First Timer trying my hand at sculpting heads.

[Jay042]

Hey everyone!

I've recently signed up for the forum, and I'm pretty new to Mego customizing too. I've got a few old figures off eBay and my plan is to try to make a custom Doctor Who figure of David Tennant. I've made my first stab at sculpting a head, and would definitely appreciate some input. Here's the in-progress sculpt of the head.



My camera is rather crappy at doing closeups

Specifically, anyone have any advice on the eyes? I'm trying to come up with a better way to get some good detail into them.

[shellhead]

One of the best ways I've found for eyes, Jay, is to use standard BB's like BB gun type.
You can press the BB's into the clay and build up the anatomy of the eyelids, brows etc. without destroying the roundness of the eyeball. Keep up the good stuff,you're off to a good start!

[jimsmegos]

Great job fellow newbie! I think it looks really good, working in the Mego scale is a otugh one so bravo for "keeping it real"

[jessica]

Looks fabulous. Keep at it. If you don't have bb gun pellets, you can use 4mm glass beads. What are you sculpting with?

[HapSlash]

Sculpting heads at this scale can be pretty tricky, the beads, BBs, etc... can all work as long as you get them in the right size, and in the proper positioning.


Something I'd suggest, is working on the jawline... The jaw should be slightly wider than the top of the neck at it's widest point. Generally, just in front of and below the earlobe. Something else to take note of, is the overall proportion of the face.

One of the most important thing about sculpting a head is proportion. no matter what style you go with, realistic or exaggerated, if you want it to be a recognizable portrait, you will need to try to stick to certain proportions.

From the nose down the face is looking overly stretched... while the actor tends to have a more rounded jaw, he also has a weaker chin. I think you would get a better likeness by reducing the length there. Also, the nose does seem a bit wide.

[Meule]

Welcome aboard Jay.
First of all my hat's off to you for even attempting to sculpt in this scale.
Second, this is what I was about to say as well:

From the nose down the face is looking overly stretched... while the actor tends to have a more rounded jaw, he also has a weaker chin. I think you would get a better likeness by reducing the length there. Also, the nose does seem a bit wide.

[thunderbolt]

looks good so far, I like the style coming thru in the sculpt.

[Jay042]

Thanks for the comments, especially shellhead and HapSlash's suggestions. This was mostly a practice run at sculpting anyway, and now that I finally got a body I realize the head is way too big, doh! So it's back to the drawing board...

I made that piece in some clay, with the idea of trying to cast the final piece. I may just buy some super sculpey and not mess with casting .

[toys2cool]

welcome bro, he looks good

[vulcan2074]

Welcome to the Museum. Nice work
Sammy

[HapSlash]

Super Sculpey is really nice to work with.. holds detail really well, although it does have the tendancy to be a bit translucent. This makes it a little harder to make out really fine details, so... Something that I do which helps, is to mix a bit of the more opaque Sculpey III into it. I use black Sculpey III and get a clay about the same color of gray as what you have there in your pics.


To keep your heads in scale... you should keep a spare head that you are trying to match the size of handy while you sculpt. That way you can compare regularly as you go.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I take my hat off to you too, and would love to see more pics as you progress.

[ctc]

Neat!

It's really good; but you're making a mistake a lot of new sculptors do: all the detail is there, but the proportions are kind of off. When you first start breaking things down mentally there's a tendency to overplay the values, so you end up with a cartoony version of your subject. With practice that gets fixed, but it takes time to learn subtlety. (I STILL have a helluva time with it.) Doing real people is staring in the deep end.

You might think about sturdier materials for the masters. I use Super Sculpey or an old failed cast head with the features filed off for my base. (Using an old head keeps 'em in scale, too.) I use epoxy putty for the detail work. I find it easier to work with than the Sculpey.

Don C.

[ODBJBG]

I like the cartoony look of it. A lot of Mego stuff looks a bit cartoony to me. Good luck!

[Jay042]

Here's my second attempt and my first head is sitting in front.



I think the proportions are better this time, but I still have a way to go before I get it the way I want it.