WIP Critique Michel Ney bust (~1/6 scale)

[Wings5797]

Great detail on the lace Colin.
I agree that the eyes are not quite right, maybe a little smaller than those in the painting? Not too sure but outstanding sculpting.
Cheers,
Keith

 

[Colin_Fraser]

Sadly the lace has to come off and be redone too. The oak leaves are too small. Luckily I enjoyed this bit. The edging around the collar lace is actually a bit large but I will leave that as it does tie to the painting.

I always do my eyes a bit small Keith. If you met a lot of folk with eyes as large as shown in many miniatures and portraits you would do a double take. Have a look at a real face and note how small the eyes really are. I think enlarging them is an artistic trick to draw attention to the windows of the soul.



Colin

 

[fabrizio1969]

my favorite marshal......greath sculpt

 

[Tonton]

I’m totally in awe of this Colin but I have to agree with Keith. (I’m glad he made his comment because I thought it was only me!) The eyes do appear a bit small… I’ve taken the liberty using the front view pic. to check the eyes’ proportions. They are generally held to be about 1/5 of the width of the face – 5 equal segments are

indicated by the white lines. By this criterion you may feel that the eyes could do with being a bit larger.

Jeff

 

[Joe55]

I'm liking what you've got going on here, and the fact that you always dive in deep with your subject matter. To me that's what its all about. I'll be monitoring your progress with great interest.

Joe

 

[Mike S.]

Looks wonderful Colin. The changes and additions worked.

 

[Mike S.]

It should be noted that it is customary for portraitists to emphasize the eyes due to their importance in expressing a mood. If you are going by the painting as your guide to human anatomy, remember that. I make my living as a commercial illustrator and portrait painter BTW.

 

[Colin_Fraser]

I’m totally in awe of this Colin but I have to agree with Keith. (I’m glad he made his comment because I thought it was only me!) The eyes do appear a bit small… I’ve taken the liberty using the front view pic. to check the eyes’ proportions. They are generally held to be about 1/5 of the width of the face – 5 equal segments are View attachment 139208 indicated by the white lines. By this criterion you may feel that the eyes could do with being a bit larger.

Jeff

Thaks for taking the trouble Jeff - your 1/5's illustration gives me some comfort that I was not off as far as I thought. I think the eyes need to be slightly larger but I think a more urgent issue is that the left eye is a different shape than the right. I will look tonight and decide on an approach - radical vs tweak. In my experience painting cures a multitude of evils on the eyes but you can fix shape.

Cheers

Colin

 

[Colin_Fraser]

It should be noted that it is customary for portraitists to emphasize the eyes due to their importance in expressing a mood. If you are going by the painting as your guide to human anatomy, remember that. I make my living as a commercial illustrator and portrait painter BTW.

My thoughts too Mike. I prefer to replicate reality (to the extent I am able) than fall into portraiture norms by emphasizing or distorting certain features. The eyes on the portrait are a bit too large IMO. They may look good larger for a sculpt but paint may overemphasize them. Decisions decisions....I think it's time for the old mirror test to get a fresh view.

Colin

 

[Colin_Fraser]

I'm liking what you've got going on here, and the fact that you always dive in deep with your subject matter. To me that's what its all about. I'll be monitoring your progress with great interest.

Joe

Thanks Joe - getting into the research is how I stay motivated. That's why I like to do personalities - they usually come with a biography if you look hard enough and if you are really lucky you can find an autograph. I picked up a Ney signature on eBay a few years ago for a steal - ~$100. Its amazing how cool it is to be sculpting someone whose signature is right there on the desk with you.

Colin

 

[Colin_Fraser]

I gotta know... Can you hear my jaw hit the floor all the way over in Oakville?

This is outstanding work Colin... Stunning!

Colin the NonSculptor

I just saw how you signed this - as if! You have sculpted several figs and are getting better with each. I'm not letting that pass unchallenged!

Colin

 

[Wings5797]

I think it's time for the old mirror test to get a fresh view.

Colin

Sorry to hear about the oak leaves Mate,
they looked so 'right' to me but I can understand where you are coming from Colin.
The Old Mirror Test is a great way to see a figure as if for the first time, I hope it works for you.
I can hardly wait for the nest installment of this great piece.
All the best,
Keith

 

[ChaosCossack]

You are too kind, sir.
I am but a mere rank beginner in this company, but thanx for the boost

As for the eyes, even by the 1/5, they are too close to call... perhaps Ney was a beady eyed little ginger... who knows?

Colin

 

[housecarl]

Lovely work Colin.
Carl.

 

[Joe55]

What, you have a Ney signature and portrait? I'll bet your home resembles a museum inside! In any case, I'm sure your Ney will turn out to be a dandy!

Joe

 

[Sturm Grenadier]

Hello Colin, Sorry to get in on your Ney sculpt so late, busy work commitments. I really like this one Colin, and I'm enjoying your SBS. Sorry to hear you had to remove all that beautiful oak leaf detail, but I know how much accurate and authentic detail means to you, and I appreciate that. I also like your portrait painting of Ney, a gorgeous painting of him, and can see why you wanted to use it as a basis for this piece. I will be following this, and wish you good luck the rest of the way. Regards, SG

 

[Colin_Fraser]

What, you have a Ney signature and portrait? I'll bet your home resembles a museum inside! In any case, I'm sure your Ney will turn out to be a dandy!

Joe

Not really ....the portrait is about it for cool stuff on the walls and it is a copy. I have about 15 Napoleonic autographs and all but one are relatively low value.....you can actually get them for less than a mid-value comic book or baseball card on eBay. The forgers don't seem to have clued into Napoleon yet given plentiful supply and low cost.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Colin

 

[Colin_Fraser]

I toook these SBS shots with my phone and just transferred them - from inception to completion of the face (later adjusted). The first few pix show the planes of the face cut with a #11 blade. I sculpt on a bathroom tile. The later smoother shots show the effects of adding additional material and sculpting/blending it with a brush wet with sculpey dilutant.

Colin

 

[Chris Mortimer]

Thanks for the pics and how to. Im loving it and need all the help I can get!

Keep it up mate.

 

[Colin_Fraser]

I shaved off all his collar lace and resculpted it. Got some interesting looks while cutting off the old lace on my bus ride to work yesterday too. Here is the resculpted lace based on the reenactor uniform shown - marechal petite tenue.





I also did an SBS shot that shows how the oak leaves are done - look at this picture from right to left. Furthest right you see pieces of sculpey cut from a roll and shaped into an oval; moving left you see them flattened with the side of a #11 blace; top left you see some texture pressed in with a clay shaper; bottom left you see the oak leaf edging indicated by adding notches in the side of the leaves with a small ball ended embossing tool. Not shown is the central vent of the leaf being added with a #11 blade.

Colin