Where To Start Sculpting?

[psychosocial91 ●]

I\'ve always have wanted to sculpt my own works but have never really taken the time or had the patients to do it correctly. When I first started years ago I was too in love with slasher and started sculpting them right off the bat. Unfortunately this taught me nothing about anatomy etc. I really want to buckle down and do it properly this time. So any suggestions on where to start?

Take Care, Hector

[Last_of_the_Brunnen-G ●]

It\'d probably be best to look for books on sculpting and videos online on how to sculpt.

[psychosocial91 ●]

Off to youtube it is!

[Squidboy]

Great Post... Looking into this as well. Have a background in art/ design, so I thought when I have time I\'d give it a go (this summer I plan on trying, had the urge when I was in my teens, bought plaster of paris made a giant mess, but this time I\'m going into it correctly). Youtube is a fantastic resource these days. Something really unique for this generation of sculptors/ mask makers. Also it might sound silly, but I\'d recommend trying to find an old Medical Anatomy School Book (the kind that has pictures of bones, muscle structure, eye structure). If it worked for Leonardo Di Vinci (he actually used cadavers to study body structure), it couldn\'t harm sculpting/ mask making.

[ianfxmen ●]

Looking at sculpting video such as mark alfreay sculpting the human head will help you get the techniques needed.Then the only way to get better and better and better is to practice ,practice practice and when done practice again always have refenrence pictures to look at when working.Good luck and have fun

[psychosocial91 ●]

Thanks for the input guys. I started sculpting a human skull to try and learn some bone structure.

[travsall ●]

Great suggestions guys, I like seeing these threads where everyone comes together and gives some good feedback! I\'m actually starting to get my hands in the clay too, so I\'m enjoying these tips personally too. Anatomy is the best thing to study, learn how the muscles attach, how the bones lie, the contours and shapes, one of the best sculpting aids out there is the Grey\'s Anatomy book, understand the form and then you can do what you want with it

[the green ghoul ●]

Yes Squidboy, anatomy books are the best ! I also collect vintage portrait sculpting books from 1800\'s through the 1970\'s .
I highly recommend Philippe Faraut books and videos . I wish I had thse when I started.
[url=\"http://philippefaraut.com/\"]http://philippefaraut.com/[/url]
When it comes to masks you\'ll have to know where to punch up anatomy and where to cheat it so it can be worn. Non wearable displays and maquettes are a good place to start so you can go all out.

[psychosocial91 ●]

Thanks for the link Justin. Here is a quick update.

[The Death Curse ●]

Might I also suggest looking into the wonderful instructional videos by Gnomon Workshop? I have a couple of them (as that\'s all I can afford so far...) and they\'re FANTASTIC! They also have a couple DVDs on different molding styles and armature development:
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/category/99/

Also, Mark Alfrey\'s "Sculpting the Human Head" DVD is indispensable. It\'s much cheaper than the Gnomon stuff, and even endorsed by King Richard Smith. You can find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Alfreys-Sculp...B000L43930

Cheers,

Ryan