good ol' sculpting fun!

[Patton Art]

I just started summer break, so I'm not going back to college for another few months. I decided that I wanted to do some sculpting this summer, since I draw so much, I wanted to do some 3 dimensional work. So, I wanted to take on a biiiig project-- a life sized figure. I'm really into realism, so I want to try to do a Hellenistic-influenced sculpture.

Anyways, what should I use to sculpt this? I don't know how I'd bake this in a kiln... and, how much would this cost? Any idea on what kind of armature I'd use-- perhaps a whole tree trunk? haha j/k

I want to study my anatomy more in depth, and get a better understanding of planes. So I figured that this will help me a lot.

Any ideas or comments?

[bunthius]

in high school i did a realistic life-size sculpture of myself - yes im very egotistical - It was a laying down position (as if I was doing girly style push ups) what I used was paper clay, which is a process you put normal white water-based clay through.... try finding instructions on the internet on how to make it, its kind of a lengthy process... but the beauty about it is, you can sculpt as thick as you want and since the clay is all fused with finely ground tissue paper the paper catches fire in the burning and air oxygen passes through the entire piece- no need to worry about air pockets- its a wonderful innovation... and it can hold up stronger than stock clay... anyway... i used a sturdy wood armature build mostly with 2x4s and beams of wood of different sizes... mixed with a bendable thick gauge of wire for stuff like fingers, dont ask me which size, tons of newspaper, even some styrofoam and a butt-load of duct tape and you're good to go... if you want a solid piece you should look on the internet or find a library book on how to build a kiln around your finished piece or you can sculpt in sections....

when you fire the thing the metal, wood, paper all that jazz burns and melts out the base of the sculpture and you're left with a nice sculpture with random levels of thickness...

or you can get a giant block of wood or marble and work subtractively :)

[bunthius]

this could be relatively expensive, but if you play your cards right, id say you could pull it off for under one or two hundred bucks, the majority spent on clay purchase

[Tanika]

Awww! makes me wish I was good with clay. :(
I'd do a statue/sculpture of my boyfriend. :D

Sounds expensive but worth it. I'd only be worried about building a kiln. X.x I'm not good with fire.