Armor Making- Initial Sculpting Help

[SailorEarth]

I'm working on Saber's armor from Fate/Stay Night as seen here. Everything went fine with making my leg cast, reinforcing it with fiberglass and getting it on my armature. From there it's basically come to a screeching halt.

I'm using Chavant NSP in soft to sculpt my armor and this clay is kicking my butt, I'd hate to work with medium or hard. It doesn't seem like it should be this difficult to work with so I figure I must be doing something wrong. I've never worked with it before now but I picked it for the project because I'll need to make a mold from the sculpt. What's the best way to apply it? The first thing I tried was heating it up in a pyrex dish on a candlewarmer and slathering it on, so now I have a lumpy mess that's killing my thumbs trying to smooth it out. I was going to try heating it up in a measuring cup and pouring it on but I don't want an even bigger mess than I already have. Do I have to build it up first then carve away from it? I'm more accustomed to only adding on as needed. I even tried running it through my pasta machine to make sheets that I could cut the shapes out of and smooth onto the armature. It was too tacky for that to work.

Is there another clay that might be easier to work with and that would fit this project? I've seen good things about WED clay but I don't know if it'd suit what I'm doing. I'd like to stick to the Chavant since I have so much of it but I'm open to any suggestions about materials or methods, I need all the help I can get. I hope I made some kind of sense somewhere in there.

 

[STEALTH]

I usually build up over the headform or whatever form then worry about smoothing it out later.

You could also get KLEAN KLAY, it's alot easier to work with but a little more grainy. It doesn't take too well to heat either from my experience.

But It smoothed out well enough in the end.

 

[Finhead]

Yeah like Stef says KleenKlay is nicer to work with. But since you have the Chavant you can use a heat gun as you go to heat the area you want to move around. Really you should rough it out with a rake first get your base down then work it smooth.

 

[clonesix]

I, personally, prefer water clay. It blocks out fast and easy, and stiffens over time. You can keep it wet and wrapped up for sculpting, but as it dries and firms up, it goes to leather stage, and then soap-like for carving. ...and it's cheap.

Leave Chavant to the pros. But if you really want to use it, put a light bulb in a cheap EPS ice chest and warm the clay in there beofre using it.

 

[Hamsterstyle]

If you are making plate armor. Have you considered Pop Rivets and Styrene? It's not a perfect medium, but it is very forgiving, reasonably cheap, and when sanded and painted looks just like metal plates.

http://www.therpf.com/f24/wip-witch-king-angmar-86074/

Thats my WIP for a set of Witch King armor using that techniques. There isn't any sculpting there, but It may give you some ideas.

 

[SailorEarth]

For the Klean Klay, what kind of mold release would I need to use before brushing on my rubber mold? Will the clay be reusable once I've got my mold from it or is it pretty much trash?

I did try the heat gun and it helped out but I guess what I really need is a clay that's workable at room temperature.

For water clay would I have to worry about shrinkage?

I do have rolls of styrene and Wonderflex that I was considering using for the less complicated pieces. I'm worried there could be a noticeable difference from the finish on the resin pieces but I won't really know until I test it out.

Thanks for the input, everyone!

 

[Hamsterstyle]

I've done a tiny bit of molding and casting. I'm no expert at all on it. For some good advice on it, read up on 405th.com, and see what the Halo nerds have on there. Even though you arn't making halo armor they have great tutorials and advice for all types of armor making.

Make sure to use a Non Sulfuric Clay otherwise it will react with the rubber and ruin your mold. Then just use a casting release agent between them.

 

[STEALTH]

For the Klean Klay, what kind of mold release would I need to use before brushing on my rubber mold? Will the clay be reusable once I've got my mold from it or is it pretty much trash?

I did try the heat gun and it helped out but I guess what I really need is a clay that's workable at room temperature.

For water clay would I have to worry about shrinkage?

I do have rolls of styrene and Wonderflex that I was considering using for the less complicated pieces. I'm worried there could be a noticeable difference from the finish on the resin pieces but I won't really know until I test it out.

Thanks for the input, everyone!

You can use any standard mold release I guess.
I personally never used any.

I did 3 sculpts with KLEAN KLAY and it still kept going even after molding.
I still have it and it's the same consistancy as when I bought it pretty much. I just choose to use other brands.

I'm using Monster Clay at the moment. It takes very well to heat.

Klean Klay will be fine and it's great at room temperature.

Finhead is right, you gotta build it up and rake it down.
Then you can start your detail once it's smooth you're happy with it.

 

[MCL34N]

personally, my favorite technique with Klean Klay is breaking it down into golf ball sized chunks, and sticking a few of them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. The longer you leave them in the Microwave the more mud-like they become, making them ideal for defining the basic shape of your sculpt. I've attached some pics of the last time I used Klean Klay-

 

[SailorEarth]

Thanks for all the help, everyone. I ordered 1lb bricks of Klean Klay in regular, firm and extra firm to test them out. I'm hoping to have them by next weekend so I can get this project back on track.

 

[WarpedScale]

Are you trying to make the armor look similar to the statue in the photo you linked to or are you just trying to make Saber's armor.

I ask because I have a link where this guy made her entire set of armor out of foam:

and though it's not exact, it came out pretty nice and relatively inexpensive.

Ryu

 

[SailorEarth]

Is that the vinyl and foam technique? That's a pretty good Saber, the chest piece came out particularly nice. Unfortunately I'm doing the armor like the statue. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment :unsure

My Klean Klay came in the mail yesterday and after some experimental poking and prodding I'm a happy camper. Even the extra firm is easy to work with at room temperature so I'll probably go with that when I order more for the rest of the project. I was even able to run it through my pasta machine to get a nice sheet of uniform thickness. I'll have to wait until the weekend to do any actual sculpting but all signs are pointing to "yes" for Klean Klay.