Anyone here sculpt their own models?

[Tubehead]

your trilobytes are dang cute! They look good.

Thank you kindly. The customer also commissioned swarm-bases of ammonites, giant ants, sci-fi "muncher" bugs, caterpillars, and piranhas.
Hopefully they will turn out equally cute.

 

[Tubehead]

I too used to use greenstuff for mold making but as Citizen S. stated, Oyumaru is reusable. It's also much cheaper per unit of volume and a little more flexible, which helps. But it is certainly possible to use greenstuff too. It basically works just as well.

 

[symphonicpoet]

^Ooh! Valid point. I might have to look into that.

 

[The Fat Git]

Just discovered this thread and it's great. I've done a bit of converting using greenstuff, but there is some great tips here. The one about being patient seems the most important as I've often quit when I should have continued. One thing I would recommend though is the Greenstuffworld roll maker; http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/r...-machine.html?search_query=tentacle&results=2 it's pretty good for tenacles and tubes and stuff.

 

[Tubehead]

...some great tips here. The one about being patient seems the most important... One thing I would recommend though is the Greenstuffworld roll maker

I really need to get one of those roll makers! Although to some it may at first seem easy to sculpt tentacles, it is really challenging to sculpt them well.

Yes, patience is the true key to sculpting. A poor sculptor can rapidly transform into a good sculptor as long as he has the capacity to keep at it (same with any skill), sculpting more frequently and for longer periods.

Things that have assisted my capacity for sculpting patience are:
- Be sure your sitting arrangement is very comfortable, with excellent light and all tools and magnifiers you may need readily within reach at the outset. Also the materials to make any custom tools you may suddenly discover you need (e.g. bits of super thin stiff plastic card, tiny slivers of cured polymer clay you can carve to make quick impression/'stamping' tools, wire of various gauges, etc. etc.) so you don't have to get up and disturb your mindset.
- Sculpt when you are feeling good.
- Sculpt at a time when you know there will be zero interruptions.
- Take a big dose of ibuprofen or acetaminophen just before you begin (helps mitigate discomfort from sitting in the same position, hand cramps, headache from eyestrain, etc so you can sculpt longer)
- Listen to audio that keeps the mind entertained while your eyes and hands are busy. I find if my mind is engrossed I am able to sculpt literally from dusk to dawn. Here's something ideal:
https://librivox.org/group/573?primary_ ... et_results

 

[AranaszarSzuur]

Well I got around to taking my first crack at sculpting. Rather than doing a full sculpt I did some conversions for a project I've been planning for a while. The bodies are from Italeri Late Roman Infantry and the weapons/arms are from Caesar's Early WW2 German Infantry.

I'm going for a sort of post-apocalyptic light sci-fi look. I'd love any comments, critiques, or advice.







This is the first time I've done anything like this, so it's all been a bit of a learning experience. I'm working in 1/72 scale here so one thing I've picked up is that apparently I need less greenstuff than I tend to think. One thing I'm struggling with is how to get any sort of fine detail, it just seems near impossible at that size. I also suspect I need more varied tools, all I have to work with is a the three piece sculpting set from Army Painter.

Last time I was doing sculpting I was also converting Italieri 1/72 miniatures or rather miniature. It was back in 2009. For some reason I gradually became unable to do sculpting and painting.

 

[symphonicpoet]

^^Tubehead,

Some great advice there. Keeping the mood right and keeping yourself comfortable would surely mean a lot. I feel I used to have a better chair and could use a new one. Probably plays into the same ideas as your analgesic and appropriate sound environment. I've been reconsidering the idea of talking to a friend while painting. (I used to do it as a social activity, but that fell by the wayside with time and distance and the demands of adult life, but . . . I feel I could get it back now.) I suppose the trick is to have something to engage your mind during the monotonous parts. And to stay comfortable and happy. I like that.

^AranaszarSzuur,

That's a really ambitious fellow you've got there. I love your pose and the Naismith styled knees and armor. A beakie is always a great way to go. Fun and chracterful! Did ever paint your sculpts? Would love to see 'em in the showroom.

 

[Arkansan]

Well I got around to taking my first crack at sculpting. Rather than doing a full sculpt I did some conversions for a project I've been planning for a while. The bodies are from Italeri Late Roman Infantry and the weapons/arms are from Caesar's Early WW2 German Infantry.

I'm going for a sort of post-apocalyptic light sci-fi look. I'd love any comments, critiques, or advice.







This is the first time I've done anything like this, so it's all been a bit of a learning experience. I'm working in 1/72 scale here so one thing I've picked up is that apparently I need less greenstuff than I tend to think. One thing I'm struggling with is how to get any sort of fine detail, it just seems near impossible at that size. I also suspect I need more varied tools, all I have to work with is a the three piece sculpting set from Army Painter.

Last time I was doing sculpting I was also converting Italieri 1/72 miniatures or rather miniature. It was back in 2009. For some reason I gradually became unable to do sculpting and painting.

That's very cool! There is a blog out there with a good deal of 1/72 figures converted to 40k, it's an interesting concept. Sorry to hear you're unable to sculpt or paint, health issues I assume?

 

[Tubehead]

Last time I was doing sculpting I was also converting Italieri 1/72 miniatures or rather miniature. For some reason I gradually became unable to do sculpting and painting.

That marine is pretty good, considering it is 1/72 scale. It's not really a conversion but an original sculpture, since what you have done is sculpted completely over an existing figure in the same way that 'dolly' armatures are used. So, that's an original sculpt in my book!

I suppose it's obvious to say that sculpting in larger scales is much easier on the sculptor...?

 

[AranaszarSzuur]

^AranaszarSzuur,

That's a really ambitious fellow you've got there. I love your pose and the Naismith styled knees and armor. A beakie is always a great way to go. Fun and chracterful! Did ever paint your sculpts? Would love to see 'em in the showroom.

Thanks. I painted it in 2015 or 2016.

That's very cool! There is a blog out there with a good deal of 1/72 figures converted to 40k, it's an interesting concept.

Do you have a link to that blog?

My "native" edition was 3rd edition of Wh40k and 6th edition of WHFB so for a long time I loathed the "heroic" scale because the caricature looks completely didn't fit the mood of the setting at that time. Like it had some serious gravitas to it and the illustrations usually had normal or heroic proportions. Ironically, as I was looking more closely at Rogue Trader lately, I realised it fits the 1st edition setting perfectly. So, for a long time I dreamed about 1/72 40k miniatures.

Sorry to hear you're unable to sculpt or paint, health issues I assume?

Nothing health related, I think. It's like an art block from hell that affects specifically painting and sculpting miniatures. Ironically, I have no problems spending time doing pen and ink drawing, despite that it's a sort of a miserable slog, while I find painting/sculpting miniatures actually enjoyable. I don't know, I'm just completely burned out on it and find the thought of painting massively offputting. I used to spend whole days painting and sculpting back in early 2000s.

I managed to paint one miniature, using watercolours when I was trying to get into blanchitsu earlier this year and found it quite enjoyable, I even bought myself a new primer and a varnish that is supposed to work with watercolours but haven't managed to paint anything again.

I think it may have something to do with messiness of it:

 

[Arkansan]

Oh creative block and burn out sucks. I've been there, though not quite that bad. I used to write and between writing for school and various other things it became a real slog for several years. I've only just now started again.

Here is the link to the blog with the 1/72 40k project.

https://skinflintgames.wordpress.com/tag/1-72-40k/

 

[Bluey Zarzov]

LOL - Grom v1 and Grom v2

Can you guess which one I sculpted?

 

[Tubehead]

LOL - Grom v1 and Grom v2

Can you guess which one I sculpted?

Well, of the two I think the one on the right has more charm, so I'm going to say "right Grom".

 

[Dieselhorst]

Here's one that I've recently finished. I just need to put a tab on him. Definitely my best to date.

I call it a Langknecht

I'm gonna try drop-casting him some day!