Getting it Covered

Article Transcript

Hey there, guys and girls!! I’d like to show you my process for creating a caricature sculpture! This article will be helpful to you if you’re a noob to sculpting, but even some of the pros out there might pick up some new ideas to use on their next sculpt. You’ll see what tools you need to get started as well as some helpful hints to make your sculpts more dynamic. The most important thing I try to remember when sculpting is to make sure I’m having fun while I challenge myself. Keep that in mind while you’re working and LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!

Tools
Heres a pic of the tools I like to use for sculpting. Some are actual sculpting tools, and you can see theres also an X-ACTO knife in there as well as a dental tool. Whatever, right?!?! Like I said, use what works for you.

Materials
Most times I will use armature wire, and thin floral wire. You will also need aluminum foil. This will be used to bulk up your character so its not a solid piece of clay.

As far as clay goes, I use Sculpey. It’s my favorite. I alternate between Super Sculpey beige, which is kind of soft, and the super Sculpey Firm gray. I also like to use Pro Poxy putty for holding the armature joints, which I’ll show later.

And lastly, for smoothing the clay and adding finishing touches, I like to use cooking oil.

References
You can never have too many references. Here is a screen shot of a few of the references I used for this commissioned project. Thanks to Facebook, I can look someone up, go through all their pics, find the pics I want to draw from and then drag and drop them onto my desktop. Yikes, that doesn’t sound too creepy.

Rough sketch
Now I’ll start sketching from the pics I that I have gathered. I always try to keep my style fun and simplistic.

Building the armature
Once I have a rough sketch I like, I’ll print it out to match the size of what the actual piece will be. This is how I size up my armature. Next I’ll use the Pro Poxy putty to reinforce a few of the joints. This helps make the armature more of a solid structure.

Bulking it up
Once the putty is set, about 20 mins, I can start bulking it up with the aluminum foil. Doing this will help you save on clay plus it makes the sculpt lighter.

Time to start sculpting
From here I block in the large areas with clay, trying to not get too detailed. At this point I just want to focus on transforming my sketch into a 3-dimensional form.

Adding details
Next on the list is making sure I get all the details and the likeness just the way I want. For me, this is the part that takes the most time. This is where I’m always being careful about remembering to refer to my rough sketch as well as the reference pics. It’s all the small details that can really make the sculpt that much more dynamic.

Cleanup
To clean up and smooth out my sculpts, I use cooking oil and a soft paintbrush and brush over the entire sculpt. This is really helpful to get out all the fingerprints that have been left behind. I know some prefer to use rubbing alcohol, thats fine too. Whichever you prefer is fine.

Baking
You’re now ready to bake your sculpt. Before you put your sculpt in the oven, follow the instructions and make sure that it’s Sculpey clay or a clay that is meant to be baked. You don’t want to make that mistake. Ugghh, trust me. Once it’s finished baking, let it cool before you paint it.

Sculpts are usually the same color after being baked, unless I have kept it in the oven for a bit longer. Then the sculpey will have more of a tan color to it. Keeping it in the oven a bit longer isn’t really a problem. As long as it’s not in there so long that the clay starts to get scorch marks. But even if it does, you can still fix it up by just sanding it down and painting over it.

Painting
I like to paint my sculpts using an airbrush then going in on the fine details with a paint brush. This way it dries faster and eliminates brush strokes.

Sealing
After I finish painting, I like to seal it with a clear coat spray.

And that’s it!!
So now you know how I sculpt a caricature. And knowing how to do it is half the battle. Hope to see you sculpting at the con in Orlando!

For more of Stacy’s work go to www.instagram.com/stacykakes/

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