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nwfonseca β Sculpting Process of the Deinonychus model
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#deinonychus #dinosaur #dromaeosaur #featheredraptor #feathers #model #modelmaking #raptor #sculpture #deinonychusantirrhopus #feathereddinosaurs
Published: 2015-02-06 17:59:32 +0000 UTC; Views: 2590; Favourites: 50; Downloads: 0
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Description
Here is a photo montage of my process of creating the Deinonychus sculpture. I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked "or thought I took" I will follow this one up with another showing progress on feathers.
From top to bottom: 1-/2Here the body is blocked out in Balsa Foam with some early musculature laid down in Super Sculpey. I used rigid brass rod for the leg armature. The armature for the arms is small 24 gauge stainless steel wire. 3-8: Skull and jaw were cut from blocks of balsa wood. Glass eyes were painted then embedded in sockets. Sculpting began with horns and skin. The pale white color in the mouth is translucent Sculpey. 9-11: Here more of the body is bulked in. Visible are the metatarsal bones of the foot sculpted in Aves Apoxy Clay to increase rigidity. 12-14 Test fitting layout of feathers on arms. many variations were tried, the version in images are the version used in final sculpture. Claws were also sculpted in Aves Apoxy Clay. The grey colored clay is a mix of Super Sculpey and Super Sculpey firm 50/50 ratio roughly mixed to desired consistency. The tan clay is run of the mill super Super Sculpey.Related content
Comments: 16
I Love this! I am so happy you post your work, Thank you.
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Hey, thanks. That is very nice.
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Awesome! I can't wait to see the finished thing.
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Thanks Froggy,
If you want to see it finished "the sculpting that is" just look at the images right next to this. It is all done, there are a few tiny details that I had to fix but nothing that would change what you see. As far as paint goes, I'm hoping to have some molds made so I can produce a kit. I can't lay any paint down till that happens, so sadly I don't know when I will have a painted version up. I hope sooner rather than later.
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Wow fantastic! I hope you get to paint it soon
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The goal is to have multiple cast created so I can offer it as a kit.
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Presumably the molds make several solid sections of the sculpture, and the kit is the sculpture itself right? Sorry, i'm not familiar with sculpting terminology.
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Yes, you are correct. The original model usually gets destroyed. Check out this website should clear up questions about molding and casting. www.paint-sculpt.com/tutorialsβ¦
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Thanks a lot 
Also I think you should start something to sell this piece and others, they are amazing
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Well, the original model in super sculpey is a viable finished product. However, when you desire multiple copies made you have to have molds created to make the final casts. Typically, even a solid original model be it sculpey or epoxy clay etc. won't survive the mold making process. Although they are sturdy final products in and of themselves they are still somewhat fragile. That is not to say the original model wont survive the process intact, it's just that in my experience they don't. Another layer, is that mold makers aren't always local to the artist which requires the artist to ship the model to the mold maker, requiring one to work in materials that are solid. If the mold maker is close you can work in different clays; then either you can deliver the piece to the mold maker, or they could maybe come to you. The other element to it is, if an artist were very old school they would create their own molds. I can do simple molds, but a piece like the Deinonychus is out of my league. I don't have specialty equipment like vacuum degassing chambers and pressure casting pots "these reduce air bubbles in castings" Another piece is the roto-casting machine to make hollow models "thus making them lighter" Plastic model kits like cars and airplanes retail cheaper because they are mass produced in factories in China and the like. These are produced in very high numbers at a low price point, thus making them not very unique. Resin model kits are typically made in smaller numbers at a higher cost. One benefit of lower numbers for the buyer is that they have a more rare piece. Also, models like the ones you might see at Sideshow collectibles, are hand painted, which adds another level of cost. So you see, in the long run being a sculptor and selling models is quite the endeavor. This is one of the reasons models can get very expensive. It certainly is a labor of love. I am hoping to release the Deinonychus in the near future as my debut model , but doing the leg work just to find a mold maker is a quest in and unto itself thus far. Whoa! boy am I rambling.
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woah, that was a bigger and better post than I was expecting, I was hoping, and indeed, still am, to get myself into the sculpting business, mostly, if not almost entirely out of love and desire to sculpt, which is a good thing, I guess. This is all for me, the desire for mold learning is mostly just for making sturdier, official finished products of my work, rather than mass producing, in a sense and I'm happy you were so helpful with my doubts.
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Really incredible to see your process and it come to life!
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