Cantering WB - finished the sculpey part!

So, still no name as of yet, though I do have a few in mind that I'm narrowing it down from. I've finished all the work I want to do with the Sculpey, baked him, and will be making my waste mold of him tomorrow!

 There are plenty of little tweaks this guy needs! I won't go into pointing them all out but the big ones will be cleaning up the hoofies - like sanding down a lot from that front left one and building up some more on that back left one - finishing the tail, sanding smooth the sections I worked on him in so that they all blend together fluidly with no bumps/breaks/cracks, fixing the areas where the sculpey cracked, and adding veins/details/shoes.

 Once I get the feet sized right and more even with the others I'll sculpt the bottom of the hooves on before sculpting on shoes.

 It's much easier to work on a sturdy, cast-as-one-piece resin form for this stuff than risk putting too much pressure on a sculpey piece and having it break off.    

Another "Quick" Update

During my "lunch break" I sit in front of the TV, cuddle with my dog on the sofa, eat lunch, and do some sculpting. Yes. I am one of those people who can't just be idle. Anyway. QD is making some progress! Now, you've seen this side a lot:

So I thought I'd take share more so you could get a better idea of him. Like actually seeing what his other side looks like (now that he has one)!

And this next one is just comical to me for some reason. You can really see that his left side is quite a bit behind work-wise to his right side. That inner left leg needs work, from the hoof all the way up to where it would connect to the chest. You can also see how one sided his face is right now too.

And here's the straight down view after the reworking of that booty! Much better don't you think? Getting there anyway.

And did I mention how much I love Super Sculpey? I am cranking out legs with far more detail than before!

That's all the new shots of him for now. We'll see how many more lunch breaks it takes to finish him. ;)

"Quick" post on WIP and new medium

So this year I decided I'd try a new medium. I wanted something that could give me non-hardening until I wanted a solid piece, and I remembered Brigitte Eberl using it a few years back (don't know if she still does) so I thought I'd try it. At first I thought I was crazy (and so did my friends), but the more I started using it, the more I LOVED it. Want to know what my new medium of choice is? Wait for it...Super Sculpey! Yes, the pink stuff you find at your local JoAnn Crafts. And I'm completely in love. It's much softer than I'm used to working with, but it moves much differently as well, which makes the softness okay. Also, I can "set" things in place with a heat gun when I'm finished with an area so I don't have to worry about smudging or taking a chunk of an area out with my nails (which I do all too frequently). Meanwhile, I can move legs and necks and tails and whatnot forward, backwards, and sideways to my heart's content and not have to worry about the stuff hardening in an hour. AND...this is the best part...because I can bake this guy to harden him, I can sand and work THIS copy, which saves me a weeks' worth of time and hundreds of dollars in making the waste mold. We can move straight on to one production mold. WOOTS! I will warn all of you aspiring sculptors now though, I consider this a more advanced medium to work with.

Anyway, info about the piece now. Sorry, I'm a shameless promoter of things I find that I fall in love with (like HD Bananas Foster, yum) and I tend to get sidetracked.

Meet "Quick Draw"! This boy is a traditional scale stock galloping stock horse (same size as the Rose Reiner). I think I'm going to make him a gelding unless all you all feel he needs to remain "intact". He's that nice roping horse type, which is good and thick, but not near a halter-breed horse's beefcake-ness. There's no TB influence in this guy! A friend of mine came to me last year at a show and told me she had plenty of ideas for my next "Performance Horse Series" piece. She and another friend had both been wanting a galloping stock horse with the back legs on the ground for probably a decade or more. She proceeded to tell me all the things she could do with a horse like that. Now, this gal is a big name in performance and one of the most fun and creative people I know...she could probably a NAMHSA Perf. Versatility Award cookie on horse that was laying down. But the enthusiasm she showed was catching. Besides I can't say no to her. She has been a long-time supporter of my work - ever since I was a little girl first starting to paint and hair with the rest of the crowd.

Sneak Peek of Morgan Stallion

Finally this guy is pretty much finished! I thought he was before, but then I took a break and came back. As usuall, all I have to do is refresh my eyes to see all those faults. And they sure do glare back at you!

For those of you who are unaware of this guy, his name is Fitzwilliam - Willy for short - and he's Darcy's main man. He's meant to be more of the old styel/foundational bred Morgan in type. I am very happy with how he looks now, but have sent out photos to a few experts to see where he stands. If he's good I hope to have the master cast in a few weeks, but we'll see. He's only going to be available unpainted to those of you who bought a Darcy or Elizabeth resin; otherwise, he'll be sold painted only.

Btw, ignore his feet. I'll be evening them out in resn as the clay is just not being friendly in that area.