First time modeling a figure in clay. Need some advise!

[Espezito]

Hey all, I'm seeking some help with a model I have to make for my sophmore product class. Usually I'll use 20lb foam, bondo, etc. to make my models, however, my assignment for this semester was to make an anime-inspired action figure! I've had a lot of fun thus far doing my sketches and renderings. However, one question remains: How am I going to model this? I figure some sort of sculpting clay would be my best bet. I need something that can be built up easily and it fairly firm so I can carve into it with tools. I'd also like to be able to bake it or something so that I can sand, prime, and paint it. I'm a pretty proficient(sp?) modeller, and I'd just like to expand my horizons to things beyond foam.
Anyways, I guess I need to know what soft of clay I should be looking to get, as well as some tips on technique. If anyone knows of any sites that could help me it would be greatly apprecieted!
Here's some info on what I plan to do with my model:

It's going to be about a foot tall, and I guess I'd make a wire frame for it first for stability. Also, I can have a pole in the back with a rod connected to the torso section to keep it standing. I was thinking of just doing a contraposto pose. After I'm done sculpting I'd like to bake it and then sand and prime it, then add paint and detail. It dosn't have to move or anything so I am wondering if I should still make it in sections or all in one piece... Anyways, here's some early sketches I had scanned in for an example. My renderings differ a bit from these, but I don't have them right now because they are in a display case










Thanks so much in advance! Please ask any questions you want! I troll this site forever so I'll be here

[Elwell]

Try Super Sculpey. It's what most of the maquette work here is done in (check the threads in the concepts in 3d and sculpture forum). It stays soft untill you bake it, then it can be carved, sanded, etc. You can add to or combine baked elements with fresh clay and bake again.

[katana]

http://theclubhouse1.net/

This is the best forum on the web for sculpting.

[egerie]

I'd also go with Super Sculpey (even tho I'm at a bias with grey water based clay...). Sturdy metal frame underneath with aluminum foil for the bulk. Stuff like that. I can't wait to see your progress with this. Looks like a fun char.

[Espezito]

Thanks a lot for the info guys, I've got some super sculpey to mess around with, and I'm going to make an amature tomarrow. When I bake it, would having the metal armature underneath produce any adverse effects? Also, I didn't know you could build up over already baked forms, thats gonna be a lot of help!

When the semester started and we got the assignment, I was pretty excited. I'm a fan of Gundam and pretty much any kind of mechanical stuff. However, when we got into the sketch phase I noticed everyone was drawing very Gundam-esque mechs. This led me to sort of go into a different direction. We had to choose a target demographic, so I chose females the age of which would play with Barbie or those Bratz dolls. Since the assignment was to make an anime-based robot I figured that japanese animation has gained enough popularity that girls in the US who would normally go for a barbie or such would also be intersed in my doll. I wanted my design to not be as outlandish as Babies or Bratz, without the over-accentuated curves . Since it's for younger females, I wanted to make something that would be a little more wholesome. The added benifit of this design was flexability and poseability. You cant really do that with a Barbie that I know of. I used Nevell Page's female maniquin as a reference for points of movement, and I was thinking of have a screw in the back that you could tighten to make all the limbs rigid and maintain a pose. Of course, a toy would this would appeal to anime nerds as well

I'm also developing an array of assessories to go with it, however I don't think I'll have time to model those, I'll just have them displayed as supporting artwork.

Once I get started on the armature I'll take some pics. I've got my orthos all drawn up so I won't really have to guess too much on proportions. I also wanna post some of my outlandish designs I had to scrap ART SCHOOL IS AWESOME!