Sculpting belts and webbing on figures?

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Richard61

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
104
Location
Gainsborough. Lincolnshire. U.K
Hi everyone.
I'd like to ask the regular figure sculptors how best to sculpt belts, webbing or any other equipment harness onto a figure. Obviously any such item will dig into the clothing under it so is it better to sculpt the figure to near it's finished bulk then add the belts, straps etc and sculpt the clothing around them to show the effect of digging in?
The only other way I can think of is to sculpt the figure with it's clothing and then cut grooves to fit the straps into, touching up the clothing as required when done, adding folds and creases where needed. The problem I can see with this would be that clothing hangs differently when it's not all strapped up so would be unrealistic.
I realise that there may be a number of ways to do it and no "Correct" answer depending on the individual sculptor but any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Richard.
 
Hi Richard.
I think that the best method is to fix tha anatomy and then to add the belts, webbing, etc. After that you can sculpt the clothes. The webbing is something fixed and it is the clothin g what is affected by the webbing.
Hope it helps.

Diego
 
Cheers Diego, thanks a million for the advice and the quick response. :)
That was what I had first thought would be the best way for me but I'd thought about it for so long I'd confused myself (It doesn't take much, believe me) :wacky: ;)
I havn't tried a full sculpt as yet, up to now I've only converted stock figures so have had a certain amount of pre-cast detail to guide me but I know that doing the whole thing from scratch will be a much greater challenge although it's something I do intent to try. I've watched a few of the video guides which are a help, as are the SBS's on the site.
Thank's again for your help (y)

Richard.
 
Hi Richard.
As Diego and at first I sculpt belts, then sculpt clothes with folds. It is more convenient to adjust the visual tension and adhesion belts.
 
Hi Richard,
A bit of both really! I tend to rough out the whole thing, then home in on the belts and their effects on the clothing, adding bits and taking bits away, as needed.
Not much help, I know, but it works for me!
Steve
 
Thanks guys, it's a great help.
Steve. Your method is a help too to be honest. It confirms what I thought, that each sculptor will develope their own method..... I expect that given time and experience I'll have my own way too but as a novice I thought it wise to ask rather than blundering blindly ahead and getting no-where.

Richard.
 
Mostly I'm with the guys that do belts and webbing before clothing though, sometimes-usually dependant more on mood than utility-I'll press in the location of these things while sculpting clothing adding the belts and stuff later. What I most favor though is to do belts first to establish waist lines, then I sculpt up to the belt from the bottom, one leg at a time. I also like to get things like buckles out of the way at an early stage finding it easier to sculpt them without the bulk of clothing getting in the way and allowing for overhanging shirts that partially cover these things.

Ray
 
I don't do complete sculpts but I do a lot of mods and conversions. What I do is just rough in the lines where the belt or strap will be as a reference. I then form the folds and wrinkles based on that, and then press in an indentation where the belt or strap will be after I have the folds completed to my satisfaction but the putty is still soft. Then I go back and add the belt or strap once the clothing is cured and hard. That way I can get nice clean edges on the straps and not worry about effecting the detail around it.
 
I'm certainly no expert but what I've found that works best for me is much like Jason... Rough in the shirt or jacket and while the putty is still somewhat soft I'll press in the location of the belt/strap with a strip of foil cut to width. Then try to arrange the wrinkles and pulls in the material that would result from the weight of the strap or tightness of the belt.
I'm still figuring this out but it's the method that worked best for me and the one that I will probably continue to try to expand on in the future. It's how I approached the guitar strap on my Lemmy sculpt... Now I have to work on the effects around the strap in question ;).

I found this method by trying a few different ones on a rough piece until I found the one that's the most comfortable for me. Because there is no one "right" way to do anything but there is one that's best for you or for a specific situation.

Good luck... Keep trying

Colin
 
Hi Richard,
For myself, I'll sculpt the figure to full bulk (almost a nude), add the relevant belts/webbing and then sculpt the clothing around it. Like the others have already mentioned, it helps with the folds creation and "hang" of the clothing on the final figure sculpt. Hope this helps :LOL:.
Cheers !
Kenneth.
 


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