Warm-ups 5/24

Here are the warm-ups and concepts i created this past week, all were approx. 1 hr concepts.

First up from last Friday 5/17 is an evil pumpkin concept.

Monday 5/20 started working out a concept for Trixie Treats. I started getting the basic structure down, but didn't nail it. Although it didn't turn out i learned more about her forms to apply to the next one.

Following are two Vampire concept characters i created based off my friends Ally and Brian. 

This sculpt from yesterday is a likeness study from Kristen Bell, also a base for my new Harley Quinn Piece.

A wolf piece i also started yesterday to try to visualize the kind of wolf i would like to go with my Red piece. 

These are my pieces from the week, Thanks for reading.

Purpose of a maquette

Why would you sculpt a maquette. For us sculptors a maquette or clay sketch is a 3 dimensional representation to guide us when we work on our full size piece. Working solely from a drawing can produce some issues during the progress of the piece. Some 2D artwork doesn't transfer as easily to 3 dimensions so this is where a maquette comes in handy to save time making a smaller piece.

Maquettes also have many of uses and are only limited to your imagination. They can help with concepts, character  expression, pose, structure, etc.

When i worked on my Monster Squad Gillman piece i created a maquette for all of those reasons listed above. I made a 1:3 sculpture to show fans what i was planning on creating. I also used it learn how i would build up the creature, the structure of the character, the expression i was going to use (i tried out a couple emotions), the pose, and how he would look in 3 dimensions making sure he was interesting from all angles.

Here is the clay sketch i did for the Gillman. I tilted the head and shoulders to produce 2 looks.

Here is the final piece.

Thanks for reading and i hope this helps fellow artists out there. Please feel free to comment below or contact me with questions or future topic requests.

Brian

Keeping a notepad ready

A small but important tip for today is something small, but will have a huge impact for everyone out there. Artists of all trades and mediums should be doing this one.

Keep a notepad or paper handy. Ideas come to us artists at all hours of the day and usually not at a time when we are ready for them. Think about when you have the best ideas, they come when your working, or driving, or in the shower, most likely when you are not ready for them. Most of these ideas will come in a split second and then disappear like the wind blowing past. If you are not ready to grab it as it comes you could lose it forever. What works for me is to keep a notepad and pen on me at all times when i'm out and i keep one within reach when i'm working. In the middle of sculpting or painting a piece is when my mind sparks out most of my ideas so i always have something within reach.

Digital media works as well such as a app on your tablet or phone, but i feel writing it down is so much faster and easier to deal with. Also helps when my hands are covered with clay so i don't get my phone dirty.

Here is a quick pic to share of the notes i had from last week during one of my warm-ups. A mix of ideas, things i had to get done as well as items i had to get. All this from 1 hr of warming up.

Hope this helps and inspires you to capture your ideas before they fly away.

Sketching in clay is a new blog i have created to express the importance of doing studies for sculpting. This blog will showcase ideas and thoughts about sculpting as well as demos on the entire process and tips along the way.

When a new sculpture is started most artists will sketch it out on paper and then jump into the finished piece. While this is a great method, i believe for me that having a 3D maquette has more benefits. A maquette is also a great tool for learning different techniques. Instead of starting a sculpture and thinking that you have to bring it to a final piece try focusing on certain aspects like structure or ears  or expression. I think doing quick studies like these will help you learn faster and you will gain a better understanding of anatomy and character.

I try to do 1 hr warm-ups every day, sometimes focusing on certain characteristics or likeness or just trying to think outside the box and seeing what happens. When you stop thinking about what you want to make and you just let your subconscious spill out what it wants to you can have some amazing creations. The best part is your spending 1 hr (or 10-30 min whatever you can fit in) to work on something you feel you need improvement or want to explore and you will come up with 1 of 2 things. Either a piece you like and you can spend more time finishing later, or a piece you don't like and now you have 1 less bad idea in your head and you learned something valuable while making it.

Here are a few sculpts i have done in the past.

This a maquette i did for my Monster Squad Gillman piece. I did this not only to work out the expression and gesture, but it also helped me with the block in. After doing this i had a better understanding of the character in 3 dimensions.

 Here is a sketch i did of Frankie Von doll for my monster dolls bust. I did this as a sketch that later turned into the final piece.

 Above is a random concept i created

 This is a likeness study i did of Charlene Choi.

This last one is a quick expression study, working out the subtle differences in moods.

Thank you for reading, please feel free to leave comments and ask questions.

Brian D