Sculpting Materials

Sculpting Materials:

Sculpting is something that I have been doing since I was a child; so I have had a long journey finding out what is good and what is not.

From finding out what tools work for me, and what tools don't.

In order to sculpt our animals, we need to learn what tools we need to use. Now I know some of you are just starting out, and that there are some, who are more experienced.

We will all be at different levels, and we never stop learning.

So Lets get going....

Modelling Mediums in Sculpting Materials

Now I sculpt in three main mediums. And these are what I will be covering in this site. I sculpt in: Clay, Wax and Plasticine.

So these sculptors tools will consist of these mediums that I am using here. And I will explain how each one plays a different role in what you decide to sculpt.

Clays

• Self Hardening Clays

• Non-Hardening Clays

Waxes

• Soft Wax

• Hard Wax

• Plastinas

• Plasticine

• Calipers

  We shall also be looking at the different Sculpting Materials that you will need, and believe me... there are many of them.

  What you need to decide is what sort of sculpting materials you want to buy, and what you don't. Because you can mix and match tools to what ever medium you are going to sculpt with.

   

  • Loop End Tools

  • Steel Tools -Wax Tools

  • Wooden Tools

  • Clay Shapers

  • Plastic Tools

  • Kemper Wood and Ribbon Tools

  Armatures

  Sculpture tools like armatures are wire...... I had a lovely time with learning the tricks of the trade with these.

  Needless to say when I was a child. I just used clay with no armature. And you could imagine what trouble I had with my figurines trying to keep them together and making my subjects legs thick enough to keep the sculptures together.

  More less trying to get them to stand up.

  

  An interesting enough story, but at least I found out, through trial end error.

  Telling you my adventures, will at least; if not give you a bit of a giggle, will show you an individuals learning process.

  But also show you how; as an emerging child sculptor I learnt what worked for me.

  • Head Armatures

  • Head-Bust

  • Figure

  • Animal

   

  Modelling Stands

  There are enough modelling stands out there, so which to you choose. Well that depends what sort of space you have. I started on the kitchen table. But there are a whole lot of other ways you can choose to go with. Depending on what's right you you of course.

   

  • Turn Table Modeling Stand

  • Fixed Modeling Stand

  • Table Modeling Stand

   

  Mould Making And Casting

  Now,  I learnt the ways of this complex procedure to the stage where I started casting my own sculptures. I learnt from books, and I will teach you how to tackle this for yourself.

  Though, if you don't want to cast your own work. It's a good idea to drop in here and at least know how the whole process works.

  Because when you sculpt your own piece of work,  you will learn that the casting process can become cheaper for you, when you take your finished work to a foundry.

   Just by knowing the casting techniques it will make it less complex for the foundry worker.

   

  • Plaster Casts

  • Cold Casts

  • Lost Wax Process

  • Relief Casts

   

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My biggest frustration was when I went into an art shop I always found that they did not cater very well for the sculptor. You could find some of the basic sculpting materials. Though I always left feeling that my medium was neglected.

And it was; and is still a frustration. It seemed the same what ever country I was in. And then I found this bit of information that I was quite amazed with. And I want to shall share this with you.

I knew that sculpture was fairly rare compared with other forms of art like painting and drawing. But I didn't know just how much.

Apparently sculpture constitutes only about 3% of the entire field of the art field.

All sculpture, the major categories being: ceramics, stone carving, clay modelling, wood carving.

I guess I can understand why materials are hard to come buy. Though there are some art shops that are completely devoted to sculpture. Hard to find, few and far between. Though when I am in these shops. I'm like a child in a candy shop.

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