I wish i knew how to sculp... pics inside first try... not good

[sculptor-01]

I wish i knew how to sculp

This was my first try of ever picking up clay and what a load of rubbish i feel like giving up already

I went into this thinking i would be able to sculp a human head in a few hours and this was the best i came up with a kid could do better than this

I really went into this thinking i could do this below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzBs3PM2W_4

WOW now i realize its just talent and some people have it and others don’t

I spent like 4 hours just trying to shape the human head and in the end i still couldn’t get it right i just don’t know what i am doing wrong




http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/9199/5zqi9.jpg




http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2946/7ziqa6.jpg



http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/3783/4zui2.jpg




http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/7968/6zll1.jpg

[Lex.W]

I'll give you the advice someone with a lot more skill and expertise told me when I had a similar problem.

Learn to draw before you learn to sculpt.
More specifically learn how to draw the draw the human figure, that way you get to know which shapes to start at, and how to build up details from those shapes.

Otherwise, that looks quite good for a first try, it would also help if you said what size you were sculpting at, though to have a guess I'd say thats roughly the size of a clenched fist.

Don't give up :).

[pocko]

yup, in terms of anatomy, knowing what goes where and why is a real help, and learning to draw these things can really help sculpting.

saying that, there is a point where they start to feed off each other, and knowing how things fit together in 3d can really help your drawing too :s

[fruitdot]

I don't think you should be so hard on yourself, sculpting a human head as your first isn't easy! Human anatomy is very complex, just think of how many muscles are in a face alone. I think you should keep at it! And the suggestion of drawing faces to help sculpting I think is good advice. Don't give up, keep at it and good luck! :)

[maddmaestro]

I think it is good beginning, Like they said don't beat yourself up. Nobody picks up clay and is immediately a master at it. I think Pocko's advice is good about drawing, however we all can't have the blessing or talent to draw( it does help if you can). My advice starting out is not to try and totally wing it, and make up a face right off the bat. Find as many pictures as you can of the type of face you are trying to create and use them to help you with seeing the shapes that are in a human face. My next advice is to keep practicing...I don't know anybody here or on any other forum that was completely happy with their first attempt. Like any art form practice makes you stronger, and more competent as an artist! So keep at it, and don't give up, because if you do you won't get anywhere. Good Luck!!!

Maddmaestro:afroboy:

[VulgarDragon]

Well, to be honest, it's not really that bad for first attempt. You just need to practice more. Start with something more simple, and also buy some plasticine modeling clay. Spend a few hours daily with the clay, playing with it and making fun shapes and textures until you feel confident enough to take on more complicated projects. That is how I started out...I think I sculpt better than I draw. :(

[uno]

Yes. It is your first attempt. Not many artists can nail a piece at their first attempt. I sculpted on my own and did ok. It was only after I started to take Sculpture classes where I was given instruction and had a live model to work from that I could truly grasp the human form in real life.

That is my advice: Take a sculpting class and dont give up.

[bonner]

It takes practice, patience and perseverance. have you tried googling some tutorials on sculpting? try the cool mini or not site, It will give you some ideas too. In parting try this links http://www.miez.nl/putty-n-paint/tutes/sculpting_tut01.pdf, http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=13&page=1, http://www.morgankeithstudios.com/minis.html, http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/297, and last but certainly not least http://www.bigbluetree.com/. hope this helps, and best of luck.

[MM Howard]

I'm just like you. I thought when I first started sculpting I would be the best. It looked so easy. They make it look so easy. I still suck:P

Don't feel bad. Everyone who is awesome at sculpting took a long time to really get the hang of it. I'm pretty some of the sculptors here that are fricking fantastic now had first attempts that were either like yours or worse.

Like everyone said, practice. Build up your drawing skills. The best way to learn to sculpt to sketch your plans out on paper. The better you can draw out the face you have in mind, it'll make your sculpting tries a bit easier.

And dude, its a good first attempt. You have enough confidence to post it here, get more confidence that you can improve.

[Mindflaw]

As people already stated get reference either by looking for or taking photos or by drawing it yourself if you enjoy drawing or perhaps ask a friend. Anyway you will get a long way by just learning the proportion of the head check this one out
http://underdog.dreamcomics.com/english/head.htm

by comparing your sculpt with this one...one of the things you will notice is that you chopped of your head just above the eyebrows, when in fact the eyes is located in the middle. It's just one of those beginner mistakes believe me I have done the same (drawing) as so many people I know also have.

In the video you posted you will also notice that even this very experienced sculptor also put out markings for where to put the ears to be in the correct place thus correct proportion. And remember that that sculptor has put in thousands of hours of practice. If you enjoy sculpting you will get as good as him! It's just like everything else like language, maths, programming, drawing, etc you need to practice to get good. We all have to put in the hours, even the very talented, most of the time talent is just another word for a person who has obsessively practised his/hers craft.

look at smellybugs tutorials he also extensively use reference to get his model great and he also is one of those that at least I admire for his skills.


just give it the time and make sure to check up the proportions and you get better...keep going strong :teeth:

[pocko]

as mentioned above some people find that they are much better sculptors than 2d artists (me included), saying that my 2d work lept forward once i had an idea of where muscles and other features went in 3d, and had put this into practice.

im not sure how sculpture is taught at art schools, but i find that actually laying on clay in strips approximately as the muscles lie is a helpful way of building up a more accurate anatomy. of course you need a reasonable anatomy book for this!

[VulgarDragon]

Good idea, Pocko...I think I will try that.

[Cat]

What i'm happy about is that for your first try you went for a human head and not directly to a monster without knowing anatomy!!! So many people do that. I can recommend studying the human skull first, it will be a huge help if you have that for reference!

Then like others have said study every single face you see, internet is full of interesting looking humans! The studying never ends realy even if you get realy good eventually :)

if you start with a skull shape it will be easier i think. Good luck and please keep us updated! Practice a lot it's the only way! ;)

[cryogenesis]

It's easy to beat yourself up after an unsatisfying first attempt, but if you're really passionate about getting good at something you can't let a first time mess-up trip you up! It takes years of practice and doing the same thing over and over and over again. My suggestion would be to either leave the sculpture as it is or totally destroy it and start all over. And then do it again and again. And if it still doesn't meet your personal standards, do it over again. And like everyone is saying, take in as much information about anatomy as you possibly can. Copy what other people have done too. Some of it does have to do with natural talent, but the majority is just keeping at it and getting better over time. Don't give up!

[barbelith2000ad]

Heres a stand i built for a head portrait.

[barbelith2000ad]

I agree dont beat yourself up,you wont be as good as the guy on your video hes been practicing sculpting im sure for a long time,i'd suggest you make a stand so you dont have the sculpt in your hands all the time you'll have your hands free and that will help greatly,i've attached what a stand looks like,you can use shelf brackets to screw the long piece of wood to your board then attach the wire wrap it around the long piece of wood and hot glue it or screw it to the wood,then make a head shape out of the wire make sure its all at the right height for you to sculpt comfortably at your table not too high or your arms will ache stretching to put the clay on the armature.
study the video you have on youtube watch what he does,he smooths off alot of his work with his hands,yours looks kinda lumpy,using your fingers to smooth the areas would help refining your head,also tools are needed for bits your fingers cant do.
That block of clay your have (head)keep using it take loads of photos as a record and then start something new with the same clay and stand,that is if your not too precious about your work,just keep practicing and send them here.
Also its been mentioned before reference photos of heads or whatever your sculpting is very important,i have reference around me always when im sculpting even when im sculpting monsters,anatomy books images on the internet print them off and use them as ref,you really have to concentrate when transferring what you see to clay.
But if you are serious in sculpting you have to practice,practice,practice,my first attempts were really bad too and thought id go back to working in 2-d but i wanted to be a sculptor so bad i persisted slowly.