A feather in the cap.

So here we are again. I've been away longer than I care to be. Being able to sculpt only part-time is both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because I can walk away and clear my head sometimes with a motorcycle cruise or a round of golf.

A curse because when I am out riding on that motorcycle, or playing golf... well, I'm not sculpting.

I figured today's blog has to be a little bit about what has been consuming all my time lately when it comes to sculpting... FEATHERS!

I FINALLY am feeling like my Hawkman sculpt is reaching a point, where I can share a bit of my process on the most dreaded part of the sculpt... the wings.

When I first started to sculpt the wings I was adamant about using clay to sculpt them. Quickly I changed my tune as nothing seemed to be working for me with the clay. If I had a feather I liked, I would look as I was on to the next one and the first had been ruined by a hand, a errant tool mark etc.

I had to rethink and go to a place I did not want to go... WAX. I thought to myself, I have just added double the amount of time that this was going to take. Luckily, I was wrong and I hit a grove. They have been tedious to work on, but it has gone much better than I had thought.

So the plan was in place. I printed off some reference of wings in a folded position to a size I liked. I cut out this shape in wire mesh.


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After that I proceeded to lay down a thin layer of Aves Apoxie Sculpt to both lock the mesh in place as well as give the wax something to bite on when dipped into the crock pot.

After the apoxie had set up, I had a sufficient armature for the wing. A nice rigid structure underneath to both help me keep the shape of the wing, but to now also help the wax from breaking every 5 seconds due to being brittle.

People Have asked me, how I am sculpting these feathers and I simple say "One at a time" (no sarcasm intended)

You can see from this pic below, the first layer of wax adhering to the armature and the first of the many feather to come.


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Right around the second row of feathers, I knew that this was going to work out pretty well and I hit my aforementioned stride. Lots of fine lines carved in to look like the little hairs that make up the feathers sometimes nice and uneven to prevent the wing from looking too symmetrical and static. If you do this enough times what eventually happens, is that it actually starts to pass for a wing and not just an ugly apoxie coated mesh.


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This sculpt in particular would either be made or broken by the wings. I am so glad I was able to learn on the fly and figure out a great way to sculpt these wings. I was more than a little bit petrified that I would have this sculpture with excellent details all the way down to facial stubble, but then have two lumps of poop where the wings should be. So far, I think I have managed to get over that fear by just diving in and doing it. Sitting there and overanalyzing has never been my style anyway...


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Until next time... thanks for stopping by.
--

Keith

Time flies when you are having fun

Well I looked at my last blog entry and I realize what a schmuck I am. Has it really been since February? It certainly hasn't been laziness that has kept me away. That much is for certain. So why haven't I updated my blog? Well for starters, I have been blessed with a pregnant wife who is carrying my unborn son. This has set off a chain of events in my household to say the least. I have been scrambling to get a nursery ready for Junior's arrival come September, and I have been remodeling other pieces/parts of my home as well. I think time will be a bit tight when the little guy gets here.

Does this mean I have been not sculpting in the mean time? Hell no... I have been toiling away dripping wax, pushing clay, and all things sculpture almost every day. I have updates to a now finished Sinestro bust as well as an exciting new piece I started working on a week or two ago now: Hawkman.

I think that Sinestro came out really well and I found myself learning a lot about torso anatomy by the time he was finished. The human body is an amazing piece of science, when you actually break it down with how everything all knits together. I am continually amazed with each piece, how much I see something new in the human body to appreciate and/or frustrate me as I sculpt it... *cough* forearms *cough*.

So I have some pictures to show of what's currently going on in the Dawg Pound. My hope is to blaze through the figure work on the Hawkman, so that when I reach the inevitable brick wall that will be sculpting feathers on those wings of his, it will still be something that can be powered through and come out as a true portfolio piece.

First I give you a finished Sinestro, of which until I started the Hawkman, I believe was my best piece yet.


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Now the Hawkman, which is yet another commission piece. The head was sculpted in wax and then cast in resin, so I could in essence has a "save" for my work. On the resin head I sculpted the mask in wax far enough along to see the personality of the piece. I won't finish the mask now until the rest of the body is done.


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Next, it was time to start hammering out the anatomy of the body. Like I said, the human body is amazing and I'm picking up some nice knowledge as I go here.


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Well until next time... which will be soon I promise you... thanks for stopping by.
--

Keith

The comic book portrait I

Through the years I have really come to love sculpting faces. I think a great face sculpt can carry you a long way in this business. If the face looks incredible, then you are willing to accept certain things with the rest of the sculpt that you might not forgive if it were the other way around.

If a sculpt had 100% perfect anatomy and a terrible grill... the piece is more likely to get thumped by fans. I'm not saying that I don't try to bring my A game to the table when it comes to sculpting anatomy... in fact I love it... I'm just saying that if the heroes don't look regal and handsome, if the women don't look as gorgeous as Salma Hayek, and if the villains don't look like they could scare the holy hell out of you, then it might not have the success it is surely worth.

This is a business of blood sweat and tears and MANY HOURS worth of work can turn to a nightmare for an artist, the second that fans put on their art directing caps and say " MEH!". I've seen it happen to many sculptors whom I respect, admire and look up to, and I have felt the cold sting of it myself.

Does that mean the fans are evil? Hell no... The fans are dynamite and you as the artist have to weigh the comments and opinions, and always take them as they are.

Your best bet out of the gate to win everyone over, in my humble experience, is to give them a head sculpt that is a stand out. Some of the absolute finest sculptors in this business are able to blow you away with their portraits first and foremost. When the dust settles, I would love for people to look at my sculpture and see that I try to create something as visually stunning as I am able... starting with a kick-ass portrait.

I always pour a blank wax cast of a piece I have previously molded and start there. It is much easier to have a lump of wax and alter it, than it is to drip and build wax from scratch.


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Recently I have started a couple of new pieces. They are commission pieces, as well as portfolio pieces for DC Comics. I always start with the portrait. Many sculptors do not do it this way for fear of not getting the body properly in scale with the head. I think it is 6 of 1, and half a dozen of the other as it all has to match up eventually. By doing the portrait first, I can really begin to get inside the personality of the piece, and really find the mood and pose.

I am very excited about these new portraits, especially of the character called Sinestro. He is an old-time Green Lantern villain and he's got that great weathered, and arrogant look, like all good bad guys should have. You throw in those features, with a little Vincent Price vibe and you have a great project that people get excited about seeing.


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I did my usual, and poured a wax blank, of a head that was sculpted and previously molded. I let the wax cool and then I proceed to scrape, carve and drip hot wax where needed, to start fleshing out the new portrait. I get the piece close enough to send a picture or two of the WIP to the commissioner to get his reaction and we continue from there.


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I then go to town to bring a professional finish to the portrait, by putting in the fine details as well as polishing the wax to an incredible smooth state. At this point, I again fire off pics to the client to make sure he is as happy as I am with how the piece is progressing.


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Now the portrait is finished... I am very excited to tear into sculpting the anatomy. I can set the head on the workbench, and stare at it any time I need, to continue to get inside the personality and I want to convey into the final piece.


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It was a long one today... thanks for hanging in there and letting me ramble.

--

Keith