Friday, December 23, 2011

Sculpting a horse...WIP


Hello dear friends~*grin*
I was not planning to do this post today but my kind husband took the children out for the day and I end up with too much free time in my hands, believe me or not!=)
well.... this is not a tutorial but I do want to share some things that i have learned through my own trials in sculpting animals,, specially large ones.
I am showing you mostly one horse but have been making two. This is a long process and when I am done, I don't feel like making another large animal for while. It gets to me in a weird way , I think.*grin*
I have made only few horses and few ponies so I don't have a lot experience but the idea behind any sculpting animal is mostly the same , just the anatomy and the level of difficulty is increased sometimes due to different reasons.


To get to his point I spent many hours preparing the clay, creating an armature in which consist of aluminum foil as a core of the horse's belly and a double twisted wire for the limbs. If one don't use the above will have problems. The final baked clay would be too heavy for the thin legs to stand firm and secure, for ex.





I have sculpted horses and baked as I go. For some ways is good because one can work with a hard surface and continue adding more clay and sculpting but in another way is not that great because one can not make changes and miss the over all finished look. So for this time I am not prior baking but rather sculpting the entire animal before iibake it.



Some times I start the head first but this time I did the body then sculpted the head...


Added the head ....

need to continue smooth and shaping the horse...
Now you can see that his face is getting the right shape... love it...grin... and I must say this ; * Nita, I was thinking of you when I was sculpting this horse...can't you tell why?*


As you can see ... he is ready for baking.... I needed to add support because although the armature is strong enough i don't trust the whole baking ordeal....
view from the back.... it is looking good,grin!
here he is baked and you can have a peek of my second horse too... both horses have apoxie sculpt on their legs... I love that stuff and use often with polymer clay. It strenghs the sculpture like nothing else. I would hate to have a animal broke ...
eyes... the eyes... the "life" of the animal, no?*grin*
For these horses I decided to paint with oil paints and then create a "glass- lens" afterwards ..
You can see a little close up for the second horse here... i ran upt white clay and had to mixed with flesh... that is 'why' the horse has a blended color...grin

Merry Christmas to you!!! I will post pictures of both horses when they are done!!

Now tell me... do you like me to show you my process or you like more just to see the final animals ?*smiles*

12 comments:

cockerina said...

I really like it! I think that it is very similar to reality, your work is really great:)
I love horses, more than any other animal, in scale 1:1!
Unfortunately I do not know the polymer sculpting, but I find it interesting to see the various processes, so I appreciate your pictures "during construction". I am curious to see the horse over, and how, you realize his hair.
I would like to have a translator on your blog, so I can better understand what you write, thank you!
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
xxx Caterina

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

YIIIIIIPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I AM EXCITED HERE!!! Oh Tita, YOU ARE RIGHT, you know how I feel about WHITE HORSES! I am sitting here, examining how you do this?????? I tried sculpting a doll once and I gave up that very day! I do better in paper mâché. BUT LOOK at the body??? And then the head? That is not an easy shape to even draw! Oh Tita, you have made my Christmas Eve eve....I have my lovely horse that Ruben purchased last year and I love him so. Everything about him is so perfect, and I am so blessed to have several of your creations with me. Thank you my dear soul, for coming today. YOU SAW ME WHEN I WAS 7 years old with my mum???? Precious days...

LOVE YOU DEAR SISTER! HAPPY ALMOST CHRISTMAS! Nita

Ascension said...

Patricia muchisimas gracias por las explicaciones, pero hay que ser una artista para hacer esa obra de arte.
Se ve tan real que dan ganas de darle una zanahoria jeje
Te deseo que pases unas Felices Fiestas en compañia de todos tus seres queridos.
Muchos besitos

Woolytales Miniatures said...

@ caterina,my translator in located on the right side bar=)

Bonnie said...

Hi Patricia, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

Much love, Bonnie

Angelsdoor * Penny said...

Exquisite!
Merry Christmas dear Pat... May God bless you this night.. Love to you and the family

Penny

cockerina said...

thanks very much for the translator! This is a very useful Christmas present .. ha ha!
kisses, and Merry Christmas again!
xxx Caterina

miniaturista said...

Un caballo pefecto, es una animal noble y elegante.
Felices Fiestas
Un abrazo
Maite

Morena Ciambra Dreamartdolls said...

AMAZING!!!! Hugs, Morena

Daydreamer said...

Patricia, These Horses are SOOO Gorgeous! You are Amazing! I LOVE them!!! Someday I hope to try to sculpt animals... and learn how to do the Fur..... You make WONDERFUL sculptures! I LOVE every one!

FabShabbyRoses said...

Your work is absolutely amazing! I love to see the process, it shows just how many hours and hours go into one of these beautiful pieces. So much work and so much love of what you do! Thank you so very much for sharing!

Unknown said...

I came across your miniatures while searching ebay and they are really well done, look forward to seeing more!