Sculpting: Where to start?

Getting started with something you’ve never done or never really tried before can be very hard. I’ve answered this question or questions like this a couple of times but I’ll make a compilation of those answers here.

I hope those of you who want to start with this hobby but don’t know how get that little push they need and those who are just curious about it learn something new. I’m not a proffesional, there is no one way to do things. This is just how I do it and what I know.

What you’ll find behind the read more:

Where to start
Armature tutorial
Links
Materials I use
Tips

Research. This is what I always start with. Gather pictures/images/photos of the character you want to make. Look for something called a “Character sheet”. A character sheet usually consists of a full body image of the front, side, back and ¾ view of a character. They aren’t always easy to find so that is why I often put together one with images I can find on the internet. Use a photo editing program to make the images the same scale. They need to be the same scale because you need to measure the actual images to get the proportions of your sculpture right. Don’t choose a very complicated pose for your first sculpture. Get comfy first, those things will come later. A challenge is good but don’t make it too hard on yourself. TIP: Finishing a project really boosts your confidence! So pick something you know you’ll be able to complete :)
Materials. My clay of choice is Super Sculpey Firm, but other clay types like Paper clay/ Airdry clay works too. There are other clay types as well but these are the ones I’ve used. It is really a matter of what you’re comfortable with. • Clay. Super sculpey, paper clay, whatever you feel comfortable with. • Wire. I use wire in 2 gauges, a thick sturdy wire that can support the sculpture (mine is about 2mm) and a thin wire to attach pieces of armature to each other with. • Apoxie. I use this to fill gaps with (after the sculpture is baked) but also to make small details or even parts of the sculpture. • Aluminium foil. I use this to bulk up my armatures. • Sanding paper. To make the surface smooth after the sculpture is baked. Use different grits, go from a low number to high. Low number = rough, high number = fine. I go from 180 to 800 something. Don’t use 100 or lower, it is too rough. Make circle motions while sanding, it works better/looks nicer. • Paint. Acrylics (water-based paints). • Spray paint. Optional. I like to use this to prime my sculptures with but it is not necessary. • Sculpting tools. Important but don’t overdo it. Just a couple of tools are enough! Though I admit that I do have a few but oh well. These are the ones I use most:

From top to bottom: Caliper, ballpoint tools, wooden sculpting tools. You can get the wooden sculpting tools in a lot of different shapes and sizes but I prefer these smaller spoon-like ones.
The Armature.This is where your research will come in handy. Take your character sheet and draw lines on them like in the gif below. First I draw the pink lines. I mark crucial points (collarbone, waist/elbows, hips, knees, heels) like in picture #2 and I use those to draw my armature like in picture #3.

I take a long piece of wire, a fairly thick and sturdy kind, and lay it on top of my image. I bend it at the hips just like my drawing of the armature.

You need to do this step 2 times, one for the left leg and one for the other. It is important to leave a little extra wire at the feet. This way you can adjust your sculpture onto a wooden base when it is finished. I have a block of scrap wood with holes drilled into it so I can stick my sculpture into it when I’m sculpting. Then I take another piece of wire. Start at the left hand, bend it at the shoulder (like in the drawing), bend it again at the other shoulder and then I cut it at the right hand. Leave a bit of extra wire here. This is so you have room for some adjustments.

Take the long wires (for the legs etc) and the wire for the arms and put them together with smaller wire where the pieces meet at the back. Like this:

Make sure that they sit tightly together. Sometimes I like to take some apoxie and put it around the wire to secure it all. You can see that in this picture here. See how I make an armature like this here.

After that you can start posing it! This is the part where a side view of your character can be very helpful. I didn’t have one when making Rapunzel and thus my sculpture ended up looking flat when viewed from the side. When you do have a side view you can shape your armature with the image as a guide. After this I usually take some smaller wire and neatly wirl it tightly around each arm and leg. This will give the aluminium foil in the next step something to hold on to. Bulk up the armature with aluminium foil. By doing this you’ll save clay and it is also easier to stick clay onto aluminium foil.* *Instead of wire I also like to cover the limbs in Apoxie. Sometimes I sculpt the whole arms and legs with it depending on the size of the sculpture. TIP: Tuck the ends of the wire to the inside so you won’t have them sticking out of your clay later or stab your finger with it.

4. Now you’re ready to start sculpting! This isn’t really something I can explain but you can learn a lot by looking at pictures. I’ve photographed the whole process of my Dipper Pines sculpture here which may be more helpful. You can also check out my WIP tag here. 5. Painting. I always prime my sculptures to give surface a smooth and even color before I start painting. But it isn’t completely necessary. TIP: Paint in thin layers and let each layer dry properly. Paint can turn tacky otherwise. It is also easier to avoid brushstrokes this way.

Sculpting Resources

sculptingtutorials.blogspot.com - This link leads to a blog with lots of links, videos and info. This blog has some very helpful stuff so definitely check this one out.
instructables.com/id/Sculpting-with-Polymer-Clay/ - This link has some great tips and pictures of recommended sculpting tools and such.
Proportion references for human bodies - I posted these references earlier but I wanted to add them anyway.
Tutorial for making hands 1 & 2 - A two part tutorial that shows how you can make hands
How to make a male face - video tutorial
Pinterest - You need to make an account to view all content but it is worth it in my opinion. Search for keywords like Sculpting tutorials, clay etc etc.
Parkablogs - A really good site to find art books. They have reviews and videos where you get a quick look through the books.

Here are some previous asks I answered about sculpting:

Some more tips and reminders:

One thing that I’ve learned is that you really need to warm up the clay (either by kneading it by hand or with a pasta machine) before you work with it.That really helped me a lot. The clay is much easier to smooth out that way and easier to work with. I was used to working with paperclay which doesn’t need to be kneaded so when I started using Sculpey I didn’t really take enough time to warm up the clay.
Use strong wire for the armature. A sturdy and strong armature is much easier to work with than a bendy armature.
It is a good idea to use aluminium foil to bulk up your armature. You’ll save A LOT of clay this way.
Put the clay in a plastic bag or ziplock bag when you’re not using it. Your clay will stay better that way. Sculpey is an oil based clay and will dry out over time, putting it in a bag will slow down this process.
Clay is much easier to smooth out with your fingers! Tools use a lot more “force”. It is hard for me to explain this but you’ll know what I mean if you try pushing your finger and a tool into your clay using the same pressure. There are some places your fingers can’t reach of course so here you can use your tools, but it is something to keep in mind :)

Sculpting: Where to start?

5 Properties of Light

How to think when drawing hair

hot artists don't gatekeep

You don’t suck at Lineart, you’re just not familiar with line weight👍🏼!