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No-Sign-of-Sanity β Quickie Face Tutorial
Published: 2006-11-08 07:51:52 +0000 UTC; Views: 63643; Favourites: 406; Downloads: 3531
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**This is an animated .gif so you must "FULL VIEW" it to see what the hell I'm talking about!!!**This is just a quick sculpting tutorial I threw together to preach about the wonders of Super Sculpey and heat guns. Super Sculpey is a heat-activated polymer clay that stays soft and workable until you bake it in your home oven. But by using a heat gun you can sculpt features and quickly "flash" bake them on the spot without having to constantly run back and forth to the kitchen.
So when doing really fine detail work, it really helps to be able to quickly bake certain features so you can work right next to them and not have to worry about mushing them on accident. So here I go thru a few stages of blocking in the features of a face and I'm using a heat gun to set those features in between each step to lock in the details.
1.) The basic shape of the eyes is done and the top row of teeth is sculpted. Then I hit it with the heat gun.
2.) The lower row of teeth is sculpted, and then I hit it with the heat gun.
3.) The lower eyelids are sculpted, and then I hit it with the heat gun.
4.) The upper eyelids, the brow structure and the top of the head are all sculpted and detailed, then heat-gunned
5.) The lips are sculpted and the jaw and neck are given some detail and then the whole piece is thrown in the oven for a full bake.
While this isn't the most intricate tutorial ever made, hopefully it'll help pull back the curtain about my process of sculpting details.
Oh by the way, this piece is 1/8th scale so this head is just barely bigger than a quarter coin. I'll share more of this piece as it draws closer to completion.
Hope this helps guys!
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Comments: 175
Hmm, that's what I figured about using one in this room hahaha.
I have considered using a material that self-cures but haven't really been able to find anything at michaels that I like. It's the only craft store near me, but I will try to read up on Ave Apoxie and other epoxies. Thanks for the help!
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Wow- thanks- this gave some great tips. I tried looking about for some super sculpty but I have no faith in my country and will need to look a bit harder. All they stock is this air-dry clay stuff, which is good, though not great.
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Dude, I love your intricacies and attention to detail. really look up to guys like you. (sounds like buttkissery) but I do
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Super Sculpey mixed with Premo Sculpey.
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well i was on the run to the kitchen and i stop on the computer to see this stuff and im glad i saw it. Ok, I got your tut, but how much time is the " hit " with the Gun?
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About five minutes or so. You have to wave the heat gun around in the general direction of the sculpt and try not to get it too hot too quickly. Hit it for a few minutes and let it cool, and poke it to see if it's solid. If it's still soft, hit it some more. rinse repeat...
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well tank u very, much.!!!
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Hey think I asked you a while back about sculpey and all (love you heatgun strategy btw) my question is: Can sculpey be heated again after itΒ΄s been heatgunned once without burning it?
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You can pretty much bake sculpey as many times as you want without any problems. I bake/heatgun my sculpt at least 10-15 times before I'm done with them. Stage-baking, as they call it, is a regualr practice among many sculptors so don't think twice about baking and rebaking your work. Just remeber to always keep the heatgun moving when your using it to not scorch any single spot. Also remember that unless it's a really thin piece, using a heatgun isn't a substitute for the proper baking of a piece in the oven. You really need to make sure that the piece is baked all the way thru to the core to avoid any future cracking, and the only way to ensure that is by baking it in the oven.
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Thanks! Please, my first sculpture is in my gallery now, give me some constructive advices, there is so much to think about when making sculptures! Link is below.
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Nice!! Now to get me some Super Sculpey
any idea on where i can get it in norway? or where I can order if from?
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[link]
[link]
[link]
You can normally get sculpey at craft stores and hobby shops if you have any of those in your area. Dick Blick.com does internantional orders so you can follow the links above to oder some sculpey online. Most industry pros like the Sculpy Firm which is a little bit more rigid than regular sculpey and makes it easier to carve in fine details. It's a little too firm for my tastes so I use the ink Super Sculpey and mix it with some Black and some White Premo Sculpey to get that same gray color. While it's not really necessary to turn it gray, but it helps to see the surface of your sculpture better, because pink super sculpey is a touch translucent. Also whatever you do don't buy plain white regular sculpey. Get Super Sculey, Premo Sculpey or Firm Sculpey. The regular white stuff really sucks and tends to crack a lot after baking.
Good luck to you!
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Ill check it out, I realy want to try some 3d medias
I think its way to expencive to ship it here so i guess ill have to check hobby stores... anyways great stuffs
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man u made life easier 4 me! especially the lip part. how u make angry faces n all that! the eyes Ive just discovered on my own. but the lips n teeth? haha! I was like s@#$t! what a complete bonehead I am! why didn't I think of that!
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man some of the 5 tips that you gave are awesome! and groundbreaking 4 me. and some likr the eyes are really true as I have experienced my self! but the grinning teeth to the lips are are like WOW to me man! you made it easier 4 me!
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That was fuc*n awesome, the "clay"-material used, is it expensive?
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Thanks! The clay is called Super Sculpey and it's fairly cheap, about $10.00 for a pound of the stuff. It's bit translucent right out of the box so some people (myself included) mix it with a little black and white Premo Sculpey to make a neutral gray color.
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Ok both black and white?
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Yeah mix in a little bit of black and a little bit of white to get a nice even gray and to squash out the translucent pink. It's not the pink color that's the problem but it's the fact that it's a bit translucent that tends to hide a bit of the surface detail and makes things tougher to see. So you can really mix in any color you want just so long as you get rid of the translucency and make it all opaque.
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IΒ΄ll amke use of your tips as soon as I get my hands on some super sculpey!
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BOSS. I really dig this tutorial... Kinda makes me want to experiment in that medium.
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Hey, great tips! (I just bought sculpey yay)
I saw a workshop video some while ago, where they used a heat gun and a some gas (?) to cool the material down. By switching between them I think they managed to make the material frozen/unfrozen (or baked/unbaked). Is this something you've heard of or am I (most likely) remembering it wrong?
Btw, when quickbaking with flashes, how long do you flash it and what is the risk of toxic vapours?
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a newbie like me at this, wants to really try this technique, how would i get started?
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a newbie like me at this, wants to really try this technique, how would i get started?
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What kind of heat gun do you use? Also, do you know of any books on, or that include lessons on building armatures?
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My heat gun is a Black & Decker 9756 dual heat (500/1020 degreeF) model circa 1999-2000. They all function pretty much the same though so it really shouldn't matter what type you pick up.
I would suggest checking out the demos on the Shiflett brother forum [link] and clicking the demo threads. But my armatures basically just consist of a thick aliminum wire the kinda simulates the person's skeleton with aliminum foil paicked on top to bulik out the thicker parts. I then tightly wrap some thinner aliminum wire around that to keep everything solid and stable. If you need me to elaborate on the process any more let me know and I'd be glad to.
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Thank you for sharing thats cool
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My pleasure!
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It was extremely interesting to watch the process of this and I admire your skills. Thank you for sharing!
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My pleasure! I'm glad you found it even a touch helpful!
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Thanks for making this tutorial. I want to try out the technique, where do you buy heat guns? Hardware store like Home Depot?
Your working on a small scale there, is the coverage area adjustable or do they come in different sizes?
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I got my heat gun at Sears, but you should be able to find one at just about any hardware store. The thing looks like a blow-dryer and works just about the same, so you really can't adjust the coverage other than to pull it further away from the sculpture. You can also make yourself an aluminum foil shield where you expose the part you want to bake and cover the rest in foil, but it's a bit hit and miss.
Also make sure you use the gun on a test piece first so you can get the hang of it. It's pretty easy to scorch a piece if you don't know what your doing, and that could leave the surface of your sculpt all bubbled and bumpy. Most heat guns have 2 settings and I'd suggest using the lowest one to start out. Hold the gun about 10-12 inches away from your sculpt, and wave the heat gun around. Be sure to keep the heat constantly moving over the piece. Sculpey can scorch in about 2 seconds if left in the same spot. There's a lot of trial and error involved until you get a feel for it, so don't use it on anything you're not willing to ruin until youβre past the learning curve. Also remember that the heat gun isnβt a replacement for proper baking, and you will need to stick the sculpture in the oven at some point to make sure that the Sculpey fully cures.
If you have any more questions just let me know.
Good Luck!
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Thanks for the helpful tips. I won't be using it on anything important upfront that's for sure.
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this is as amazing as it is incredibly helpful. I was wondering how you managed to DO those lovel sculptures
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I'm glad I could help! This is just the tip of the ice berg though. I'll definitely put together some much more in-depth tutorials in the future.
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I use Sculpey; I've been using the oven and a lighter to pre heat most of ly stuff. I've never heard of a heat gun before. I might try it out
But I'd be kind of worried about the tiny pieces burning up.
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A heat gun looks just like a hair dryer on steroids. It works exactly the same way just with less air and more heat. There is a bit of a learning curve though and you can scorch or blister some smaller pieces if you aren't careful.
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Dude, sculpting is no different than drawing and painting, and you kick much ass at both of those. Get yourself some Super Sculpey and give it a shot. I'm sure you'll be shocked at how good you are at it.
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super sculpy eh.?? ok i'll give it a go..
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U r talented.
Don't let nobody tell you different.
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Thanks man! I appreciate you saying so.
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That's awesome, thanks!
I used to sculpt when I was younger, some day I'll have to try again. Had never heard of super sculpey before though sounds perfect, seen as I always so slow and other stuff would dry up on me
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Super Sculpey is the shiznit! You can get really professional results without too much headache. It stays soft until you bake it then you can sand it, drill it, carve into it, and then add more and bake it again. It's AWESOME!!!
If you ever have any sculpting questions I'd be happy to answer them!
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I found a source that delivers it here from England, so when I'm ready I know where to order
Thanks for the offer I surely will get back to you with the questions eventually
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Dude. A heat gun. So simple. So genius. So obvious! Which is probably why it never occured to me!
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