Sunday, September 6, 2015

Making Monsters

The makers of Super Sculpey have a great tutorial video with artist Jake Corrick on creating a creature bust.  It's an easy to follow introduction to sculpting technique aimed at beginners.  The biggest takeaway is probably the difference between form and texture and how the two interact, but it's worth a look even if you're not into creature gaffs.

Anyone who does work with sculpey should pay attention to the alcohol wash technique for removing tool marks and fingerprints.  Our brains are wired to recognize a fingerprint pattern because we've seen them every time we look at our own hands.  Seeing it on a creature instantly breaks immersion and identifies a gaff as a created work instead of a living thing.   It's inexcusable to leave them on a sculpt when they're so easy to remove.

1 comment:

PamV said...

If you don't notice the fingerprint until after the piece is baked; all hope is not lost -- nail polish remover on a cotton ball or q-tip smooths out baked pieces. Keep away from inset plastic eyes or other plastic insets: always test on a spare inset part.

Got this tip from Wendy Froud at a workshop she taught back in the late 90s.