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ok i'm wanting to sculpt some models out of green stuff. does any one have any tips for a beginner?

What are you sculpting? Or rather what material are you trying to emulate?

Make a skeleton for your model out of Metal wire.
somethig i forgot the fisrt time

Typhoon wrote:Make a skeleton for your model out of Metal wire.
somethig i forgot the fisrt time

On this line, i would suggest using multiple layers too. Slowly start to fill out the wire frame, let it cure, then move to larger details like muscles or armor segments with a fresh batch of epoxy.

Keep your modeling tools wet. Probably the best thing I learned. The water helps the tools slide across the greenstuff.

well i'm going to try to do a mock up model of the pulsara, a race i was trying to create a codex for on here but everyone booed me off the forums because and i quote "you dont have enough fluff!!!!" so i quit posting it here and went to a different forum and they are helping me develope it isntead of complaining about how little fluff i have.

all i need is some advice for sculpting pretty much, every thing that you can think of. as far as inanimate materials found on vehicals and on other models. flesh and faces and hands i cant get hands right.

Getting hands right in my opinion is harder than making faces. The wet tools tip is such a good one i forgot to mention it because i don't even think about it anymore since my my main tool ends up staying in my mouth 95% of the time im working. Also get a nice set of tools, ive done some things im incredibly proud of with just the citadel tool and tacks but its great to have a versatile set of tools.

Other than that just do some practice runs where you sculpt something you would feasibly need over and over again. For all the basic tips people will give you most of the time you'll learn some really awesome techniques by accident on your own.

I chummed around with a few sculptors at Gen Con, did a few seminars, went to the sculptors gathering, had beers and learned a lot of techniques. Gene Van Horn from reaper is very friendly and willing to help.

Id say go to a few cons take the classes. I could send you his hand out if I wasn’t in Afghanistan atm. Also you can buy premade figure frames from several mini companies.

k, for one jumping straight in at the deep end and working from scratch will get you nowhere. You need to learn how to work the putty by doing simple things like conversions, then work your way up to adding clothing to your models, weapons, heads (bear in mind it will be a while before you crack sculpting faces). then when you've done that if you dont know anything about anatomy you need to learn that and then you can begin to make complete models.

Btw I don't mean to make that sound like too much of a hill to climb, I recommend it, fair bit of work but it's worth it. The way i keep at it is more and more i find when I put conversions together i'm not looking for parts but thinking: 'hey i'll just make that bit.' After a while you will start learning little techniques for making certain things like chains or rope and you steadily increase your skillset.

Also as for tools, there are pro sculptors out there who use things such as old compasses and manicure tools to sculpt. Don't go out and spend too much money on them, if any.

also water is a good idea like loomisc said, or oil. A lot of the reading I did when I first started sculpting suggested spit and forehead grease, neither of which i found particularly pleasent nor do I find my forehead gets very greasy. i use massage oil now which tends to stick around but can be washed off after i'm finished.

Here is another that may be helpful...don't try to do it all at once.

Build up in layers. Do some parts, let it dry and come back to it. If you try to do too much at a time all you will end up doing is ruining what you have done with a smudge, pit, or thumbprint etc. Sculpting from scratch can be very time consuming but patience will normally reward you.

Another thing, look around and see if you can find some parts you like on existing models. You may find a hand or arm that may work for you idea and save you the time of sculpting it. You could also use that item as a framework to add putty to make it what you want.