any tips for sculpting 1/35 figures?

[chucky17]

Hi i was wondering if there are any tips anyone could give to 1/35 sculpting.


thanks

 

[Gary D]

I'd suggest you get Anders Heintz' "Sculpting Historical Miniatures" DVD. I think it covers everything you would ever want with sculpting.
I bought it and it's really well done. ( approx. 4.5 hours worth)

Gary Daugherty

 

[T50]

Oh, man... where to start... hmm...

If you would ask me, I would say,
"sketch out the figure in detail front and back... exactly how you want it"
That's where you should start from because that's the blue print. Otherwise
you would be building a house without a plan.

Let's take it from there.

 

[Mike S.]

Study all of Mr. Harmms' sculpts. He is one of the very best in the business IMO, hands down.

 

[Einion]

Lots of ways you can answer this but I'll go with practice, practice practice! It's necessary when you're trying anything new of course but I found particularly with small-scale stuff that it took me a while to get used to doing all the elements equally small and fine.

How much prior sculpting experience do you have?
What medium(s) do you intend to sculpt in?
What kind of tools do you have currently (if any)?

Assuming you have little or no sculpting experience one of the consistent recommendations from other modellers is to start with conversions, making replacement arms and so forth, rather than jumping in and trying a scratchbuild. Other than helping not to get overwhelmed one of the key advantages here is that you're sculpting directly alongside existing sculpted detail, allowing you to compare the fineness of the work and error-correct as you go.

If you want book recommendations I'd have to go with Bill Horan's classic, Military Modelling Masterclass, which I think is now published by Osprey.

Previous thread on much the same topic:
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34855

And ditto Mike's comment above.

Einion

 

[IIICorps]

Consider starting with a larger scale (i.e., 120mm, 100mm) and working yourself down as you hone your skills.

 

[Centaur]

Good question and some technique hints. Like in sports, before you go in practice is the mental preparation the most eminent step.To respect the human in little and great.
What you will show and what is the message in any scale ?!
Good luck !
Ulrich

 

[Einion]

Consider starting with a larger scale (i.e., 120mm, 100mm) and working yourself down as you hone your skills.

That's a good one, really helped me. Although some people have a natural aptitude for working really small.

Einion

 

[Blind Pew]

Hello mate, if I could suggest anything, it's to try your hardest to watch an experienced sculptor work and watch over his shoulder as he does so. You'll learn loads more 'in the flesh' than any other way.

I'd also echo all of the above advice, particularly around conversions.

I will strongly recommend getting hold of Historex stuff as well. It's almost a medium in itself, easy to work and is like a halfway house between scratch & conversion.

good luck

 

[btavis]

What I did in the beginning was take figures I liked and copied them as exactly as I could. Having a 1/35 figure as a model ensures you do not lose scale, proportion and you learn a lot about folds and detailing. If you do about a hundred like this you will get really good And while I am being facetious the benefit of constant practice is immeasurable.

Also, take your time sculpting and work on small areas at a time and do not be afraid to remove stuff you do not like and rework them. I also found taking pictures at all angles while a piece is in progress helps find all kinds of mistakes. Looking at the figure upside down or in front of a mirror also helps find mistakes.