One of my biggest issue with my own 3D skill is proportions and sizings. So I’ve decided to start making clay sculptures to help me learn how to think more in 3D and how to “see” the proportions that have such a hard time with in Blender3D.
Since this is a traditional forum (arts other than 3D i assume), I wonder if anybody here have any experience with clay modelling and have any tips or suggestions for me to keep in mind as I models the clay.
I don’t intend to make permanent sculpture, only have the clay in the shape I want and when I’m done 3D-modelling it, I’ll mash it back into a ball and create something else.
I’ve been interested in starting to sculpt with clay since some weeks ago, but haven’t started yet; so, I can’t give you any first hand experience. nevertheless, there’s a thread at cgtalk that might interest you.
the thread is quite old, and I remember some links were dead, but there’s plenty of useful stuff. also make sure to check this wip thread at conceptart.org (the link is in the cgtalk thread too, but I’ve really enjoyed reading through it).
Edit: perhaps that WIP goes deeper into sculpting than what you said (“I don’t intend to make permanent sculpture”) but it’s really full of useful stuff specially regarding work flow.
the second link is awesome I was planning to try and use sculpting to try and create a kind of underground humanoid mole creature so a fantasy creature tutorial is exactly what I needed.
I already have a 1.75 lb block of clay (Original Sculpey: oven bake clay). I wonder how long I could keep reusing the same clays over and over as long as I keep it covered and cool?
One tip to keep in mind, is to model over an armature. Large chunks of any clay will sag. So, start with some wire and aluminum foil to get the basic shape down and then lay on the Sculpey. As far as I can remember Sculpey will not air dry, so it should last a very long time. I believe it is also the clay that you can thin with petroleum jelly if need be. Good luck with your new skill set.
It stays good for a long time. Just keep a damp/moist clothe over it, and put it in a container (like an upside down ice cream pail, so you can model on the lid, and don’t need to lift it up to put it in anything and damage it).
If it ever dries out, just pour water all over it, and stab holes in it, as good as new but really wet and messy (until it dries up a bit more.)
I was planning to try and use sculpting to try and create a kind of underground humanoid mole creature so a fantasy creature tutorial is exactly what I needed.