Sculpting my first “miniature” (no laughing allowed!)

[grubman]

Miniature war gaming and role playing are wonderful hobbies.  Just when you think you have done it all, you realize there is yet another thing you can try and at least attempt to become good at.

I had always thought that miniatures were carved from a solid block of wax (like the ring I make in crafts class in high school).  On a video tutorial, I found out that miniatures are actually made out of a 2 part epoxy (advanced clay, for all practical purposes).

Well, armed with this new knowledge I decided that I was going to experiment.  Needless to say, I wasn’t going to buy that expensive Miliput just to experiment, so I purchased some regular old Sculpty clay from Wal-mart for about $6.  I figured it would be more than sufficient for my clumsy initial attempts.

I wanted to do something larger than 1 inch.  I needed a dinosaur type creature for the miniature game I’ve been writing (that is now in closed play testing), so I figured that might be a good choice to start with.

Well, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  I know it’s nothing impressive, but for the first miniature attempt (in fact the first thing I’ve ever sculpted) I don’t think it’s pathetic.  It was fun anyway, and I recommend giving it a shot if you are looking for a new way to expand your hobby.

[Lordblackwing]

Well done sir. I look forward to seeing the rest of the pack. What did you use to get the hide textured?

[carlos marighela]

Dunno what that is but I think it looks pretty bloody good. Congratulations sir!

[grubman]

Well done sir. I look forward to seeing the rest of the pack. What did you use to get the hide textured?

Heh heh, there is only one!   Once I started I realized I didn't have any real "tools" for the job.  The texture was made using a v shaped wood carving tool.

Dunno what that is but I think it looks pretty bloody good. Congratulations sir!

It's a Clawface, a creature from Venus in the miniature game I wrote (playtesting will be complete soon, and then I'll have to decide if it'll be free or if I'll publish it).

Needless to say, you'll have to come up with your own Clawface miniature if you want to play that scenario.

[Roebeast45]

Cool monster! A really good way to texture rough hide is a kitchen scouring pad, like a Scotch Brite pad. It's a very quick way to texture the whole model.

Good luck with your sculpting.

[grubman]

Cool monster! A really good way to texture rough hide is a kitchen scouring pad, like a Scotch Brite pad. It's a very quick way to texture the whole model.

That would have been a good idea.  Since it was the first one I had no idea what to expect, so didn't really plan as well as I should have.  I pretty much started out with a blob of clay and once I started I had to look for anything laying around me to help shape the thing, since my fingers didn't really do the trick.

[Aaron]

I really like what you did there. I learned that just about anything can be an effective sculpting tool. I once watched Mark Sims make a little goblin using nothing but his fingernails! He was just goofing around, but it looked pretty darned good.

I've made a couple of pretty good Ferengi-type aliens. Sadly they were supposed to be Iroquois...

[Operator5]

For a first attempt, that is pretty darn good. Keep at it and you will be giving those professional sculptors a run for their money.

And don't knock home made tools. If you get on the 1listsculpting yahoo group, they have whole threads dedicated to making your own tools. It seems to be a favorite side project for sculptors to develop specialized tools for a project they are working on.

My first tools consisted of a pin, inserted in a wooden handle and a metal rod with a smooth tip dremeled onto it.

[Donpimpom]

nice looking sculpt Grubman!

please, can you post the link of the video tutorial you talk about?

[Calimero]

Quite nice for a first attempt plus I find this creature to be kind of cute…

[SBRPearce]

He sort of reminds me of how I always pictured a Jabberwock.

Very cool, and a great result, especially for the first sculpt.

To reinforce what others said - make as many of your own tools as you can. That way, 1) they're just what you need and 2) you'll always know that when you need some special effect, you can just whomp together another specialty tool.

[grubman]

nice looking sculpt Grubman!

please, can you post the link of the video tutorial you talk about?

Here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+sculpt+fantasy+miniatures&aq=f

It's a number of parts, so set aside a couple of hours.

It's sort of funny because the guys accent sounds extreemly funny to me...but if you look at a RPG review I did, you can see my acent is just as funny, just different:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ataomic+highway+grubman&aq=f

[Christian]

I actually did chuckle a bit, just because it is such a whimsical sculpt. I really like it!! You obviously had a lot of fun making it.

Are you planning on doing any more?

[grubman]

I actually did chuckle a bit, just because it is such a whimsical sculpt. I really like it!! You obviously had a lot of fun making it.

Are you planning on doing any more?

I'm planning on it...but not right away.  I'm working on that miniature game and I have a ton o figs to paint for that along with terain.  So, I'll be busy for a while.  I plan on trying to sculpt some trrain bits (like doors and windows) which I usually used other things for.

[frontal assault]

Mate if anyone laughs at that, then their full of bollocks!