Self made curriculum

[confusedhands]

This is kind of a broad ask, but I recently remembered rpf exists and thought if I was gonna find good advice anywhere it would be here.
I’ve been an artist (all for fun no professional work) for quite some time and want to learn more of the prop making/set design aspect of it all. My background so far is in pen and ink and sketching mainly, so not so much working on 3 dimensional pieces.
I know prop making and set design cover a wide genre of projects and that’s why I’ve not really picked it up yet. It’s overwhelming and I don’t know where to start. I’d love to potentially make a career out of it, but I can’t afford schooling and I know I would benefit from having a structured curriculum. I know I can find most if not all the resources I need for free on YouTube, but my problem is where to start.
So my question;
What are good base skills to have going into a hobby like this, and what are some beginning projects to practice in your experience?

TLDR: see last sentence

 

[Madmanad]

This is kind of a broad ask, but I recently remembered rpf exists and thought if I was gonna find good advice anywhere it would be here.
I’ve been an artist (all for fun no professional work) for quite some time and want to learn more of the prop making/set design aspect of it all. My background so far is in pen and ink and sketching mainly, so not so much working on 3 dimensional pieces.
I know prop making and set design cover a wide genre of projects and that’s why I’ve not really picked it up yet. It’s overwhelming and I don’t know where to start. I’d love to potentially make a career out of it, but I can’t afford schooling and I know I would benefit from having a structured curriculum. I know I can find most if not all the resources I need for free on YouTube, but my problem is where to start.
So my question;
What are good base skills to have going into a hobby like this, and what are some beginning projects to practice in your experience?

TLDR: see last sentence

Hey,

I guess to answer your question it really depends on what kind of things you’re wanting to make and what kind of materials you’d be wanting to use, I love making things but like you I’m not trained in anything to do with prop making, just do it for fun. I tend to make most things from wood as I find it’s very versatile and quite easy to work with. Do you have any idea of what kind of thing you’d want to start making?

 

[joberg]

Sets of skills needed (not a complete list):
Working with different types of woods, foams, plastics, metals, glues, etc...
Mold making: silicones, epoxies, fiberglass, rubbers, clay, etc...
Sculpting: clay, molds, etc...
Painting: all kinds of paints/varnishes/spray and their effects on different medium + different alcohols and diluents and their effects on different paints/plastics, etc...
Electric + electronic experience (list too long to enumerate).
Mechanics/design skills and other things you'll discover along the way. Good luck

 

[confusedhands]

Hey,

I guess to answer your question it really depends on what kind of things you’re wanting to make and what kind of materials you’d be wanting to use, I love making things but like you I’m not trained in anything to do with prop making, just do it for fun. I tend to make most things from wood as I find it’s very versatile and quite easy to work with. Do you have any idea of what kind of thing you’d want to start making?

I’ve always liked the idea of being able to sculpt or create realistic environments (ex: realistic looking mountain textures small and large scale), and I also want to brush up on sculpting in general with different materials.
I also think I’d really enjoy model making (of buildings and building layouts) especially the detailed kind where you go in and weather everything down to the tiniest details. Speaking of which I’ve also always found it satisfying to see someone age a prop or set piece well. I feel like that’s where a lot of the story starts to come together.
So I guess as of right now, sculpting and painting are the skills I need to brush up on. I’ve found it hard in the past to find in depth sculpting tutorials though.

 

[confusedhands]

Sets of skills needed (not a complete list):
Working with different types of woods, foams, plastics, metals, glues, etc...
Mold making: silicones, epoxies, fiberglass, rubbers, clay, etc...
Sculpting: clay, molds, etc...
Painting: all kinds of paints/varnishes/spray and their effects on different medium + different alcohols and diluents and their effects on different paints/plastics, etc...
Electric + electronic experience (list too long to enumerate).
Mechanics/design skills and other things you'll discover along the way. Good luck

That’s where my problem lies haha. I get so excited about learning all the facets of it at once. Do you know of any good beginner projects (preferably with a video tutorial) that help to dip your toes in kind a wide range of these skills on a basic level?

 

[eethan]

hey there, maybe, especially if want to practice painting mostly, you can pick a resin kit to clean, assemble, paint and weather. there are plenty of those available and you pick something you really like to start with.
if you want to practice more than just the above, then try scratchbuilding something that you like with wood, metal or plastic. it's very fun and rewarding to scratch build I think the most important is to choose something you really like to make sure you are motivated to work on it and replicate it as best as possible
good luck

 

[Funky]

The answer is pretty simple but I need to make sure I understand the question.
If you‘re doing it for fun, buy a cheap resin kit and just go for it. Stay with resin kits for a while and start reading random threads on the RPF for at least 15 minutes a day. You’ll learn through osmosis.
If you’re doing this as a potential career, move to LA.

 

[confusedhands]

hey there, maybe, especially if want to practice painting mostly, you can pick a resin kit to clean, assemble, paint and weather. there are plenty of those available and you pick something you really like to start with.
if you want to practice more than just the above, then try scratchbuilding something that you like with wood, metal or plastic. it's very fun and rewarding to scratch build I think the most important is to choose something you really like to make sure you are motivated to work on it and replicate it as best as possible
good luck

I actually had an idea for a project today and was thinking resin would be a good way to go, so this is reassuring to hear

 

[confusedhands]

The answer is pretty simple but I need to make sure I understand the question.
If you‘re doing it for fun, buy a cheap resin kit and just go for it. Stay with resin kits for a while and start reading random threads on the RPF for at least 15 minutes a day. You’ll learn through osmosis.
If you’re doing this as a potential career, move to LA.

I’m definitely destined for some sort of art path career wise. I always come back round to the creative careers. The area I live in has quite a lot of opportunities for these kinds of things thankfully. Potentially good opportunities for beginners too. I just need to put in the work and get a portfolio together, and in the process find out if it’s more of a career or hobby for me. That being said- I’ve heard LA traffic is horrendous

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

You just need to start. That's it. You take on skills for whatever it is you're wanting to do as you do it. Four years ago, I didn't know anything about metal work, now I have a forge and regularly melt aluminium.

You want to make hard-edged things (industrial and mechanically-based objects)? Get some wood/plastic/styrene--start. Soft-edge (organic and sculptural forms)? Get some clay--start.

Whatever you do outside of the arts always informs your choices from what I've experienced; there's always cross-over. The more diverse and varied skills/experience you already have in your reference library outside of art, the better.