One really cool thing about the book is that the author shows you how to make almost all the tools you need, and it's super on the cheap. It's nice that you don't even have to invest a lot of money in specialty tools. I, however, was too impatient to do all that first (I will, soon - I want to give myself the best chance of success by having proper tools - but just not today) so I immediately started work on my first face, since that's what I was most dying to try. One of the main tools used in this method is - ta da! - knitting needles, and I had plenty of those (to spare) so I had the main tool I needed anyway.
I am amazed at how wonderfully well a knitting needle works for clay sculpting. And really cool - I had one of those sets of interchangeable needles, with the tips in sizes from like 3 to 13, and then cables. Well, it was an early knitting career purchase, and the only set I could afford, so it mostly really sucks. The cables are horribly stiff and won't stay screwed into the tips. I hate it but never really wanted to just get rid of it. Well, those knitting needle tips work extraordinarily well for this because they're already short and easy to handle.
Well, after 5 or 6 hours (with a break for pancakes and sausage), I ended up with something I'm fairly well pleased with.
Yes, it needs some smoothing, and the head's misshapen, his eyes are crooked, I wrecked his chin and forgot to fix it, but ... I'm pretty happy with this for a first-ever attempt. This tells me that with time, patience, and practice, I can do exactly what I plan - get really good at this and make awesome sculptures! I'm pleased.
He wasn't supposed to be a chubby guy, but that happened because I misjudged the initial set-up of the face, and got some proportions wrong, like the chin and jaw area being way too huge. So - voila, chubby guy. :o)
And it's amazing fun! This was an absolute blast. Okay, there were a few times when it got frustrating, but I just reminded myself - this is supposed to be FUN, dammit! - no, really, I reminded myself that I'm brand new at this and learning, so of course there's going to be a learning curve, of course it's going to take awhile to get comfortable with the techniques. But I learned so much just doing this ... every main part of the face I had to do over multiple times, and each time I learned what doesn't work, and eventually began learning what does. I'm sure the next one will go even easier, and soon the quality will improve.
Next phase - on to the body parts! I suppose I'll keep Harry (as he's told me he's named - okay, he really began to develop a personality when he got eyes, what can I say) and just add a body to him, to practice that bit as well. There is probably going to be a whole village of strange, misshapen clay people living in the Imaginarium as I build 'practice people'.
Too awesome. :o)
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