My first head sculpt

[bosko b]

Hi all,

This is the first step of a larger project I was planing to do for quite some time, but always put it off because it involves sculpting five figures of children. Heads being the main problem.
Thanks to all the sculpting sbs project here at pf I have finally decided to have a go at it.

For this project I used Fimo putty for the first time and was pleasantly surprised by its characteristics.

First step was to determine the characteristic of children's anatomy concentrating on the most obvious differences between children and adults. The pronounced difference is the size of the head compared to the body, a child's head it is also a bit rounder and shows less character than an ordinary adult head would.

So this is how I started, basic shape as shown in Gary Dombrowski's sbss (thanks for your effort Gary!)

 

[bosko b]

I starting detailing with the nose and mouth, still a little afraid of the eyes
I used a Dremel tool to make the hole for the mouth a little bigger and than sculpted the teeth

 

[bosko b]

Next I defined the mouth by adding the lips, Please note that the volume of the back of thehead is a lot bigger than it should be at this stage

 

[bosko b]

The start of the feared eyes, this part of the sculpt turned out not to be so scary after all

 

[bosko b]

upper eyelids

 

[bosko b]

Eyes finished

 

[bosko b]

an overall shot

 

[bosko b]

profile,
still to be added are the ears, hair and headgear. The torso is still a bit bulky for a child at this stage but that will be taken care of

 

[Dan Morton]

Nifty, Luka! Keep at it!

All the best,
Dan

 

[Ulrich]

Hi Luca

really good sbs. I am very interested in this, because I have a idea for a diorama, where I need to sculpt a child and I know how difficult it would be.

So I waiting to see more

Ulrich

 

[bosko b]

Thanks for your comments guys!

Ulrich I hope my work encourages you to realize your idea.

Here is a little progress

 

[Dan Morton]

Luka - Coming along nicely! Keep it up!

All the best,
Dan

 

[bosko b]

Hi everybody,

Here is the finished head, it has not been quite as hard as I expected
All comments are appreciated

 

[vergilius]

Looks very good until now

 

[MinasTirithGuard]

Very nice job, children's heads are notoriously hard to make, and you nailed it even on the first try!

 

[Sambaman]

Wonderful youthful look! Great effort for your fist attempt for sure!

Jay H.
OKC

 

[garyjd]

Luca, The head turned out well. In addition to getting the face right, be mindful of the armature/basic anatomy when you start the rest of the figure.~Gary

 

[bosko b]

Thank you very much for you comments gentlemen!
I am glad you like it so far.

Gary thank you for pointing out potential problems regarding the armature/basic anatomy. I do not have the sufficient experience on the matter so I tend to put too much material on the armature. I have carved off quite a lot since the last photos and imho it looks much better now.
I am still not sure if the head to body ratio is right. A child's head is supposed to be a bit larger than adults, compared to the rest of the body, but I have not been able to get the exact ratio for a 12 y.o..
Any help with this subject would be appreciated.


Here is some more progress on the figure, I have started the cotton sweatpants and the boot.
There is only one leg because it is a figure of a land mine victim.

As always all comments are appreciated!

Regards

Luka

 

[bosko b]

here is another one, the back shot is from an earlier stage

 

[garyjd]

Luka, I hope these help. If you cannot read all of the chart Email me and I will send a larger file.~Gary