Has anyone tried this?
The other day I was doing some bs team building exercises with some coworkers each one had to do something with some generic play-doh I ended up making a quite characteristic female torso just using my hands and a bic pen cap and I was extremely surprised by how intuitive the whole thing was,
Before this I had the idea that sculpting was a considerably different beast now I'm not saying that it must be easy but I can imagine it helping me to grasp form and perspective much faster and perhaps even making something decent stuff in the future.
Anyway, I'm planning to start with these:
http://www.amazon.com/Sculpt-Pro-Deluxe-Pottery-Sculpting/dp/B00CTTLZOA/
www.amazon.com/Monster-Clay-Premium-Grade-Modeling/dp/B008UZHP6Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454948522&sr=8-2&keywords=oil+based+clay
Is this a sound idea? (fwiw I plan to use the NMA videos to get started with.) If so would you recommend these items or any others?
Also, I'm quite confused about what kind of clay I should use (wax, water or oil based) and if I should buy something for finishing it,
>>2387604
Just use super sculpey for your first sculptures.
Also get some aluminium or steel wire for armatures.
Idk where you live, but a store like Michaels has cheap wooden bases/plaques for about a dollar.
Also get some screws/washers for attaching your armature to the base.
Tin/Aluminium foil is also good for bulking large masses to reduce clay usage and reduces weight.
Then, when you're done, you can bake them, paint them or even cast them if you so desire.
>http://www.amazon.com/Sculpey-Super-Sculpturing-Compound-Beige/dp/B0026C1T8C/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454951010&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=super+sculpet
>http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Richeson-Aluminum-Armature-16-Inch/dp/B00251G0FG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454951028&sr=8-1&keywords=armature+wire
>http://www.amazon.com/Paddle-Wire-Gauge-Ounces-Pkg-Bright/dp/B000YQGBXU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1454951042&sr=8-5&keywords=floral+wire
The floral wire is used for smaller things like fingers, and toes.
Screws and screwdrivers and washers you can pick up at your local hardware store.
That sculpting set looks good, but you really don't need that many tools. Sculpt with your hands for the majority of the scuplture, then detail or hard-to-reach areas with tools.
Start off decently sized (8 - 10 inches is pretty good) and make sure you have a good idea of what you're going to be making. Make a good turnaround of your creature/figure and base the armature off of that.
You just gotta dive into it. Make sure you have reference.
What do you guys think about 3D sculpting with ZBrush or Sculptris?
>>2387702
Would recommend learning zbrush to create your own references. I'm struggling to study cloth, especially dresses that are blowing in the wind. With digital sculpting, it helps me conceive the idea I want.
>>2387646
I have never tried sculpture before, but many people say it will improve your sense of form in your drawings, is that true?
>>2387646
>>2387685
Thanks anons.
My idea was to start with primitives, facial features studies and small plaques but now that you mention it I will also buy the wire.
I've heard about sculpey but in order to avoid hassle with the customs office I was trying to get a single package that contained more than a 1lb, also 1lb seems like will last very little. I know you can reuse it but maybe I will want to preserve some stuff.
I want to get as much as possible from Amazon because I live in a shithole where even good acrylic painting is hard to find, so would you suggest to buy some glaze too?
On a semi-related note, I sometimes make quick, small sculptures of whatever I'm painting to help understand how light hits it and how shadows are formed.
>>2387604
Thing about sculpting is it's three dimensions while drawing is two dimensions. I don't sculpt but I get the feeling while yes, it might help a little, since it's a different tool set used you might as well just practice perspective (and honestly that's probably going to be the most effective thing) and practice drawing shit in perspective. IF you need a guide drawabox has really helped me with perspective stuff.
>>2387851
You sound like you're too much of a beginner to have a valuable opinion on this.
>>2387836
Couldn't you buy two packages worth of sculpey and it'll be fine with customs?
For an 8in sculpture, assuming youve made an armature and bulked with foil, you'll be surprised how much you dont use.
>>2387729
Yes, one of my peers in my sculpting class brought something like that up.
When working in 3d, you have to constantly make sure that the form you're making looks correct from all angles. Just by fixing these mistakes and slowly building up forms, you start to ingrain how things look like from certain angles...thus allowing you to translate that form onto a 2d plane without the use of much reference.
Am I making sense?
>>2387843
This seems like another reason I would also like to give z brush a try....someday.
>>2387851
I'm doing some perspective stuff but not as much as I would like, thanks for the suggestion though
>>2388384
Thanks for the info, the thing is that these guys can be infuriating, last clash I had with them, they categorized my new wacom tablet as computer because it had the word "tablet" in the box. -_-
They also seem to charge more when I buy several small items instead of big few ones so this is something I want to avoid. However someone told me that terracota clay can be bought around here I will try and see if I can use that instead.
>>2387604
>making a quite characteristic female torso
why do you sound like such an insufferable cunt
>>2387604
If you want just to learn form better, don't get sculpey or any clay for that matter.
Buy cheap plasticine, not the type of play doh who dries out if you leave in the open, plasticine can be left alone without protection and it will hold for a long ass time (I had some stuff lasting for over a year before i destroyed them).
Wasting money with sculpting clay when you're starting out is a mistake lots of beginners do. You want something malleable, re-usable, cheap and something you can make mistakes with.
>How do you know?
I had sculpting classes, the type who teaches you to do lmaogaymerandd&dfigurines, we started with like 2 kg of plasticine do to giant sculptures (round animals, simplified body parts, etc) since another mistakes people do is making small sculptures when they're starting and not choosing a simplified subject.
Your first sculptures will suck, there's no reason to waste materials in a pile of turd.
Move to sculpey when you learned how to make armatures and how to use your drawings to check for their form, chances are if you made something with plasticine and you want it solidified, you can make it again, this time with a proper skeleton.
>>2388046
>Saying that doing X thing will help improve you more at X thing over doing Y thing.
>You sound like you're too much of a beginner durrrrrr
>>2388564
Thanks for the reality check, I will buy the tools and get some generic plastiline locally
Sculpting has actually helped me learn human anatomy better than drawing ever has.
I took a little course on ZBrush and worked on male/female anatomy sculpts for a month and I feel like I've learned and retained more knowledge than when I used to just draw it.
Not only that, but I can better visualize 3D space in my head and have a better grasp at foreshortening and perspective and shit.
