Lanthanotus' Sculpts - updated for sauropod's nest

[Lanthanotus]

I deceided to make a separate thread for this to document the several stages of the work (the original post can be found here).

After the conceptual drawing,


I created a skeletal frame from steel and binding wire. The frame was placed on a wooden board....


... which was covered in aluminium to prevent the papier mâché from being glued to the board (which is not intended to be a part of the sculpt). The papier mâché's main function was, to save up on polymer clay material (Super Sculpey, medium blend), however, as this is my first big sculpt, this strategy may not be the best choice, as the clay feels like a loose jacket around the frame which makes scuplting a bit problematic at some positions.


The sculpture slowly takes some crude form.


To be continued.

[Newt]

I don't know how I overlooked this thread. This is looking good! I don't know how much further you've taken this; if it still seems like the clay is slipping too much, try peeling it off (I know, it's a pain) and wrapping some fine wire around the papier mache. That's what I do and it seems to work well (I use aluminum foil to bulk out my sculpts, but that shouldn't make much difference). It gives the clay something to bite onto so it doesn't slip around.

[Lanthanotus]

It's a slow work as there's so lot o' other things to do, but here's an update. Apologies for the picture quality, had to use the flash as there's not enough artificial light available at my workplace.

Deceided to cut off the left arm (well, it's metal frame) to sculpt the arm in a retracted stance and invested a lot of time in the sculpting of the pelvic bones. Still all comparably crude, but I'm nearing to the finer works of the whole thing. I would like to make a mold and cast from it in the end, but I think the sculpt will be way to complex for me to do this - though there may be a way to cut it into several pieces which could serve for this purpose. Will see, first things first...

[Kayakasaurus]

Well on your way and looking good!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

very nice! reminds a bit of Malcolm Mlodoch's early work.

[Lanthanotus]

Thanks guys,

reminds a bit of Malcolm Mlodoch's early work.

yeah well, as written here that is the reference for this model as Fauna Casts seem to be "offline"?!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Ah ha, missed that bit, teach me for jumping into a thread without reading back. lol 

Yeah Malcolm drops a line once in a blue moon, but he isn't taking orders anymore. Probably just as well.

[Lanthanotus]

As I won't use this sculpt for the Diorama Contest anyway (for not being anonymous anymore obviously), here's the semi final result. Semi final as I pondered about the color and pattern for the Allo for a while and decided to try a mix of various varanoid features (guess which species references I used if you can ). However, the result as seen here was way to garish for my taste so I changed it completly aswell as refining the paint job on the pteros, bones and such. Didn't make photos of the real final result yet tho, will deliver them soon. Hope you enjoy the view, and feel free to leave any critics.

[Dinomike]

Wow! What a great piece!  And totally digging the colors!

[irimali]

I love the little pterosaurs!  super cute!

[AcroSauroTaurus]

Wow! Love the Allosaurs coloration! Great work.

[LophoLeeVT]

wow! really colorful!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Awesome, love the color and the pterosaurs.

[Viergacht]

Loving the pose. And the varanid colors - I can see them working if they were blended and a bit less contrasty

[Jetoar]

Final sculpt is really beautiful  .

[Lanthanotus]

Thanks very much for your compliments

.... gonna try to shoot some photos of the final colors this week to post them.

I can see them working if they were blended and a bit less contrasty

You may be right, and it may partly be related to the fact that I used three color schemes of only distantly related species, but each pattern, color, contrast and is authentic to the species. The head is Perentie (V. giganteus), the body juvenile Desert monitor (V. griseus) and the limbs and underbelly a locality of V. similis.

The new colors are fictional and lack hard contrasts and gaudy colors, giving the animal a more "usefull" camouflage for its apex role.

[Lanthanotus]

So here's the final version, as you can see the color and pattern of the Allo was changed greatly aswell as the pteros'. In addition the the bones and base got a final touch of wash to give the scene a more natural look. Overall I'm very proud of the result, being my first serious attempt, though I'm for sure aware that the Allo's neck is a fair bit too long and its hind legs may have come out a bit too short. Nevertheless I was thinking of casting it, but the complicated form (pelvis and one vertebra are detachable, but that's it) renders this practically impossible for me. The upright trunk on the strand has holes to peg in some foliage, but I couldn't get to create some yet....























Thanks for your comments and tips.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

This is pretty nice for your first one. It'll be nice to see your body of work grow and improve.

[LophoLeeVT]

nice!!!

[AcroSauroTaurus]

I personally liked the Allosaurs first coloration better, but this coloration is cool too. The carcass looks a lot better though!