My first portrait bust

[MattMcK.]

Hello-
I spent a marathon day sculpting yesterday and made my first portrait bust. It's about 1/9th, but it was a bit of a guesstimate since I didn't have a firm reference model. the subject is my grandfather who was a doctor in the 8th Air Force in WWII. I know it's not nearly perfect, but it's my first shot. If I can get it closer to right and figure out the best way to make glasses, I may try casting it in resin to make some for my family. Please lmk what you all think!
Matt

 

[Mongo Mel]

Excellent effort.
And a great idea too.
What a nice tribute from you to him.
Only thing that looks like it doesn't quite match the photograph is the nose. The one you sculpted looks a little small or short to me.
Congratulations!
Craig

 

[Uruk-Hai]

YOU DID THAT ON ONE DAY????

Very good indeed and I think youve captured the likeness of the model as well.

Cheers

 

[Jacek Spychalski]

WOW ! Very nice work ,and great idea .

Congrats

Jacek

 

[Blind Pew]

You did that in a day?

If you took your time, Michaelangelo would be looking over his shoulder!

Great stuff!

 

[elvis]

good job, is very hard to copy a potrait!! bravo!! ciao from luca

 

[Piotr Czyz]

Great job for the first one. We are looking forward to see next one!
Regards,
Piotr

 

[MattMcK.]

Thanks guys! My Dad, who is the best critic of the likeness, says it is close, but not him yet, so I'll need to work some more.

Finding the right wire for the glasses is giving me a pain, and since my soldering skills are nonexistant, maybe I need to try an at-home photo etch...

On another, related note, has anyone done any business with Micromark? They sell an all in one resin casting kit that looks decent- has anyone used their stuff?
Matt

 

[Blind Pew]

Dear Matt, you'll get this question answer a bit better if you stivk it in as a seperate topicon it's own. And no, I've never heard of them as you ask.......

 

[Randy Myers]

Nice job Matt! I would only say that the neck looks a bit long, and the bulge of the cheeks too low. A model of a human skull is a good referance for getting the planes of the face right, and remember that the neck rises at a forward angle from the front of the shoulders, rather that straight up from the top.
I've used MicroMark's RTV rubber and resin, and it works tolerably well for large parts. It might be better to use the slower curing resin to try to avoid air bubbles.