Hi everyone,
So time for part 2 of the big romantic sculpting project. As you will be able to see from the pictures, I've made some significant changes in how I plan to carry it all out. The first change was scrapping the pink foam completely. It was taking far too long to cut into shape, was annoying to work with (just an exacto knife here) and I was given a better idea by some new friends who've done sculpting
Before we get into that, I'd really like some colour help. As you can see from the picture above, I've done a quick undercoat with grey paint to better see the details on the models. I need to decide on a colour scheme for them both so I can start painting as soon as possible. I'd quite like to do a deep, rich, red with gold trim for the knight's armour and something light for the wizard. Her skin will be pale and her hair dark so keep that in mind when making suggestions.
I also need to make a decision about the main stone and background colour scheme. Should I make it an earthy or grassy mound beneath the path? Should the path be a dark grey/black or should I try for a more sandy or salmon pink sandstone look? Which paints would you recommend in each case?
Here are the big changes I made. I made the core of the shape from crumpled up aluminium foil instead of pink foam. I glued it down to the wood base along with the Marmite lid. Then my friends convinced me to use sculpy/polymer clay instead of Green stuff for the main shape because I can work with it for a long time. It doesn't harden until you bake it in the oven so I have a lot of working time to play and make sure that the shapes are just what I want.
Of course, since I'll be baking it, that means the plastic Marmite lid is a no go. I pulled that one off the base and formed a clay equivalent to replace it.
Then I realised this was a waste of clay and made a new base out of aluminium foil by pushing it into the Marmite lid...I'm learning to improvise.
The surface of the clay is difficult to get smooth but I found that the Exacto handle (minus blade) was a good smoothing tool.
I glued my foil core down last of all as the glue takes time to set and is really stinky. After sticking it down this morning, I put it in the spare room to dry and left for work. This picture makes me realise that I need to make the piece more even overall but at least I have the basic bulking out done on the heart shape.
Next up is the central plinth, smoothing the whole thing down and baking it so the clay goes hard. Then I can work on the path details. My friends have then offered the use of their tile mould so I can just make up a sheet of tiled clay and cut out the shape I need. That will be a LOT quicker than hand carving the stones so hopefully it all goes well.
Colour advice is much much appreciated at this stage.
Thanks all
5 comments:
Cant say I have many ideas in the color work for the models, but I think for the base, I would stay with something very earthy. The focus of the diorama is the models so give them color but for the base, mix up some browns and greys and just have fun to start with. See what shades you like and so on, it's ok to be messy at that stage, but later clean it up.
Thanks for the help Tim. I was planning to go with an earthy feel but it was more a case of picking out the stone colour I want to use.
It's a pretty fun and messy project already. Polymer clay is a good laugh to work with as long as you're making organic shapes and don't need it to be exactly straight/flat.
Anon ;-)
For the scenery of your proposal, you really need to think of what would be romantic. Not too much moss, try woodland scenic flowers or mini'taurs stuff. You could always give the grass a more yellow ochre for highlights and more burnt umber for darks to create a contrast between mossy and muddy areas. But as I say, not to disgusting.
Giving the Wizard pale skin and a light gown is not a good choice. How ever a nice pinky-purple gown with light skin, fair hair and even some OSL from the staff will probably give you the look you're wanting.
Foundry Miniature Paints would be good for the grassy area. Forest Green 26A, 26B and 26C. Also the Moss paint from foundry, cannot remember the number sorry.
Good Luck and hope I have helped.
Hey Tim.
I would think a sandstone color would work just fine. Start with a nice pale brown and bring it up to ivory. I used this technique with my sphinx last year and it really blends well with almost every color combo. You can’t go wrong with it.
Shawn G.
Thanks for the advice folks. It is all appreciated.
@Pr0Golf3r, I hear what you're saying and I'm thinking hard about what colours to use. I want to keep the hair dark and skin pale because that suits the lady in question ;-)
I was thinking of going with something like what Reaper have on their website. (http://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/darkheavenlegends/latest/03563)
As far as the scenery goes, I'll keep all of your points in mind and see what it looks like as I bring the colours up. I was thinking of green because it will let the heart shape stand out more, especially if I paint it in the ligher sandstone colour.
@Shawn,
Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely try that out and make some nice shades with it.
All help is appreciated :-)
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