TIPS & TRICKS
David Cusak
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With our diverse experiences and skill sets, this is a unique
opportunity to share some of our hard earned tips and tricks we've
horded over the years
Post edited by Christopher Vaughan on
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HOW TO PULL CHAVANT FROM THE CARPET / THE KEY TO A SCULPTORS DOMESTIC BLISS
I've experimented with soap and water, steam cleaners, picking at them with a fork BUT I think I finally found the trick:1. Invert a can of compressed air
2. Blast chavent ball with a couple burst. Ball and carpet should turn white.
3. Using a table fork, place fork teeth under the ball.
4. Don't pull the fork up, but push the fork until the ball collects towards the handle.
5. Use warm, soapy water and a sponge to remove the remaining "cold" spot.
That's it! Until this I was considering how much of my damage deposit would go towards a new carpet.
MARK NEWMAN'S Super Sculpey Mix
- 50% Super Sculpey (Pink)
- 50% Super Sculpey Firm (Grey)
The best way to mix is to run the mix through an old school pasta maker a few times (a good one runs about $30.) The mix should be a light grey when finished, with no pink or dark grey streaks. This should keep the clay from getting crumbly or becoming too flexible when heated during working.If you're not familiar with Mark's work, your in for some goodness:
http://marknewman.deviantart.com
http://www.pxleyes.com/blog/2010/05/the-best-art-sculptures-by-mark-newman/
CASEY LOVE'S Foolproof Method of Baking Super Sculpey
(resource: http://theclubhouse1.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=36612&p=447790&hilit=baking+super#p447790 )
I use this method above and have baked sculptures with NO CRACK'S and even better the clay is hard as a rock. I have noticed a huge difference in dremeling the clay and how strong the clay is compared to a weaker baked Super Sculpey. Yesterday I dropped a hand on the floor and the sculpture bounced, no crack's or damage happened to the hand, normally it would of cracked or worse shattered if it had not been baked properly. " - Casey Love
I think most of us are very familiar with Casey's work, especially his exceptional masks, but if you're not here's an extra helping of goodness: http://www.caseylovedesigns.com/
CREATE YOUR OWN SCULPTING TOOLS
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-your-own-clay-sculpting-loop-tools/?ALLSTEPS
"Sculpting tools are essential kit for sculpting in clay or oil based clays such as plasteline (a high grade plasticine), wax or chavant.
Usually, there are two main kinds of sculpting tools-the stick-like variety which usually are used for adding material, and loops which are used for taking away. They are not that expensive to buy, but there are some great tools which are not easily found but easily made. It's fun, too.
This article will show you how to make your own loop tools from scratch. Loops can be all shapes and sizes depending on the scale of the job. For blocking out life size figures, you will need something bigger, and for fine lines and wrinkles on prosthetics you'll need something smaller. The principle remains the same."
Hi
I use Guitar strings all the time if you can hole of bass strings you can make some really good larger tools that work really well on WED clay and larger sculpy works.
Thanks for sharing
Steve
@Gustavo Here's how I usually work. Hope this helps!:
WED - water/oil based. Excellent for large sculptures. My experience with WED is really limited, but its great stuff. Easy to work the forms, holds detail well, and doesn't dry out as quickly as standard water base clays.
CHAVANT - my go to favorite, using it for most maquette work. Around 12 to 18 inches. Quickly build up forms while the clays warm and once cooled fine details can be create much the same as wax.
SUPER SCULPY - The baking properties are great for maquettes/sculpts that will not be cast and need to be shipped. I don't use sculpy directly from the box. I instead mix the SS (pink) and SS Firm (grey) in about equal portions (see Mark Newman's SS Mix in a previous T&T). The mix helps keep the sculpty from getting too flexible or crumbly.
MONSTER CLAY - I have yet to work with, but I surely am curious. Monster has many of the same properties as Chavant, but it won't stick to your tools or fingers and that alone would explain its growing popularity. Here's a great video detailing sculptor Cyril Roquelaine's first contact with Monster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Od4ySoSFmcg
And using Monster for Lifecasts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TLD3uA9UEOM
As for where to buy in Brazil, I'm not really sure BUT I did a search and found a place that does ship internationally. And the price is right!
http://www.artmolds.com/chavant-nsp-plasteline-clay-brown.html
HUMAN ANATOMICAL REFERENCE | Full Body/Heads Digital Scans
Various male and female full-body or head images of digital scans provide a nice all-in-one-place and kinda tricky resource for the human body. Especially helpful for blocking out the primary and secondary forms. Click on the details button for turnaround and detail views.Here's an example of male full body in various poses.
http://www.3dscanstore.com/index.php/default/full-body-scans.html?cat=75
Christopher also had this nice resource for anatomy, this one for sculptors.
http://www.anatomy4sculptors.com/
https://www.facebook.com/don.lanning3