Hey guys looking to get into sculpting but my problem is I have no idea where to start. I've browsed videos on you tube and it just confuses me more. I want to be able to make cast or vacuum form after sculpting. I've seen people use foam as well as multiple types of clay from WED to monster clay. Anyway does anyone have any possible links that could help me thanks in advance.
New to scultping
- Thread starter Bigtony08
- Start date
The first step would be to choose a thing to sculpt.
The clay choice depends on what you want to do with it and what equipment you have available.
Traditional clays can be fired in a kiln giving you a hard piece to keep and re-use. Sculpey is a polymer clay (so never dries out) and can be made hard in a household oven.WED clay is for something you are only going to use briefly for mould making and then throwing away, it will also dry out on you if you don't keep it damp. Monster is similar but oil based so won't dry out.
If you wanted to use a piece to vacuum mould then you'd be better off with a fired/baked hard product. But if you wanted to make a mould and cast from that then using WED or Monster would be fine and you could reuse the clay afterwards.
Hope that helps!
The clay choice depends on what you want to do with it and what equipment you have available.
Traditional clays can be fired in a kiln giving you a hard piece to keep and re-use. Sculpey is a polymer clay (so never dries out) and can be made hard in a household oven.WED clay is for something you are only going to use briefly for mould making and then throwing away, it will also dry out on you if you don't keep it damp. Monster is similar but oil based so won't dry out.
If you wanted to use a piece to vacuum mould then you'd be better off with a fired/baked hard product. But if you wanted to make a mould and cast from that then using WED or Monster would be fine and you could reuse the clay afterwards.
Hope that helps!
A lot of people make a foam armature and put something like monster clay over it to sculpt the details. That saves a lot of money on clay. People sculpting large objects sometimes sculpt/carve foam. Depending on what they're working on some people cover the foam with something to smooth it out and give it strength like bondo, or even paper machie. As RobertMuldoon said, it would be easier to give a better answer if you gave an idea what you planed to sculpt.
For small scale stuff I use super sculpty. For full sized busts I use Monster Clay (worth every penny). Before monster I used a cheap Hobby Lobby oil based clay. For larger things I've used foam and plaster bandages (it works, but the detail is not great).
For small scale stuff I use super sculpty. For full sized busts I use Monster Clay (worth every penny). Before monster I used a cheap Hobby Lobby oil based clay. For larger things I've used foam and plaster bandages (it works, but the detail is not great).
Would you want to mould and cast the mask or would you be using as a puck for vacuum forming?
I'd probably say that you should start with some Super Sculpey; it's cheap, easy and clean to work with and you can bake it in the oven to make a hard and re-usable piece. You probably want to bulk out the back of the mask and then just have a thinner layer of clay over the top of that, so that it bakes well and also so that you use a LOT less clay. I personally use crumpled up aluminium foil for that (covered in masking tape so its easy to get the clay off again if you screw up), but as 13doctorwho said above some people also use foam. However if you are going to be baking it make sure whatever you use can stand up to being in the oven and wont melt/burn.
I'm also given to understand that one should avoid the clap :lol
I'd probably say that you should start with some Super Sculpey; it's cheap, easy and clean to work with and you can bake it in the oven to make a hard and re-usable piece. You probably want to bulk out the back of the mask and then just have a thinner layer of clay over the top of that, so that it bakes well and also so that you use a LOT less clay. I personally use crumpled up aluminium foil for that (covered in masking tape so its easy to get the clay off again if you screw up), but as 13doctorwho said above some people also use foam. However if you are going to be baking it make sure whatever you use can stand up to being in the oven and wont melt/burn.
I'm also given to understand that one should avoid the clap :lol
pitchforknumb
Sr Member
If you're new to sculpting you really can't go wrong with WED clay. It's cheap, easy to work with, and you don't need any heating elements to keep it workable like oil clay. The only thing you need to do with WED clay is keep it wet. At then end of a sculpting session with WED clay you'll want to spray it down with water, lay some damp towels over it and then put a plastic bag over it. If you do this you can work on a sculpt for quite some time. I had a sculpt I worked on for 5 months using this method.
Yep, happens to all of us. Go with what inspires you and makes you happy.
Astromechfan
New Member
I have been Sculpting a long time and have 0 work to show for it because I truly had no Knowledge on sculpting. I am one of the those people that could get to a certain point then I wouldn't know how to get from A to B as it were. I recently took to YouTube and watched a few how to sculpt Videos and they might as well have been speaking Klingon, I just couldn't comprehend, so I changed up my curriculum. I started looking up how the tools worked and that started making since to me. my current project I'm working on is a Skeksis head bust. literally put clay to armature last night. I'm using Super Sculpey and an OK pack of wood tools. ( wood Spoons, a couple ribbon tools, a wood stylist tool, a small plastic rake) there is a series of videos from a sculptor on YouTube that worked for me. his channel is Polymer Clay Artist. his method worked for me so I'm try to piggy back off of his techniques. Best advise I i can give as someone also just starting out is keep in mind basic geometry (spheres, Cylinders, Etc) Best of luck!
I'm new to sculpting too (about two months in), and the best advice I can give at this point is to just pick a clay and start sculpting something. It doesn't matter if it's good or not (it won't be), but the important thing is to start getting your hands on it, and *then* go back and watch some tutorials again. Things will start making more sense once you start getting a feel for it.
WED is good to start playing with, and you can leave it 'til later to decide if you want to move to an oil/wax clay (Chavant NSP, Monster, etc.) that you might find to be slightly more difficult to work with, but that have other advantages. But not until you get your hands on it, and get to the point where you're frustrated with something about the WED that you'll understand *why* you might prefer the other ones.
Just get your hands dirty!
That all said, if you can afford it, the sculpting videos on Stan Winston School of Character Arts are top notch. I've learned a ton from them (and on things other than sculpting). I think they have a 3-day free trial.
WED is good to start playing with, and you can leave it 'til later to decide if you want to move to an oil/wax clay (Chavant NSP, Monster, etc.) that you might find to be slightly more difficult to work with, but that have other advantages. But not until you get your hands on it, and get to the point where you're frustrated with something about the WED that you'll understand *why* you might prefer the other ones.
Just get your hands dirty!
That all said, if you can afford it, the sculpting videos on Stan Winston School of Character Arts are top notch. I've learned a ton from them (and on things other than sculpting). I think they have a 3-day free trial.
