Figure Sculpting Fundamentals
Course Intro
Supplies
Armatures for Sculpture
Capturing Gesture
References
Sculpture Techniques
Simplified Head, Ribcage, & Pelvis
Sculpting Mistakes
Abstraction
Mold Making
Texturing
Sculpting The Figure
Bonus Sculpting Demos
Sculpting Challenge
Get your sculpting hands ready to work on building secondary forms!
Newest
Margareta Winny
3mo
Hello Andrew, I think building the secondary form slowly really takes a lot of my time so I thought I'd take it slow and show progress in this comment section as I go!! Here's my progress so far. Really love the assignment so far, so glad I decided to take on this course!
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3mo
Hey I'm glad you've taken on the course as well and it's great to see your assignments! If I had to give a critique I might check the proportions as the legs feel a little short, the shoulders a little broad, and the arms a little long. Perhaps overlaying an image of your sculpture with an image of the pose in the early stages would help you capture those measurements more easily. Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing more!
@mvrek
9mo
Here is my second attemp. Before even starting modelling, i wanted to cast the figure, that is why i altered the pose a little to get rid of all the negativ space. This would make the mold making process easier, but it has cost quite some loosing of the original gesture. The next problem i did not forecast was the pose itself. Because the way she is standing and all the hair, i stuggled with the basic forms because almost all parts were somehow hidden beneath other parts in the reference pictures. While doing the hair, i lost patience and stopped holding to the reference. Originally, i wanted to finish the sculpture with the tertial forms (was it called that way?) and details, but i struggle with that in this scale aswell. The whole sculpture is about 36cm (~14,2 inches?). I still do not know if i want to cast this thing, because i am not super happy about how it turned out in the end. Maybe i will try to get de details refined (hair, face, hands, feet) and cast it, maybe i won't. Next one will be bigger size for sure.
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9mo
It is looking vary nice! I think if you were to take a tool (like a small metal spatula or a loop tool) and work on the texture by coming across the forms (so think of moving around the leg in the direction of a rubber band wrapped around the leg, arms, etc) I think that would help smooth and define the forms to get it to a place that you're more happy with. While you're doing this keep referring back to your references. It's a great pose and you've got a great start so I would try to finish it up just a little more and I bet you can get it to a place you are happy with and ready to make a mold of it. Nice job!
@mvrek
10mo
Seeing some slow improvement to the figures i posted few month ago. Must keep on modelling more often, I struggle with discipline for some time...
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10mo
Nicely done! I really like the gesture of this one. I might be working on a sculpture group to help keep students more engaged so look out for info on that as that might help you sculpt more often.
Jose Ardern
2yr
Took me a while to get back to this sculpture, but finally finished it, there are still some details I want to work on.
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2yr
This is looking really good! Very impressive. what size is this? The only critique I might have is to look for the gesture and flowing lines in the outline of parts of the body (like the legs) and also to try for subtlety and softness in the anatomy. But this is a really good looking sculpture so far so good job!
John Sumner
2yr
Build Up Sculpture #2 : Part 2
I took my time on this one, focusing on adding snakes of clay in flow with the anatomy to build the sculpture up more evenly and proportionally. The stability of the stand made more of a difference than what I thought it would.
Definitely improvement from the 1st build up sculpture, but still a long way from great.
I'm looking forward to the Bas Relief assignment and seeing how that helps.
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2yr
hey looking great! yes the stability definitely helps. Something I might try to implement is more softness and subtlety to the forms. Something that may help with that is running a tool or your finger over the forms (like the leg for example) against the direction of the forms. Think of wrapping around the cylinder of the leg. I'm really impressed how consistent you've been with posting! There will be a sculpture competition coming up (once the course is finished) So I hope you'll participate in that!
John Sumner
2yr
Build Up Sculpture : Part 2
Starting off, I was sculpting from a position of weakness because I didn't build the stand correctly. Total Brain fart. I used thick armature wire instead of threaded rod for the horizontal bar. This allowed my figure to sag. Yikes! To sorta solve this, I added the wood dowel. On the plus side, it kinda made the pose a little bit more dramatic.
I've also noticed that the pictures I'm taking don't always look like what I'm seeing with my eyes. Through the lens of the camera, my figure looks thicker and bulkier. Combination of Iphone lens AMD my sculpture being a bit to thick and saggy? Probably more human error than not.
Moving forward, I'm planning on sculpting a second piece for future lessons rather than continue to work on this one. More practice = better sculptures.
Any extra thoughts?
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2yr
Nice! great gesture! yes the camera angle can effect how it looks but it might be beneficial to just try sculpting a little thinner and remember to try to build the forms slowly by adding pieces of clay rather than scraping away the clay. This helps give it a more natural look. Keep it up!
Absolutely more practice=better sculptures!
Pete McG
3yr
I tried completing a sculpture. Feedback please. The model is OliviaP10
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2yr
wow great job! I really like this one. From some angles it looks like the shoulders might be a little wide and high making the torso long compared to the width of the hips. But this may be due to the camera angle. Overall really good!
Ellen Deilkås
3yr
Hi, here I have tried to build secondary forms on the simplified body. I have not worked on the face and head yet. I have not had access to modelling tools that I have at home. It has been a blessing to work with a self build armature.
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3yr
Really great!! And a great pose. If you need to build some tools check out the lesson on tools for sculpting. I’d say you can keep going and start to work on the anatomy. You might check the size of the rib cage compared to the hips. In women the hips tend to be wider and the rib cage smaller. Keep it up!
@jakeyboy123
3yr
Andrew, here is the build out result. Let me know your thoughts.
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3yr
Looking good! Try to simplify the forms into simple shapes like the arms into cylinders, you might also need to check the balance from some angles. It’s hard to tell sometimes from photos. Keep it up!
Pete McG
3yr
Hi Andrew, working on secondary forms.
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3yr
Hey this is looking good! I might just check the proportions. It’s hard to tell from photos but the length of the shoulder to the elbow might be a little long. Now you can start to slow down and observe the shapes of the silhouette from every angle making small adjustments. Don’t add too much clay too fast. Keep it up!
Maciek Komenza
3yr
hello Andrew.
please review the work from the last lesson. Thank you in advance!! Maciek
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3yr
Wow this is looking great! The only thing jumping out is that the legs might be too short compared to the length of the torso. This might mean that the groin needs to be moved up slightly. The forms are looking good so I think you can start to slow down and make smaller adjustments. Try for subtly in the forms. Keep it up! Amazing work!
kalinda Witchey
3yr
Hi Andrew, iv been attempting to sculpt this pose, I’m starting to struggle with it, do you have any advice on how I can improve what iv done so far? Thanks from Kalinda
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3yr
It looks like it might be getting too thick in some areas and that the secondary forms of the anatomy are stiffening the pose and overpowering the primary forms. I would consider taking a loop tool and removing some of the secondary forms as well as really focusing on the outline. For example from the back view there is a distinct transition between the lower back and the Latissimus dorsi muscle but that transition doesn’t appear to be as apparent on your sculpture. Really try to get the gesture and silhouette established before you start to develop the anatomy.
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About instructor
Proko sculpting instructor. Sculpting takes drawing to a whole new dimension.
