13 replies to this topic

[FMLament]

Hello everyone,

I saw that RM had this forum for sharing our original pieces and I really wanted to post a few. Here are the links to the images of the completed pieces, (more to come soon):

Fal'lyn Krail, Jedi Knight - Original Concept Image/Drawing Fal'lyn Krail is my second miniature to be completed from Green Stuff and my fourth ever miniature. I was very pleased with how she came out, though I realize after she was complete to this point that I needed a set of color shapers to provide that smooth finish. Fortunately they are being shipped and I should have them in hand by the end of this month. (I'm adding the image here also as some have stated they had a problem with accessing the links.)


I would love to get some feedback on these pieces as I add them.

Attached Thumbnails

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[Bloodhowl]

Looks like you need to mix the GS a touch better. There should be no yellow chunks in it. Spend a little more time mixing the two parts until it is a nice even green color.

In the tunic part hanging down between her legs, the GS looks like there are lumps in it. Did you use the GS that comes in a ribbon with the blue and yellow touching? If so, make sure you don't use any part of about 1mm on either side of where the two ribbons touch, as this section has already cured and will not mix smoothly into the rest of the putty.

The rest of the mini looks fantastic, a little rough in some spots, as you already pointed out, and will be taken care of when you get your color shapers.

Look forward to seeing the next one!

[FMLament]

Bloodhowl, thank you for posting. Yes I was using the ribbon green stuff for this piece and encountered a number of smallish globs that didn't mix well. Thank you for the tip on avoiding the center line, looking back on it I suppose the only reason I hadn't was because I didn't want to waste any of it. Kind of silly in hind sight. I did get my color shapers in the mail today and look forward to using them on my next piece.
Thank you also for the compliments, despite the aforementioned issues, I was and am quite proud of this piece...

[mcoyfrog]

Sweet, nice job. Is there anything online that gives advice on how to start up this hobby. What materials to use, tools, process etc.? What is the name of the green stuff?

Sorry I'm a noob just wondering how to go about it all..

Again this piece is very cool, have a great day.. Doug

[FMLament]

mcoyfrog- Thanks for the compliment. There are several places I've encountered that talk about miniature sculpting. The most helpful ones that I have encountered have been on youtube.com, gives you a chance to see what they are doing. This includes armature building, materials they use, and some of the techniques. Patrick Keith's website had helpful tips for sure.

Green stuff is it's name, at least here at Reapermini.com, here is a link to the product. I have also recently purchased a product called ProCreate which is a binary epoxy using black and white parts to create the grey minis in the Greens Gallery listing under the Figures menu on the Reaper main site. In "the Craft" section they have a very helpful essay by Daniel Joyce about building your own sculpting tools from bamboo skewers found in most grocery sections or stores. I have found these to be of the most help to me, in additon to just looking at the excellent work done by the sculptors here and elsewhere. One thing that I didn't realize when I began, and keep in mind I am just starting out too as Fay'lyn is my second green stuff mini, is that a set of size 0 color shapers help immensely in smoothing the epoxy.

A bit long winded but I do hope it helps, I have been digging through everything I could find to help me with this so I hope this saves you a step. I'm sure that there are many other helpful hints that others here in this forum can offer that would help a great deal too, so please ask around.

Thanks again...

[dks]

Excellent for a 2nd, 4th, or 20th figure!
Good face, nice dynamic hairstyle, good and unusual pose for her arms. Many sculptors find it hard to get the shoulder joints right when a figure's arms are raised this high, but you did a good job on them -- better than what you had in your concept sketch, even.
The pose of the legs is a little stiff, but not bad.
She has 3 fingers and a thumb. Is she from an alien species or is that a stylistic cartoon-human choice?

If you wanted this figure to be reproduced, I would point out two main things to consider for moldmaking and casting:

1) The gap between the rear drapery and her legs or front drapery. It is best to avoid gaps or "undercuts" like this, because the typical two halves of a rubber mold can't get around and under and in between. You could make the rear drapery a separate piece (a more expensive figure to produce and it would require assembly), or add a solid mass of putty to fill between the drapery and the leg (but more putty means more metal), or add pouches or something to fill the gap (again, more putty means more metal), or repose the drapery so it stays in contact with the legs (probably the best option). Look at your existing miniatures and see how the sculptor's decisions about the pose and the gear affect how the figure fits in the two halves of the mold.

2) The downward-pointing lightsaber. Imagine the circular mold for this figure, with several voids of the figure arranged with their feet closer to the center and their heads closer to the outer edge. The pewter can flow easily from feet (center) to head (outside), but it would have to flow backward toward the center to fill the end of the lightsaber. If you added a piece of drapery to connect to the end of the lightsaber, that would give a new way for the metal to flow into the lightsaber. Or you could attach a rod (or ask the moldmaker to make a little slice in the mold) from the end of the lightsaber to her base or foot or leg, with the understanding that the buyer would cut off that extra piece of metal.

@mcoyfrog (Doug) -- and also @FMLament (Bryan) and anyone else: The Yahoogroup "1listsculpting" has a very thorough FAQ and a supportive community. You can often get additional feedback there by posting pictures.
Also, I started sculpting after reading two articles by the sculptor Phil Lewis for the 1990s magazine Forge. He gave good advice and a step-by-step series of photos. (Then I got better with a lot of practice and by talking with other sculptors at ReaperCon and the Reaper ArtistCon over the years.)
If you PM me with your email address, I can email you a PDF of Phil Lewis's articles.

Keep it up!

Derek

[FMLament]

@Uber-Mensch Thank you very much. I really appreciate your compliments and comments. In answer to your question, this character is an Arkanian from the Star Wars RPG Species Guide. Probably my favorite character species to play, they have three fingered hands and pupil-less eyes.

I greatly appreciate the adivce on the clothes and the saber. I'll look to make some changes for molding. In truth I had wondered at her survivability during the molding process.

Thank you much again...

[FMLament]

@dks well I feel like a suitable noob now. That previous comment was meant for you, and I mistook your status, Uber-Mensch, for your profile name. I apologize. Obviously I don't get enough sleep ;)

[dks]

Not a problem.
Sleep-deprived sculpting can be more hazardous than sleep-deprived typing. Watch out for those knives and needles!

It is useful to know what to do when sculpting for moldmaking/casting. When sculpting for a conversion or a unique figure, you don't have to consider whether it is castable.

It would be funny to see someone register as "Newbie", and then change their Forum name to "Mostly Harmless", "Enlightened", "Uber-Mensch", and "Godlike" as they post more. Or start with the name "Godlike" [as a Newbie] and work their way down the epithets.

Derek

[mcoyfrog]

mcoyfrog- Thanks for the compliment. There are several places I've encountered that talk about miniature sculpting. The most helpful ones that I have encountered have been on youtube.com, gives you a chance to see what they are doing. This includes armature building, materials they use, and some of the techniques. Patrick Keith's website had helpful tips for sure.

Green stuff is it's name, at least here at Reapermini.com, here is a link to the product. I have also recently purchased a product called ProCreate which is a binary epoxy using black and white parts to create the grey minis in the Greens Gallery listing under the Figures menu on the Reaper main site. In "the Craft" section they have a very helpful essay by Daniel Joyce about building your own sculpting tools from bamboo skewers found in most grocery sections or stores. I have found these to be of the most help to me, in additon to just looking at the excellent work done by the sculptors here and elsewhere. One thing that I didn't realize when I began, and keep in mind I am just starting out too as Fay'lyn is my second green stuff mini, is that a set of size 0 color shapers help immensely in smoothing the epoxy.

A bit long winded but I do hope it helps, I have been digging through everything I could find to help me with this so I hope this saves you a step. I'm sure that there are many other helpful hints that others here in this forum can offer that would help a great deal too, so please ask around.

Thanks again...

Thanks thats awesome, I always forget about youtube LOL my son is on there all the time... and thanks for the rest of the info also. Dug

[dks]

Huh, it looks like my title has advanced from "Uber-Mensch" to "Master" in the last couple of weeks. Maybe that happens at 750 posts.

Derek

[Ishil]

You've always been a Master to me!

Ishil

[FMLament]

Thanks thats awesome, I always forget about youtube LOL my son is on there all the time... and thanks for the rest of the info also. Dug

You are welcome, I hope it helps.

Congrats Derek on the status update and thanks for all the advice!

[Silas Coggeshall]

That's awesome. I'd like to try my hands on the green stuff, but I think I'm going to start with painting the miniatures first.