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Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Hey guys, a few of you might remember me, but most of what I posted here is already lost in the thousands of pages filled with amazing content in this forum.
So instead of digging up old posts of mine I decided to create a single one that will get all my attention from now on. But first a bit about myself.
I've been on and off this hobby for quite some time now and what's keeping me around is the great models, characters and amazing background that they come with. I'm not just talking about the official stuff, I love to browse the web to find converted armies, self written fluff or simply amazing ideas. The only tabletop game I've ever played was the original Lord of the Rings from GW and that's what got me started with everything.
I've tried to get into the gaming side of the hobby but after numerous starter boxes and attempts at armies I'm deciding to let it go. Instead I'll focus on what I love about the hobby and stick to the sculpting, converting and scratch-building that I enjoy.
One of my latest creations was a custom true scale typhus that was almost entirely sculpted by me and it had been a blast to do so, the time that I worked on the model was during my last exam period (for anyone interested in pictures and progress on that, I did make a post about it).
Which brings me to my current situation. I'm currently studying abroad in Australia and it's exam preparation time. Which means I needed a distraction to get me through my long hours of studying, so I ordered a pack of green stuff and some sculpting tools and got to work.


Now with this wall of text out of the way we can start with the actual reason we're here. So let's start with a picture of everything I have here that I can work with.


As you can see, it's not that much. But I'm mostly trying to make a decent miniature and learn as much as possible in the process.
Which brings me to the next point. I've thought about what I wanted to create and one of my old lord of the ring miniatures came back to my mind. It was a dwarf lord with a one handed axe (I'll try to find a picture later), I don't know why I thought of him but that's when I decided I wanted to make a dwarf.
So here it is, kind of...




The pose I started with was pretty straight forward, nothing dynamic. To get to this point took quite a while and if I recall correctly it has 7 layers of sculpting involved.
1. sculpting the left boot
2. Sculpting the right boot
3. Sculpting the left trousers
4. Sculpting the right trousers
5. Sculpting the scale "skirt"
6. Sculpting the armor
7. Sculpting the little latches on the armor
Between each step I let the putty fully cure so that I wouldn't mess it up.
My next steps will be to put a skirt (I'm sure there's a proper word for this) on his backside and to figure out what to do with his arms.


And that's it for my first post. From now on there probably won't be that many walls of text anymore but I will keep you updated with a steady supply of pictures on the current progress. The dwarf will be my project while I am in Australia and once I'm back in Germany I have a few more projects in my head and lying around that I will focus on. I hope I got you interested and that you'll stick around to see where this is headed. I'd be happy to hear about any critique or comments you guys will write.

This message was edited 36 times. Last update was at 2024/02/25 11:40:34


 
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

I'm definitely interested and will be coming back for more. You are doing an amazing job so far, and with so few tools to work with. It would be great to see a work in progress shot of each step during curing times. I'm looking forward to seeing the continuation of this dwarf.

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Thanks Syro! I appreciate the kind words . I'll try to capture more pictures in between curing stages, if I forget to do it I'll still write the steps that have happened up to that picture.

I only have a small update today, I grabbed a small amount of GS and tackled the part that I'm most afraid of for this mini. The head. This will not be the final head, but I'll probably do a few of these in between making progress on the dwarf, it'll help me practice and hopefully produce a decent result at the end. I sculpted the head in one go, then let it cure before adding the hair and beard (as I didn't like the mouth area).
The second picture is another very small head attempt and some weapon ideas sculpted on a paper clip. I'm just toying around with ideas for the weapon for now, these would get additional layers of detail and final shaping if I'd use them.







And again, let me know what you guys think
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

I like the flow and texturing on the hair and beard. Which tool do you use for it? Also very impressive with the head, faces are a weak area of sculpting for me. I wish you luck as you continue to refine for the final head.

And no worries if you forget to snap a pick, it happens to me all the time. Sometimes you get in the zone and it's hard to remember to stop and document.

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

I made the hair by attaching smaller pieces of GS on the mini and then adding texture to it with my needle "tool". Pressing the needle in the putty a few times will give you a few rough hairs which I then split up into smaller sections until I was satisfied with the result. Hope this helps

Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Update time!
I gave the pose of my dwarf some thought and have decided how I want the right arm. Nothing fancy here, he'll just be having it hang to it side holding its weapon. Now as you saw before, the paper clip for the left arm broke off unfortunately. This means I'll have to attach a new one in the future, but it also have me more flexibility for its pose as I don't have to decide it yet. As the pose is quite static anyway I didn't want his left arm to be "active", i.e. pointing waving or something like that. I also didn't like the idea of having it fall to the side like the other arm, so I figured I'd give him something to lean on.
In comes my idea of a little diorama (if seen something similar done by scibor, that's where I got the idea). I've decided to place my dwarf on the head of a dragon, leaning against its horn.
The actual progress consists of adding the skirt to my dwarf, which took more than one curing step but mainly because I'm missing my clay shapers for smoothing, they're amazing for creating folds in clothing.
I've also positioned the right arm to its final position and gave it a thin layer of GS to make bulking it up easier.
The last step was to adjust my surprise egg base so that I could sculpt the dragon head, as well as adding the horn (which has a coffee stick in it for support). With the remaining GS I rolled out 4 balls to use as eyes for the dragon.

All in all these steps were done in two curing cycles, one for the dwarf and one for the dragon.
Onto the pictures!

Front


Back



As always, let me know what you think

Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

And I have another small update for you guys. As I'm doing the sculpting as a break from studying I only get small amounts done each day, but so far I made at least a bit of progress every day.
Today I focused more on the head of the dragon and tried to get a general foundation down, I also fixed the eyes into place.
Next up is probably the weapon for him, I think it'll be an axe and I hope it'll look alright. Won't be many crisp edges on it with the tools I got.
Enjoy the pictures and I'll see you tomorrow with some more progress.

As always, let me know what you think.





Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

Wow, I didn't know you were planning on sculpting so much of the dragon's head. Very cool. I expected it was like pictures where nothing but a single horn and a little bit of scales would be considered out of frame. I'm curious what style of dragon you're making, the eyes look different than I'm used to. As for the axe, I find getting crisp edges with green stuff hard since it stays flexible and a little rubbery, but maybe wait on attaching it and try fine sand paper on the edges of the axe?

Keep up the great work!

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Hey Syro, glad you like it
It'll probably end up being the whole upper half of the head, but no lower jaw. Once I'm back in Germany I might sculpt more, or attach it to an actual base an blend it in (maybe sinking into mud). As for the style of dragon, I have no idea either . I'm just jumping in and letting my creativity go wild.
Concerning the axe though, I'm afraid there won't be any sandpaper. I got three weeks left in Australia and one of those will be only vacation with no sculpting. So the picture of my tools in the beginning will be all that I'll use for this project.

So hopefully I will get him done in the next two week.

Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Alright people! I managed to finish the axe today, it was basically done in three steps:
1. Sculpting the handle on a paper clip
2. Sculpting the rough form of the head as a foundation
3. Sculpt the final head

It's nothing to fancy, but I'm happy with how it turned out.
The next step is probably to tackle the arm holding the axe.

I also started a small project on the side as my girlfriends birthday is coming up. It's just some small stuff as according to her I only do "monsters and ugly people" (though to be fair she does like the dwarf). I'll reveal it to you on her birthday next Sunday, so stay tuned for that

And as always, let me know what you think!





Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

And another small update!
Today I tackled the right arm. I started by sculpting the arm itself, then I let that bit cure and once hardened I added the hand and axe. The last step was to add the little arm guard which I left till the end in order to sculpt it a bit over the hand to provide additional support to it.
All in all I'm happy with the result, the paper clip in the arm was a bit of a nuisance, as I couldn't cut it off and it was slightly to long. I managed to get around it by cutting into the axe handle and providing a groove for it there. Though the inside of the hand is a bit rough due to it.

Next up will be my first exam tomorrow as well as starting with the left arm. I'll need to put a paper clip with the right length in place for me to sculpt onto (without glue, a drill or clippers). We'll see how that'll go...
Maybe I'll also get to finish my little side project tomorrow.


Let me know what you guys think!


Front


Side


Back

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/12 08:11:51


Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

The new arm and hand holding the axe looks great. You've really had to get creative from your lack of tools, but the final result doesn't show anything lacking. I originally thought the axe looked too long in your last post, but in its final position and pose it looks much more natural.
Good luck on your exams!

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Thanks Syro! I have to say I was a bit skeptical about the axe at first too. In the beginning it was even thicker at the end, so I shaved it down a bit and then I was quite happy.
Believe me when I say that I thought this would turn out worse than it did when I first had a look at the tools. I actually had to sharpen them first to get rid of some weird edges (by using the bottom of a tea cup). Now I'm mostly using the third tool in the original picture. The spear like side is great for cutting pieces of GS off or making finer lines and the curved back of it is great(ish) at smoothing out the areas, especially smoothing new GS into already cured parts.

I'll post an update on the dwarf tonight. For now all you're eying is a sneak peak at my side project


Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

I'm continually blown away by how great you're sculpting this guy, especially with such limited tools. I'm also taking notes on what you're finding useful, in less than a week I'm going to be in a similar situation to you, where I'll be attending school far from home with limited art supplies. I'll be sure to pack the tool I have that looks most similar to that spear. Keep up the great work, I hope exams are going well, and I'm looking forward to seeing the surprise side project.

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Thanks again for your kind words, it makes working on this easier and keeps me motivated.
Are you planning on sculpting something while you're away? If so feel free to ask anything you want and I'll see if I can help you with it. Another idea for tools is to make them out of wood and the coat then with a varnish (nail polish for example). Haven't tried that myself yet, but I've seen other people use it. I found the most important tool to be something that is round (like a very tiny spoon).

But back to the dwarf! I managed to break a paper clip to the right size for the gap and glued it in place with some GS. A simple ball as a shoulder to hold it on one side and then I did the hand already on the other side. I used the rest of the GS to put a thin layer of it over the paper clip, as it's usually nicer to sculpt on that than the round metal.
Once I was happy with the hand I set it aside to cure (it does look weird right now tho ). Next up ia sculpting the arm, might do it bare this time to work on some muscles for once.

Let me know what you think!


Front


Side


Back

Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

And another update, I managed to finish the other arm. I think it turned out quite nice even tho it was my first attempt at sculpting muscles. The arm was sculpted in one go, but looking back I would probably split it up to do the chain mail separate.
Now all that’s left is some detailing, small fixes (I think his waist is to thin) and obviously sculpting the head. I might also give him shoulder pads, not sure about that yet.

Let me know what you think!




Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

Wow, you are really moving! The muscled arm turned out nicely, impressive work as usual. I'm curious why the dwarf is missing all the gear from his one arm, is going to be that it had been ripped off fighting the dragon? Maybe there can be some blood and cut on the arm when you paint it?

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Quick update!







Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hey guys. I apologize for yesterday, I didn’t mean to just throw pictures at you . It was already late and I was tired, but I did want to share my progress.
I bulked out the dwarfs waist a bit and then did quite a bit of work on the dragon head. Still lots to go but you can see the general idea now.

See you with more updates tonight! And let me know what you guys think.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/14 21:20:19


Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

And here is the promised update for tonight! I managed to finish half of the dragons head (except for snout details and back/ horns). I am quite pleased with how it turned out and am looking forward to sculpting the other half.
Just for gaks and giggles I picked up a black pen and colored in the lines and eyes, now I’m definitely looking forward to painting this as soon I get him done.

And Syro, I have to say I haven’t given it any real thought as to why the left arm is bare . You do have a valid point there though as it would make more sense if it had a reason..
Maybe I could add a bit of tattered cloth at the top and the story would be that it caught fire and he ripped it off?!


Anyway, I hope you guys like the pictures and as always let me know what you are thinking!

Oh and two out of four exams are done and I have a good feeling about them! So there’s that

Front


Side


„Colored“



Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

Congratulations one the exams, and best of luck on the last two! The sculpt is looking great as always, I like the way you made the scales/plates on the dragons head, and I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I also think adding those cuffs to the dwarf's shoulder chain mail looks really good, I wouldn't have thought they needed any additions. As for the bare arm, I know you wanted to practice sculpting a bare arm, and that's easily a good enough reason for it to be that way, but I jsut wanted to bring up the "why" as something to think about, you definitely don't have to make any changes, maybe it's just the dwarf's personal style.

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Good spotting on those cuffs, I completely forgot that I did those
And for the bare arm I know that practice is a good enough reason, but I also want it to visually tie into the piece and make sense from a story point of view. So I really appreciate you mentioning it

I'll post an update tonight, probably progress on the other side of the dragons head.

Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Today I got the head of the dragon mostly done! I also gave him, another horn on his nose. All that is left are some teeth and I need to fix the spikes in the back.
The last picture is of a sneak peak that i thought of including. I have a bit of GS left over and thought about doing another dragon . This one will be rather small tho, it’ll hopefully fit in nice. Let’s hope that it won’t be to fiddly to sculpt

And here are the pictures, let me know what you guys think!

Step one:



Step two:



Dragon:


Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

That new little nose horn is a nice addition, it looks good. You seem to have a real skill for thinking of little details that not everyone would think of. It really adds to your sculpts (both literally and figuratively). I'm looking forward to see what you accomplish with that little dragon you have planned.

   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

Alright everyone, you get a big update today! I put some of the pictures in spoilers for you. As you can see below I finally got around to do more work on the dwarf, read the face. While trying to avoid sculpting the face I thought about other little bits and items I could add to him to fill some large areas. So I went ahead and sculpted a small hatched, a bag, a pipe and a small bird skull. Then, instead of working on the head, I sketched a few ideas for a shield and started working on that . Eventually I decided to make another head and it actually turned out quite well! I’m not to pleased with the mouth and I had to bulk up the nose a bit, but since I’ll be sculpting a beard anyway that wouldn’t be a problem. The last thing I did was to sculpt some teeth for the dragon and finish his snout with some nostrils.
My next steps will be to add the accessories to the dwarf and sculpt his beard and hair, as well as finishing the spikes on the dragons back. I’m not sure if I’ll actually use the shield I made, as it will make everything a bit cluttered.

Here are the promised pictures, hope you like them and as always let me know what you think!

And a special thanks to Syro, who keeps me interested and motivated for this sculpt! I really appreciate the feedback.

Current state:




Spoiler:

Shield:



Stuff:


Head:


Teeth:







Oh and here is the promised reveal of my girlfriends present, completed with a custom card and box! It was very well received.
Dragon:


Card and box:


Box:

Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

And I managed to make a bit of progress again! I attached the small hatched to his back and put down his first beard layer, the second layer will be some braided beard coming from his mustache.
I think the face looks better already .

As always, let me know what you think.





Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

I'm glad to hear that my feedback is helping you.
Great progress once again on the dwarf, the face never looked bad, but you're right, the beard makes it look so much better. I really like the beard. How are you planning on doing the braided mustache? Also what are your plans for the top of his head, hair, helm, or bald?

   
Made in ca
Ferocious Blood Claw





edmonton

Epic build man. Looking forward to seeing the end product.

Death to the heretics! 
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

@Syro: I guess you’re right about the face, I’m just a bit strict on myself. The braided beard was done by rolling out a strip of GS, attaching it to the spot where you want it to be and then carefully pressing in the pattern. For the pattern you basically do alternating diagonal cuts starting from the middle of the previous cut (I don’t know if that makes sense, I can make a small tutorial if you’re interested). And then at the top and bottom you create a little bead. And as you can see for the hair I did a bit of both

@Son of Russ: Thanks! Believe me neither can I, I’m especially looking forward to finally painting him


Alright, so it’s update time again! The last picture is the step before hair, I did the braided beard and if you look closely on his left arm you can see the remnants of his shirt (thanks Syro!). I also added the dragon for scale.
And then I went to work on the hair, I started with the bulk of it in the back. After an hour or so I went back to make his forehead slightly taller as well as adding the topknot.
I used some of the leftover GS to sculpt some wood texture on the hatchet as well as attaching his pipe next to it.
The last thing I did was to add a long tail across his back and start with the body of his pet dragon.

I’m really pleased with him at this stage, I’ll only need to finish the dragon and I’ll be done.


As always, let me know what you think!








Beard stage 2:



Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in au
Furious Raptor





Germany

And I think I’m done with him! I think he looks spectacular . Although I’m not sure if he’d actually be a dwarf, he’s standing 3,5cm tall. I can’t show you scale shots right now but he’s basically as tall as a space marine
I’ll probably do some small changes to him, such as adding a tiny bit of height to the small dragons head. But other than that I’m happy.

I’ll post some more pictures tomorrow when I’ll probably call him 100% done. I hope you enjoyed the progress and seeing the process of sculpting the dwarf.

As always, let me know what you guys think! I’ll se you tomorrow with the finished mini and a whole bunch of pictures.









Have a look at my scupting blog The things I do  
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

I agree, he does look spectacular. And no biggie about the size, this guy looks more like a display piece than a game piece. I don't remember you ever claiming he was going to be 28mm. It's nice to see a comment by Son of Russ, you get so many views each post, I was surprised I was always the only one commenting.

how are the exams?

   
 
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