Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I am sculpting some zombie clowns based on some previous creations of mine:



Here are the new armatures:



...and the progress on the first zombie:

Hell yes dude, epic idea.

Really nice stuff! I'm looking forward for more pictures

Thanks guys! Here's tonights progress for you...

As you can see, my first zombie clown is now posed and has his baseball bat weapon in place:

So nice.

Thanks! Here's some progress for you:

Toooo sweet Any plans for them? Clown typhus and his army of zombie clowns?

This is a dude ive been followin for a little while, he does carnival DE, and they have some sweet conversions that may inspire you, ive linked you to one of my favourite; his demented talos clown. personally the balloons are my fav bit.

http://www.thedarkcity.net/t6097p60-harlequin-carnival-la-danse-macabre

Thanks Solar Shock! These are a combination of sculpting practice and a learning exercise in metal casting. The question is, will they survive the vulcanisation?!

Thanks for sharing the image too. I like the clown mask!

These are so FREAKING AWESOME. Your sculpting in general is sick work. Do you have a method or tutorial you can share with us? Or general tips, tricks of the trade? Or how much green stuff you use per model? I'd love to be able to scratch build some orky looking models

ImperialNids wrote:
These are so FREAKING AWESOME. Your sculpting in general is sick work. Do you have a method or tutorial you can share with us? Or general tips, tricks of the trade? Or how much green stuff you use per model? I'd love to be able to scratch build some orky looking models

Thanks! Pleased you like them. I haven't written an tutorials but seeing how you asked I will! Honestly don't know how much putty I'd use on a sculpt... Not a lot, but always more than I would expect!

You've got the skill, I like your works!
My sympathy for those who have coulrophobia, though.

 Tigramans wrote:
You've got the skill, I like your works!
My sympathy for those who have coulrophobia, though.

Thanks! It is indeed a labor of love...

Progress is slow, but I am nearly there! These sculpts are starting to drag on a little. I'm now keen to get these finished so I can start something new!

 moonmin82 wrote:

ImperialNids wrote:
These are so FREAKING AWESOME. Your sculpting in general is sick work. Do you have a method or tutorial you can share with us? Or general tips, tricks of the trade? Or how much green stuff you use per model? I'd love to be able to scratch build some orky looking models

Thanks! Pleased you like them. I haven't written an tutorials but seeing how you asked I will! Honestly don't know how much putty I'd use on a sculpt... Not a lot, but always more than I would expect!

Yeh i'd really like to see your work in action even just a video as you worked would be plenty insightful i think You said these models were starting to drag? they seem pretty much almost complete, what needs finishing?/how much work they got left? Also, what is the grey stuff? simply another type of milliput/GS etc?

Solar Shock wrote:

Yeh i'd really like to see your work in action even just a video as you worked would be plenty insightful i think You said these models were starting to drag? they seem pretty much almost complete, what needs finishing?/how much work they got left? Also, what is the grey stuff? simply another type of milliput/GS etc?

Sadly my digital camera takes pretty crummy videos! A photo guide will have to do!

They are indeed pretty much finished. I just felt like I was going round in circles as I've had to repeat certain parts several times due to the Procreate putty (grey) peeling away. I like using Procreate but it has its problems. It's not very sticky and layers can easily come apart once cured. The pale green putty you see in later photos is a mixture of Procreate and Green Stuff. The best of both worlds! It holds the detail of PC but has the stickiness of GS.

Oh cool, I currently use mixes of milliput and GS, how would you say procreate differs from those? As I find milliput gives GS its much needed ability to be sanded and filed after hardening, as otherwise its too rubbery. What does procreate provide?

Solar Shock wrote:
Oh cool, I currently use mixes of milliput and GS, how would you say procreate differs from those? As I find milliput gives GS its much needed ability to be sanded and filed after hardening, as otherwise its too rubbery. What does procreate provide?

It's been some time since I have used Miliput. It was always too messy for me! Procreate is a lot like Green Stuff, perhaps a little firmer. The main difference between Miliput and PC (for me at least) is how they interact with water. Miliput smooths very well with water, but can also become a bit of a slurry. PC isn't so great with water but works quite well with a little Vaseline. Miliput is also really sticky and messy (more still with water). PC is fairly dry and not so sticky. It holds detail really well though!

If you like how Miliput mixes with Green Stuff and smooths with water you should try MagicSculp. That smooths really well with water and gives the GS the ability to be carved/sanded too. I like it. It's not nearly as messy!



Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'll have some photo progress ready to share over the coming days... Hopefully clown #1 will be complete and 2 and 3 well on the way to being done.

The plan is still to do a clown collar tutorial, probably using the masked clown (#3) as an example.

For anybody wishing to learn the basics of sculpting or for those (like me) looking to improve, I thoroughly recommend James Van Schaiks classes. There are currently two fundamentals modules available, with HD videos and PDF guides. The rest are in the works. I've found them really useful and have noticed a real improvement in my results. Check out the link below and let me know what you think :-)

FireForEffectStudios

...if you click the link above and hit "All Courses", select module Fundamentals 1 or 2 and you can actually view a preview video of each.

Latest progress. Amongst other things the Sad Clowns face has been completely re-sculpted.

Those sculpts are coming out fantastic! A lot of character, very well done.

Hey Moonmin,

Coming along nicely! really liking the re-sculpt of the sad face clown, the curvature on it is really well done. The lips and brows really standout and give it that sad face feel. Infact really loving them in general. Do keep the WIPs coming as i think i feel the need to sculpt coming on!

As for my milliput, i know what you mean about it being a little messy, but I actually also use vasaline, or more specifically E45 cream, which is an emolient (or however you spell that!), so I find the milliput works alot nicer with this than water.

However, I think i may order a little of each; magisculpt and procreate just for a little testing.

Solar Shock wrote:
Hey Moonmin,
I think i may order a little of each; magisculpt and procreate just for a little testing.

Be sure to let me know how you get on! Good luck.

Here's the lastest progress. The end can't be far away now!

Great stuff

Moonmin these are wrapping up fantastically!

The far right clown, his head is looking amazing, The detail on the bit that comes down the back of his head is awesome, but not entirely sure what it is, but its really sweet, his ears/bobbles/inverted icecream cones/thingy-ma-bobs also look really good

The smiley clown, I like the extra work on the cheeks and face, that little extra pronouncement really helps bring out the facial expression and sets the eyes back in

The arms on all of them now look fantastic, the cuffs are nicely proportioned and neatly done. Highly impressed and glad to see them nearing completion, ( i know too well how easy it is to slow down and leave a model 90% done).

Makes me think of the movie "Killer Clowns From Outer Space" =D

Thanks guys!

Solar Shock: It's a zip on the back of his head :-D I still have to sculpt the zip pull on it and I'll take a better pic' once the zip is complete. Thanks for your kind words!

...and, done! Three zombie clowns, complete and ready for casting:



I'm quite pleased with the zip detail on the back of the mask:



Here are a few more snaps showing each zombie clown alongside its original character:



"Evil" Clown was my first Mad Clown sculpt. On the left is a primed resin cast.



Pie Clown was my first resin release and is now out of production. Here you can see the original sculpt on the left and my final remaining resin cast in the middle. This character wears an oversized mask. His zombie version is missing a hand following a nasty incident with a biter.



Sad Clown was a subsequent resin release, also now out of production. On the left you can see what remains of the original sculpt! He didn't survive the casting process intact! In the middle is my final remaining resin cast. Note that the original character holds an accordion, which was cast as a separate component.

I'm really excited about seeing the casts. Hopefully I should have the first metal casts in a few weeks!

Hey Moonmin!

Wow these look totally badass! Im looking forward to seeing the results of your casts compared to these originals! The zipper detail came out really well, how do you expect the detail to hold up in those areas? and the hair for example on evil clown?

Since seeing your stuff i'd really like to take a shot at doing some casts myself. Can I ask, whats your intended end result with these? will they become figures you intend to sell? limited edition? or more mass production?

Reasons I ask; I love to sculpt, but currently if I was to sculpt say some 'beast' or creature I would have no use for it other than as a display piece. So due to time restraints whenever I do sculpt its typically for my ork army (as the choice between sculpting something random or something I need and will use typically goes one way). Would it be viable for me to sculpt a few beasties that I could potentially then resin cast myself?

I just have no clue as to whether I would be able to cast something that would come out to a reasonable looking level? - going off the idea that my original sculpts were of a decent enough standard.

Thanks Solar Shock!

I couldn't advise you on casting as I have never tried it myself. I'm sure you could have a go yourself, although the end result would depend on how far you want to take things. You'll get much better results with degassing, vac chambers etc. It could work out expensive and with a lot of trial and error, but I guess that's all part of the fun!

These casts will be a mixture of sales, fun and collaboration. For me, having my sculpts cast is as much a part of the creative process as the sculpting itself. It is really satisfying to see the fruits of your labor! I'll no doubt give some casts to friends, family, peers and painters (and paint a few myself). Any sales I make will go towards having more of my stuff cast in the future (once I break even of course...)!

These zombie clowns will be cast by RPE (Ral Partha) who cast the Goblinaid miniatures. I sculpted the goblin nurse. She was my first metal cast sculpt and I think she turned out great. As such I think these new casts will turn out great! They should arrive at the casters tomorrow, with casts being ready in a couple of weeks or so.

[Edit] In terms of "limited edition or mass production" I'll probably get just 10-20 of each. If they sell I'll no doubt get some more!

Hmm, thanks for the info, I completely agree about seeing the end result, even though i typically enjoy the modelling more than finishing anything (im such a 90%er), when i do finally finish something it is nice to be able actually see it complete rather than always with a little imagination

I think i will try it myself and see what happens, I might just start with small conversions of parts and cast them, as i am always looking for stuff like custom engines and stuff to pimp up my ork vehicles I will work my way up to a whole model i think.

I should be able to build a vac chamber reasonably easily, as we use a lot of vacuum systems where i work.

But let us know when there up for sale
I'll be getting me some, although not sure what im gona try and play them as

Today I received samples of the first metal casts. I think they turned out pretty well :-D

For anybody interested, I now have metal casts available! These mini's are priced at £3.50 each or just £7 for the set of 3. I currently have 15 sets remaining. If you would like any more info' or to place an order you can either PM me or email madclownminiatures at hotmail.co.uk. Hurrah!

Hoping to have more sculpting progress on my clown bust really soon!