Halo Wars MK IV Sculpt

[Morphen Jar]

Decided to try sculpting with some oil based clay, and it's surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. Since it's my first time sculpting, I'm starting off with the shoulder from the Halo Wars Spartan and planning to make a suit for next year's Comic Con. After about 3-4 days and working less than 6 hours on it, this is what I got:

 

[mkshane81]

That looks really good. Good luck with the rest of it buddy!! If you want some help with parts, let me know. I've got a few parts built that I really need to get rid of.

-Matt

 

[ShinigamiNG]

Wow! That's really smooth! Great job man! I think the Halo Wars Mark IV Spartans look really cool myself, though I personally wouldn't cosplay as them. I'm more of a Reach Mark V and ODST type of guy myself lol. But still, it looks really good for being your first time sculpting with clay.

 

[ACDCrockr209]

That is one smooth shoulder!

Can't wait to see more!

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

Looking great so far!

You can REALLY make that shoulder shine from being so smooth by spraying some water onto the surface of the clay and working it lightly with a metal kidney. Because the clay is oil based, the water will dry right off and the clay will not be effected. After that any small imperfections in the clay will be even MORE smoothed out when you lightly apply the silicone with a brush. You will not lose detail, but it surely smooths things out even more.

My only concern would be the rectangular holes in the shoulder. You should push some clay into the holes and make the present "holes" into "indents" so when you mold the shoulder your silicone doesn't go through those holes, thus creating a large amount of trouble.

You should also build up a mold wall around the outter edges of the shoulder. This will catch silicone therefore making molding easier, allow you to make a small lip around the shoulder mold to help improve the quality of each cast aswell as making casting easier (Plastic on the hands is NOT fun) and also helps the silicone to form better into the hard shell therefore reducing the risk of warping.

Again, looks great, but there are some ideas for improvement.

 

[Road Kill]

looks pretty good so far keep up the good work =D

 

[ShadoKat]

Very nice! I love the way you have those edges sculpted into the curves. Am I correct in thinking you've only done the one side? From that second pic it looks like it might still be a bit rough on the lower part. Also, I VERY MUCH AGREE with Xtreme TACTICS in that those rectangular holes will give you trouble. Though, rather than filling them in I might try slipping something in behind it if you can. Maybe cut a small square of plastic from like that devil's-own clamshell packaging or something. If you're going to keep it as an indent once it's cast, it will be nice and smooth on the inside and you won't have to deal with trying to get your tools in there to smooth it. If you'll just be cutting them out and making them into holes anyway, you'll at least not have to fuss too much with it.

You can REALLY make that shoulder shine from being so smooth by spraying some water onto the surface of the clay and working it lightly with a metal kidney. Because the clay is oil based, the water will dry right off and the clay will not be effected. After that any small imperfections in the clay will be even MORE smoothed out when you lightly apply the silicone with a brush. You will not lose detail, but it surely smooths things out even more.

Dude!! Where was this advice when I needed it!?!?!? Of course, now I have to ask for specifics...

Is this technique more for polishing after it's already smooth, or does it help even out lumpy surfaces, as well? By metal kidneys, do you mean these?

Are you using the straight side or the round side? How lightly are you talking? Gentle pressure, barely touching? At what angle to the sculpt are you holding it? Perpendicular, 45 degrees? Warm water, cold water, does it matter? Just a regular old spray bottle, yes? Do you have a video showing how you do it?

 

[Morphen Jar]

That looks really good. Good luck with the rest of it buddy!! If you want some help with parts, let me know. I've got a few parts built that I really need to get rid of.

-Matt

Wow! That's really smooth! Great job man! I think the Halo Wars Mark IV Spartans look really cool myself, though I personally wouldn't cosplay as them. I'm more of a Reach Mark V and ODST type of guy myself lol. But still, it looks really good for being your first time sculpting with clay.

That is one smooth shoulder!

Can't wait to see more!

looks pretty good so far keep up the good work =D

Thanks guys. I'm gonna try to finish it in the next few days.

Looking great so far!

You can REALLY make that shoulder shine from being so smooth by spraying some water onto the surface of the clay and working it lightly with a metal kidney. Because the clay is oil based, the water will dry right off and the clay will not be effected. After that any small imperfections in the clay will be even MORE smoothed out when you lightly apply the silicone with a brush. You will not lose detail, but it surely smooths things out even more.

My only concern would be the rectangular holes in the shoulder. You should push some clay into the holes and make the present "holes" into "indents" so when you mold the shoulder your silicone doesn't go through those holes, thus creating a large amount of trouble.

You should also build up a mold wall around the outter edges of the shoulder. This will catch silicone therefore making molding easier, allow you to make a small lip around the shoulder mold to help improve the quality of each cast aswell as making casting easier (Plastic on the hands is NOT fun) and also helps the silicone to form better into the hard shell therefore reducing the risk of warping.

Again, looks great, but there are some ideas for improvement.

Very nice! I love the way you have those edges sculpted into the curves. Am I correct in thinking you've only done the one side? From that second pic it looks like it might still be a bit rough on the lower part. Also, I VERY MUCH AGREE with Xtreme TACTICS in that those rectangular holes will give you trouble. Though, rather than filling them in I might try slipping something in behind it if you can. Maybe cut a small square of plastic from like that devil's-own clamshell packaging or something. If you're going to keep it as an indent once it's cast, it will be nice and smooth on the inside and you won't have to deal with trying to get your tools in there to smooth it. If you'll just be cutting them out and making them into holes anyway, you'll at least not have to fuss too much with it.

Thanks for the tips guys. The water method I tried once on the top, but just to see how it works, so I'll try it again when I need it for final smoothing. As for the holes, that's would be a good idea. Getting tools in there is definitely a pain, so maybe cut cardstock would do the trick.

@ShadoKat: Yeah the other side hasn't been finished yet. As of right now however, it's getting pretty close.

@Xtreme TACTICS 101: I was planning on making some sort of gutter around the edges like you've suggested, but I'm still figuring out where I want it. Spilling silicon has been a big issue for me in the past. Can't argue with that.

Thanks for the help! I'll try to finish it as soon as possible!

 

[Xtreme TACTICS 101]

Woah, lots of questions...

-This technique is for polishing after it's already smooth and you think it can not get any smoother. Although, after using this technique properly, it will prove your initial assumption wrong.

You should use the metal kidney for initial smoothing prior to using the water technique though. It helps a lot.

-I do mean those metal kidneys.

-I actually bend my kidney into a “U” shape to help with the smoothing (Bend it like you would a hotdog bun). You get a better result that way as you don’t have to apply much pressure for this technique to work properly. The key is to never use an edge. ALWAYS use the rounded part of the “U”.

-I barely touch the clay when I do this. There should be a fairly large amount of water on the surface so the water does most of the work. The water will run and pool everywhere, but it will dry in no time. If you’re impatient, you can always take a paper towel and absorb the pools of water when you’re finished to help make the drying process faster.

-The angle depends on the angle of the surface. I just run it over the surface in any direction I feel like until I find an angle and direction that works best. Trial and error is always a friend. Just be careful with it, because one wrong move could send you back a few minutes with the sculpting tool again.

-Warm water will make the clay soft. You don’t want that for the final product because then the clay will move around too much. Use cold water for the finishing touches on the surface of the sculpt to smooth it out. But you can use warm water for the initial smoothing before you use cold water to help the clay move around a bit, fill in any small holes/imperfections and so on.

-A regular old spray bottle, yes. Just make sure it’s shooting out a nice, fine mist. Not a jet stream of water.

-I don’t have a video, sorry. Hopefully my advice is enough to help. You should be able to figure it out from there

And just a word of warning, the kidney tends to stick to the clay when you work it with the water sometimes. Make sure you have PLENTY of water (A fine mist that covers the area you are working) to avoid this. If it sticks, stop moving the kidney, pull it from the clay, spray some more water on the area that it was stuck to, and re-work that area.

Hopefully that answers everything. If you have any more questions, ask away. I’ll do my best to answer.

Good luck,

Jake
Xtreme TACTICS 101

 

[Morphen Jar]

Alight, so I've finished up the other side and it's getting pretty close to being done. Just need to fill those holes and add the details, which aren't much. What do you guys think about the symmetry of it? (Know that it is on a tilt)

 

[Carpathia]

As far a symmetry, the right side dips down a little lower than the left, but it's not all that noticeable, and would be less noticeable if you were wearing it as armor. Great sculpting so far!

 

[Noskey]

The sculpt looks great so far, keep it up! I love the Mark IV, and from this one sculpt so far, you're definitely giving it justice.

 

[Morphen Jar]

I've been busy, so I haven't worked on it much, but I worked on detailing and symmetry a bit. I tried using cardstock to line the edges, but it just isn't cutting it. So I'm thinking about mold a sort of 5 sided box and put it in there. Here's a pic anyways: