First bust, a bit lost at texturing him.

[hugeanticpeanut]

Hi! this is my first attempt at sculpting a bust. done two dragons (halfway finished) before this one. I'm a bit lost as to how to texturize him.

don't want to go overboard making his face look like the moons surface XD
and the tabard do I crosshatch it to make it look like fabric? Not sure about my attempt at the chainmail coif either, feedback very much appreciated!

[Aseyngel]

Good work so far....
I would suggest finding a piece of cloth with the right structure - and gently pressing it into the clay to make the right tabard-structure. Cross hatching it will be nearly impossible.
This forum had the perfect tutorial for chainmail half a year ago - but I dont seem to be able to locate it. It might have been by KingUnicorn - have a look for yourself....
If the cross on his tabard is made of leather, it will not follow the creases of the tabard itself - but be above the tabard...
You -as I - need to practice EYES on a scrap piece of clay....
Keep us updated ;-)

[hugeanticpeanut]

Aaahh, I'll try the cloth thing. yeah I'll have to work alot more on the eyes, think I over do the eyelids a bit.

[Darkwulf's Talon]

Looking at it all the proportions are spot on and the effect for the chain mail works for me.

Eyes could probably be sunk in more? and the right part of his chest does not seem to be as heavily muscled as the left? That might just be the perspective though.

Friggin awesome though so far! :-)

[KingUnicorn]

Hey, H-Peanut. The texturing process can be tricky and the techniques are often personalized from one artist to the next through experimentation and experience.

Aseyngel is right about finding a material you feel reflects what you're after and capturing it for use in your sculptures. You can make texture stamps out of silicone, sculpey, or other soft materials that can be hardened and pressed into the clay.

As for the chainmaille effect, I did come up with a clay solution, but it might create links that are larger than what you're after. Give it a look through and see what you think: ku_clay_chainmaille_guide.pdf

Another option is to use real links. Make a coil of very thin wire around a wire coat hanger. Cut the links individually and overlap them one by one into the common 4-in-1 pattern. It's not a quick process, but the level of detail you'll achieve is worth the investment of time.

Good luck!

~KU

[hugeanticpeanut]

Thank you guys so very very much, I've finished the sculpting now and I've started my first ever painting of it, I'm using brush and acrylic colors, any hints and tips?

[Aseyngel]

Thanks KU for helping me out - I do not posess the skills needed for survival in the modern hightech world !

And HAP - if you are going to do this often - you might as well get an airbrush. They dont come cheap - but applying paint is so much easier.

The cloth-thingy looks good - I am glad it worked.

Anyway - with a brush you need a good spray-paint primer (as in "primer from GAMES WORKSHOP" or similar).

After that just remember to dilute the paint with water (and perhaps a little soap) and use thin layers

And give the airbrush a thought.....

[hugeanticpeanut]

i sure will give the airbrush a thought was thinking about getting one for doing designs on helmets n stuff too but I'm a little lost as to what kind of airbrush and compressor to use. I'm guessing it's important to get an even flow.

[TeaMonster]

Howdy Mr Peanut,
I think your chainmail worked out well, I always aim for 'believable' rather than 100% 'accurate'.
As for painting I'm a complete noob to the world of airbrushing, but I know it's a big outlay at first for the kit-You can take things pretty far with a brush so don't feel like you can't prgress if you can't afford an airbrush right now.

Look forward to seeing more.

[Aseyngel]

Btw - I am ok with your chainmail too ;-)

There is a world of material on the net concerning airbrushes.
If I got it right - you need an airbrush where you can press the noob to get more paint, and pull it backwards to get more air. The rest is pretty much up to your wallet.
I use an IAWATA HP+ which can probably support skills I will never posess. But I am an old fart with a dayjob - so I though: "What the hell!".
Concerning compressor - go for a cheap one with a device for taking the water out of the air - and a dial for adjusting the air-pressure. In my local area - that is around 120 USD - and then it is around 10 kg ;-)

[hugeanticpeanut]

thanks for all the help guys! what color should I prime him in? does it matter if I go black grey or white?

[MikeMakesMonkeys]

Go with whatever serves your purpose best.

White is best for bright clean colours - but there is nothing worse than a bit of un-painted white poking out of some deep detail.

Black is good for stuff with a lot of metallics, and deep recesses. Not good for colours though.

Grey is the happy medium - and probably what I'd say go for... and - you have a pot of black paint and a pot of white paint - there's nothing stopping you washing over the chainmail areas with a bit of black first, or the colourful bits/flesh with a bit of white - whatever your primer colour is.

Liking the sculpt btw - keep us posted

[hugeanticpeanut]

Heres another update, started painting him. going to add some dirt and of course color in the face.

[Doggy]

Whoa Peanut, this is not bad at all!
My painting preference if you want to try it out is to apply a first layer in a mid tone of the colour of each area. Then i just darken the recesses a little with dilluted paint (slightly darker than the mid tone) and gently drybrush lighter and lighter highlights to the raised areas.
A bit of watered down black where the tabard meets the cross on the guys chest will create a nice shadow along the cross edges, and also dull any white that has gotten onto thhe cross.
When you add dirt effects and stuff, remember to think about scale. Look at a patch of mud for example and try to figure out how to scale it down to the size you need. Too much detail and colour variations and it will look too created (for lack of a better word), not enough and it will only look like a blob of paint.

Hope you understand what i mean by all this, and that i´t been of some help

[Solaire007]

pretty cool...I like the way you pulled off the chainmail... can't wait to see what the face turns out to look like...