Flat Out Fun: Sculpting In Relief Part VI

Introduction

We’re back at it in this nine-part series about my own methods for sculpting relief work. In Parts I, II, III, IV, and V we’ve covered everything from history to tools to The Deepening to squishing our sticky-outy blobs on there, and now it’s time for actual sculpting in this Part VI! So let’s just get right to it!…

It’s Smooshing Time!

As someone who’s been sculpting relief work since the early 90s, just over thirty years ago (yikes!), I can distill this step down into one simple concept: You just smoosh clay around until it looks right. That’s literally all it is. That’s the best I can offer. Add more clay where you need it, take clay away where you need to, and just smoosh it all around until it looks right to you. And how right is proportional to how long you’ve been doing this — it’s all experience. 

So my next best I can offer is: Just keep at it. Despite all the challenges and daunting nature of it, just keep at it. Yes, it’s going to see like a huge, impossible task. Yes, there are going to be ugly stages you have to power through. Yes, it’s going to be intimidating and scary. Yes, you’re going to make mistakes. But you’ve got to finish what you start and move onto the next piece to gain more experience. And just chip away at it, little by little. You don’t have to tackle the whole thing at once. And making mistakes is how we learn, there’s no avoiding them. In fact, they’re your best teachers. And don’t worry about making mistakes as oil clay is very forgiving so every hiccup is an easy enough fix. You totally got this!

So instead of me trying to instruct you how to sculpt in the inert format of a blog, instead why don’t we talk about how many folks go haywire when they’re sculpting and some trouble shooting so you can figure out where you went wrong and how to fix it. So to that end…

Using the wrong tools: Many people haven’t experimented enough with tools to find the right fit for them so they just struggle continuously with a tool that’s a poor fit for them. Then frustrated, they quit. Don’t do that. Try lots of different tools and there are hordes of them out there to play with. Myself? I like this tool, a glorified stick with a thicker end and a skinnier end. 

I use it to define and spread and smoosh the clay around, pushing it around until it makes the right formations and contours. But I know many artists who prefer a more pointed tool like a sharpened pencil or a more rounded tool like the end of a paint brush. Many use loop tools in a more subtractive approach. So it’s entirely up to your preferences. There is no wrong tool if it fits you. And don’t forget your fingers! If the scale of your piece allows it, your fingers can be the best tools ever.

Getting overwhelmed: Too many beginners think they have to work on the entire piece all at once and quickly become exhausted by the sheer magnitude of it all. I would be, too. Instead, I recommend picking a place — any place — and starting there and then working outwards in any direction you want to go. I’m right-handed, so I generally start on a body part to the left of the piece and work my way across, going right, so I don’t smoosh what I just did. If you’re left-handed, that might be the opposite direction. Or maybe you’d like to start on the face and work outwards from there which is fine, too. There’s no wrong place to start — just start. And never feel like you have to do it all at once. Babystepping and piecemealing can often get you to the finish line with more sanity at the end.

Forgetting layers: It’s easy to get wrapped up in a portion of the body that fascinates us and then building it up or carving it down too much in relation to the rest of the body. Like I’ve seen eyes that were much too protruding or nostril rims sculpted like volcanoes or joints that were much too bulbous or “reversed” layers between the forequarter and hindquarter only because the artist forgot about the relationships between the layers. We have to remember The Flattening effect and all the relationships it creates between the layers. An easy trick then is to view your relief edgewise on the tile to see the topography of your piece as it really is…which parts are sticking out the most — are they the correct bits and are they sticking out at the right amount? Now yes, if you had to break rules, this doesn’t apply, but overall it’s still a nifty hack if you get stuck when something doesn’t look quite right. More times than not, it’s wonky topography that’s throwing our Eye off.

Carving in too deeply: Remember these things need to cast well! If we carve into things too deeply we’re going to tear our molds, like carving too much into ears, nostrils, or in the mane and tail or feathers. Make sure the silicone can pull well out of every portion you sculpt. But this caution also goes for muscle grooves. Oil clay is so nice to work with, yes, but a good sculpture, a realistic sculpture, is a study of not just accuracy but of restraint, too. Restraint in now extreme things are actually expressed. It’s so easy to really carve in those muscle delineations because of that wonderful clay, but dial it back. Always think of realism first. But likewise, don’t be shy with that clay either. Capturing depth and dimension is about really knowing when and where to be bold so…be bold. Use your directional light to help you match the accurate shadows and highlights to better gauge how effectively you’re sculpting your design.

Use your references religiously: It’s so easy to go off-track when sculpting a relief because that clay is so squishy and unwanted distortions can happen rather quickly. Use your calipers often with your references, too, making constant comparisons as you work. You can even poke into your clay with them to mark a reference point. And have a good anatomical chart handy because you may have to use it to decipher what you’re seeing in your photos, information you need to know for your relief, especially if you get stuck. You can even draw the anatomical features or structural relationships into your clay as guides, something I do a lot as I work. Just look at Nashat and Meddur when I did this. Trust me, a relief will teach you a lot about anatomy, conformation, and breed type in a short time because a relief can look wonky a lot faster than a 3D sculpture!

Getting confused and scared: If you start to get intimidated, break the relief down to smaller bites and then break those smaller bites down into the most basic shapes and relationships. In fact, break everything down into the most basic shapes and relationships and trust the process to marry them all together. The head and joints and the legs can be real trouble spots for beginners in this regard, so just break them down into the most basic components you can and restart that way. See, the thing is with the angles we might choose to sculpt in — like 3/4 angles and whatnot — things can look really confusing and weird. Trust the process. Sculpt what you see in your references and your design no matter how weird the shape or orientation — it will make sense in the end. And never forget, you can always go back and retweak areas that end up not fitting. Oil clay will always let you do that.

Overworking an area: Oh my gosh, this is so easy to do! But resist the urge to keep spinning your wheels with an area. Walk away. Develop a fresh eye and come back to it later. See, the thing is, if you’re spinning your wheels with some portion of your relief it’s because there’s probably something wrong and that area is trying to tell you that. So you’re essentially trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Or perhaps your skillset isn’t quite ready to tackle that bit yet. It happens. So move onto another part and work out from there for a while. Just switch gears but keep moving forwards. You can always come back to that problem area later. Or perhaps there’s a systemic problem that has culminated in that particular portion of your relief. If you suspect that’s the case, refer back to your references and your drawing to suss out the problem. Or it could be that area is giving you fits because it’s actually a surrounding area that’s off which is forcing the issue. Or maybe we’re just exhausted and need to take a break. That happens, too. Go do something else for a while — you need to be working on your relief in joy, not drudgery.

Getting lost in the process: It’s also easy to lose our way as we sculpt a relief because the distortions can be so extreme and unfamiliar. Indeed, all the familiar topography of the horse we know so habitually is made quite foreign through a relief’s flattened perspective. In fact though, this is actually a great aspect of relief because it can break our formulas and habitual interpretations by forcing us to See things quite differently. A relief can really freshen your Sight in this way. Nevertheless, how do we find our way out after getting lost? Well, refer back to your references and your drawing then visualize in your head what the area is supposed to look like on your relief and imagine yourself sculpting it. What angles would you have to hold your tool? How would the clay have to be smooshed to mimic the structures? What layer are you working on and is it in proper relationship to the other layers? Draw on your relief if you have to to clarify structures. Again, break things down to basic shapes and relationships and visualize them on your relief then proceed to sculpt it. Overall, stepping back, taking a breath, and visualizing where you need to go first can often light the way. Above all, trust the process to make it all make sense in the end.

Being timid: Be bold! Smoosh that clay around, you don’t have to be gentle. In fact, the more you work the clay, the better it works so don’t be shy with it. When I work, I’m really smearing it around to shape things, carving stuff off, scraping stuff off, and adding stuff on. It’s all very fluid and organic. Like take a look at Nashat and Meddur and you can actually see how I’ve drawn my tool over them to achieve the contours. So don’t think you only have to just carve way — add where you need it because you may indeed need more in certain areas as you work. Like I keep a blob of warm clay squished onto my tile as a reservoir for needed clay. You never know when some little blob will be the right touch to an area and I want it in quick, easy reach. 

Be responsive to the needs of the illusion expressed in the relief then and know that you can go back and forth as many times as you wish. And don’t worry about toolmarks right now — make them! Tool marks are actually really beautiful things that speak to the process and your creative energy so savor them while you can.

Being too aggressive: On the other hand, learn the feel of the clay as quickly as you can. Why? Because if you’re too aggressive, you’re going to cause rips and tears, crumbling and crumpling in your clay. What you want do achieve is a smooth smearing effect that’ll smooth nicely later with solvents.

Not cleaning your work as you go: When you’re using those loop tools, clean up those tailings as you sculpt. Don’t let them pile up in a big mess to get in your way. Likewise, clean your tools often so they don’t become gunked up with clay. Similarly, clean up all that little pilling that can build up, too, especially in the mane and tail. You don’t want those melting into your relief when you do your smoothings to mar those areas. Keep things as clean and gunk free as possible as you work.

Not taking breaks: Seriously - take breaks periodically if just to step back and evaluate what you’re doing. If you power through too fast you’re going to make mistakes, create distortions, and cut corners — don’t do that. Take your time and pace yourself. Sculpting a relief is methodical work so respect the process.

Misplaced focus: Keep in mind that this first go at sculpting is only the first stage of sculpting, the “rough-sculpting” stage. In this, you’re getting the relief prepped for finessing later. In other words, don’t focus on details and textures just yet at this stage, just keeping your focus on the anatomy, precision, perspective, and correct Flattening and Deepening aspects of it. Save the detailing and finagling for later — we’ll get to it, yes, but later.

Hairy Territory

Okay so yay! You’ve finished the body and it turned out so cool! Great job! But now we have to add the mane, tail, or feathers, things which I do after the fact. It’s just a quirk of mine I suppose because you can sculpt yours right along with the body if you wish, it’s up to you. Now I often don’t really have an idea of what to do with the mane and tail until I’m done with the body and the relief has told me what it wants. Another quirk of mine I guess. Either which way, I like to take a mechanical pencil and draw on the target configuration right onto the tile as a guide which lets me work things out ahead of time. Like take a look at Nashat and Meddur with their penciled in manes and tails. Then I take my warmed, squishy clay, smoosh it on there and sculpt away. It’s really quite fluid and spontaneous.

Now there are many ways to sculpt hair convincingly so the way you like to do is the right way for you. For this, it’s a good idea to study how other artists sculpt hair to get some ideas but make sure you adapt to a method that’s comfortable and expressive of you and your style. And keep this in mind — as you sculpt you can always change your mind. Your penciled in mane and tail aren’t dogma! Like on Nashat, notice how I didn’t input that flipped up hair at his withers? At the last moment, I opted to omit that as I thought it made for a stronger design to omit it. Never be afraid to change your mind with your relief’s design on the fly. It’s one thing to see your relief drawn out on a piece of paper and quite another to have it made real in clay so what works on paper doesn’t always work in clay. Or perhaps your relief wants to be a certain way quite different from your design and that’s okay, too. Listen to your piece, always. Almost always when you do, a stronger composition will result. I don’t know how that works, but it does.

Here's Meddur's mane and tail blobbed in so you can see how spontaneous and roughed out they start. I'm not timid here...just get that clay on there. I used my fingers, shaping the blobs into snakes and jamming them onto the tile firmly. Just make sure all the tendrils have "a pathway to the back," unless you want to sculpt them more "in the round." Then I'll just sculpt them, making any changes along the way because I find that manes and tails often evolve as you create them. I actually find manes and tails the most difficult part of the whole process because capturing randomized passive physics, while still flattering the overall composition, is a tricky dance. It's fun though, but it can be a real challenge at times.

Trouble Shooting

When you think you’re done at this stage, trust me, you’re not. Take a picture of your piece with your phone and look at it through the objectifying lens for a fresh look. Even better, pop it into a photo editing program on your computer for a bigger view. Flip it over horizontally for a fresh look. Or look at your piece regularly in a mirror, reversed, and don’t forget to inspect it upside down, too. And compare this photo to your references and drawing — do they match? And always check your work under directional lighting to make sure those planes and dimensions synch with your references. Keep doing all this until that piece is just so then you’re finally ready to move onto the next step.

Huzzah!

So now you’ve done all that and you made all your corrections and ta-da…you’re finished! You’ve sculpted out your relief — you did it! You tackled some challenges and you saw your way through it — great job! But you aren’t done yet. See, you just finished what I refer to as the rough-sculpted stage, the first stage of sculpting. We'll have another go at sculpting but only after we knock down all those tool marks which we have to smooth out first. 

So here are Nashat and Meddur rough sculpted so you can get an idea of how far I go with this stage. It’s pretty far. But note that there are no details really and a lot of the texture isn’t present. Those are things we’ll get to later.

Conclusion to Part VI

You’ve come a long way, you! Super job! Look what you did — appreciate that! Pat yourself on the back. You created something that didn’t exist before — how cool is that?! But we still have a ways to go which we’ll get to in Part VII. Meanwhile, savor your moment! Always savor every creative win as each one represents a personal triumph in some way. Be proud of what you accomplished! You’ve earned it! 

So in Part VII we’ll discuss how to get rid of all those tool marks so just hang tight! Until next time then…job well done!

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

- Vincent Van Gogh

Flat Out Fun: Sculpting In Relief Part VI

Flat Out Fun: Sculpting In Relief Part V

Introduction

We’re back at it with how I sculpt my relief work! Phew! We’ve tackled quite a bit so far, but hopefully you’re finding some of it useful for your own work. 

In Part IV we dove into The Deepening, or the major subtractive component to sculpting a relief so now in this Part V, we’re going to tackle the additive aspect, all the while factoring in The Flattening. The thing to remember about sculpting relief is that it’s a process — there is a method to this madness. Once you learn that method then, the madness begins to make a lot more sense. Indeed, I use these same techniques for all my relief work regardless of size or shape or engineering since they’re highly adaptive and flexible, things I value in a sculpting process.

Makin’ It Blobbier

Warm your clay up under the lamp or in your clay warmer so it’s really soft and squishy. You want it soft because this step is going to require a lot of squishy clay simply to save your fingers. We’re going to be doing a lot of clay squishing in this step!

So we’ve considered The Deepening, the subtractive aspects of the relief, the sticky-iny parts, so now it’s time to consider the sticky-outy parts, the raised areas, the higher points. So yes, we’ve used our flat surface as the medium depth, the foundation or platform from which we carve into or build out from; it’s our medium depth, our starting point. It’s much like the mid-tone basecoat for a paint job, of sorts.

For this blob-adding step then, think about which portions will be closest to you and then work in descending order from there, all the way back to the lowest points. You don’t have to apply clay like this was gospel, remember, but the basic idea of it is a handy guide for your decisions. Like notice on Nashat that I had to apply blobs for his fetlock and hoof so they could stick out a little bit from his cannon. 

Ordinarily I wouldn’t have done that, but I needed to preserve that thickness to that lower leg so in order to add dimension, I had to add rather than subtract. And note on him how much I added to his head so I could really do some serious sculpting there to make it pop? But note I didn’t make his ear alto-relievo as I might have ordinarily done — he’s destined as a standee and if he falls over, I don’t want a fragile, protruding ear to bust off. I want him to be as sturdy as possible as a whole piece for the collectors. Same for Meddur.

Now there’s a trick to this step — you want to make your blobs as proportional as possible to the shape and size they’re ultimately intended to be. You don’t want your blobs too small though that’s better than having them too big. Making them too big is a lot more of a hassle to “sculpt down” than it is to “sculpt up” because you didn’t add enough. Really, adding clay is usually a lot easier than removing clay. So this step is going to have a learning curve, so be ready for it. That said, you don’t have to be super precise, of course, just try to get in the ballpark. And don’t get too fussy either, again stick with the big ideas. What you’re doing now is blocking in the sticky-outy parts, not doing the actual sculpting yet. And use your fingers to smoosh in big swaths of clay if you need to, don't be timid. When you’re done, yes, you’ve made a mess of it…trust the process! It’s scary now and you may be intimidated, but trust the process! You didn’t ruin your relief, you added the necessary dimension to it, the necessary bulk, and the process works…trust me, it works!

So clearly, we worked with The Flattening as we placed on our bitty blobs as we “compressed” our visual into the relief paradigm. Here’s Nashat and Meddur then with their bitty blobs blobbed onto them so you can see what I mean. 

You can see how much I added to achieve the protruding contours, using my traced in muscle grooves and features as a guide as to where to place the blobs. You can see that I generally followed the intended structures, too, using my fingers to give them their initial planes and shapes consistent to anatomy and perspective. 

In particular, note how their forequarters are protruding a hair more than their hindquarters? With their bellies in the middle? We’re talking only millimeters here, but even those little differences can make a big impact. Of special note though, notice how important distortion is in playing to perspective? Your brain is going to register depth just fine if your perspective-induced distortions are correct. Our brains do a lot of filling in for us so we have an instant advantage here.

Trouble Shooting

Be mindful of how far you allow your clay blobs to protrude, or rather, how much clay you build up and where. Like you don’t want your eye sticking way out unnaturally, especially in comparison to your nostrils, teardrop bone, or zygomatics, for example, Or you don’t want your hindquarter to protrude out higher than your forequarter unless the pose or engineering demands that. Remember the layers between your two reference points and how everything falls between them.

Check your drawing and references a lot as you squish on bitty blobs to make sure you’re placing bulk in the correct locations in the correct proportions. If you’re off here, especially with placement, that could cause a systemic error that’s rather involved to fix later. So work with care in this step, take your time.

Planing your blobs correctly is important. You’re blocking in your sculpture now and we all know how important this step really is for how easy the rest of the process will pan out. Like you can see I’ve already factored in the planes in this step on Meddur and Nashat, it happens that early. Really, if you get your planes wrong now, it can create a systemic error by throwing off other areas of your piece. This is actually a common misstep made with relief, getting the planing wrong. So again, when you think you’re done, pop your piece under directional light to check if that light plays on these initial contours consistent to your references and drawing. If not, make adjustments now, don’t wait for later.

If your fingers are getting tender or sore, wait for your clay to warm up more again as it’s getting too hard and therefore too stiff to work. I like to cycle through clay blobs so I’m always working with the softest, gooshiest clay possible. It just saves your hands!

Conclusion to Part V

So much squishing! But we’re all bulked up now and ready to really start sculpting! Now it’s super easy to become a bit overwhelmed at this specific stage of the game, I know. I sometimes still feel that even after all my experience. Your traced lines are gone and you feel a bit intimidated because it all feels so confusing and daunting. But it isn’t. Yes, there’s a lot to do now, but you’re going to chip away at your piece one small portion at a time, moving across it systematically until it’s all done. You’re going to pull your design right out of the clay little by little so trust the process! Honestly, you’ll be amazed at what you can actually do when you babystep your way through something! 

So in Part VI, we’re going to get to the actual sculpting portion of the process which is so fun and fascinating! Maybe you’ll even find your Groove and you’ll be stunned at how your piece just literally sculpts itself. Really, once you get the hang of relief work, your process will become faster and faster as the easier it gets. Or yes, maybe you struggle and get lost along the way, but don’t worry! There are tricks up your sleeve you don’t even know about yet that I’m going to show you next time.

“Sculpture is an art of the open air. Daylight, sunlight, is necessary to it, and for me, its best setting and complement is nature.”

- Henry Moore

Flat Out Fun: Sculpting In Relief Part V

Flat Out Fun: Sculpting In Relief Part IV

Introduction

We’re back again with this nine-part series about how I sculpt a relief. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far in Parts I, II, and III, so in this Part IV we’re going to tackle The Deepening, that step in our process that establishes the basic perspective of your piece. So let’s go!

The Deepening

So now we have your design on your flat clay slab, right? Okay…time to add dimension! Time to do the major subtractive component of the relief. So study your design and consider which point on that horse would be close to you and which part would be furthest away. So as for right now, ignore the points that would be closest to you and think mostly on those points that would be furthest way — those are the spots we’re going to target with The Deepening. 

On Nashat then, his closest part is his right forefoot and head and his furthest away point is his right hind foot. On Meddur, his muzzle and left fore hoof are the closest to us while his right hock is the furthest away from this perspective.

So, to achieve The Deepening, take your loop tool and literally carve those points down. Don’t go down too far as to make your clay too thin in that area (or “farther way” than your background if you have one), but take away some of that clay. (It’s okay if you remove your traced-on muscles and stuff as you’ll add those back in later.) And don’t forget the ears! (If you have a background, you’ll have to carve that in, too, as the point furthest away.)

So here’s Meddur treated with The Deepening and you can see the impact it makes right away. As I've determined his two reference points, which are closest and which are furthest away, I've taken clay away accordingly.

Now here’s Nashat all carved out with The Deepening touches and notice how he has started to come to life with some dimension already? 

But if you really look at him, you see I broke my own rules! I had to. Because here’s the problem — he’s designed as a standee so I have to think about weight…all that weight visited on that right hind foot when he’s stood up! So here’s my issue: I want his head to really pop as a focal point. So I plan for it to have the most mezzo-relievo work, i.e. the thickest part and so the most weight to it. That means I have to take weight off elsewhere like his fore legs, which is why I’ve carved them down so much. Ordinarily I would have left the lower leg of the right fore alone since it’s “out in front” but I couldn’t do that here because of engineering logistics. What’s more, notice how I didn’t take any off his lower right leg? He’s fully thick there and for good reason — it has to support the rest of him when he’s stood up so I want that area to be thick. See — there are those judgement calls. But I’m not going to worry about that because with his sharp perspective and other tricks up my sleeve, it’ll all work out in the end. 

Regardless, also notice on Meddur and Nashat that I delineated some of their large muscle mass creases, areas that would be deeper “into the body.” And note how their bellies have been defined as well. Just think in terms of big ideas at this point though, the big ideas with the deeper planing of the subject. Don’t start working on details or finer points yet — just the big planar ideas. In a sense really, The Deepening is a general recreation of the proper shadows in your piece right from the get-go. And notice how crude I’m being here — you can really see the toolmarks of my loop tool, can’t you? No need to be delicate at this point.

Trouble Shooting

Now if you’ve cut away too much of your clay, no problem! Just take some of your softened, warm clay and squish it back on and reshape it and start over. All fixed! Oil clay is very forgiving. 

Take care not to distort your traced design as you work. This is why loop tools at this stage are so useful as they cut away rather than smoosh.

Don’t futz and fiddle at this stage. Just focus on the big overarching ideas as you’re simply blocking in the deepest areas. If you start to fiddle at this stage, you’re going to run into trouble later — remember, this is all a progressive process. Trust the process.

If you ever break a piece off accidentally — don’t worry! Just squish it back on and blend it back in. But if like a leg or whatnot comes off, just squish it back into place and use those anchoring tabs again. You can clean the edges up later.

Now take your piece and put it under directional light — how does it look? Study your reference photos and drawing — are those major shadows lining up properly between your piece and those references? If not, make adjustments.

Conclusion to Part IV

Wowee—we’re on our way, aren’t we? As long as you’re having fun, that’s really all that matters! And don’t worry too much about what you’re doing. Oil clay is so forgiving that whatever you hose up, you can fix with relative ease. Just add more clay, reshape, and you’re ready to move forwards again. So while we’ve tackled The Deepening in this Part IV, in Part V we’re going to jump into the additive aspect of sculpting relief work! In other words, we’re going to add on some clay blobs! Yes — we’re going to make our piece even blobbier! Onward, to glory!

“A sculpture is just a painting cut out and stood up somewhere.”

- Frank Stella

Flat Out Fun: Sculpting In Relief Part IV