TT....DFTT Rejects Sculpting Class...FINISHED

[Shelby Lynn]

This is so cool! Can't wait to see more of this baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sbm]

Thanks guys...that means alot!

Sally,
If airfare wasn't so dang expensive, they'd be boxed up now!!!

Don't get me wrong, I love the little buggers (that's why they are still alive ) but hubby is never home and I NEVER get away!!!!!! So it gets a little tiring after awhile.

Here's the nose reattached.....

Sorry for the rough pic but taking advantage of both kids taking a nap (I'll pay for it tonight but hey...getting some sculpting done now!! Wahoo!)

[Shelby Lynn]

WOW she is really starting to look like your inspiration baby!! Can't wait to see those little lips!

[sbm]

Oh the pressure...oh the pressure...
Just kidding...
hope I can deliver!

OK...added a cigar of clay beneath nose to build up upper lip. I measured down using the technique I showed you above (I also did this with the "new" placement of the nose). I measured the HEIGHT of the eye. The bottom of the nose was 2 eye heights below the eyes. The seperation between the upper and lower lips was 1 1/2 below the nose...I marked this with a tool.

[Shelby Lynn]

She's gettin' there!!!!!

[sbm]

I smoothed out the remaining clay so she didn't look like a walrus. I also added 2 small balls of clay to the cheeks to puff them out a bit. Always have to have chubby cheeks on those babies!

I then "drew" in the line of her lips. This was done with that "expensive" dental pick that I got at the local Dollar Store. I love these for something like this and also to "draw" in the eyes and clean them up.



It's not exactly where I want it but you have to start somewhere...so jump on in!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sbm]

Hello all....
I'm still here......

I've been fiddling with the eyes and nose...a little different now...sorry it's blurry


This is why I never get any sculpts done (besides the family interferences)...I try to make every little thing perfect and get fiddling with everything.

I trimmed down the eyelids a bit...they were too thick. Reshaped eyes.
Sized down the nose...it was too large.

AGAIN...will try the mouth...i know you guys are waiting!

I wanted to bake the head before the 4th...think I can make it??????

san

[sonia]

absoloutly brilliant, thankyou so much for sharing with us, your sculpt is looking really lovely and you have tempted me to get my clay out and i have a head form somewhere and play too. i'm also going to try the "out of the oven and into cold water" as the cracks in the clay has been the reason it got shoved in a drawer.
are you going to continue sharing after the head and guide us through some limbs.
san your a star
thankyou
sonia
x

[sbm]

Thanks Sonia,
I was going to ask all that participated whether they wanted limbs done too.

I;m going to try that cold water trick too...I'll make sure I post for prayers right before I put her in the oven!

San

OK...sorry doing it again...sculpting away and forgetting to tell what I'm doing....

Now I see I want to fix her left eye and nostril...SEE what I mean...I never stop fiddling!!!

OK to lips...after "drawing" the seperation between lips, work on rounding off the square edges. This will form the lips. I use the JJ tool...finger nail end to indent the corners of the mouth.

Any questions??? I'm sure I'm missing something here.

I'm not really happy with her...she looks lke one I've done before. Oh well....back to some fiddlin'

[Creativeimpressions-Cathy]

I think your doing great! I think the right nostril is bigger than the left, and I think your not done with the mouth right? I think it does not look "finished" otherwise, very impressive baby! I would love to see your limbs, especially your armature, I hate those! and definitely try the cold water trick... .straight from the hot oven to the cold water, no waiting for cooling!!

[Sam20]

Sandra , your work is fab - Want to come to my house and give some live courses?!

P.S. I "Fiddle" with my sculpts a lot too, your not the only one!!!!! Yours however , looks so much better than mine!!!!!
Also I do feel I don't put 100 percent into it sometimes as I feel it will just get ruined when I bake anyway as it's super sculpey and I'm not sure I like using that stuff!!!!!

[sbm]

Sam,
I'm about ready to "run away" so I'll come to your place! I'm SURE my family won't think to look in the UK for me!!!! We'll sculpt, watch Ab Fab and have a pint or two!!!
That cryer and Asian at the beginning are both Super Sculpey mixed with a tiny bit of Prosculpt to get rid of the moonies from the SS. I think (I didn't write it down!! tsk tsk) it was a 4:1 mix but that dang Prosculpt STILL cracked my heads!!!!!!!!
I just got some Cernit in. Someone told me to try THAT with the SS (have TONS of SS laying around too!!). I DID write down the mix they told me, I'll have to find it and post it for you. I should take a pic of my workroom!!!! There is a PATH to walk thru but that's about it. I'm actually sculpting in the Living Room on a card table right now!!! I told the hubby it;s so I can keep an eye on the kids....it's also so I don';t have to clean my workroom!!!!

Well went to get my 2nd cup of coffee and just walked into the workroom and for ONCE I actually hung something on my corkboard!!!
This recipe is from Carol Kniestly
2/3 cernit and 1/3 sculpey by weight (not sure whether I just wrote Sculpey and meant SS)
mix in Cuisinart (THIS I won't try because I break ANYHTING mechanical - ask the hubby!)
great color consistency..very few cracks or moons
workability of Sculpey
strength and tranclucency of Cernit

This recipe is from Lori (Brain Fart here....the one who makes the monkeys from Ohio)
2/3 SS and 1/3 Cernit
1 slice of SS (I'm assuming she means one layer of the bar...it usually has 4)
1/2" of Cernit off end of bar.

Hope this helps!

I have yet to try these. Was waiting on Cernit. Guess it's time...I'll try on the next head!

[sbm]

I did shave a little off her nostril.
I added the slightest bit onto her UPPER lip and shaved down her chin a bit. WHY?? Because I look from all directions, I decided her profile was more toddler than baby.


Remember, keep looking from ALL directions up to the point you bake him!!! This keeps all the proportions symmetrical. Sometimes I'll even work on a feature upside down because it changes how you see it. For example...you won't see it as an eye...you'll just see the shapes and lines.

OK...I'm going to smooth his poor thing up a bit...she's a little bumpy!

San

BTW Sam...I think you're doing great!!! Every artist doesn't think their art is FINISHED...otherwise, we'd never start on anything new!!!

[sbm]

Sam,
Went back to look at your sculpt. Try taking the slightest bit of both sides of the upper lip. Indent it a bit. You know in between the nose and lip...on the sides NOT in the middle! This will also pudge up your cheeks a bit.

If this doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll draw on a pic and scan for ya. I'm having trouble pointing to the area with my hands for you...my arms won't stretch that far! Check the profile first though...look at that drawing I posted...the shape...that helped mine immensely.

Hope this helps.

San

[sbm]

I just HAD to pudge up those cheeks!!!!



I'm going to try to smooth out and then I'll start on ears. I'd like to do all THEN bake but we'll see.

[sbm]

To mark the ear:
Looking at the side of the head at eye level, mark a horizontal line above the top of the eyelids and one above the top of the mouth.

Then mark a vertcal line that is centered between the furtherest point of back of head and the tip of the nose.

Draw an ear shape just behind the vertical line and in between the 2 horizontals. You can use drawings and photographs as guides for this AND for sculpting the ears.



You can use the drawing on the head as your "pattern" to make an ear shape of clay about a 1/2" thick. This I usually apply to the head then carve out the ear.

The TOUGH part (at least for me) is to get BOTH ears symmetrical and in the right spot!!!



I first flatten out a piece of 1/2" clay. cut an ear shape the size drawn on the head. Reroll this and shape into a basic ear shape. Position it on the head and mold it down on ALL sides.



Then carve off some on the front of the ear, making it more of a wedge shape.




Using a guide, draw in base ear features. This is a pic I use ALOT!

[sbm]

More ear work...just keep plugging away, looking at a pics as guides.

Carve behind the ear...my "nutcracker" tool and JJ's fingernail tool seems to do the trick for me.


Here's little Pudgie Poo with one ear....

[sbm]

Oooh that right eye...her left....is still bugging me. Her head needs a major smoothing. I don't have any secret tips on this. Sometimes I'll roll it on the table or use the plam of my hand. Little tight areas I try with the pointed Q-tips.

Well she'll be baking soon!

San

[sbm]

I have never used prosculpt without cracks either, but lately, I started getting cracks on everyone with sculpey and cernit mixed (and I never used to get that)...BUT LADIES.... dont freak, this truly works!!! If you take your head straight out of the oven and put in a bucket or sink of cold cold water instantly, no cracks!!!! REally... dont believe me, try it! I did not believe it either and finally tried because they were all cracking again. and no more cracks... sheila michaels trick!!! but i still dont use prosculpt anymore... got sick of all my heads being ruined!!

HOLY TOLEDO!!!!!!!! IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Cathy and GOD BLESS Sheila Michaels, I'd like to KISS that woman!!!!!

Needless to say...little Pudgie Poo came out without a crack on her!! WAHOO!!!




Now I did use a styrofoam form so once I run out of forms, I'll have to brave just a tinfoil one again and see if that works!

Now on to the bitchin'. Why is it the dang thing looks perfect BEFORE you put it in the oven but once it comes out, you see some imperfections that could have been corrected??? It's that dang eye I wanted to fiddle with...oh well no one is completely symmetrical, right???


I wanted to thank all who came to participate and watch this LIVE BIRTH!
This is the first childbirth I went through NATURALLY (well excluding the beers at the neighbors') so I think I will go grab myself one and celebrate a NO CRACK HEAD BABY!!!

Anyone, anyone.....Bueller, Bueller???

[Creativeimpressions-Cathy]

Isn't it great how that works! I was so happy when I finally tried it and no cracks. I dont use tinfoil, only styrofoam, but hopefully it will work for that too! Its scary to do though huh? I always heard, leave it in the oven, dont peek... just let it sit over night, etc... but they still cracked! I would love to know if it works with prosculpt too... I have not tried it with prosculpt, as I dont have any anymore... Great job by the way!! Limbs now??????