[OctoberDream]

Well I tried my very 1st clay sculpt today. While in my mind it was only practice, I had fun doing it. Even though, it turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be. My neighbor (the Art teacher) thinks my clay was too wet. She also gave me some constructive criticism which I totally agree with.
But since it was my 1st, I thought I would share it with my fellow haunters. I have already started over and scraped it about ¾ the way through it. I decided that my neighbor was right the clay was too soft/wet. I will try again next week once the clay has some time to dry out a bit.

 

[Kelloween]

looking good to me, especially for first time! I like his nose

 

[Bruzilla]

Looks good to me!

 

[Intellagirl]

OctoberDream: Your first try is sooooo much better than mine was! A couple of things that helped me when I got started was printing out reference photos that I could then draw guidelines over to check proportions (such as are the irises in line with the corners of the mouth etc). I moved pretty quickly to clay from Monster Makers too. It's a bit more pricey but you can use it over and over and I found it more forgiving when it took me a while to get a sculpt just the way I liked it. My water-based clay always dried out before I could finish a sculpt no matter how much I misted it and covered it.
Anyhow, great start!! Can't wait to see the next one.

 

[ELH(Erin Loves Halloween)]

that is amazing for your first sculpt you are talented

 

[Winter's Asylum]

This is a great first attempt. I can't wait to see your second one.

 

[The Halloween Lady]

I think it rocks!!!!!!! Hmmm... I think I hate you!

 

[Mr_Chicken]

Good start!
A lot of the time it's useful to start with clay that's on the soft side to block in the rough shape, then let it dry a bit so you can go in with more refined shapes and details

 

[OctoberDream]

Good start!
A lot of the time it's useful to start with clay that's on the soft side to block in the rough shape, then let it dry a bit so you can go in with more refined shapes and details

Agreed. My neighbor basically said the same thing. I plan on trying again this weekend.
The plan is block out on Fri night then details on Sat night.

 

[OctoberDream]

Friday night, 2nd try. Just blocking out. Will let setup a bit before details.

 

[Pumpkin5]

I think you did GREAT. I'm not a sculptor but I love your first head...he had pouty lips which I love.

 

[OctoberDream]

I feel very unorganized this year. I have been bouncing back and forth between projects not getting very far with any of them. So I decided to take another whack at sculpting. This is my 3rd attempt, I think I am getting better.
I am not sure if this one will be the one I use or not. The idea was to make a duplicate of my head (size wise) to see if i could use it as a model for a Halloween make up ("Face off'" style). It was just an idea. I did not plan it out very well, But I think I can make it work. I was going to fire the clay then use paper Mache to make a mask. I don’t have the skills or the budget to make my own life cast so, I thought this would be the next best thing. Again it's just an idea. The clay i got for free so I thought I would try. My 1st attempt was not very good. The second was more of what I thought I looked like. This one is a little closer. And yes they are an old pair of my glasses. I wanted to see if my proportions were close.

 

[Abunai]

Cool.
Great job.
Looks like James Earl Jones!

Like Intellagirl said, having some reference photos in front of you as you sculpt is a BIG help in making the sculpt look realistic.

 

[punkineater]

It DOES look like JEJ! Can't believe this is your first attempt....mine would look like an ashtray. Great job!!

 

[vampyrespro]

LOL, I agree with punkineater, except I don't need to imagine...my first attempt at sculpting DID look like an ashtray. Keep up the great work.

 

[Deadview]

Well I'm like the others, what's wrong with the first ? Soft/wet really looked good to me !

 

[OctoberDream]

Well, something went wrong. :-( I am not sure what, but as I was leting my clay project dry and every thing started to crack.
Do I have any hope of fixing this? Or is this my new door stop?

 

[Mr_Chicken]

Great seeing how much you improve each time around.

As for the cracking, that's often because the outside is drying and shrinking faster than the inside. What kind of clay is it? What do you have for an armature inside?

 

[OctoberDream]

Mr.C,
I was hoping you would respond. I was going to PM you but didn't know if you would remember this thread.

When I started the process I didn't think about the armature inside too much. I used a block of pink foam (kind used for tomb stones) wrapped in tinfoil.

Is this something I can fix? or would it be best to start over?

 

[Breaker Mahoney]

Hi OctoberDream,
I am sorry to see your sculpture crack. I have been there myself and it is frustrating. If you are using normal air dry pottery clay try wrapping it in moist paper towels and a plastic bag. It wont get rid of the cracks but the moisture will reconstitute the clay slightly enough to patch the areas and complete your work. I do this at the end of each sculpting session regardless. Because of the state the clay is in It will only buy you a day or two working time, but hopefully it will be enough so you do not lose everything.