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 Simple tools include an
X-acto knife and a rubber tipped shaping tool to make modeling
small faces easier. Toothpicks, Q-tips and knitting needles can
also be used for smoothing and shaping areas where its hard to get
your fingertips.
The shaping tool is double tipped, with a point on one end and a
chisel on the other. With tips made of silicone rubber, these tools
come in several sizes and shapes and are very useful. You can also
use silicone rubber molding materials to make your own shaped tools
if you like!
A ceramic tile makes a good work surface. It can be popped right
into the oven when your piece is ready to bake. These tiles are
plain white tiles found at hardware stores. Small, portable and
inexpensive--my favorite kind of supplies and tools!
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This 2 1/2 inch face starts with a ball of clay about the size
of a walnut.
Use any solid color, even a mud or "schmutz" mix of all the
remnants from other projects--but DO make sure its blended to a
solid with no stripes or swirls.
Those make it much more difficult to really see what you are
doing. Your brain and eyes get fooled by any pattern in the clay
itself--so go for a solid color.
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Roll the clay into a smooth solid ball.
Place the ball of clay onto the tile work surface and press
slightly to flatten the back
This ball will form the top of the head, and the bottom jaw will
be added.
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Use a finger or thumb to make eye socket depressions.
Place them slightly above the center line in the ball, and leave
room for the forehead above and the lower jaw below. Leave a bit of
room in between for the nose.
Faces are mostly bilaterally symmetric--the same on two sides.
While we all have some variances, symmetry is a good target to aim
towards as a sculptor.
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To make it easier to be equal, portion the amounts of clay for
the various parts before forming, shaping or placing them on the
face.
Shown at left--above the head are two sets of balls for eyelids
and eyes.
To the far left of the head is a large ball for the nose and a
smaller one below for the lips.
To the left and right of the face are small balls for ears
(these are optional--best for adding to finished pieces but not for
mold originals) and below that are slightly larger balls for the
cheeks.
Below the head is the clay for the lower jaw.
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The clay amounts shown here give you a guideline, but you
can use more or less to create larger or smaller features. A dainty
face would use much less for the nose and also less for the lower
jaw.
The nose has been shaped into a teardrop and added to the middle
of the face.
The eyelids have been flattened into moon shaped half
circles.
The lower jaw is also crescent shaped, but not flat; however it
is thick in the center and has less depth on either side.
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The nose mass has been smoothed down on each side to join
it to the main bulk of the face.
It is also smoothed up and to the sides of the brow to create a
forehead with two defined eye sockets to either side. If the nose
is larger than you like, now is a good time to remove excess.
The jaw is placed below the main head portion and forms the
bottom part of the head. Attach it at either side but do not meld
the upper and lower mouth area in front.
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The rubber tip tool is used to form two nostrils with a
space in between for the septum.
Push the point of the tip into the clay and pull gently towards
the outside of the face, repeat on the other side.
Hold the length of the nose carefully between a finger and thumb
leaving the ball of the nose and nostrils exposed to help hold it
in place while doing final shaping of the nose.
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Place the eye balls into the sockets on either side of the
nose. Press into place enough that they don't roll off, but do not
flatten.
Place the cheek masses to either side of the nose but not
touching the nose, making sure that they are below the eyeballs and
near where the jaws merge.
Notice that the face is roughly in thirds as far as mass goes,
with the eyes, nose, mouth and cheeks filling the center third or
more. A common error in sculpting heads is to not leave enough mass
for the upper skull and lower jaw, resulting in a face that is
mostly eyes, nose and lips.
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Place the moon shaped eyelid pieces Over the top of the
eyeball. Press gently into place ONLY at the top curve of the
crescent, do not flatten the ball of the eye or the bottom of the
eyelid.
The ear pieces are shown here for size reference, but I find it
is best to add ears to each final cast piece rather than try to
make them part of the original and mold. Its a part that often
tears or deforms when removing the pull from the mold or refinining
it.
The lip mass is flattened slightly into an oval shape and then
cut across the length with the X-acto knife to form two lips.
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Use the rubber tip tool to smooth the seams of the tops of the
eyelids and the tops and sides of the cheeks.
As shown at left, the cheek masses are left overhanging the face
to create "apple cheeks"
Use the side of the tip for smoothing, and the tip for
delineating the curve of the nostril.
The face could be left as it is now if desired.
A cartoon-like look is attained by using simple masses not
burdened with a lot of detail.
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However, the lack of bulk in the mouth area makes the face seem
sunken and toothless-- which is fine for some older character
faces.
The eyes also lack a lower lid, which gives it more of a
caricature look that is less realistic.
Again, this may be appropriate for the character you are
creating, or you may wish to continue with more detail and
refining.
Before making the any final decisions and baking the face, look
at the face from both sides as well as straight-on.
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Check to make sure there is a bridge to the nose and that it
does not join the forehead in a line that continues straight back
into the head.
Do any adjustments needed to make sure the eyes are not too
close or too far apart.
You can also use a mirror to look at the piece. When working
with concentration for any length of time, your eyes stop seeing
everything in fresh detail--using a mirror gives your brain a new
perspective and any flaws that were overlooked will be quickly
apparent.
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Place the lips into the mouth depression. Make certain to leave
a little bit of space under the nose.
Use the rubber tipped shaper to smooth the top of the top lip
into the mouth, and the bottom of the bottom lip.
The optional ears are shown here to indicate shape and
placement. However, I did not add them to the face after all.
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Very small snakes of clay are curved and placed under the
eyeballs. They touch the bottom of the eyeball and the two ends of
the top eyelid. They do not cover the lower portion of the eyeball,
but they don't leave any open space there underneath either.
The lips are smoothed into the face using the rubber tipped
shaper again.
The lips start out larger than you may think necessary in order
to have enough bulk to smooth some into the surrounding cheek and
chin areas. Otherwise you can end up with very thin lips.
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The point of the shaper tool is used to create the small cupped
impressed area directly underneath the nose, called the "naral".
This indentation does not split the upper lip itself.
Use the shaper tool to smooth the bottom portion of the bottom
eyelid into place. The shaper works best for smoothing when using
the side of the point to draw along a seam, or rolled instead of
drawn. Practice smoothing on two other pieces of clay until you
find what works best for you and your kind of clay.
Check the sides of the piece again, making sure that the mouth
and jaw are not too far in or out, and that the chin and jaw line
join the nose and brow to create a pleasing profile.
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Use the point of the shaping tool to gently pull the mouth line
from the center to each side to create an expression as
desired.
Remember though that a neutral expression on the original piece
can be used to make pulls that can then be altered to the
expression as you wish. this gives you many more options later
on.
The point of the tool can be used in the corners of the mouth
and also to create dimples. Also use it to slightly pull down the
inner corner of each eye, making a tear duct.
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