General Monash bust 1/5th scale

[busso_boy]

he looks so much better with ears..........

using the painting as a reference i think they need to stick out a bit more though

it's great to watch such a well known Aussie come to life

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Tim & Ian,

Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments. Tim, as always I'm eager to learn more about sculpting, so if you have something you can show me, please send it through.

I'm baking at the end of each nightly session to "lock in" the work I've done. I'll sit down to do the ears or the nose and work on it until I've got it right, and then pop the head in the oven before I go to bed, to ensure the newly sculpted areas are hardened. Once the head has cooled down, I then scrape the surface of the newly sculpted areas gently with the scalpel blade to remove any loose bits and create a naturally smooth surface.

It's probably not the most efficient way of using PolyClay, but I find that it helps me. If I make a mistake, I can always start again, but when I think I've got something right, I put it straight in the oven to "lock in" the results. As you know I'm still taking "baby steps" here, and I think there's some advantage in sculpting in small steps too.

 

[dannyk01]

Hes looking good, i wanna see what happens next . I thought for some reason that my critasism offended you and thats why you didn't post for a bit.
But seeing his face now i can see what you have done

Daniel

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Daniel,

Not at all mate. I'm a big boy and I'm not offended by anyone offering constructive criticism. In fact, I encourage it, as it helps me improve.

 

[dannyk01]

Alright.. just a little bit more crtasism then. As i can see on the pics, the middle of the hat bit comes to a bit of a point since 4 bits of fabric are sewn togethor.

As i said in my 1st post, my dads in the navy and it's something i have realised on the (as i say) "weirdness" on how these hats are actually made. I think would have been made similar to as they do it now to back then but only the material has changed. I think i may need to do some more reasearch

Now this is making me think that i want to sculpt one day but 1st i need to get to a decent level of painting

Daniel

 

[darkeye]

heres how i work....

hi Tony!
ok mate understood. did you get the Super Sculpey firm? cant recall offhand. any hoo i will post something later for you to peruse. i have found a nice little system for working un-cured and you need not worry about sqiushin' your hard work - you do need to be aware where yer digits are tho!
as you'll see from my WIP here's how i go;

stage 1/ hard boney forms - i use almost pure Firm, its plyable whem warm and hard when cooled. in this i do the head/skull shape plus ears and nose, the ribcage, hips/pelvis. the limb bones.

stage 2/ softer mix maybe 60/40 for sub-details like rounding out the forms and adding bulk/fleshyness. this mix will roll out over the 'hard' areas with out dirupting them too much if at all. it blends in better too which is why i bake once, got fed up of dust!

stage 3/ final details, this mix is 60/40 in favour of SS pink or any 'soft' material ( the white block of softener by Fimo is good too). with this mix you can do the finals like tip of the nose, fat/folds of face/body, gap filling for a smooth finish ect.

i think of this as the 'three core' approach, its probably not revolutionary but works well, i am doing a full figure for one of the 'Jams' on Clubhouse. its an android female and uses this system.will post pics and if youlike show some short cuts on the same thread. i am not a pro but can be inventive! off to take some shots for ya.

all the best Tony --- tim

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Daniel & Tim,

Daniel, if you want to start sculpting mate, start - don't wait for anything. Just have a go.
As for Monash's hat, I used to wear one of these officers hats myself many years ago (not a General's hat, but the shape and design are the same) and I can assure you the fabric on the top of the hat is a single piece, stiched around the rim, not joined in the centre. Perhaps your Dad's navy hat is made differently to Army officers hats??

Tim, thanks mate, I now understand your technique of mixing different types of sculpey to match the different sculpting requirements. I only have SS Firm at the moment, so that's what I'm using on everything. I'd love to see some shots of how you sculpt and how you use the different sculpeys to create different effects, and understand the different properties of each type of sculpey.

 

[darkeye]

F.A.B! stand by...

up loading now.! i hope i have sufficiently improved not to embarass myself ! :/




regards --- tim.

 

[tonydawe]

Fresh out of the oven, with head and body united for the first time. I've added a shirt collar and tie tonight.

 

[MattS]

Tony,

I'm enjoying watching your progress. Always interested to see how other people approach things. I'd like to weigh in on your likeness. Could you post a source or reference pic or two of your subject?

Matt

 

[darkeye]

hey Tony who did that for ya?!!!

tell you what mate, that last pic shows a major improvement over your first attempt so well done sir! lines look better and the jaw length and symmetry is better to; you even got the ears pretty well. keep it up, you got hundreds more to do!(trust me !) )


take it easy Tony --- tim .

 

[dannyk01]

Just a quick post before i go to school. He's coming togethor now the thing i have to admit about what i liked about your other monash is his uniform. I hope it turns out just as goiod if not better The only thing i would say about the face is he looks a bit younger but i think that may relate to the lack of a mustache. Thats just the way he looks to me but as Tim said above, the symetry looks about right.

Daniel

 

[tonydawe]

Reference pics

Hi Matt, Tim & Daniel,

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement and for your continuing interest in my project.

Matt, I've posted a few of the main reference pics that I'm using and I'd be very interested in any suggestions you may have to improve the likeness and get it "spot on". Picture No.4 is the main reference source and the one I've tried to base my bust on.

As far as my research can tell me, this pic was taken in June 1918, after Monash was promoted to Lieutenant General and took command of the Australian Corps, and just before they defeated the Germans at Villers-Breteneux, and halted the German 1918 Offensive and saved the vital rail head at Amiens and the Channel Ports.

At this time, most of the British and French Armies were in full retreat and the Australian forces in France were holding over 30% of the Allied Front line, even though they only represented less than 10% of the total strength of the Allied Armies in France.

This photo shows Monash with quite a lean face, whereas some of the others pics, which were taken after the war, show him quite fat in the face.

Anyway,enough of the history lesson. I'd appreciate any constructive comments and criticism.

 

[darkeye]

more thoughts.....

he looks younger in the bottom right photo, not much but a bit. with the ageing process you can either use fine 'snakes' of putty for the wear under the eyes and blend with turps/spirit/vaseline or buld up and the 'scibe' the lining before softening with a brush mate, baby oil is good too; the wax crowd use it too for polishing up.
oh and speaking of polishing, i found two cool ways of taking off fingermarks, the first i may have mentioned was some silicone in the shape of a 'mat' or flat strip and you can use household stuff too to make the mat in a small card and match stick flat mold.
second is to grab a thick poly bag or cling film and wrap it around f/tip and procede to polish- good for an area that need be smooth.
not any expert on military gear but would break the hat down in to three; a crescent flat(brim) which i would curve accordingly on a bake-able oject and bake the drill and pin.
middle , id go for rolling out a clay 'tube' to size before 'dishing' one side on a flat clean surface with a suitable ball shape. then placing on the model's head, i would be tempted to leave this section un baked so the brim with pins attached slots in and the final 'disc' which would be baked and shaped before hand could be pressed on thereby creating some improptu material folds/creases you could exploit. the uncuresection can the take a cured Badge which again should create useable creases/folds and being uncured can be detailed minus the dust of sanding hat strap, carve out a small groove with wire loop then apply your strap. the groove wilact as a 'key' and prevent it coming off . regards -- tim

 

[Mark S]

Hi Tony,
Fascinating watching it come together,mate!
It's easy to see it's gunna be a great bust.

Tim~I've already got the vaseline and baby oil out and working on my own 'fine snakes' under the eyes,thanks for the tip.

 

[darkeye]

happy to help Stiff! knowledge should be shared so i am glad to share anything.



all together now...... MORE PICS!!!!


regards Tony ---- Tim

 

[tonydawe]

Hi guys,

Another evening of sculpting has seen me move on to the collar and the Sam Browne belt.

The belt strap looks a bit thin, so I'll probably scrape it off and start again. Starting to add a few wrinkles and folds in the uniform too.

Hope you like.

 

[darkeye]

looking good.

you are coming on leaps n bounds Tony. that first long shot definately resembles him and the close up shows great facial detail- well done buddy! )


regards ----- tim.

 

[Dan Morton]

Well done, Tony. What a big improvement! I agree completely with Tim. It's starting to resemble the man. I would widen and separate the lids of the eyes a bit. Looks a bit like he is squinting.

All the best,
Dan

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Dan & Tim,

Thanks fellas, its fantastic to get such positive feedback and encouragement. I've been working on the bust today, and have started to add folds and wrinkles to the uniform.

Also the Sam Brown belt strap, General Staff cap badge, the gorget patches and the epaulettes. I'll leave the brim of the cap until last, as its very fragile and is easily broken (I've already broken two).

I've also added a shot showing this bust next to my first effort to help give you some idea of how this one is different.