Well I'm starting on my figure for the sculpting challenge and I have a few questions:

After forming the pose should I wait for the green stuff to settle before sculpting or is it better to sculpt it right away when it is soft?

How important is having a cork base? Too lazy to go out and get one, but I guess it helps for stabilizing the miniature?

How do you manage sculpting a figure? One body part at a time or the whole thing in one shot?

And any other insight would help, thanks. I did look at some youtube tutorials, they helped a bit somewhat. I knew sculpting isn't the easiest thing in the world and now that I'm trying it I have a better appreciation for any of those who excel at it.

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Have a look at EBobs site - didn't he have a few good guides to starting out. Yep -see below.

http://www.ebobminiatures.com/sculpting/sculpting.htm

His armatures are great I think he even has Dwarven scale ones. There is nothing wrong in using an armature to get you basic skill level up.

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Yep thanks, took a look. He has like pre-made adjustable skeletons or mock ups!

I just completed a leg so I'm well on my way, took me 3 hours though to reach something satisfiable

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My Lotr backlog: 305/952[][][][][][][][][][]32% completed
Painting Lineup: Mumakil x2, Rohan Heroes x8, Haradrim, SKoDA

Yeah do them in sections - starting from the feet up I have heard before and from experience works pretty well. Work your way up the body and then out towards the hands otherwise you have to fiddle with getting the arms right after you can't change it anymore.

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Depends what you plan to do with it. If you want to blend it into a previous layer, get to work straight away as the mix will be at its softest and easiest to smear. If you are doing a cloak or banner, I suggest leaving it for about 10 minutes before rolling it out. When rolling flat greenstuff, use talc powder on the mat and rolling tool to stop it sticking to one or the other. Once you've cut it to shape, wipe the powder residue off with a damp cloth or tissue so that you can get a little adhesion back to attach to the mini.


Its not essential, but it helps to have something to hold onto whilst you're sculpting the mini. If you hold the mini itself whilst trying to work on it you will inevitably squash or get fingerprints on a piece you've just done. It doesn't have to be a cork, but cork is most common because it is rigid enough to hold the armature firmly, but soft enough to push the wire in initially.


I start with the armature but no head. I then thicken the legs and torso up with a thin layer of putty to gage the dimensions. Then I'll add another layer with balloon style muscle groups. Then cloth or skin can be added after that. When it comes to adding the head, don't forget to add approx. 1mm for a neck. Arms I do last usually as its easier to complete the torso first.


At the top of this forum there's a sticky thread with a list of sculpting tutorials found around the web. I've found several of them very useful in my sculpting development over the years. Another thing is get the right tools. A pointed hobby knife is the bare minimum really, and silicone clay shapers are essential for flowing cloth.

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