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Advise for a newbie Sculpture


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

I am working on a non SW related project,once I am done with this project I'll be starting on my SW costume. I ask hear because out of all the places I have looked, you guys seem to be the most knowledgeable on this subject.

 

The project I am working on is a replica of the King Miraz Armor from the Prince Caspian movie, including the helm and face mask. I have some real armor (SCA use) that is very close in some areas to what the Miraz armor looks like, so I could use my metal armor as a mold of sorts.

 

I'm just curious how I should go about this? I would still need to make somechanges to the armor (mostly detail work and some cosmetic changes). Also the Face mask is a big issue, it is has alot of facial details. I would like to make this so that it is LARP resistant, it won't take heavy hits, but it will get banged around.

 

I have read several tutorials on this site, just wondering where I should go with this.

 

Thanks in advance

Kaylum

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Hmmm.... that looks like it would be a fun project. I would have a blast sculpting that face design!

 

It all really depends on what materials you want to/are willing to use, how much time and money you want to invest, and what quality you want to get in the final results.

 

If I were to do this project, I would start with a head casting, which I would then sculpt the mask and helmet on top of. I would sculpt them both at the same time, so that they would fit perfectly together. I would then make a mold from the sculpture, and cast the armor in fiberglass so that it would be very durable and easily painted. I have a tendency to do things the slow and complicated way... but I love the results that I get when I'm willing to invest the time and money it takes to make a great costuming project!

 

 

Here's an example of a mask and "helmet" (we call it a bonnet :-D) being sculpted on a head casting, to show you what it's like. In this picture the mask is finished, and we had just begun sculpting the top area. The mask was molded in silicone and cast in fiberglass, while the bonnet piece was fiberglassed directly over the clay, since we didn't have to worry about detail work. (It's covered with black fabric.)

 

 

NihilusBonnetSculpting.jpg

 

Pam :-)

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Guest Anonymous

Well time I have, and I do want a quality piece when I am done. I have 2 questions right now

 

1) what type of Clay do you reccomned?

2) do you know of anything that I might be able to use to easily achieve the scaled look in this pic? I know I can carve it, but this pattern is repeated all over the armor and my hands would wither away if I tried to carve it all.

 

 

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=543044

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Well time I have, and I do want a quality piece when I am done. I have 2 questions right now

 

1) what type of Clay do you reccomned?

2) do you know of anything that I might be able to use to easily achieve the scaled look in this pic? I know I can carve it, but this pattern is repeated all over the armor and my hands would wither away if I tried to carve it all.

 

 

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=543044

 

 

Scott and I like to use Chavant clay. We use the reddish "medium" plasteline, which is sulphur free and won't inhibit the cure of silicone mold materials. It's a bit expensive, but you can use the same clay over and over again because it doesn't dry out.

 

Hmmm.... for the scales, my suggestion would be to make one piece and then make a mold of that. There are two options. You can make a stamp to press the design into many pieces of clay as you are sculpting... or if all of the pieces are the same shape, then you can just cast multiple copies from the same mold.

 

When I made my Dathomirian costume, I had some props that I wanted to look like they were made from leather scales... so, here's what I did: First, I melted some sculpting wax and poured it out on a tray, and then I let it cool so I had a wide thin piece of wax. I used the lid from something (a lipstick tube, I think) to cut out lots of little round pieces of wax. Then, starting at the bottom of my prop form, I pressed the wax circles onto it, overlapping each layer and creating an even pattern. The wax circles stuck to the form well just from the heat of my fingers, and before long I had a "scale covered" form. I used a blow dryer to gently warm the scales, which helped them lay flat and smoothed away any rough edges or fingerprints. Once the wax had cooled again, I made a mold and then cast the scales in it. Aside from some air bubbles in the mold because I was in a hurry and got sloppy, the pieces came out really well!

 

Pam :-)

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