The good, the bad, the ugly- My Coursework
3yr
TeaMonster
My assignments from the Sculpture Fundamentals Course by Andrew Joseph Keith. A progress journal for everyone's amusement.
TOOL TIME!
I wanted to mention some of the tools and tips I use and have made over the years, maybe it's helpful....?....
Make light work of cutting that new block of Chavant clay, with a wire cutter, I was surprised how easy this was over trying blades.
A modelling stand, threaded half inch pipe can be tricky to find in the UK although more available online now, I went with a threaded rod bolted to this wooden block. I made this to use with this course and think it can handle up to an 18 inch figure.
Home made tools over the years, old hack saw blade bent onto a paint brush handle, various loops in pens then more fancy rakes from guitar strings into brass tubing.
Warming chavant....
I use a heat gun for a direct blast and was using a dedicated croc pot to melt a batch.... down side is working with lava can be tricky...I tried a chicken brooder lamp over the clay but didn't find it that great so I built a hot box....A foiled lined box would work but I wanted some permanent that I liked the look of... so I converted a bread bin and I'm really happy with it! Nice ready to work clay in about 15 mins (from cold start) so easy pop cold clay in, go make a cuppa tea then get to work :)
Torso study...
Not sure if this was set as an assignment but it's definitely worth a go and boy do I need the practice! So again I seem to be going in circles, I think it must be my knowledge of anatomy lacking. I restarted as I kept hitting the foil as I made it too big, then was running out of clay. This one is still in progress and I paused after a day at it to go hit the books and watch some of Stan's video to help.
More Gesture Studies...
These assignment were to capture the gesture of a pose working from a single drawing, approx 1 hour task although I went over for sure....
This was actually the first one I did. I followed along with the tutorial, later realised we're to pick our own reference. I like this pose though. Based on a George Bridgman p29 'Bridgman's complete guide to drawing from life' (isbn 978-1-4549-2653-5) -I just got this book I love his style.
From the front I think it's a bit wide at the hips, and overall maybe a bit short and stocky, also I didn't get it to balance well.
Based on art from p209 Stephen Rogers Peck book ' Atlas of human anatomy for Artists' (isbn 9780195030952)
I chose this drawing as is shows balance and weight, I don't think I captured that well enough and should exaggerate the lean more. Seems to be a mistake I keep making, it stiffens up the more I work on it?
This one was based on art by John Buscema from 'How to draw comics the marvel way' (isbn 0907610668).
It's a fail, I started with one of my worst armatures, it's proportions are off but I thought I could 'fix it in post' with clay, urr nope, maybe a more skilled sculptor could work around it...the arms were short so I just used clay, obviously they fell of later haha, well I'm not too precious and these are sketches but yeh sure did highlight the value of getting the armature right, putting in the effort upfront really does save you down the line. Also I was generally disappointed with my anatomy here, which is something I'm trying to improve on the most throughout this course.
Gesture Studies...
These assignment were to capture the gesture of a pose working from a single drawing, approx 1 hour task although I went over for sure....
Hand based on a George Bridgman from p79 'The book of a hundred hands' (isbn 0-486-22709-x)
Hands....
Assignment was to add hands to our existing armature or make a hand study.
The red wire isn't me trying to be fancy, it's just what I had to hand that was thinner. I admit I mostly winged this one and eyeballed it not measured.
The next one I tried to follow along with Andrew's tutorial and honestly I begrudge things that me me get a ruler out, haha, well I got myself all muddled with the measurements, maybe as my brain works in metric?.. Anyway I drew a diagram to help me get my head round it. My wire has an extra band in palm, just from the way I started the wire, so not 100% accurate to the demo...whoops.A
On the second attempt (on right) I super tried to follow along and thought I was doing fine till I stepped back and looked at it, to see short fingers...DOH! I'm sure if I'm mindful of this when going to clay the armature is still useable.
This maybe 'cheating' but I made a hand armature following a method by Andrew Sinclair from his book 'The Art Of Earth And Fire' (isbn 978-1-7862959-1-0).
At first glance it seems super complicated but actually the step by step was easy to follow and pretty quick. The downside maybe I'm not memorizing proportions but he has some great tips too, and this means all I have to is print the diagram at the correct scale and we're in business.
I'm eager to learn but may be not be the easiest student to teach ;)
Aaaaarghmatures!
Armature = structural support for the clay. They come in many shapes and sizes, no one size fits all, and many artists have their preferred method.
Personally as my projects were never the same size or subject matter I just made up the armature on the spot. Trial and error over the years and hitting the wire, having to modify etc just seemed the norm to me. So I welcome a considered tried and tested method, Andrew has provided a good technique and I finally got the hang of it I think...
Modifying the armatures, here I added wings using aluminum mesh, one wing I sewed on and hit the thread with a couple of drops of super glue to secure, the other side I used aluminum tape, which was faster and easier. I try and use heat resistant materials for all the armature, although using oil based clay these wont get baked we do use heat tools to soften the clay, so for example I wouldn't use hot glue as we may remelt it later on ;)
The cheap sculpture challenge got me thinking about cheap clay...
I recall many moons ago in school we used a 'dough' clay, a salt dough recipe using flour to make an air dry clay....I looked up a recipe on the interwebs and had a crack at it...
Well maybe I got the mix wrong even though I tried a few times, my dough was very sloppy even after trying various mixes, it slumps under it's own weight, and even went manky after a few days.
Think I'll stick to shop bought for now but it's good to know you can grab food cupboard items and make something to muck about with :)
(if anyone has a secret formula that works do let me know, thanks)
In between classes I'll do some studies to keep sharp, this a quick foot in the cheap plasticine. Adding a bit of cornflour and mixing it in helps reduce the stickyness, but I really don't like the feel or colour and will probably use other clays for the remainder of this course.
Also whilst exploring materials, we bought a soap bar for a change and I immediately nabbed a bit to try carving some. (Yes soap carving is a thing, many talented folks out there)
I haven't carved anything before really as most of my modelling materials are additive like clay.
Sticking with cheap I just used a paper clip for the carving. I see carving in a different category but wanted to have a quick go.
The cheap challenge was fun and humbling. I'm here to learn and there is much to learn!
The cheap sculpture Challenge...
I can talk the ear off a donkey so I didn't want to clog up the main classroom thread.
