Working on my first figure (Greererpeton)

[Faelrin]

So this is my first real sculpt since I was in high school, which was last in 2008 or 2009. I'm using white Sculpey. Still got to finish the body and tail. Got the legs and head done. May need to do some finishing touches. I'm doing this entirely by hand as I'm not sure where my sculpting tools are.


@triceratops83 Tagging you because I mentioned this in your collection thread and figured you might want to see it. If I have any left over after this I'll work on Diadectes next.





I've been referencing this skeletal here. Not sure how up to date it is, but there doesn't seem to be much that comes up in an image search.

[Jose S.M.]

Great! I always enjoy seeing forum members original sculpts!

[Loon]

Looking good so far. This looks way better than any of my efforts.

[triceratops83]

I'm loving where this is going. How do you make the toes/fingers so fine? I'd really love to know how to manage such intricate detailing.

[Faelrin]

Thanks everyone. I just put it in the oven now. Just hope it manages. I'm worried about the hands and feet cracking off.

@triceratops83 Having my tiny hands helps for sure, I suppose lol. I rolled each digit up very delicately from a tiny speck sized ball, then attached them to a flat stub and rubbed them to make them seamless.

A little preview of it before its baked:

















One quick last pic after I put it in the oven:

[Faelrin]

Well it is finished now. Just need to get some paints for it at some point. Getting that body and tail to my liking was a pain. Not entirely sure if the limb orientation turned out accurate after attaching them, but honestly just getting them on was my concern, lol. Anyways I am super glad the limbs and tiny digits survived the baking. I rotated the tray it was on a couple of times and also had it on the middle rack. Needed an extra 5 mins after the 15 were done and sitting a bit. After those 5 were up I let it sit a few mins extra with the oven off for it to finish baking (if it needed it) and cooling.



I took some size comparison pics with the Safari Ltd Tyrannosaurus, Papo Allosaurus, and the only other two figures of stem-tetrapods in my collection, that being the Kaiyodo Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, with a bunch of my newly acquired Mattel figures as well.








I think tomorrow I will take some measurements. I'm curious as to what scale I ended up making this in.


? @Stolpergeist Thanks. I'm glad I was able to pull it off, just so it is a bit more lively, and maybe more realistic. I was worried the tail wouldn't survive in the oven with how thin it was. I'm not too familiar with using this stuff so this was a great experience.


Lastly I'm not entirely sure if the nostril position is right, or the shape is okay. Had to use the edge of my nail for creating those. It is something at least for a first attempt.

[Shonisaurus]

@Faelrin What material are you making that clay or clay greererpeton with? The sculpture prototype is great, I can't wait to see it finished.

[Faelrin]

@Faelrin What material are you making that clay or clay greererpeton with? The sculpture prototype is great, I can't wait to see it finished.

Thanks. I used white Sculpey clay. Sculpt is pretty much done now, but I would like to paint it up eventually (not sure when I'll get to that). It was left over that I had from last year when my cat Stinky passed and I took his paw prints in a small portion of the clay.


Maybe next week I will sculpt Diadectes, if not something else. I have a little bit left I could use anyways.

[triceratops83]

@triceratops83 Having my tiny hands helps for sure, I suppose lol. I rolled each digit up very delicately from a tiny speck sized ball, then attached them to a flat stub and rubbed them to make them seamless.

Yeah, I guess that's my problem, I got giant ass wookie hands. I can't wait to see the finished painted result!

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

Nice Work

I hope you decide to paint it one day. Painting it gives the Sculpt that lifelike appearance. Sometimes, 2 Colors can make a Difference.
I will finally Paint my Stuff too today. I procrastinate a lot. : D

[Faelrin]

So I got some measurements of it. It is roughly 8 and 3/4 inches long, about 2 inches wide, and about an inch tall at the torso and tail. Or about 22.23 cm long, 5.08 cm wide, and 2.54 cm tall. Using the information that Greerepton could get to be about 1.5 meters long, and using the scale calculator from here:
http://stores.dansdinosaurs.com/scale-calculator/
it puts it at about 1:6.7 or 1:7 scale. Not sure if I have anything in my collection at that scale or close. I can check and do a comparison and edit it in here later.


After doing a bit more research it appears I missed adding a lateral line and perhaps scales. The image of the fossil used on wikipedia has some interesting texture that appears to be scales but could also be the texture of the rock it was fossilized in, though it also appears to be on the skull as well. Unfortunately without a way to access its publication(s), I probably won't know for sure considering the lack of info that seems to be out there on this animal at this time. I also probably could have made the fins on the tail more obvious, but at the same time I'm not sure if that would have been correct to depict it like that either. Looking at it now, I think I may have also made the tail too short maybe. It is roughly around the length of the body at least. The back is also a bit higher up/thicker then the head, but maybe that isn't an issue. I also forgot to add a cloaca. I was thinking about it too but got distracted last night while I was finishing it up. Also worth mentioning is that yes there is some dust unfortunately trapped in side the clay that got on my hands while moving around and working on it, such as touching my clothes by mistake, etc. At least once this is painted up all of that should be hidden anyways.

Anyways here is what inspired me to make this and why I kind of want a figure of one of these now:

This book is one I read as a child and recently obtained it again this year. While reading it I found the Greererpeton and found it appealing and interesting due to its rather long body. Also yes the Eryops in this book may have been the inspiration behind the rare Play Visions figure. There is also the Triadobatrachus and Platyhystrix in it that also bears a striking similarity to their Play Visions counterparts. I have a thread showing the book in a bit more detail in this thread if anyone is interested:
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=4993.msg146262#msg146262
Anyways I also got more up close shots of the sculpt today, hopefully showing it off better.












@Kapitaenosavrvs Yes I would like to paint this one up. I am thinking about giving it a green coloration with spots and stripes and maybe, and with a yellow belly. Maybe yellow for the eyes as well. Problem is I do not have any paints or brushes and not really in the situation to spend on that right now so it will have to wait. I think giving it a coat of gloss finish would be a good way to give it a wet appearance too.
Also I watched @Kayakasaurus tutorials on creating silicone molds and casting resin figures last night. I would love to do that some day for this and create copies for anyone interested in this sculpt (and possibly any others I can make) but it would probably need to wait until next year when my financial situation improves, so I could get the supplies needed to do it. I would definitely love to do it someday though.
Also my apologies if the formatting on this gets butchered. Did this all on my phone.

[Halichoeres]

Cool! A stem-tetrapod is a great subject for your first foray, just like one of our great-great....-great-uncles trying out solid ground for the first time.

[Faelrin]

@Halichoeres Thanks. Now that you mention that, it was neat to go with this one. Also from the Carboniferous with which there are so few figures as is. To be honest, other then some of Safari Ltd's figures, it is probably the first representation in my collection.

[triceratops83]

C'mon, ya gotta paint it. This turned out great - I think you should a mini-series featuring amphibians.

Because it has a sinuous swimming motion look to it, you should display it amongst fake aquarium plants.

[Faelrin]

@triceratops83 I like the idea of displaying it with aquarium plants. I have a whole bunch of those in my closet I could use. Problem is I have no shelf space at the moment to display it properly, or with those. Still behind on doing that.

I also like the idea of doing some prehistoric "amphibians". If I can't do Diadectes because of the lack of material, then I may try to do Cacops instead. I definitely have a wishlist of (mostly) temnospondyls, and some others that don't have much representation out there (and/or hard to find/get), or none whatsoever I think. Of those most are from the Paleozoic as well.

[triceratops83]

Is Sculpey hard to get/expensive there? Over here there's a an art supply brand called Monte Marte sold in discount stores. I buy all my art needs from this brand and a new store opened up that sells their polymer clay, which needs a bit more working before it's pliable, but once that is done it's quite as good as Sculpey. The point is a little packet of Sculpey costs me about $6, whereas a half kilo block of this stuff only costs me $12.

Also, an idea I had at one point was to fill an aquarium with Dunkleosteus figures like it was a real fish tank. Maybe something like this would be an interesting display piece if you continued sculpting amphibians?

[Faelrin]

It isn't particularly expensive or hard to find here. Just in a tight spot financially for the time being so trying to budget accordingly and lay off any hobby related stuff for the meantime.

It certainly sounds like a good idea, only problem is I just wouldn't know where to display something like that in my tiny room currently, unless I were to just clean and empty out my turtle's tank with his passing recently rendering it currently obsolete.

[Newt]

Well done! I look forward to seeing it painted up!


Greererpeton did have bony scales - small ovoid scales on the upper surfaces and larger, parallelogram-shaped gastralia on the belly and lower flanks. However, it's not certain that these scales would have been externally visible - they may have been covered by thick integument that did not follow the scale contours. IIRC that arrangement has been suggested for Trimerorhachis. I think you're quite safe giving it a smooth body.


Anyhow, if you need access to papers, just ask. I'll be glad to help supply them and I'm sure others will too. I've got a bunch of Diadectes and Cacops papers on my hard drive already if you are interested.

[Reuben03]

Verrrry nice. Loving it so far!

[Faelrin]

Hey folks I picked up some more modeling stuff.



I'm still thinking of making Cacops, Diadectes, and perhaps Cotylorhynchus (I find the big body and tiny head just so amusing), and Platyhystrix. Probably anything on my wishlist goes that doesn't have any particular satisfying or affordable options for me currently, but I guess starting with these will makes things easier.

@Newt I realize this is months late but if you would like to send those papers please feel free to shoot me a message.