The myLargescale.com Figure Class!
Chapter II

by Chris Walas

Refining the Basics!

Yes, I know this chapter was supposed to cover the seated figure, but things change! After some discussion in the figure class chat, I got the distinct impression that people wanted a little bit more information on some of the aspects of the basic figure; namely hands and heads! So this chapter will cover the details and options of making the heads and hands. These really are the two most difficult aspects of a figure to master...that is, once you’ve got a handle on the basic proportions!

This chapter is more of a ramble through various hints and tips than a lesson plan, so get ready to hop around a little here. I also have to apologize for the quality of most of the photos in this chapter. My camera and I had a terrible disagreement along the way and so most of the photos suffered. But I hope they are good enough to give you an idea of what I’m trying to show you.

But first we’ll talk a little more about tools. Our first figure was made using an ordinary toothpick and that toothpick is a fine tool. I still use one. But I also have a few other tools that make a difference in the amount of fine detail I can give a figure. Here, I’ll show you:

TOOLS

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Got your attention? Good. The warning is simply DON’T spend good money on tools that you will never use. The vast majority of commercially available sculpting tools fall into this category. They look great and are really tempting when you see them in the art supply store. They’re sooo....professional!

Here’s a selection of commercially available sculpting tools; Wood tools on the left, a sculpting needle in the middle, and loop tools on the right.

But these tools are really designed for much larger size work and are awkward and cumbersome when applied to a skinny little 3 inch figure. What we need to do is to tailor the tools to the job at hand. And this job is completely in hand; it’s small work so we need SMALL tools! Even most of the commercial tools that are small just aren’t small enough for our purposes.

There are a few worth mentioning.