The only deviant I know of that does sculpture on a regular basis is =Indigo-Ocean, who indeed makes only tiny sculptures as far as I know. But she also has some tutorials you might find helpful ( [link] ). I'm afraid that's all I can help you with.

My figurine making is limited to two dolls ([link] and [link]) so I'm not exactly an expert ^^' I used two types of materials - self-hardening modelling clay and Fimo, and much prefer the latter. (Some of the materials I used are here: [link]) Making a wire and foil base does save materials, plus it makes the figurine steadier.
As for tuts, I only used these ones for BJDs - not sure how useful they may be but anyway: [link]

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Chemical Blue: because life isn't black and white.

I'm a big fan of mixing super sculpey with the sculpey firm. Super sculpey will get finger prints and get too squishy really easily while sculpey firm tends to be too hard to work with. 50/50 on that is my favorite so far. They mix pretty easily, especially if you get a pasta roller to run them through together. It also gives you a nice industry standard gray so you can see mistakes more easily and fix them.

I've only sculpted in sculpey myself. I've seen a demo done by a guy who worked sculpting some of the McFarlane Dragons series as well. He sculpted with an industry standard WAX, but I don't really know much of anything about doing that.

I would definitely recommend using the aluminum foil to bulk up the armature. It also helps the sculpey stick to it (it can slide around if the surface is too smooth). I also wrap smaller (like 24 gauge) wire around the foil to make sure it stays on too. A good rule to follow on that is making sure you can have about 1/4" space at least to have sculpey over the surface of it. Too much foil and you might start running into it while you're sculpting.

If you need to smooth it out, you can use water, a little bit of rubbing alcohol, or sculpey softner (same brand as the clay, comes in a small bottle usually, lasts a long time because you only need a drop or two, if that, to do the trick).

Sculpey can crack after baking (especially if it heats or cools too rapidly), but the great thing about it is you can rebake it as many times as you want, filling in cracks with more sculpey to make them disappear.

I learned this stuff from a Maquette class I at the beginning of this year. I got some baking instructions (I would NOT follow the baking instructions on the box, by the way) from my professor that would help keep the cracks to a minimum. I haven't used them myself yet, but if you'd like I can send them to you. I might also be able to contact my professor to see if he wouldn't mind if you sent him an e-mail with questions. I'm no professional at making maquettes/sculpts, but it IS a lot of fun!

Hope this helped!

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Talking about art is like dancing about architecture.

If I could give you one bit of sculpture advice, I'd say don't do it! Me and sculpture just don't mix. I enjoyed every part of my art foundation degree; graphics, fashion, fine art, figure drawing, but not sculpture. I don't think I ever made anything that didn't collapse into a messy heap.

Sorry that wasn't very helpful.

I only have a bit of clay sculpting experience with ceramics/handbuilding modules at uni.
I suggest you talk to a ceramist at your local uni/art college as they deal with clay every day.
I did learn that if you want clean and smooth results getting good quality tools is a must.
If this is the type of sculpture you mean (and i'm not sure it is) make sure you make the inside hollow or it won't fire well and you'll have to bisque it!
x

Hey
Thanks so much for the reply, that's really helpful!
If you don't mind my asking, what gauge and type of wire would you recommend for the armature? I've always managed to get away with using paper-clips before, but obviously that won't work with larger figures.
I'd really appreciate it if you'd mention me to your tutor and pass on those baking instructions as well ^_^
Thanks once again!

Nyoho? THis is intriguing....

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[link]

Sticky-back plastic, couple toilet rolls, pipe-cleaners, duct-tape AND AWAY YOU GO.

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ding dong lmao

It really depends on the size of the maquette for what gauge of wire you're going to need. And if you're going to use aluminum or steel (steel is...really aggravating unless you HAVE to use it). Paper clips won't be able to support it, no. XD

He said he's totally up for you e-mailing him and completely willing to help! He's a professor of mine at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), teaches the Conceptual Maquette class (among others), and does demos at conventions (like Heroes Con) for maquette making. He knows tons more than I do, as well as how to do mold making among other things.
As soon as I send this message, I'll go find those baking instructions and send them to you through a note as well as my professor's e-mail address.

You're very welcome! Looking forward to seeing what you make.

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Talking about art is like dancing about architecture.