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Friday, September 27, 2013

Progress in clay

So upon closer inspection, I realized that while the sculpt may have been of chibi scale, it wasn't the SD scale. I cut off part of the bottom of the sculpt and then filled in the armature again. It is closer to the SD scale now. Scale creep is insidious!

The nice thing about clay is that you don't have to wait for anything to cure. You can just carry on working with it from start to finish, if you have that kind of time. I don't but it does mean I don't have to wait for putty to cure now so there is no need for multiple ongoing projects.

I am currently working on the helmet of the guy. It has been quite enjoyable so far. Oh yes, I bought some new tools for clay-shaping last week and have been trying them out. They turned out to be very nice to use so I will be talking about them in the next post.


 
 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Clay, Chibi and Chinese Chess!

So, I have started on a new project! This project is going to be a clearly defined one, with a set number of miniatures to produce. Now, the question is of course, why did I start a new sculpt while in the middle of another? Well, a few reasons, actually.

Firstly, epoxy putty takes time to cure, so most sculptors using the material have more than one sculpt going at a time.

Secondly, I have always liked the chibi style, especially the super deformed (SD) proportions. It was just that I couldn't think of what to sculpt. Then I thought about the games I would like to play with my children and realised that Xiang Qi or chinese chess would certainly be one of them.

Finally, I have heard how polymer clay is a wonderful material to wprk with and have always wanted to try it.

So this is a prime opportunity for me to work on this project. It will consist of 8 sculpts as there are 8 different types of pieces in chinese chess. It should have enough variety to keep me interested and enough work to exercise determination to finish. The reward at the end of it should be satisfying as I will get to play Xiang Qi with my kids eventually.

First thoughts on polymer clay...
It doesn't stick to armatures!?! I had to superglue a thin layer of clay to the armature before starting work on it. But clay blends into itself well and once the initial layer of clay sticks to the armature, it has been a pleasure working with it.

It is a little different from working with epoxy putty, but the fundamentals of sculpting still apply. I find the greatest advantage clay offers is the infinite work time. Before baking, clay can be reworked and reworked. This helps when attempting to create symmetry without adding more material, which tends to happen for putty. Suffice to say, I am quitr happy playing with the new material.

So here are the humble beginnings:

More about it soon!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Details...

So I have come to the stage where details are added to the miniature and corrections are made where needed. This is the stage when the littlest blobs (smidgeons, literally) of putty are used and it can be a frustrating process. The idea of course, is to perservere. Hold that image of perfection in your head and do not allow for compromise. With this, you may be able to achieve 50% of what you had set out to do initially (more, if you have attained a higher level of mastery).

Over time and over many attempts, your ignorant hands will bend to your mind's indomitable will. And if you believe what scientists say, don't neglect your meals while exercising your willpower because hunger saps much of it away.

Even with knowledge of this, you can see that my willpower is still unable to master my stubborn, clumsy hands completely.



Speaking of blobs of putty, one tip for budding sculptors that I discovered to be rather important. The amount of putty you peel off from the main blob that you mixed has to be at least approximately the right size for that thing you are sculpting. Don't be afraid to scrape away more if even that tiny blob you took was too much. After all, what is a little wasted putty if your sculpt looks better for it?

Well, that is it for today. See ya next time.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Some Progress...

So here's how far along the sculpt is:


She is to be a 28mm near-future cop in a skin-tight suit and protective body armor.

The reason why I chose a skin tight suit is so that I get the chance to practise sculpting the female anatomy. This way, I don't have to resort to nudity. In any case, this is supposed to be a wargames piece and nudity and war seldom go together (at least my limited experience of soldiering tells me this. Feel free to correct me).

The feeling thus far has been good. I've been reminding myself to keep things small (in terms of volume of putty each time I sculpt) and have been keeping to it. There is this temptation always  to use too much putty.

The latest parts added are the back of the boots. I'm not so sure about them at the moment and have been using my imagination to sculpt what I want. I think I will Google some ladies' boots and redo them later instead. The more I look at it, the more I don't like it.

So another lesson I learnt in the process of sculpting is if something is sticking on that you don't like, that is dragging the whole thing down, cut it off and try again. Just like in life, if something is pulling you down, cut it out and try something else. In the words of Thomas Edison, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Sunday, September 15, 2013

The Best Part...

So if I were asked (not that anyone has, mind you), which part of the sculpting process I like best, I would have to say that it would be this stage of the sculpt.
At this point, it is all anticipation, all promise and all hope. The concept (either on paper, in a photo or in one's head) is perfect. It is probably the only time that I can feel that it is perfect. It is what I want to achieve.

Front! Couldn't tell, could'ya?
... and back...
 I'll save myself the sheer embarrassment of posting up the picture of the concept. That isn't the point I am making anyway.

The point that I am making is that the beginning of all things always look brightest and best. They feel fresh and we are filled with the vigor of hope. You will see how this feeling kinda gets replaced by other emotions. We'll get to that soon enough.

Back to my point: I think hope is one of the most important emotions in life. On an individual level, it gives one a purpose, a reason to go on, to look forward to something. I remember asking a friend why he was buying the lottery and he turned to me and said,"Well, I am buying hope." Silly as it sounded, it kind of resonated with me. Not in the way that made me want to buy the lottery but in the way got me thinking about life, the universe and all that.

On a societal level, it brings out a willingness to cooperate, to keep things going, to preserve things so that we and our children can have a future that is better if not as good as the present. 

And so, hope...

Moving on, I can't for the life of me remember who said it but someone said that it is not how we start that matters but how we finish. And from the life experiences I had, perhaps I could add that the true measure of a man is also seen in what he decides to do when he's wading knee-deep in s***. That's soot to you young uns out there.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll be pushing putty again soon...

Monday, September 9, 2013

In the beginning...

So after all these years pottering around with miniature models and their associated games, I have decided to start a blog. 'Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear...' one might think. I have thus far been rather resistant to starting a blog for it has just seemed to be so much of the self-aggrandisation (my nice way of putting it) that is the hallmark of the Age of the Social Networking.

So why a blog, and why now?

Well, I want to keep a diary of sorts. Now that the twin phoenixes of Facebook and Twitter have arisen from the ashes of the blogosphere, and now that I have examined my motives for keeeping a blog, I feel that it is a good time for me to start one. Mixed in with the posts of my efforts in the world of miniature models will be some of my thoughts about the world around me. Why? Well, it is perhaps a vain hope, but one day, if my children ever wonder what went on in their old man's mind, they can find something here worth reading.

I don't always have something insightful to say and when sometimes I feel like I do, it turns out I don't. And even if I did, I may not always want it out there. However, if this blog was merely about my thoughts, it would look quite sad and threadbare. So I felt it to be a good idea to combine a hobby of mine to fill in the spaces in between.

And so here I am, off on a journey like that famous hobbit. I may not change the fate of Middle Earth and I probably do not want to but for whatever it is worth, here is my blog...