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1805 Battle of Trafalgar Royal Marine.


MarkSH

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Afternoon all,

 

My entry for the GB will be a clay sculpt of a 1805 Royal Marine from the Battle of Trafalgar.

 

This is a very new medium for me so it should provide me with some challenges and a steep learning curve as well as some entertainment for the rest of you.

 

Here are the raw materials, gathered reference and tools.  A start had been made prior to joining the GB with the scratching of the musket, I have subsequently put the armature together and had a go at the head but I will most likely have another bash at that.

The pose is supposed to suggest that of someone looking up scanning the fighting tops for the French marksman that has just felled Admiral Lord Nelson.

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All kinds of reference, basically anything with illustrations of bone structure, musculature .......oh! and how to actually do it!

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"When I grow up I want to be a Royal Marine!"

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...."or a Pirate!"  This was my practice attempt Long John and Captain Flint....still a WIP. I don't like the way that parrot is looking at me!

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The armature is made so that the arms are removable, which will enable me to detail the torso more easily and hopefully if things go according to plan mould and cast separately

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Oh well in for a penny...

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

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Now this is getting hard core! If I thought there was a lot of serious modelling in this GB already along comes this dude. As art was one of the many subjects that I got thrown out of at school, I genuinely wouldn't know where to start with this.

Maybe I should get a copy of Anatomy of a healthy back for myself, there again it's probably way too late for that. Now, a vaguely serious question? Is it air dried clay or will you have to fire it later on?

What will you be using for paint? Acrylic?

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11 minutes ago, Mjwomack said:

Now this is getting hard core! If I thought there was a lot of serious modelling in this GB already along comes this dude. As art was one of the many subjects that I got thrown out of at school, I genuinely wouldn't know where to start with this.

Maybe I should get a copy of Anatomy of a healthy back for myself, there again it's probably way too late for that. Now, a vaguely serious question? Is it air dried clay or will you have to fire it later on?

What will you be using for paint? Acrylic?

The clay is NSP Chavant, an oil based and completely non-drying medium. As you can see I have some medium and hard. the hard is very hard whilst cold and needs to be warmed to make it malleable. but it is hard enough to be moulded using silicone rubber. I will use a water based clay to help in the production of a two part mould of each component; torso and legs, the two arms, head, hat, hands etc. assuming it all goes according to plan.  The finished article will be a resin cast and painted as per the norm. I've done a little bit of all of the processes but I've never put it all together in one project...should be 'interesting'.

cheers,

Mark.

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'interesting' such a useful word!

Clearly he's not an Imperial man because you've gone for a metric 1:10 rather than 1:12- at some point I might need therapy for my fascination with scales in modelling!!

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Morning all,

I have started the process of blocking in the figure work for my Royal Marine sculpt. early days and a lot of learning but I have to say I am really enjoying this, its very tactile, so far I have used my hands only for the application of the clay (except for scoring a few guide lines) and it definitely helps to feel the volume and shape of the clay.

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The arms were fitted into position so the shoulders could be modelled.

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I cut around the shoulder joints and removed the arms, similarly the head at this point is purely sacrificial, when I get to the collar of the tunic I will remove the head and neck and leave a depression for placement of the final head/neck version hopefully moulded and cast separately just like any figure kit. Fortunately the Marine's tunic has a very substantial collar as well as a scarf.

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Its important to get the figure proportions and volume relatively correct so that the outer clothing can fit/drape realistically.

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Overall I'm quite pleased with pose, stance, distribution of weight and general proportions. there is still some flexibility to adjust  the pose but the one lesson already learned is about the solidity of the armature its just a little too wobbly.

The general musculature is a little bulky in places but I will be putting the clothing layer on so adjustments can be made at that point.

All the work thus far has been completed using the Medium clay the detail layers including the clothing will be in the Hard clay.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

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A very nice start.

 

I have always liked to watch how this sort of figure sculpting is done. Made a few simple attempts but could just not get my figures sorted out properly.

 

I will be following along, perhaps I will learn a thing or two or three ...

 

cheers, Graham

 

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Thanks @GrahamCC I hope I can maintain the good start and hopefully keep learning along the way. Figure work is always very taxing because of the constancy of the human form in our lives. I have a small advantage being an illustrator and having spent many hours at college in life classes but even so it is vital to constantly checking your reference and make sure you walk away from it at regular intervals, there is nothing better than a fresh eye! Also use a mirror to look at the sculpture it surprising how flaws are magnified when looking at the subject in reverse.

Cheers,

Mark.

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15 minutes ago, MarkSH said:

even so it is vital to constantly checking your reference and make sure you walk away from it at regular intervals, there is nothing better than a fresh eye! Also use a mirror to look at the sculpture it surprising how flaws are magnified when looking at the subject in reverse.

 

Very true and good all around advise.  A fresh eye, clear mind, and different perspective.

 

I do this often in everything I do, very helpful at reducing stress and frustration.

 

cheers, Graham 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Robert Stuart said:

Oh, a nice one Mark - going to watch


What did you use for the armature?
And how did you soften your Chavant?  I really couldn't get on with that stuff

Thanks Rob, The armature is made from aluminium armature or florists wire and bulked out with Apoxie sculpt, I used two sizes of square brass tube for the arm connections. The armature does need to be quite firm as the whole thing is getting moved around quite a lot, so a single core of wire like this one isn't really substantial enough, next time I will try a twisted pair of wires.

I soften the clay by just holding and kneading a small chunk as required, it can also be warmed by microwaving very carefully or placing a container on a radiator when on.

Cheers,

Mark.

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1 hour ago, nimrod54 said:

This is real sculpting Mark, :worthy: unlike me who will be cheating with lumps of pre-cast resin. Really impressive job, it will be interesting to see how things go with the clothing.

Thanks @nimrod54, I could watch real sculpting for hours...in fact I have in preparation for this GB at times it was quite intimidating, there are some truly gifted people out there! anyway it's something I've wanted to try in earnest for quite a while so this seemed like as good an opportunity as any. Hope I can pull it off.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I have always wanted to make garden gnomes!!! This look like the way to go.

It's not too late for your marine to grace your front porch with a red hat and a wheel barrow!

 

Impressive modelling nonetheless.

JR

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