Tuesday 11 March 2014

Making the Monk - Final



Sorry about the gap, but here is the final part of Making The Monk!

Step 19 - With the head, weapon and hands done, I began building up the fore-arms in preparation for working on the bracers.

Steps 20 to 25 - The bracers came next, along with the connection to the right hand. This was a multi-step process with work on the inside of the forearms to create the impression of the braces being held on with cloth bindings, followed by the curved shape of the braces, their edging and the tiny swirls for detail. I also added some prayer beads at this point, though I'm not totally sure they look good or not.

Step 26 - The detail I added was some extra details on the disk on her waist. I was trying to evoke an iconic Chinese symbol like the Shou symbol.

And that it, the sculpture is finished.

I hope you all enjoyed the process, I may do another one in the future. If you are wondering, it looks like I wont get her painted in time for the close of the competition, but I will still submit her.

Friday 7 March 2014

Making the Monk - Part 5



Now for another digression from the main part of the project: the staff. In the interests of a dynamic pose, I decided to make the staff a separate part, (so that it may be cast separately, but allow for a final model with pose impossible for a single piece miniature). This process continued along side the sculpting of the rest of the model.

With the staff, the first thing to do was create the haft of the weapon, by rolling green-stuff (with a wire core) into a long tube. Once set; it was cut to the right length, and I added the first 2 flanges using ProCreate (better for post-set machining). Once these were 'fully' set (allowing much more time then usual), I used files and a craft knife to shape the flanges. I then repeated this process for the next two flanges, perpendicular to the first two.


With that done I added a rounded cap to the top of the staff, and a raised loop around the haft at the base of the flanges.

I then repeated the whole process on the other end.

Lastly I sculpted a hand wrapped around the haft, creating a connection point at the wrist where it will be attached to the finished model.
And that's the staff.

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Making the Monk - Part 4



Step 13 - (Done while simultaneously working on the hand) Was the addition of a face (here's one I prepared earlier). This is how I usually work with faces; making a whole bunch of faces separately, and choosing the best ones to be moulded and added to miniatures. You cant see it, but I used a small section of wire to anchor the new face to the neck.


Step 14 - Rounding out the head with additional green-stuff to give it a proper shape. Smoothing it into the neck to make the connection seamless.

Step 15 - Sculpting on her ears comes next, as they will be visible once the hair has gone on. I did both ears in a single session this time, which is tricky, as it can be tempting to support the head by putting my finger on the far side to which I'm working (which would flatten any un-set ear I had just sculpted :p).

Steps 16, 17, & 18 - Her hair went on in 3 stages; first the back, then the fringe, then the two side area where the back and the fringe did not meet.
More to come soon.

Monday 3 March 2014

Making the Monk - Part 3



Ok, at this point we are going to take a moment away from the overall sculpture to talk about one of the most difficult parts of this sculpt: the hand, namely the left hand, which, for this pose had to be double sided. This was a pain, the first 3 attempts were very flawed, and only the final one worked.

The first attempt was a process I've made work before, by building a putty support, sculpting one side of the hand on to it, carving it back, and then sculpting the other side. :( did not work too well this time).

The Second attempt used a hand from another model I've made previously and taken a mould of her hand. Turns out it was too small a hand.

The Third attempt was similar to attempt #1 (these pictures show the support a bit better) but the support was left inside the hand. Also; did not work out.

In the Fourth and final attempt I sculpted the hand separately, using a paint brush haft as the initial support, before attaching it to the model, and sculpting the other side of the hand. Much more satisfied with the results.

A lot of this required extra setting time before the putty was rigid enough, or attached enough to do the next stage. So this kinda slowed down the overall process a fair bit. But I did do little bits of work on the rest of the model while  I was struggling with the hand. Which you should see in the next post.