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copper wire stripped doorbell wire will do Jewelry wire clippers small flat no teeth needle nosed pliers solder light duty, low temp, rosin core, with a % silver best Dremel tool or othe

The Beginners Guide To

Sculpting Miniature

Figures From Scratch

July 22003 Special GGen CCon SSeminar

FIGURE SPECIALISTS FOR TOY, GAME, AND HOBBY INDUSTRIES

An independent developer and designer of figurative sculptures for various toy and game companies

as well as private collectors the world over

visit http://www.jwdc.com/dw

Vesalius

The PPurpose oof tthis BBooklet 2

Advanced M Materials 2

Making aa CCuring O Oven 3

Making aa RRig 4

Making aan AArmature 5

Classic LLaws oof AAnatomy 7

Laws oof M Miniature AAnatomy 9

Posing tthe AArmature 9

Under-AAnatomy 10

Super-AAnatomy 11

The H Human H Head && FFace 11

The H Hands 12

The FFeet 13

Further AAdvanced M Materials 13

Suggested RResources 14

Suggested SSuppliers 14

Appendix: IImage RResources 15

1

Table oof CContents

The PPurpose oof tthis BBooklet

The purpose of this booklet is to provide the experienced miniatures hobbyist with the foundation to begin in original miniature fabrication in the same manner as many of the professionals do Additional years of training and observation, as well as experimentation in tools and materials use is rec- ommended to make full use of the techniques and principles outlined in this Booklet However this will hopefully provide a solid 'first step' in the right direction.

copper wire (stripped doorbell wire will do)

Jewelry wire clippers

small flat (no teeth) needle nosed pliers

solder (light duty, low temp, rosin core, with a % silver best)

Dremel tool (or other multi-speed precision rotary device)

micro drill bits and various dental drill bits

various needles mounted to handles

large clay sculpting tools

jewelers coping saw

supply of fresh no 11 hobby knives blades

unused bottle corks

alligator clips

larger clamps

reliable super glue

heavy plasticard (thickest scrap found at any sign maker shop)

measuring device with exact metric (rulers or calipers)

assorted fine grit sandpaper

texture collection (open cell foam scraps, coarse sandpaper, etc)

table vice

freezer

reliable oven or other heating device

2

Making aa CCuring O Oven

A curing oven is not a required tool, but it makes your sculpting life a little bit

easi-er You can use a regular oven to cure your pieces, but it ties up your kitchen, wastesenergy, and drives up your utility bill needlessly Not to mention you probably don’t sculpt

in your kitchen, and a home made curing oven can sit right next to you while you work

Materials NNeeded:

1 Large Coffee Can (Maxwell House ‘Flavor Seal’)

Cloth or Electrical Tape

1 Small Photographer’s Flood Light that matches the cans diameter

1 Low watt bulb (40 watts is fine)

Step 11-DDoor: Cut out a square on the side of the can This will become the door to theoven Be very careful not to hurt yourself on the sharp edges

Step 22- IInsulation: Cover the can and the sharp edges of the opening with cloth tape Alsotape the outer side of the metal square you cut out and replace it with a tape ‘hinge’ tomake a door Be sure to tape all over the edges thoroughly, as you hand will be going backand forth here a lot You can also add a folded piece of tape at the end to act as a handleand also hold the door closed while curing pieces inside

Step 33-HHeat EElement: Remove the clamp from the flood light Rest the lamp on top andturn it on Viola! Your own personal curing oven Be sure to use low watt bulbs, though.Otherwise it could get too hot inside and might cause the epoxy to boil and blister

3

Making aa RRig

In combination with sculpting a flat tab to the feet of your sculpture, a rig will helpyou keep your fingers clear of your fresh work while also providing good grip with theleast obstruction to the underside of the piece Rigs are fairly easy to make, and they are areusable piece of equipment, so it’s definitely worth the effort

Materials NNeeded:

1 cork stopper (available at your local winery or arts & crafts store)

2 alligator clips (check your local Radio Shack or hardware store)

approx 4”-6” of lightweight aluminum tubing (local model hobby shop)

1 drill or dremel tool with matching diameter bit to aluminum piping

1 jewelry wire cutter (or heavy duty wire cutter)

1 or 2 metal washers slightly larger in diameter to the cork stopper

Epoxy, Super Glue

Needle Nose Pliers

Step 11: Cut 2 equal lengths of aluminum

tubing at approx 2” (Use the needle nose

pliers to restore the cut ends to their

origi-nal shape.)

Step 22: Drill 2 holes straight down into the

cork towards the center, but approx 1/2”

apart

Step 33: Dab some super glue into the holes

and stick the 2 tubes in It is important to

keep them parallel to each other, and at the same height After the glue sets you can force them with some epoxy at the base Glue the washers onto the bottom to add a bot-tom weight to the rig Bake the epoxy to make it sturdy before moving on to step 4

rein-Step 44: Insert the 2 alligator clips into the tops of the tubes, bend the metal on the clips asnecessary to make them fit Be certain they are positioned parallel to one another! If theyare not square with each other, the rig won’t hold your piece right, and cause it to pop outwhile you are sculpting It might be necessary to rely on careful dabs of super glue to setthe proper position first After the glue has dried the clips in their proper alignment, youmust reinforce them with epoxy , shoving it down into the tops of the tubes and aroundthe clips at the tubes

There you have it! You can also do a few at a time, this will save you some effort andtime if you plan on juggling several pieces at a time

4

Step 11:

Cut the bare stripped copper wire into 3 pieces.The longest being for the legs (6”), the secondlongest for the arms(4”), and the shortest for thetorso connecting them (2”)

Making aan AArmature

There are many ways to make armatures, but what you’ll see here mostly is my sonal approach I use solder on my wire armatures, as I find it is the most durable and sta-ble Many other sculptors use putty at the cross points You may not have a soldering iron

per-on hand (or want to bother), but you should read over this sectiper-on anyway, as there are alot of things that apply to any armature creation The following instructions are good for ahuman armature, scale up to 30mm If you want to go bigger, you can increase these

measurements accordingly

Materials NNeeded:

Soldering Iron, wire, ruler, wire clippers, pliers,sharp hobby knife, cork board, thumb tacks, lightduty solder

Step 22:

Next you’ll may want

to agitate the surface

of the wire with yourblade in the crossareas This will helpmake a tighter bondwith the solder

Step 33:

Pin the wires down tothe cork board likethis, with the 2” beingthe torso wire, the 4”

the arms, and the 6”

the legs and tab

Step 44:

Measure the distancebetween the arms andlegs along the torsowire The distanceyou’ll want is depend-

ed upon what scale,sex, and style you’regoing for

Step 55:

When soldering, youshould apply the hotiron as shown,

touching both wireswhere they cross.Once both wires arethoroughly heated,bring the rosin coresolder to the oppo-site side of thecross, letting it meltinto the joint

5

Step 66:

You’ll want to make sure the cross joint is

well-soldered You should have solder

touching all the wire’s sides Try to avoid

getting huge blobs of solder, though

Step 77:

After you pull thearmature off theboard, take yourwire cutter andsnip off the excesstorso wire at thecrotch Get as close

as you can, but becareful not tobreak up the soldered joint

Step 88:

To make the head,

take your needle nose

pliers and loop the

head wire Be sure to

leave a neck, then snip

off the excess wire

When using the pliers,

be careful not to pinch

the wire This can

cre-ate weak points that

can and snap

Step 99:

Make careful urements as youmove onto bendingthe joints At suchsmall scales, a varia-tion as much as acouple of millimeterscan distort a figuresanatomy terribly

meas-Step 110:

Bend the rest of the limbs Loop the leg wires at the feet and then bend sharply ward You may want to use the extra wire on the arms for weapons or cut it off at thehands The additional wire on the legs is used to create a stable base or tab If you create

down-a tdown-ab with the wire, You should bend the wire into the shdown-ape of down-a rectdown-angle, with the top ofthe rectangle connecting just 2 to 3 millimeters below the feet

6

Classic LLaws oof AAnatomy

Much about the fine arts approach to figure sculpting is disposable when regardingmini sculpture for gaming However, this little glimpse into some of the higher principles

of rendering the human form could turn what would be a good miniature into a greatminiature

Lines oof MMovement: An active pose will invariably feature aninvisible Line of Movement This is a fancy name for avery simple principle Locate the two parts of the bodymost distant from each other in any pose This could be ahand and a foot, the head and a foot, in extreme poseseven both hands or both feet Then imagine an unbroken'line' flowing through the form between the two points Ifthe pose is a good one your imaginary line should have anelegant curve and 'flow' as it follows its route through thebody Exaggerating the pose to enhance this single elegantcurve in the form is how you make use of this principle.Example: A figure stands with her right hand holding asword above her head, and her left leg extended as sheleans to her right The Line of movement in this pose isprobably from the sword down to the left foot With someadded exaggeration to the pose that makes the invisiblecurves of the Line of Movement more appealing to the eye,the whole figure can seem more dynamic and yet elegant.Lines oof CContrast: At the same time

you imagine and reinforce the Line

of Movement in your figure, you are

also given the opportunity to exploit

the human forms natural disposition

to counter-balance itself As we

move, we normally shift our limbs,

shoulders, and hips in opposition to

each other in order to maintain

bal-ance So if one hip is raised slightly,

the shoulder on the same side will

slope downward an equal number of

degrees to help compensate the

shift in weight By extension, if an

arm is held forward and up, it is

likely that the other arm might be

held to the rear and low Further, if

a figures left hip is moved up as well

as forward, it can be visually poetic

if the left shoulder is both moved

down as well as back

Lanteri

Borghese

7

Plumb: If our body is left standing in place, our head willalways be found positioned directly above the foot set totake the majority of our body's weight for that moment As

we walk, we naturally move our feet to constantly maintainthis relationship There are only three instances whenour feet are not in this relationship to our heads 1When we are in the middle of jumping, midstride, or some other 'transitional' pose 2 When

we are braced to receive an unknown burden,

so we may quickly adjust to the correct footonce the new weight is known 3 And when weare off balanced and falling

When making a figure, decide if theactivity is one of these Four If it is a wellbalanced stance or walk, draw an imagi-nary 'plum' line directly down from thecenter of the head The weight bearingfoot should be located directly belowthis imaginary 'plumb' line If thedesired pose is 'transitional' (ie:

mid-stride running) youmight want to considerchoosing a foot and favoring itover the other, since modelsmade in perfect mid-strideusually don't look comfortable

to the viewer If the pose is offbalanced, then it must be a'defeated' figure you aresculpting If it is 'braced'then it would be impor-tant to do what you can

to visually explain whythe figure is braced

8

Laws oof M Miniature AAnatomy

The fact that your sculpture is meant to be smaller than your thumb makes certainprinciples of mini-sculpting handy Viewing a figure in such a scale is actually quite inter-pretive, since proportions must be exaggerated to make the piece visible to begin with.Consider the fact that if a human being could be shrunk down to 28 millimeters in height,she would probably have wrists and ankles as slender as a hair

Head height should probably be a bit generous Normally large scale figure sculptorsprefer to proportion their pieces at 7.5 to 8 heads in height Naturally many people rangearound 7.5 heads For a miniature that would make the face so tiny no details could really

be seen, and the form would seem more like a 'pinhead' It is generally best to keep to 6

to 7 heads proportion for miniatures

Another thing you will want to avoid in most instances is posing the figure with bothknees bent This may sound obscure and unnatural, as we all know that there are manynatural poses where both knees are typically bent, but in 28 millimeter scale this postureoften translates to the viewer as seeming very uncomfortable or even quite lewd

Sometimes a sculptor can get away with it, but be forewarned and take care if you shouldtry

Axis: If you hope to have your figure cast you must check with your mold makers for theirrequirements for casting correctly Your figures pose may be limited by the casting

process

Pour: Your caster should be able to advise you on whether your figures pose presents anyproblems in terms of casting Certain poses may prove too difficult

Posing tthe AArmature

The best tool for choosing a pose for your miniature is your own body, not someoneelse's illustration of a body Whenever choosing a pose or gesture, view yourself in a mir-ror to see what it might look like, and stretch your body to the extreme of that pose to get

a feel for what parts of the body are working the most Decide in exact terms, what yourcreation will be doing Take the time to role play the desired personality if it helps Decideupon an action, and move that action to its most extreme gesture The exaggeration isoften necessary to convey the intent of the gesture over the smallness of the scale,

Example: A figure is preparing to wrestle with a beast barehanded This person should beposed in a 'braced' stance, ready to take on whatever is thrown at him The exaggeration is

to spread the feet apart as wide and evenly as possible, to lean the shoulders and neck farforward in readiness for an impact, and to open the palms of the hands dramatically so thepersonality seems ready to receive and grapple

The wire bending itself must be taken very carefully, since any mistakes you make willaffect the entire sculpture

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The first layer can sometimes seem the most difficult, as you adhere the putty tothe bare wire A helpful tip to ease this phase is to clean the wire with a good dip and lightscrub in water and dishwashing liquid This will remove any layer of industry residue orbody oils that would make the wire slick Another tip would be to gently agitate the sur-face of the wire with sandpaper in order to give it a rougher surface

Begin with a very fresh mix of putty Especially when working with the popular

'Green Stuff' Adhesiveness is key at this stage, and most putty is at its most adhesivewhen freshly mixed You might experience trouble with the putty sticking to your fingersmore than the wire This can be cured with a very small tap of saliva or Vaseline on thefingertips, but be careful not to let this lubricant touch the surface of the wire Add onlyenough putty to coat the wire At the start, do not try to create anything more than a veryskinny putty skeleton If you are able to build up the shape of the ribcage, etc at thisstage, go for it But if you wait until the first layer is cured that is perfectly reasonable

The ribcage, pelvis, skull, and knees are the main distinguishable elements of theunder-anatomy It is not expected to be resolved in every detail, but the overall shape andsize of these parts must be done with some precision Skipping this stage and moving on

to the general mass of the form is possible, but the sculpting is more likely to go awrywithout the anatomical reference of the skeleton beneath as a guide

Other layers of the under-anatomy that can be added after the 'skeleton' has driedare the masses of muscle on the inner thighs, the shoulder blades, the jawbone, and themass defining the organs under the ribcage Again detail is not required, but the shapesmust be well considered

Here is the development of my “Berber Chieftain” from skinny putty skeleton, to muscledefinition, and final product

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