Best brand/type of clay?

[Immortal Goat]

I'm interested in starting to sculpt busts and armor, and I was wondering if there are any preferred brands or styles of clay to do this with. I know that there are differend hardnesses of clay out there, but I don't know if that makes a difference.

Also, are there any special tools out there to help me with this, and are there any sources online or in books that can teach me little tips and tricks of the trade?

EDIT: Also, how much would any of you reccomend I buy? And what is the average price?

 

[Too Much Garlic]

You going for small scale or 1:1 scale?

Small scale, then I have heard much praise about casteline (unsure about spelling).

Tools is a good question. You could make your own or buy online... all depening on what scale you are planning on working with and how fine details you want in your sculpts.

Unfortunately don't have many links to tools or books... but hopefully others will chime in, as I am interested in knowing too...

 

[Immortal Goat]

1:1 scale. Full sized busts, and wearable armor.

 

[Immortal Goat]

BUMP for the night shift.

Come on. 32 views, and no one can help? I know SOMEONE has the info I need :confused

 

[Too Much Garlic]

<div class='quotetop'>(Immortal Goat @ Aug 7 2006, 06:13 AM) [snapback]1295321[/snapback]</div>

BUMP for the night shift.

Come on. 32 views, and no one can help? I know SOMEONE has the info I need :confused
[/b]

JRX uses Super Sculpey, but I can tell you... that's a pain to work with... imo, for professional sculptor.

Cyberman uses oil-based clay - don't know the name, but it appears to be easy to work with and holds its shape well...

Other than that... I really don't know.

 

[juno]

I think the reason you're not getting responses is because this question gets asked all the time. (I myself have asked it.)

I would suggest PMing or asking in the thread of a sculptor who has done work you like.

Also, the DVD mentioned in this thread: http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=114043&hl=clay recommends clay and so much more.

Myself, I use an oil-based clay I buy at an art store. Can't remember the brand off-hand.

 

[Cyberman]

Oil based clays are ok to use but composite materials with a percentage of wax in them are usually best for 1:1 scale busts. I myself have mostly used water based clay for my 1:1 scale work... however I used a softer type wax once for a mask with brilliant result. I also used Super Sculpy once and it was great for creating very believable skin textures.

I find oil based clays can be hard to handle. They tend to be sticky and difficult to smooth or get the right textural quality. Water based clays are better like that but I recon waxes or wax combined oil based clays are better.

Cyb.

 

[division 6]

If you go with water based I would suggest using WED clay.
Developed by Disney.

D6

 

[weaselflinger]

There are hundreds of different mediums you could use to sculpt. It depends on your budget, the mold medium your going to use, the final casting medium, the scale of the work, the kind of texture you hope to achieve, your sensitivity to particular ingredients in the clay, the timeframe your working in, the size of the space you're sculpting in, etc.

If you've never sculpted before, I would recomend trying different mediums on a small scale first. Many manufacturers offer free or cheap samples of their products. Try 'em and see what you prefer before investing hundreds of dollars into a particular type of clay, or wax, or plasticene.

Sculpting a bust of a recognizable likeness is probably the most difficult thing to do by far, even for advanced sculptors; and molding sculptures is an art and science unto itself.

Sculpting something like orc armor for example, would be a good place to start for someone with little experience, but the amount of materials is greater than a bust and you still need a good understanding of molding and casting.

 

[Immortal Goat]

I apologize if I seemed confrontational. That wasn't my intention. It was more just a desire to know. I've looked through old sculpting threads for the information I needed, and I did see that DVD. However, I didn't find any other specifics, and I guess I'm just looking for as much information as I can.

In that respect, thank you all for the info you have provided. It is going to be a great help. I don't know if this bit of info will help you all with your reccomendations, but after I make the armor sculpts, I was hoping to cast it it Fiberglass. What do I need to know about this process?

 

[franz bolo]

My friend loves Chavant Clay and Super Sculpy.

http://www.chavant.com/index_main.shtml

FB