|  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. |
