What Would Members Benefit From

[quang]

As a proponent of the 'you learn it by doing it' school, I've always had my doubt about how an s-b-s – no matter how good it is – could induce a novice to START sculpting.

On the contrary, an excellent s-b-s (good sculptor, clear pics and even with real time video as Steven suggests) would provide an excellent entertainment indeed but would also defeat its own purpose by leaving the budding sculptor 'awestruck' and 'dumbfounded' but also depressed at the thought of what lies ahead.

One of the great pitfalls of s-b-s is that in order to keep the audience captivated (and awake :lol, the whole process has to be heavily edited because things must go quickly and smoothly. Time is compressed ('actually it took much longer') and whole episodes left out.

You'll never see the false starts, the embarrassing mistakes, the multiple attempts to correct them, the cursing AND the bleeding fingers! And that's what's happening during 80% of the sculpting time, in my case anyway.

As a learning tool, we had something in the early days of the Planet that worked rather smoothly and very entertaining as well:

CREAFIGS SCULPTING CONTEST

In any case, I support Gary in his brave move and am expecting his s-b-s with anticipation, my Photoshop at the ready.

I also agree with Jason in sticking to one scale (perseverance is ONE of the ingredients) and Dani for the utmost importance of anatomy: proportions, volume AND pose.

Q.

 

[Roy]

Gary....well done for taking the time to put together this sbs. It sounds like it's going to be extremely comprehensive. And should be a useful tool for everyone thinking of sculpting or converting figures. Hopefully it will inspire many to actually have a shot at sculpting which (it has already been said) is a great aid to learning.
I'm really looking forward to it.

All the best.

Roy.

 

[Guy]

Thanks Gary. I have really enjoyed your vbench threads and sbs's and have ordered a few things to try to follow you as you go with my own attempt at sculpting. I have always been in awe at what you and Jason achieve and see the work you have done on pf as motivation. I find Quang's photoshop pointers most invaluable in making use of another's eyes and knowledge of this skill.

 

[garyjd]

Guys, I appreciate everyone's interest in the project, I just hope I can deliver something that will be of at least some help.

Quang, I totally agree that you learn by doing. It's my hope that this sbs may at the very least guide budding sculptors through the process or provide some sort of direction. The CREAFIGS CONTEST was great, though I never quite finished my piece, it was fun working on a group project. I look forward to your photoshop comments as they have always been a very valuable addition to a lot of other sculpting related threads.

Thanks again everyone.~Gary

 

[quang]

Originally posted by garyjd@Apr 15 2005, 08:20 AM
I look forward to your photoshop comments

Gary,

Perhaps it's just sheer egotism for I myself have LEARNED a lot about Photoshop when I did those 'Photoshop comments'.

So if my ramblings can be of some help to others, all the better.

Waiting for your first instalment,

Q.

 

[megroot]

Oke, i am all over this. Waiting for the signal to start.
But first, What should i buy. Tools, what putty etc.

Marc

 

[garyjd]

Quang, Photoshop is great. I've toyed with it a bit but still really know very little about it.

Marc, I'm not going to start for a while, but will list some suggestions for materials before the real work begins. I want to post the sbs in a logical manner instead of just posting loads information that confuses the reader.

I want to make sure I put together a clear plan describing the process. I'm sure it will be far from perfect and there may be a number of comments regarding the way I sculpt. That's fine, learning is what it's all about, so if there's something that does not look right or if there''s an easier or better way to do something, tell me. More later.~Gary

 

[megroot]

Thanks Gary,

I sit back, and painting some little friends that i have in my closet.
I' am every day on the planet so i see when you starting or post something.
Good luck with planning and scribing the proces. I wish i good help but don't know nothing about sculpting.
Maybe when SBS is done i can help :lol: :lol:

Marc.

 

[thegoodsgt]

Gary, what would help me better visualize the "movements" in sculpting a figure is a more discreet breakdown of the steps used to apply putty to, for example, a leg, remove the excess putty (or do you always apply precisely what you need?), smooth it to the general shape and contours, and then press is individual folds, creases, etc.

I find that most s-b-s show huge leaps from one stage to another, but the real magic is how you're able to move and massage putty in small amounts and in small areas.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[RobH]

Personally, I've learnt more by asking very specific questions, and then just trying things. Steven, in his questions, actually described the general process perfectly! (see Joe Hudson's post on his Rev War Drummer)

I really enjoy seeing SBS's, and always learn something, but often get most from seeing a completed sculpt in all it's uncast glory, showing different puttys etc. Taesung's pics of his in-progress OIF tankers were most educational (and the pics have now gone too - darn - wish I'd saved them!). His pics made me get my knife out and start carving and defining folds in my Normandy GI.

It's clear no two sculptors work exactly the same way, and the decision to make something one way seems to but made at the time of making it.

There's no clear right or wrong regarding putties either. I'm currently struggling to sculpt something exclusively in Duro/Kneadatite/Greenstuff. I'm getting there but I end up using such tiny amounts of putty (3 projects at once and I still have loads of the stuff going to waste!!)

I look forward to seeing what you produce, Gary. Best of luck.

Rob

PS Photoshop rocks! Quang has found a good way of describing anatomical problems in sculpts visually. and as said, practice, practice, practice.

 

[garyjd]

Originally posted by thegoodsgt@Apr 15 2005, 10:01 AM
Gary, what would help me better visualize the "movements" in sculpting a figure is a more discreet breakdown of the steps used to apply putty to, for example, a leg, remove the excess putty (or do you always apply precisely what you need?), smooth it to the general shape and contours, and then press is individual folds, creases, etc.

Steven, This is exactly what I intend on doing for the sbs. The only reason my sbs's up to this point have been of the "leaps and bounds" type is because I did not want the sculpting of one figure to go on for 30+ pages. Now when I do a sleeve or pantleg I will only cover the sculpting of one in detail, unless one is bent or in a much different position than the other.~Gary

 

[Dan Morton]

Great idea, Gary! I look forward to seeing it happen!!!

all the best,
Dan

 

[Anders Heintz]

Great news Gary!

Im looking forward to this with great enthusiasm!

I do have a suggestiong though, you said that you don't want a 30 page thread going, so how about we put your SBS in a 'locked' thread, with another thread with respones where people can ask questions and post photoshop stuff etc etc. That way we would all be able to easily access it without much distractions.

 

[garyjd]

Anders, what I meant was the reason I did not do this on my vBench is that i did not want a single figure project to run foir several pages beacause I documrnted every single step of the sculpting. I like the idea of a locked thread. it would maybe make it flow easier. Another section to comment or ask questions as this is an ongomnig learning process for myself as well. Any other thoughts on Ander's suggestions?~Gary

 

[RobH]

Anders suggestion seems very sensible and logical! Probably the way to go. Could easily become an article in time too

Rob

 

[Einion]

If I could have I would've voted for two options - basic anatomy and creating an armature (in that order) - as these are the areas that would prove the most valuable for beginners; for myself it would have been footwear and feet but that's another story!

Basic drapery I consider simple because I have an artistic background, but that's the topic of next importance to the average modeller I think because most of our subjects will be clothed and it needs to be observed and recreated accurately for a believable effect. It is all too common to see this done generically or by rote, ruining an otherwise worthwhile figure. The extremities, particularly heads, are very important if one wants to be able to fully scratchbuild eventually but with the availability of spare heads in many of the popular scales it's less vital to the average modeller.

Originally posted by quang+Apr 15 2005, 08:30 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (quang @ Apr 15 2005, 08:30 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>As a proponent of the 'you learn it by doing it' school...[/b]

There's a lot of truth in this, although one can get a lot of inspiration from studying the work of others, especially seeing their working routine in a SBS, as Rob says no two sculptors work alike so it's not until you actually try it yourself that you can really get a true appreciation of what's involved. Bottom line is the Nike ethos - just do it!

I do think though that by de-mystifying the process, as Bill Horan's articles and subsequent book did for scratchbuilding/heavy conversion in 1/32 scale, it can provide the necessary springboard for the aspiring sculptor to begin work; it certainly was most directly responsible for myself and a number of friends.

<!--QuoteBegin-quang@Apr 15 2005, 08:30 AM
You'll never see the false starts, the embarrassing mistakes, the multiple attempts to correct them...[/quote]
Oh thank goodness I'm not the only one!

Einion

 

[quang]

Anders's suggestion of locking the 'main' s-b-s thread and opening new ones for discussions/comments is really a good idea.

If it was a book, the s-b-s would be the main text with the peripheral threads acting as annexes.

I can already feel the good vibes coming in. Let's roll! :lol:

Q.

 

[garyjd]

Guys, I'm going to start putting the first installment together this week. This is what will be covered, mind you they are all subject to change and may not all be done in this order.

Proportions Very important part unless you're sculpting cartoons. This makes or breaks a figure, no matter how nice the clothing and other parts turn out.

Armature and posing The figure in it's most basic form that the rest will be built over.

Head The fun part.

Feet This will cover feet with footware (a side sbs may be done showing how a bare foot is sculpted).

Filling out the armature this covers roughing in the musculature and preparing it for clothing.

Hands This may be one of the last or last part covered.

Clothing and drapery effects Concentrating on folds and how they affect different materials.

Headgear Self explanatory.

Equipment This will not get too in depth as a separate sbs can be done on this subject alone.

Finish work This will cover cleaning up your sculpture and getting it ready for painting.


If there's anything I may have missed, and I probably did, go ahead and post something. I will contact the Pf staff to help me set the whole thing up.~Gary

 

[Pete Wenman]

Gary Hi

Looking forward to this.

I think you should give up work and all social activitates just so you can concentrate on this. Nothing must stop you

Pete

 

[pgarri27]

I am looking forward to this SBS. I intend to follow along and try to copy your work, and as mentioned earlier by another poster, wonder what materials will be needed. Thank you for taking the time to show us how you sculpt.

As another poster said, he learns better from a video. This falls in line with watching someone actually doing the task. At our club meetings, when we are fortunate enough to have someone demonstrate a technique, more can be learned from watching than listening to a SBS discussion. It would be nice if someone in our hobby did make 'how to' videos.

Pete