up. Once I get the rough shape, minus a few layers, I start building up the Fixit Sculpt over the styrofoam or in the case of the mermaid, the wax/clay combination. After getting involved in this thread, I have started working on the mermaid again. The only problem I've encountered is finding another live model to pose for her. The last one swam off and probably ended up in some tuna can, LOL! (I know, bad humor)

BTW, what threads showed your work? It would probably take me too long to search for them on my own. :)

Thanks,

[HappySculpting]

Hi Debbie,

You are too funny "last one swam off and landed in some tuna can"! :D That one made me laugh.

Thanks for the tip on where to get the styrofoam stuff. Good ole Home Depot. Ya, if I can get it big enough then carving it to the right dimension all in one piece would be great.

Hope to see new update on your mermaid soon. ;)

The only sculpt that I'm particularly proud of (and took too long to do ;-) is called "Lady on a chaise" Here's the link... http://www.sculpture.net/community/showthread.php?t=2669
What I do when I want to check others work that they've posted is to go their profile and click on "show all threads they started" (or something to that effect).

I looove your horse sculpts. Maybe one day I can buy one. Just have to choose a favorite! (and one not sold out!)

~Tamara

[HorseModels]

Hi Debbie,

The only sculpt that I'm particularly proud of (and took too long to do ;-) is called "Lady on a chaise" Here's the link... http://www.sculpture.net/community/showthread.php?t=2669
What I do when I want to check others work that they've posted is to go their profile and click on "show all threads they started" (or something to that effect).
~Tamara

Awesome sculpture! I love her soft look and the fabric folds are incredibly executed. You obviously have a good handle on your sculpting medium. :)