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ArtificiallyMe [2014-02-21 17:55:48 +0000 UTC]

Overall

Vision

Originality

Technique

Impact

It's somewhat hard to judge a pokemon sculpture with the criteria of 'vision, originality, technique, and impact.' I mean it's a pokemon sculpture, you can't expect too much from it. However I want to look more at how it was done than what it is.

First off, the more you make the more you're improving. I always said if you can draw you can sculpt and vice versa. It's not really your technique that needs tweaking or anything of that nature. You know what you want the sculpture to turn out like already and you're getting close to that. My critique and advice will be more technical than a judgement of your style. The only thing you can really improve on is how you handle your medium, in this case clay.

Remember, ALCOHOL IS YOUR FRIEND. I really can't stress this enough. Fingerprints and lumps are more defined once they've been painted. Sure you can bake it then sand it but when it comes to a really smooth finish and seamless joints alcohol is the way to go. Dip your fingers in it and run them along the sides and back of your sculpture. Do this lightly and often, soon the lumps and things will work themselves out and by habit (if you're anything like me) muscles will begin to form as you handle it because you know already what looks right and what doesn't when it comes to simple anatomy. The main places that could have used detail work with alcohol are the creases in the spines on the back as well as in between the spikes on the collar. For that, dip a fine bristled paintbrush in the rubbing alcohol and brush it over the areas until desired smoothness is achieved. Of course once this is done it's a good idea to dedicate that paintbrush for nothing but smoothing because clay is somewhat hard to get out of the brush.

Another thing is to add definition. The cheek tufts for instance could have been brought out more, and the collar could have used some thickness to it. Same goes for the tailspikes. Flattening out clay and cutting it to shape then slapping it on is all well and good, however you could have run a slim tool down each spike pivot and added some dimension to the spikes themselves. Remember, you aren't working with only two dimensions anymore.

Be careful where you hold the sculpture as well. You may not notice it but the clay beneath your fingers heats up and you begin to inadvertently crush whatever part you're holding. In this case, I feel like you held it in the middle. Try alternating between holding it, setting it down on something eye level, and even just having it sit in your palm while you work on it. What I do with freestanding sculptures to avoid handling them too much is buy a small glass baking dish dedicated to sculptures, turn it open end down and set the sculpt on top of that. I can then stack a book or box under that to bring it up to a comfortable level for me to work with. Handling your sculpt as little and as gently as possible cuts down on accidental deformations and fingerprints.

Overall, its very nice. The more you work with clay and get used to it the better you'll get. So don't get discouraged if you think what you make isn't very good, practice always makes perfect. I like the face and feet in particular, you did a fantastic job with them. In closing, the best and most valuable piece of sculpting advice I ever got was from a great sculptor by the screen name of Mystica. She once told me, "When you finish a piece never bake it right away. Set it down, and don't pick it back up for at least an hour. If you can look over the whole sculpture without making any changes after that break period, it's ready for the oven." I know you're super impatient, but anything worth making is going to require some effort.

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IceFlameShadowWolf [2014-02-21 10:13:53 +0000 UTC]

AWESOME!!!!!!

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