Sculpting 1/35 figures...

[T50]

Hello gents

It's been awhile I posted any in-progress shots online.
I'm sure this type of in-progress pics don't really illustrate
exactly "how I do what." But at least, it shows "when I do what."

I will be updating the thread with a few progress pics every night.
So please drop in often and feel free to comment.

Here are a couple of pics. One is WW2 Italian AFV crew,
and the other is WW2 German fallschirmjäger.


Let's cut to the chase!

The poses... ah, yes. The poses! My goal is not to come up
with the most exciting action poses or poses that you have never
seen in miniatures previously.
What I am looking for in figure sculpting is to make a figure
look "natural"... so natural that it looks almost real at a quick
glance. That's what attracts me to figure sculpting, hence the
infamous "Taesung's pointing figures."

 

[garyjd]

Taesung, Very nice. I tend to always drift towards more relaxed poses myslef. What material are you using? Magicsculpt? Looking forward to future progress. ~Gary

 

[BobLff257]

Masterfull work, a craftsman displaying his art. I look forward to your future postings.

Rob

 

[Einion]

Great to see another SBS from you Taesung

I think it would be of interest to see the tools you use primarily, to do the work we're seeing, so any chance of a shot of your main ones? People who are just getting into sculpting will benefit from seeing what can be done using specific tools and tool combos.

Einion

 

[John Bowery]

Taesung,
Thanks for taking the time to post. Very interesting.
Cheers,
John

 

[Joe Hudson]

Taesung,

Really nice, thanks for the sbs. Can you post/picture of what type of tools you use?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[stu]

Taesung,

Its great to see your figures progress to the final act of excellence. Many thanks for sharing and it will be like being at school watching a master at work.

cheers

stuart

 

[theBaron]

Very nice, Taesung, thanks for the pics!

I'm with the others, do you also have shots in-progress, such as applying the modeling medim to an armature, and of your tools?

I'm learning to sculpt, too, so I'm eager to see as much as I can of how others do it.

Prost!
Brad

 

[gothicgeek]

Thanks for the SBS as has been said in earlier posts!

FYI i really like the " infamous "Taesung's pointing figures." " !!

Mark

 

[T50]

Part 2

Thanks for the comments, guys!

As you can see in the pics, now the figures are more
identifiable. I tried to make different types of folds and
wrinkles: leather, thin HBT, thick wool, etc.

Of course, all these details won't mean much if the armatures
are out of whack. In my humble opinion, no fine details can
fix or cover up a poor armature. It's like building a house with
crooked foundation. So please your take time to get the armature
right.

Also, I'm not a biggest fan of anatomy drawings with measurements.
I've seen too many sculptors were misled by them and refused to
trust their eyes.

Here are my tools. I made them myself except some. Nothing special...
For me, the long, slender, flexible plastic handle is the most important point.
I'm sure no one works their hands exactly the same. I hold my
tools as lightly as possible and as far from the sharp tip as possible.
This way, I can adjust the pressure of the tip on the putty surface.
If I hold it like a pencil, I can not work with finesse.


When I get tired of things, I grab this tool...

 

[Andreas W.]

oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaah HIGHSCORE

thats what Ive been waiting for soooo long


thank you very much TS!!!


last tool is the coolest


Andreas

 

[Panzer]

Hey that last tool is a Chick Magnet! not a sculpting tool!
Rock On!
Funny thing, I have a bunch of sculpting tool's turned on a lathe 15 years ago out of brass and shaped like Mike Goods/John Rosengrant (Tooth picks) they are awesome tools, I will photograph later.
Nice article, we have an Italian set of figures and Fallschirmjagers in the pipeline as well, great minds think alike! LOL.
Panzer

 

[Tarok]

Please, sir, I want some more...

 

[LAXMAN05]

Taesung
This is just excellent work and very helpful for the new sculptors out there. You give motivation to everyone. Have you found it easier to start your figure detail work from the ground up? Your work is clean, smooth and detailed. The mindset of creating a natural figure definatley reflects the work that you create and the figures you sell. Thank you for sharring your work. I agree if you do not have a good foundation your final product will not provide the outcome you want. Consistancy is key. I believe we are all looking forward to see your progress.

Chris, would be interesting to see whats in the pipeline, and the tools you created.

 

[T50]

Part 3

As promised, here are the new progress shots.

It is the way I make the hands... carving a block of
resin. I prefer the type of resin I use for Alpine figures
for this purpose. It's firm enough to work and soft
enough to carve and shave.

Cut a piece in a right size. Make sure you don't cut it too small.

Carefully cut some more into a hand shape.

Shave and carve. Just look at your hands when doing so.

Take your time. Make sure it looks like a real hand. (oh, really?)
Check the palm length, finger length, etc. Palm is bigger
than you might think!

Don't forget the bottom side!

Again, I don't use any measurements from any anatomy
drawings. I just put the hand against the figure and adjust
the size. Trust my eyes!

I understand it's kind of hard for many modelers to just carve
a hand out of a resin piece. For me, a good way to practice it
is to sketch out hands from different angles. You will have
better idea how your hands REALLY look like.

I found this carving method much easier when making hands
than molding it with wet putty. It's so frustrating to make the fingers
when putty is wet. Once putty is dried, I would still have to shave
out the details anyway.

... Have you found it easier to start your figure
detail work from the ground up?

Sorry, Derek. I am not sure if I understood what you meant...???

 

[Anders Heintz]

Excellent Taesung!! This could be the most exciting new thread on the internet for quite some time. Looking forward to the next installments!

 

[MikkoH]

Exellent Taesung, just exellent. Got couple of ides from your tools.

Sorry, Derek. I am not sure if I understood what you meant...???

I think he meant thet you start from feet and go to upper body after that. To me it is also natural way to go.

 

[Pekka]

That looks so easy, which it is not I have saved all bits of Alpine resin to try this technique some day as I also find sculpting fingers from soft putty very frustrating.
Thanks for showing;
Pekka N.

 

[BobLff257]

Awesome.

 

[Andreas W.]

exactly..