First time sculpting - WIP

[Digibasherx]

Hey guys,

I've been eyeing a lot of paleoart and sculptures and thought I give it a try. First thing I've learned is, less on the frame to start is more, and I have to give props to all the talented sculptors out there because there's so much that goes into each piece. 

So here's my Stegosaurus, I used the skeleton diagram from Scott Hartman as reference.

Wire frame


Filling with tin foil


Preliminary filling out the base, before baking


I found after baking and the initial layers that the tail was way too thick, especially where the thagomizers went, the head was also too bulky, so I clip them off and started over, with bare frame.


Initial re-sculpt


Here's the details for the initial re-sculpt, 5 toes in the front, and 3 toes for the hind limbs.




Here's the placement test for the plates, using the guide as reference


Details on the face, pre-scales


Skin details



So at this point, I'm ready to permanently attach the plates and bake.  Looking up some reference now to see any last minute changes before commit it.

[Kayakasaurus]

I must say it looks great! You could add some throat armor... Not sure what that's called. Good job!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Looks pretty good to me, just some more detailing maybe?

If you's like in the future, I like this method of taking your skeletal diagram and gluing it onto cardboard. Then you can hot glue the wire for the frame over it. Then just sculpt over the diagram so you can see where everything goes.  I do a similar process with plywood for 1:1 builds.

[Dinomike]

Looking good! Just a little more detail and it'll be a great Stegosaurus!

[Digibasherx]

I must say it looks great! You could add some throat armor... Not sure what that's called. Good job!

Thanks Kayakasaurus, I thought about that, I'm not sure how to position the gular armour though.

There's this, which is what the favourite soft model looks like,


And then there's the reference, which doesn't have the armour hanging down.


I also want to make sure the head doesn't look too bulky, so at the moment there's just a skin flap like a turkey, lol.

[Digibasherx]

Looks pretty good to me, just some more detailing maybe?

If you's like in the future, I like this method of taking your skeletal diagram and gluing it onto cardboard. Then you can hot glue the wire for the frame over it. Then just sculpt over the diagram so you can see where everything goes.  I do a similar process with plywood for 1:1 builds.

Thanks Blade, do you put the wires right through the cardboard or is it just standing reference, and does the cardboard have any issues when going in for baking? 

I made a bunch of imprints from my dinos but realized the shape of the stamp tool should be concave, instead it had a read tough time getting around all the nooks and cranny's.

[Digibasherx]

Looking good! Just a little more detail and it'll be a great Stegosaurus!

Thanks Dinomike, I'm thinking the same, redo the stamping tool.

[Newt]

You're off to a great start! The stegosaur has a great sense of bulk, which can be hard to achieve at smaller scales.

A suggestion on the armature: you've used a lot of wire to attach the spine-wire to the leg-wires, which is fine here, but can be a problem on a smaller sculpt or a more gracile animal. In that case, I find it's easier to glue the wires together with epoxy; either epoxy putty or epoxy glue will work. You could probably solder them, too, though I've found soldering surprisingly tricky.

Also, don't forget you can bake as you go! I like to get the basic proportions down, bake, then add a layer of clay to one section, sculpt the details in that, bake again, and so on. That makes it easier to handle the sculpture - you can use the already-baked parts as a handle while sculpting each section without worrying about ruining your previous work. To add fresh clay to baked clay, just smear the baked clay with petroleum jelly and wipe it away to leave just a very thin sheen of jelly. Then mash the fresh clay firmly onto it.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Looks pretty good to me, just some more detailing maybe?

If you's like in the future, I like this method of taking your skeletal diagram and gluing it onto cardboard. Then you can hot glue the wire for the frame over it. Then just sculpt over the diagram so you can see where everything goes.  I do a similar process with plywood for 1:1 builds.

Thanks Blade, do you put the wires right through the cardboard or is it just standing reference, and does the cardboard have any issues when going in for baking? 

I made a bunch of imprints from my dinos but realized the shape of the stamp tool should be concave, instead it had a read tough time getting around all the nooks and cranny's.

You can just hot glue the wire to the cardboard, use like USPS boxes, they work great.  If the piece is fully covered in clay I wouldn't this so. Mostly I use Aves Apoxie Sculpt which self hardens,no heat needed. 

Try making stamps using hot glue as well, you can put on a wide area then peel it off. You can then cut to size, they are a little flexible and you can attach them to toothpicks and such for easier stamping.

[Kayakasaurus]

When making stamps out of sculpey as you did, I suggest poking deeper holes with a pen tip or other objects, then how deep the scales will be can depend on how much pressure you apply. Texture stamps are really fun, the first one I made was a little ball I rolled around on the surface that had a few different scale sizes. I agree with what Newt said about baking at different stages, it's nice to solidify detail and then move on without worrying about it getting distorted. You can also use a heat gun. I don't know if you did this, but I would bake the plates a little and then stick them into the body, so they will be solid and you can control the angle they go in at as well as add detail to where they attach.

[Archinto]

This is looking awesome! And i had no idea stegosaurus had neck armor... to me that bone structure looks like it would have been under the skin, similar to how an iguana has support structure within its dewlap, neck and throat. I think the skin flap is cool on the neck, but instead of it being thin make it taper up into the neck near its base. Its hard to describe but if yo need to see it i can make a quick head and neck sculpt to demonstrate what I mean. Keep up the good work!

[Lanthanotus]

Impressive piece, especially when considering it a 1st try. Curious to see the final result

[Digibasherx]

This is looking awesome! And i had no idea stegosaurus had neck armor... to me that bone structure looks like it would have been under the skin, similar to how an iguana has support structure within its dewlap, neck and throat. I think the skin flap is cool on the neck, but instead of it being thin make it taper up into the neck near its base. Its hard to describe but if yo need to see it i can make a quick head and neck sculpt to demonstrate what I mean. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Archinto, do you mean something like this? I actually really like this interpretation, but having it bend like that seems odd in terms of how that would probably choke the animal's trachea.



or

[Archinto]

Id imagine all those little parts were probably suspended within tissue and was flexible. I dont think itd dip up like they did it on that skeleton though. Itd been more straight to support the trachea. The model you show below it is more seemingly accurate. I just know that theres no way stegosaurus had a thin neck. Id imagine it ate large bulky vegetation and like iguanas, they probably had strong throat muscles that assisted in swallowing larger harder foodstuffs.

[Digibasherx]

Oops, looks like it got burnt a bit.  Nothing paint won't fix.



Final baking for the body



Stuck some putty for now, will have to superglue the plates and spikes after painting.

[Digibasherx]

Impressive piece, especially when considering it a 1st try. Curious to see the final result

Thanks Lanthanotus, I had some sketching background, but I wasn't sure how this would come out.  I'm glad it turned out well as it did. 

[Derek.McManus]

Very impressive work, and one of my favourite dinosaurs to boot!

[Archinto]

I'm eager to see how this paints out. I've noticed the sculpey doesnt take paint to well, so prime it if you can prior to painting.

[Jetoar]

Wonderful work  .

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I'm eager to see how this paints out. I've noticed the sculpey doesnt take paint to well, so prime it if you can prior to painting.

A good sealer helps too..I hate when paint just flakes off.