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Made in au
Fresh-Faced New User





Australia

Hi friends, I was hoping someone would have any advice on how to salvage this sculpting work. I'm not very dextrous and this was my first time trying a project like this and I'm not super happy with where it's at. Any help would be appreciated.
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Made in de
Huge Bone Giant






What exactly are you unhappy with? With a little more explanation, you might get more focused feedback.

For general pointers, and a with a bit of guesswork involved, green stuff benefits immensely from having a rigid foundation to work on. Trying to sculpt cloaks and robes without a wire frame is possible, but you should consider that a single layer won't provide the folds and creases you would normally expect on a model since it's almost impossible to shape its surface and retain its shape at the same time.. If you want that level of detail and depth, you would need to use what you have as that foundation and add another layer of green stuff on both sides, although the inside on a robe may be so well hidden that you can forego that.

Since green stuff is flexible, you would work on one side at a time while pressing against the other to keep your foundation rigid and undamaged, then let it cure, and then work on the other side.

Since the goal is depth, you'll have to accept a certain thickness to your sculpt. Now this shouldn't be a problem with GW models since they tend to be chunky in style and you'll actually better match GW's style if you bulk up your robes. If you want to preserve thin edges, you can combine thicker green stuff to make the folds on the robes with very little green stuff towards the edges. If need be, you can also cut down the edges again with a knife if they're too thick for your taste.

As far as tools go, while they're a tool like any other and need you to learn how to use them, silicone brushes are quite good for sculpting detail like folds on cloth. Hard edge steel tools work as well if you're familiar with them, but if you're a beginner silicone brushes may make things easier for you.

Lastly, the sleeves may benefit from building them up gradually. Green stuff does not mesh very well where it meets other fresh green stuff, as both sides will be flexible and fold under pressure. One piece sleeves are messy to do, while getting them done in two or more parts is a lot easier.

Nehekhara lives! Sort of!
Why is the rum always gone? 
   
Made in au
Fresh-Faced New User





Australia

Thank you so much for the detailed reply, am very grateful.

To be more specific I'm very unhappy with how messy the finish on a lot of the green stuff is, especially in that first photo around the neck of the mini. I was wondering if it would be better to go over it again with a but more putty to smooth it out or to try sand/file it down. Right now the plan is to use some liquid green stuff to go over the rougher areas and sort of smooth that down but idk if that would work.

The robes themselves are a base layer, I was planning on putting down some more folds and the like after I finished the hoods and sleeves but Im so unhappy with those that I haven't worked on the minis since doing them.

I did the general shape of the robes, then I did the sleeves and hoods the next day, but I'm having real trouble getting them looking clean and natural, as you can see there's a lot of general blobyness to them, and not very uniform from mini to mini.

I was hoping for some advice on how to get the shapes right, right now I'm working with trapezoids for the hoods and just sort of long rectangles for the sleeves but it feels like I'm just making a mess.

I have both sculpting tools and silicone brushes as I've done small bits of sculpting in the past, mostly fur collars or small bits of cloth or flesh, but this is the first time I've tried both large surface areas and connecting parts like sleeves and hoods.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I guess I was also wondering if there were any steps I could take for those minis specifically to make them look a bit more cohesive. Like if there are any parts in the above photos I should pay specific attention to or go over in a certain way.

Thanks again for the reply!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/09/28 11:17:34


Poorly thought out, kit bashed Kill Teams: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshikle/ 
   
Made in de
Huge Bone Giant






Sculpting is a marathon. Layer upon layer, step by step, until you get to the finish. It's a good thing to keep in mind as it can take a while for a shape to come out as you envision it. Building something up and, if need be, cutting it down again usually isn't done in one or two steps, at least not for more complex sculpts. If you're unhappy with the edges first and foremost, I'd say start getting them to look like you want them to look before you move on to anything else.

In the case of sleeves and their shape, the cuffs tend to be the most pronounced thing about them and also happen to sit right next to the base model, which is to say the fully sculpted, finished base model. It can be pretty dissuading to have your work in progress sculpt compete with that. In addition, the part where the sleeve terminates has some influence on how the sleeve is shaped, usually. It's not a bad idea to sculpt the cuff to your satisfaction without worrying about how the sleeve looks in order for it to appear to look right next to the already existing feature of the model. When you have that part down, and basically only have to fill the space between the two ends of your sleeves (you'd already have the robe as well), you may have an easier time finding a good shape for the sleeve as you have a framework to work with.

The face end of the hood is much the same. Sculpt that first without worrying about the top, back or sides of the head. Get that to look right next to the face and you have something to build on, and can then fill in the rest.

I can't really give advice on liquid green stuff. I tried it once or twice over a decade ago and it didn't do anything for me. I don't think it's suitable for building up your basic shapes, so I don't think it's going to be a good fix for those edges.

Nehekhara lives! Sort of!
Why is the rum always gone? 
   
Made in au
Fresh-Faced New User





Australia

Thank you very much, that's very helpful advice, especially about getting the cuffs and front of the hoods done first.

I think I'll go back and cut some of the lines where the hoods meet the robes off and try sculpting a cleaner seam between the two. I have 4 more marines left to give hoods and sleeves to so I'll definitely try working back from the edges of the shapes.

I've been working on these models for over a week now and I'm so demoralized haha, it was very good to get some honest feedback, thank you.

Poorly thought out, kit bashed Kill Teams: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshikle/ 
   
Made in us
Courageous Questing Knight





Texas

I found that working with green stuff, a small stiffer brush and water is your friend. It allows you to push and smooth the putty easily. Then when it is where you want, sculpting tools to make those fine details and a softer brush to do your final smoothing.

My Novella Collection is available on Amazon - Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi - https://www.amazon.com/Three-Roads-Dreamt-Michael-Leonard/dp/1505716993/

 
   
Made in de
Huge Bone Giant






You're welcome. Hope it works for you. Motivation can be a pain. The thing that advanced my own sculpting the most was to develop the sense that the finished sculpt would work out, even if its current state didn't look like it at all. It's not a concern I ever lost either. The model in my avatar was sculpted over the course of four months, and it really only came together in the last week or so. That's a good bit of time trying to tell yourself everything will be wonderful in the end.

Nehekhara lives! Sort of!
Why is the rum always gone? 
   
Made in au
Fresh-Faced New User





Australia

 MDSW wrote:
I found that working with green stuff, a small stiffer brush and water is your friend. It allows you to push and smooth the putty easily. Then when it is where you want, sculpting tools to make those fine details and a softer brush to do your final smoothing.


Yup this is what I do exactly, I just don't think I have the technique down yet to get the shapes right

Poorly thought out, kit bashed Kill Teams: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshikle/ 
   
Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

You've jumped on the deep end to be fair. Sculpting cloaks is probably the holy grail of being able to sculpt well. I'm a fair to middling sculptor. I can do it to get by, but I much prefer getting a part to use for what I like. I would start smaller. Repose your models and fill gaps in armour, joint cabling, small decorative details etc. This way you will learn how to manipulate your modelling material without the end result of something that covers the entire model depending on your getting it right.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/09/28 14:05:44


Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

Instagram: nagrakali_love_songs 
   
Made in lu
Rampaging Khorne Dreadnought






Tbh, I'm not really seeing any "blobbyness".
Those cloaks looks perfectly fine to me, well, depending on what kind of material/look you were going for at least.

For me, cloakcs/tabards/banners is still a mystery, sometimes it looks great, other times it looks unusable.
But what I do is cover the tricky areas with other bits, shoulders, belts, etc.
Or in my case, I can use the greenstuff world fur templates. Hard to not get anything usuable out of those, and they cover up areas well.

Maybe you can use some chainmail to the same effect? Or ribbons/bandages.
Otherwise yea, add layers on top. Sometimes surprising how that ends up.
But drying time of greenstuff makes a pretty big difference, as well as mixing ratio.
Also, if your doings something like this...for the love of god...don't use old GS, use some fresh stuff. That really helps with smoothness in my experience.
   
Made in au
Fresh-Faced New User





Australia

Just wanted to post an update here now that I've made some progress and to say thanks again for all the advice. I just finished painting 4 of the 7 guys I added robes to, images attached.

In the end I decided not to do additional layers of GS to add extra folds, I just did everything in one pass and called it good. The project was dragging on and I was losing motivation for it so I figured it was better to finish and move on than to be stuck on it forever.

Experimenting with liquid greenstuff was sort of crap, its ok for adding a bit of bulk to bad gaps but it doesnt smooth out at all and regular GS just did the job better. In the end I just filed and clipped some of the more annoying textures around the neck and sleeve areas but I've sort of resigned myself to this sculpt being a wash and doing better next time haha.
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Poorly thought out, kit bashed Kill Teams: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshikle/ 
   
 
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