sculpting hands (1 Viewer)

[Naps...just Naps]

Hi,
I have been trying out some soldier sculpting using Milliput fine and have experienced problems with the sculpting of the hands.
My main problem is getting the fingers to look realistic and finishing them before I go nuts.
At first I tried to sculpt the fingers before the putty/clay dried but found that either the soft putty/clay was just too weak and the fingers broke off or I was too clumsy and ended up squashing the detail when working on other parts of the model.
In the end I just took two small pieces of Milliput, formed them into a rough hand shape with no finger detail (like a kids Mitten). One wrapped around a musket and one free and left them to dry.
I then carved and filed the finger shapes and added them to the arms. So now I have one hand holding a musket and the other hand holding nothing.
I'm not at all happy with this technique because it takes forever and the free hand holding nothing lacks any expression and looks pretty lame. The hand holding the musket looks okay because it's doing something.
These two tiny hands have taken me longer to sculpt than any other part of the model and nearly spoilt an enjoyable attempt.
Does anyone have any tips for sculpting hands or a technique that doesn't take hours of blinding minute carving and filing?
Perhaps there has been a thread on here in the past that someone could point me too.

Thanks in advance
Paul

 

[45thdiv]

If you look at a lot of the figures, the hands do not have the finger spread apart. A lot of this is due to the nature of the clay being used and the scale. The thing is, that Milliput will firm up during the course of it's cure cycle. So I've found it best to rough out the basic shape of the hand then when the clay is a bit firmer, begin to do the finger detail. Another idea is to make a small wire armature for the hand. Put just a small amount of putty on it and sculpt your fingers that way. Small build up at a time. If you want to have fingers apart, they have to be made that way - let the fingers cure, then mix up another batch and add some more putty to start the detail work.

If the hand is holding something, it is best to sculpt the hand holding the item. If the figure is standing there whit a thumb tucked under a belt strap, you got something to work with there. I have found that having something to sculpt the hand around or holding helps me with a solid base to start with.

Just a thought. You kind of have to play around and see how it works for you. I definitely understand your frustration with the softness of the putty when it first starts to cure, it's very frustrating. You just have to stick with it and try a pose where you can have both hands doing something.

Matthew

 

[fishead19690]

Hi,
I have been trying out some soldier sculpting using Milliput fine and have experienced problems with the sculpting of the hands.
My main problem is getting the fingers to look realistic and finishing them before I go nuts.
At first I tried to sculpt the fingers before the putty/clay dried but found that either the soft putty/clay was just too weak and the fingers broke off or I was too clumsy and ended up squashing the detail when working on other parts of the model.
In the end I just took two small pieces of Milliput, formed them into a rough hand shape with no finger detail (like a kids Mitten). One wrapped around a musket and one free and left them to dry.
I then carved and filed the finger shapes and added them to the arms. So now I have one hand holding a musket and the other hand holding nothing.
I'm not at all happy with this technique because it takes forever and the free hand holding nothing lacks any expression and looks pretty lame. The hand holding the musket looks okay because it's doing something.
These two tiny hands have taken me longer to sculpt than any other part of the model and nearly spoilt an enjoyable attempt.
Does anyone have any tips for sculpting hands or a technique that doesn't take hours of blinding minute carving and filing?
Perhaps there has been a thread on here in the past that someone could point me too.

Thanks in advance
Paul

First off let me say that I,m No sculptor but I have messed around with 2 part putty in my conversion work and on occasion have had to make a hacked hand or 2 in the past.
I think you would be better off with a green stuff type putty for what you are trying to do. Millput is much softer and sticky and stays soft long and is harder to work with, for me anyway. Try like a Kneadtite or games workshop yellow/blue putty also known as green stuff.
I think your other problem is the same one I always had when trying to sculpt is that your doing to much work at once. Most sculptors work on a little detail at a time and let it dry fully before they move on so they do not destroy the work already completed when working on the next section.
I have no patience so I always did like you and started on the next section of the figure before it was dry and ruined all the detail I had spent so much time working on when I moved onto the next section. I know all about that frustration!
Give the green stuff a try I think you,ll have better luck with that and a small touch of water,spit or oil will help getting a better smoother finish.
Good luck! post some pictures when your done.^&cool

 

[Naps...just Naps]

If you look at a lot of the figures, the hands do not have the finger spread apart. A lot of this is due to the nature of the clay being used and the scale. The thing is, that Milliput will firm up during the course of it's cure cycle. So I've found it best to rough out the basic shape of the hand then when the clay is a bit firmer, begin to do the finger detail. Another idea is to make a small wire armature for the hand. Put just a small amount of putty on it and sculpt your fingers that way. Small build up at a time. If you want to have fingers apart, they have to be made that way - let the fingers cure, then mix up another batch and add some more putty to start the detail work.

If the hand is holding something, it is best to sculpt the hand holding the item. If the figure is standing there whit a thumb tucked under a belt strap, you got something to work with there. I have found that having something to sculpt the hand around or holding helps me with a solid base to start with.

Just a thought. You kind of have to play around and see how it works for you. I definitely understand your frustration with the softness of the putty when it first starts to cure, it's very frustrating. You just have to stick with it and try a pose where you can have both hands doing something.

Matthew

Hi Matthew,
Yes a lot of the professional made soldiers have the fingers tight together and some even look as though they have most of the detail painted on. I suppose I was trying to be a bit ambitious for a first attempt.
I know that I am far too impatient and should probably have a few models at different stages to allow some drying time but once I start on something I just keep going. I will have to be a bit more disciplined in future.
I like the idea of sculpting a figure with both hands doing something. The hand holding the musket on my figure looks okay so I will have to put more thought into the pose in future.
The figure I made is a Highlander that looks like he is about to be trampled by a horse. I wanted to give the free hand some expression but ended up with no expressions at all. I may try using small wire armatures for the fingers like you suggest. That could work. If that doesn't work it may end up as a fist.^&grin
Thanks so much for your ideas and input. It is very much appreciated.{sm4}
Regards
Paul

 

[Naps...just Naps]

First off let me say that I,m No sculptor but I have messed around with 2 part putty in my conversion work and on occasion have had to make a hacked hand or 2 in the past.
I think you would be better off with a green stuff type putty for what you are trying to do. Millput is much softer and sticky and stays soft long and is harder to work with, for me anyway. Try like a Kneadtite or games workshop yellow/blue putty also known as green stuff.
I think your other problem is the same one I always had when trying to sculpt is that your doing to much work at once. Most sculptors work on a little detail at a time and let it dry fully before they move on so they do not destroy the work already completed when working on the next section.
I have no patience so I always did like you and started on the next section of the figure before it was dry and ruined all the detail I had spent so much time working on when I moved onto the next section. I know all about that frustration!
Give the green stuff a try I think you,ll have better luck with that and a small touch of water,spit or oil will help getting a better smoother finish.
Good luck! post some pictures when your done.^&cool

Hi Tim,
Thanks for the response and the tip regarding the different putty. I will give them all a try at some stage until I find a putty or clay that I like.
I started using Milliput because I found a shop in the North of England selling it at about a third of the price than in the South so I purchased a few packets.
It does stay sticky for a long time which isn't such a problem on larger parts of the model but on hands it's a real problem.
I will be definitely start a few models next time and have them at different stages so that I don't keep working on the same one and mess it up. I suppose this is how we learn from our mistakes.
Regards
Paul

 

[Naps...just Naps]

Thanks to Matthew and Tim for their help. It is very much appreciated.

Regards
Paul

 

[45thdiv]

Hi Paul,

You and i have the same level of being impatient. I want to keep working and have a hard time putting the figure down to cure. After I ruined a few sculptures with detail I liked, only to put my finger on it a bit later, I decided I had to speed things up a bit. I use Procreate, as I find the greenstuff to have too much memory in it and it feels too plastic for me. Anyway I got a clip on desk lamp with a 40 watt bulb. I put the desk lamp close to the desk top and use it as an oven. 20 minutes under there and a few minute to cool down and i am good to go. I work on about three figures at a time and can get a lot accomplished this way. Give it a try and see what you think.

Matthew

Hi Matthew,
Yes a lot of the professional made soldiers have the fingers tight together and some even look as though they have most of the detail painted on. I suppose I was trying to be a bit ambitious for a first attempt.
I know that I am far too impatient and should probably have a few models at different stages to allow some drying time but once I start on something I just keep going. I will have to be a bit more disciplined in future.
I like the idea of sculpting a figure with both hands doing something. The hand holding the musket on my figure looks okay so I will have to put more thought into the pose in future.
The figure I made is a Highlander that looks like he is about to be trampled by a horse. I wanted to give the free hand some expression but ended up with no expressions at all. I may try using small wire armatures for the fingers like you suggest. That could work. If that doesn't work it may end up as a fist.^&grin
Thanks so much for your ideas and input. It is very much appreciated.{sm4}
Regards
Paul

 

[Naps...just Naps]

Hi Paul,

You and i have the same level of being impatient. I want to keep working and have a hard time putting the figure down to cure. After I ruined a few sculptures with detail I liked, only to put my finger on it a bit later, I decided I had to speed things up a bit. I use Procreate, as I find the greenstuff to have too much memory in it and it feels too plastic for me. Anyway I got a clip on desk lamp with a 40 watt bulb. I put the desk lamp close to the desk top and use it as an oven. 20 minutes under there and a few minute to cool down and i am good to go. I work on about three figures at a time and can get a lot accomplished this way. Give it a try and see what you think.

Matthew

Thanks Matthew.
I just looked this product up on the internet and there is a tutorial on there which I'll look at later (at work at the moment).
It says it's good for fine details on 25mm figures so 54mm or 60mm should be easy^&grin.
I'll give it a try.
Cheers
Paul

 

[45thdiv]

Hi Paul,

I bumped up a sculpt I did a while back - my first one in 60mm scale using epoxy clays. But I think the hands give you an idea of what I was talking about with regards to having them do something.

The picture is a bit squashed. The figure is not that stubby in the legs.

Matthew

 

[Naps...just Naps]

Hi Paul,

I bumped up a sculpt I did a while back - my first one in 60mm scale using epoxy clays. But I think the hands give you an idea of what I was talking about with regards to having them do something.

The picture is a bit squashed. The figure is not that stubby in the legs.

Matthew

I can't see a picture attached Matthew.
But i'm not one to talk I haven't got a clue how to up-load pictures on here:redface2:.
I'll have to learn though so i can show people what I mean instead of trying to explain it in writing. "A picture paints a thousand words"..and all that.....

 

[45thdiv]

Sorry Paul,

I should have been clearer in my post. I bumped an older post of mine so you could see the hands.

http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/fo...der-for-French-and-Indian-War-my-first-sculpt

I hope that link works, if not the post should be one of the top ones now.

Thanks

Matthew

 

[Naps...just Naps]

Sorry Paul,

I should have been clearer in my post. I bumped an older post of mine so you could see the hands.

http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/fo...der-for-French-and-Indian-War-my-first-sculpt

I hope that link works, if not the post should be one of the top ones now.

Thanks

Matthew

Oh I see what you mean now.
That's a nice figure.
I've decided to do a few hand sculpts over the weekend for practice.
I'll have to try up-loading some pictures myself soon. I think I'm turning into some sort of technophobe