Zombie Suicidal Cowboy (W.I.P. & Updated)

[John Sumrow]

Hello everyone,

First of all, there is a lot of great talent at this site, and in this forum specifically. I have learned tons by the variety of posts and the generous nature and vibe of the group. My problem: there comes a point in a project where you have a malaise or you are stuck and not quiet sure how to proceed...

This is the lower half of my "Zombie Suicidal Cowboy" W.I.P.. It is close to 12" high. My question is how fine of detail do you put on Sculpey™ at sculpt time or leave for the paint?

Specifically, I have done some texture on the zombies pants; tears, folds, crinkles, etc., but not the smaller fabric level weave. Should I imply this with the paint job? Or should I go ahead and crawl up it's arse with a microscope and put a complete fabric weave on all the clothes? Will the paint job fill in and mute the fine textures? How much? How little? Or is this where we get into the subtleties of... as an artist you must use your intuition and just know?

[studiostaub]

Hi John,
First of all already very nice detail, cool concept.
ALWAYS go with the most amount of detail in the sculpt. try aplying solvent with a brush to smoothen the surface, or press stamplike things onto the surface to create a texture.

good luck

[John Sumrow]

Thanks studiostaub! I'm having a difficult time changing my thinking. I have always painted and drawn. Never done the clay / sculpt thing. It's very different. Normally I would just paint the texture, but my gut was uneasy about that. So I ask the masters with hat in hand. I'll keep posting as it goes along.

Thanks again,

Sumrow

[Majora]

look good bud

[Fovos]

i would add as much detail as i can. try to use "thin layers" when you paint it so you dont lose that detail also.

[Sierrebrarc]

I too was going to mention the paint... Only you know how thick or thin your paint will be, and the more layers you add the more detail you will lose....

There are arguments to go both ways, but in the end the choice is yours, and should be based on what you know rather than a random opinion. I frequently ask for the opinion of others, but in the end I often go against the opinion of others as it clashes with what I feel is right.

Not trying to sound preachy.... sorry lol

The best thing you could do in your case "In my opinion" is try a test piece. Before you continue, get some paint you will use and texture the heck out of a piece of scrap... then test how much paint you can use, how thin you can make it and still get the effect you want and go from there.... It would be horrible for you to ruin such fine workmanship based on the opinion of someone else...

No offense to any one here! You people have more talent in the hair on your little pinky toe! But when someone treads into unfamiliar territory, it is best to tread lightly and practice, of course, makes perfect. =)

[Apropos]

While I tend to agree with studiostaub I want to reiterate that sculpting the weave of fabric is going to be time conssuming and pointless. Find a texture stamp to do it, like real cloth or burlap, sculpting all that detail with a tool will take forever.

But yes, as a rule, the maximum amount of detail you can see with the naked eye.

It looks really good so far.

[Alan H.]

Hi John,

I'm a pretty new user of sculpey, coming from working mostly in water clays so I'm just astounded by how thin you are workin on the tatteres of those trousers in your sculpt. How do you manage to go that thin without the damn stuff flaking to bits?

As to your own initial question, I would go with putting that detial in with texture stamping on the sculpey rather than in the paint job; like Apropos said, rummage around for something that has the texture you want and just press it on there: if you are going for a fine weave on a figure of this size, I would try a tight meshed fabric like muslin. As always, test out a range of textures of spare clay before slapping anythig onto your finished piece.

Good luck with the piece.

[John Sumrow]

Thanks everyone for the tips! I did some test swatches and painted them up for presentation. Apropos: I made a custom stamp with some loose shop towels. They seemed to have a nice random cloth pattern that fits what I am after. I m leaning toward the blue style. It seemed to come out pretty good. It was interesting how much small details make a difference. The buttons and hem lines add a great sense of scale compared to the blank version. Note to self...

[John Sumrow]

I've been focusing on the arms and back as of late. Not holding back on the detail per your suggestions. I flipped the treatment of legs vs arms. The left leg is boney while the right is still fleshy, and alternated that idea for the arms for variety. The foot is rebuilt as well. Added a lot more detail. Tried to get every bone defined as best I could.

end_the_apocalypse - I'm finding Sculpey to be very forgiving. I can get it down pretty thin to within a few millimeters and it's fine. The swatches are very thin in some parts and they are quiet strong actually. Whoot! Whoot! More detail!

Sierrebrarc - I treated the Arcylics just like watercolors and am very pleased with the results. I bought a cheap can of primer from an auto parts store and it worked great as an undercoat. Then, I washed the shirt swatches in a very thin dark brown/black mix then wipped it off when it was close to drying. This left only the dark brown in the creases and poped the detail. From there I used several layers of thin acrylic like watercolors. I'm pretty happy with it. The tests have given me a boost of confidence. I don't feel like I'm going to botch all my work at this point.


Thanks everyone for the advice. Stay tuned...

Comments and critiques are always welcomed and encouraged.

~ Sumrow