![]() ![]() I studied my references to determine their positioning. Next, I took the blunt end of a small paintbrush and strategically made indentations where the twine holding parts of his face together should go. Certainly, it is possible to overdo it, but luckily it's just clay and you can soften anything that isn't working for you. Next, I poked "pores" into his skin with a pointed sculpting tool through a piece of plastic wrap. Study a few pics of older people - or in my case I just look in a mirror. While all wrinkles do not run in the same direction, there are some rules about how they run and why. Additionally, I was able to integrate his "pumpkin-like" qualities into this anatomical consideration. One thing to note is that I considered his anatomy and musculature to determine how his skin might fold and wrinkle. The plastic softens the harsh lines created by the tools. I then took my sculpting tools and began running wrinkles across his face. I took a plastic baggy and cut it open and placed it on the surface of his skin. Once I got the general sculpture to a place that I was satisfied, I started detailing his skin. Anyway, Sam has plenty of fine lines and wrinkles so, this face would be the perfect time to focus on the little things. pumpkins are a vegetable, no? Let's just agree that he 's a gourd. The Annabelle mask I sculpted for my daughter was very smooth as she is a doll made of plastic or porcelain. I really wanted to practice working on details on this sculpture. I ask my kids, "How do you eat an elephant.? One bite at a time!" Work on one element at a time - the bridge of the nose, an eyebrow, a cheekbone, etc. Realize that you can't sculpt an entire head at once. Faces are made up of basic shapes (spheres, ovals, squares) that are combined to form the whole. Use a ruler to measure shapes on your reference pics, buy sculpting tools, and watch Youtube videos. Give it a shot, you might be surprised at what you can accomplish. PEP TALK: I can't say I'm a great sculptor, but I'm willing to try. At this point, you want some semblance of the overall character but it doesn't have to be perfect. I used the reference pics to get general shapes and rough out the initial design. We also did this as Sam's face is lower than a human's face and this was a good way to force this unnatural anatomy. Notice, they are BELOW where my son's eyes were located! I did this as we planned to cut holes above the painted eyes so he could see out of the mask through slits in the area between the brows and the upper eyelid. And, third, It's pretty tough to sculpt a two perfect spheres of the same size. Second, It allowed me to sculpt eyelids OVER the eye forms as I planned on using the actual plastic "eyes" in the final version of the mask. I did this for a few reasons: First, it maintains a reference point on the sculpture for the anatomy. I took two halves of small bath bomb molds and placed them where I wanted the eyes to be. ![]() There are different "hardnesses of clay available so, I chose a soft version of the clay in a fleshy/orange color so the sculpture would be more natural than a gray tone. Sam has a big head so you will need a lot of clay - this is exactly why you start with a head form - not only will it provide support for the heavy clay, it will reduce the amount of material needed. Keep in mind the size of the final mask and your noggin as you start roughing in the mask size. After the success of my daughter's Annabelle mask,( Annabelle Costume ) I felt like an old pro at the process so we jumped right into the sculpture! I took a fiberglass head form (you could easily use a styrofoam head form) and started lumping on the oil based clay. ![]() This was great since I already had the materials on hand - clay, hydrocal casting stone, liquid latex, paints, etc. This year both of my kids wanted mask based Halloween costumes.
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