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Sculpting maquettes and busts?

If I wanted to get into sculpting maquettes and busts of superheroes as a hobby, (and eventually get as good as the guys at sideshow collectibles) where would I start? An instructor or teacher is pretty much out of the picture and I know they are highly recommended to have if your starting a new art form. Are there any books that show techniques and such to use as a reference? I've been drawing as long as I can remember so I have a little under my belt as far as art goes. But what clay and tools should I get? And is there anything else that is recommended?

Public Comments

1. As a starting point you should get some plasticine oil moistened earth clay modeling clay, which never hardens. For your purpose, you probably want to look for a lighter color than the most common dark green. With the more common use of claymation, more colors are available than in the past - see Dick Blick - search for Plastina Once you have worked with that clay for a while, you can decide if you want to switch to polymer clay which can be baked to a permanent plastic state, but can be frustrating to learn with as it dries and gets crumbly after a while. As for tools, you can use almost anything, as shown here http://www.mikegigi.com/modeling.htm#TOOLS but if you want to see a selection solid and wire tools, look up ceramics supply or pottery supply for your area, then call and ask if they have clay working tools (some will only sell fired ceramics or pottery for the garden) If nothing is in your area, take a look at the online catalogs of Trinity Ceramic Supply in Dallas or Seattle Pottery Supply or Dick Blick mentoned above
2. yes there are books and you probably want to start out with polymer clay as that's the only clay you can make into a permanent object at home. a short search in amazon gives you those options: http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Lifelike-Figures-Polymer-Clay/dp/0823015033/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271783749&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Make-Clay-Characters-Maureen-Carlson/dp/0891347216/ref=pd_sim_b_3 I would generally recommend trying to get books through the library first and see how much you like them. Keep in mind that you can also buy them as easily used as new. You probably can find stuff on websites and youtube. Do a search! Don't get stuck on superheros from the start. Learn how to decently do human anatomy, once you got a solid idea you can exaggerate characteristics which make the figure into superheros.