The first thing I decided to work on were the teeth/tusks. It was important to bake them before I set them into the jaw line, since they would get mangled while sculpting the rest of the head. I also tried a new clay: gray-colored "Super Sculpy FIRM". It didn't work well for the teeth, but I made the helmet out of it. Not really happy with the way it feels, but I'll try using it again some other time.Below left, you can see the near-finished head. I added some "jaw-beard ponytails", and thought I was done. However, I had a bit of a problem with the next step. When I used paint-thinner to soften the details, I loaded the glazing brush with way too much. It melted most of the fur texture, so I had to go back and rework the whole thing. Caution when using that stuff...a little bit is all you need!
Here's the final version of the Boar's head. I've used copper colored "BB's" for the eyes. I like how they look as is, so I'm not going to be painting them.
As with the head, I had used too much thinner on the whole body. So, I had to rework everything with more fur texture. Loading the brush with just a little thinner worked fine when glazing the second time around...it softened the surface just enough.
The last little bit is the attachment of the battle hammer. I drilled a couple of small holes into the handle. Then I wrapped thin wire onto the heavy gauge wire armature that was left at the end of the wrists. Originally I was going to sculpt each of the "hoof hands" completely out of epoxy putty. But once I had formed the core out of putty, it was good and solid. I wasn't sure if it would bake well, with the outside made from Sculpy, but I decided to risk it. It baked just fine. Finally, I added a bit more strapping to the wrist guard on the left arm (with the chain links).
I debated whether to show the "big reveal" now, or later. Looks like "later" won...sorry folks. Next post...the final pre-painted sculpture!
Pretty Awesome Warren. Stop with the suspense tactics... it's like watching a tv show with too many commercials!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure which readers to try to please...I've had some folks say my posts are too long already.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the sculpt. I'll post the other soon. I just wanted to give you time to go get a snack and run to the bathroom before the big finish.
Good call on the copper eyes, I think. They add a certain gleam.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of life and vigor in this guy! I also like the fact the shape of the hammer's head kind of echoes the shape of the boar's head, with the flat-ended snout flaring back to the ears and cheek fur.
Interesting observation on the hammer, Fitz...hadn't noticed that. Thanks for the compliments!
ReplyDelete-W