Ursa Warrior - First sculpt

[Bruno Cardoso]

Hello everyone, this is my very first "scultpture".
I'm trying to learn as I go, watching videos and reading forums while doing it, cause I think this is the fastest way to learn it!

I'm posting here to request feedback, as I've seen lots of great sculpts and in each post a great atmosphere of tutoring and polite honesty.

So here it goes. Ursa Warrior is a character from the Valve's Dota 2 game. This is what I've "accomplished" in 2 weeks of work.

You can notice that, before sculpting the helmet, I removed the tilt on the head. However I'm not sure I liked this way... I think it lost some of the ferocity of the movement. I want it to be really dynamic, and with him facing straight ahead, like it is now, It looks really static. What do you think? I also thought on lift its nose a little, so the teeths would be pointing forward and not down/forward as it is now.

Another thing that I'm strugling to accomplish, is a smoothness. What do you guys use? I just bought a mini-torch that I think it will help me to smooth things.

 

[housecarl]

Looking good.
Carl.

 

[swralph]

looks good to me though I could not even sculpt to save my life

 

[garyhiggins]

Hi Bruno, if this is your first sculpt, it is looking good! Very dynamic and really agressive, well done! Also, it has a great face.
Something you need to realise is that there is no fast way to learn, the only way is by experience. So look at all the videos, read all the blogs ask questions and don't be in too much of a hurry.
what material are you using and what do you intend doing with your figures?
Best wishes Gary.

 

[Bruno Cardoso]

Hi Bruno, if this is your first sculpt, it is looking good! Very dynamic and really agressive, well done! Also, it has a great face.
Something you need to realise is that there is no fast way to learn, the only way is by experience. So look at all the videos, read all the blogs ask questions and don't be in too much of a hurry.
what material are you using and what do you intend doing with your figures?
Best wishes Gary.

Hi Gary! Thank you for your insights!
I'm using Dim Clay Firm, a clay from Brazil.
What I would like to do is to cast it, and then paint.
If I'm Ok with the result, i'll see if anyone would like to buy. But I would be pretty happy just to have a piece that I've done it myself

Right now I'm having a hard time to do a fur texture on his body =\. Definitely not liking it.

 

[housecarl]

Loads of fur sculpting on Youtube Bruno.
Carl.

 

[garyhiggins]

Hello Bruno, first if you want to cast your sculptures, you will need to work out at the planning stage how to separate the various parts of the figure out , so that you make your moulds with the minimum amount of undercuts. The fewer & smaller the undercut the less likely the mould is to tear & the more casts you will get out of it.There are a lot of different moulding rubbers with different properties. For casting white metal, the rubber is generally firmer but with lower tear strength, for casting resin, the rubber is softer but more flexible. I would guess that you would want to cast in resin, in which case there are three main types for casting, polyester, slow smelly but gentle on your moulds, polyeurathene, very fast low odour but after a number of casts will fry the surface of your moulds, then there is epoxy, which I have never used and know nothing about. A good site to visit for sculpting &casting materials is www.tiranti.co.uk .
My background is in white metal military miniatures, you might get different ideas from people into large scale garage kits. It's worth trying.
Best wishes Gary.

 

[garyhiggins]

Hi Bruno, I hope I haven't put you off by pointing out some things to think about, but it's easy to get carried away without knowing where you're going.
Best wishes Gary.

 

[Bruno Cardoso]

Hi Bruno, I hope I haven't put you off by pointing out some things to think about, but it's easy to get carried away without knowing where you're going.
Best wishes Gary.

In no way Garry! I took your advices to the heart.

Posting some updates of the fur texture:

Tried a couple of different approaches. I wanted the fur to be really short on arms and the rest of the body (which I didnt complete yet), and very long on the upper part of the back.

 

[garyhiggins]

Hi Bruno, I am glad you weren't put off. I like the way you are doing fur, and I see you have separated the head from the body, you will find the smaller areas much easier to work on.
One thing you do need to do is devise a firm stand so you can work on your figure without holding it, thatway you'll be able to work all round the figure without damagine what you've already done.
Happy New Year , Gary.

 

[Bruno Cardoso]

Hi Bruno, I am glad you weren't put off. I like the way you are doing fur, and I see you have separated the head from the body, you will find the smaller areas much easier to work on.
One thing you do need to do is devise a firm stand so you can work on your figure without holding it, thatway you'll be able to work all round the figure without damagine what you've already done.
Happy New Year , Gary.

Happy new year my friend!
Im very drunk right now but yeah, thats the only thing that I regret not doing earlier! Create a stand so I would not need to hold it. I'm feeling very restrained when workingon some areas that are difficult to get a good grip to hold the figure.

HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FRIEND!

 

[garyhiggins]

Hi Brruno,how's it going? What are you doing about a stand?
Best wishes Gary.

 

[Bruno Cardoso]

I was thinking where I could find something to be used as a stand exactly when you posted .
So I went right after my job to look for it and ended up buying a piece of plywood (I think thats how you guys call it there).

I would like to do some fine details to the head now, and give back that little tilt it had initially. So I've separated it from the body.

I've been reading/wachting a lot about mold making, and I think I'm very close to completion by now (I guess... being a perfectionist you can never now when you will be satisfied with your work hehe))

 

[garyhiggins]

Hi Bruno, if you value your sanity, do not ever let yourself become a perfectionist! you'll never be happy with anything you do and that just leads to disappointment!
I like your stand. I'll bet you feel more confident modelling your figure now you have something firm to support it.
If you're thinking about moulds, you'll need to work out permanent separations so that the parts slot together easily and acurately.Your prime concern must be to do your separations so that your parts come out of the moulds easily without forcing them. For example, the figure on my avatar is cast in 12 pieces, the head, the pipe, the collar,the bow tie, the body. the legs, the right arm, the left arm, the staff (bottom half), the staff(top half), the lantern, and the base.The large parts are in resin, and the more delicate parts are in metal. A good rule of thumb with mould making is anything that looks like it might tear your mould, put in a separate insert. It means more parts to your mould, but that's better than getting a tear in the mould on the first cast! I know it sounds very complex, but it does need to be thought through.
Best wishes, Gary.