Bonnie's A-Z of Dog Sculptures- Update Abruzesse Sheepdog!

Bonnie wrote:

I have just looked at your dog models and they really are AMAZING! So much detail and I would love any top tips you have!

thank you  well, I can say what everyone says it just takes time and practice
But I have a little video of the (time consuming...) technique that helps me out for accuracy. You can find it here if you're interested.

WOW! The methods you use, and the detail, and everything and the end result is just so realistic! And all that fur- must be so time consuming! And I like your idea of having a wire armature and foil underneath as one of the problems I had was that as time went on my dogs started to lose shape and 'sink'. Another problem I had was that as I sculpted the fur, when I held it my fingers would then flatten it out, losing some detail. I would love to know how you avoid this!
And all that fine detail- I find it so tricky to do!
Thank you so, so much for sharing this, you have so much talent!

A-J wrote:

Bonnie wrote:

I have just looked at your dog models and they really are AMAZING! So much detail and I would love any top tips you have!

thank you     well, I can say what everyone says it just takes time and practice
But I have a little video of the (time consuming...) technique that helps me out for accuracy. You can find it here if you're interested.

Exactly for a video like this I was talking about.
Great job Anne

Bonnie, the wire armature also helps, to make your models more correctly in size you want.
Like you said, your first dog went bigger ... This is usually happens, when you start sculpting something part after part..
And if you make the head a bit bigger, then you also make the body a bit bigger...and then the legs...
And then your model becomes bigger than your expectations.
When you start first with wire armature, you can make more easy the size and proportions .. also to prepare the posture you want,
or to change it easily before starting with the clay.
Also like you saw on the video, Anne is using also foil before the clay, to get the shape, which helps also, to save of the clay material and using less of it....especially when it is expensive

Thank you so much for this Kosta, that definitely makes sense and a wire armature and foil will be so useful I am sure! I am making the next model today so I'll give it a try, I'll just have to see if I have any wire first! And a very good tip for saving money too! Thank you!
You seem very experienced with this- do you also sculpt?

Bonnie wrote:

Another problem I had was that as I sculpted the fur, when I held it my fingers would then flatten it out, losing some detail. I would love to know how you avoid this!

I usually try to do the fur details on the underside/hard to reach places of the sculpture first, then I place it on a movable surface so I can move the surface, and thus the sculpture, without touching the sculpture. So I usually add the final fur details last to the places where I touch the figure the most. But I still struggle with smudging parts that were already finished from time to time.

I hope that helps.

Looking forward to your next dog sculpture

You are welcome Bonnie :)

Bonnie wrote:

You seem very experienced with this- do you also sculpt?

:) Actually yes, I do have some experience with sculpting ... I graduated Art high school , with sculpture : 5 years of my life :)
But with sculpting animal models I still don`t have much experience... Till now I mostly enjoy the plastic models
and the homemade models from the other artists...
So far, I just made one more serious custom of one Papo hyena model this year.
You can see the project HERE :)

Thank you so so much A-J that is such good advice and I'll definitely try it in future! And a movable surface- such a useful tip! Thank you!!
And Kosta WOW you have a lot of experience!! Which explains why your hyena was so absolutely AMAZING! You even managed to change the entire pose, and with what you called 'cheap clay' make something that is better than any hyena I have seen in model form!!
I would love to see more, as I'm sure everyone would!

Thank you for your nice words Bonnie and thank you for checking my Hyena topic :)

We now have the next breed... the beautiful and elegant Afghan Hound. It was originally bred to chase mammals in the mountainous areas of its native Afghanistan, everything from fox and hare to deer, gazelle, jackal, wolf and even snow leopard. They are descended from the saluki and were prized by their tribes, who decorated them once a year with necklaces and flowers. With its long flowing coat and prancing gait, they really do catch peoples' attention, but owners need to be aware of the grooming and exercise involved before taking on this breed.
I tried this time with an armature and found it worked much better, as they both kept their shape, so thank you everyone for the tips!
This is the armature:
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I realised that I have missed a couple of breeds, so next time we may go backwards in the alphabet!

They are both really amazing! Can you show me a comparison with some Schleich dogs please? :)

Thank you Adam !
Yes of course- which Schleich dogs would you like me to compare them with or any?

They look lovely and they seem to be very happy to be part of the gang

Thank you so much A-J ! Your advice really helped!

Are these ones you’ve done since you bought the clay? That was fast work! They’re really good! I especially like your first one, very cute face. The afghan hound you’ve captured it brilliantly

Thank you so much Harriet ! Yes these are from the clay you so kindly recommended, it is so good! I have been working on them all day for the past few days which is why I have managed to do a few And I feel honoured to be praised by such a talented sculptor ! The next one I'm working on has very short fur- any tips for this? Would it be just lots of shallow short strokes?

Bonnie wrote:

Thank you so much Harriet ! Yes these are from the clay you so kindly recommended, it is so good! I have been working on them all day for the past few days which is why I have managed to do a few And I feel honoured to be praised by such a talented sculptor ! The next one I'm working on has very short fur- any tips for this? Would it be just lots of shallow short strokes?

Well I’m very impressed! Going through the whole alphabet will certainly make you perfect at making dogs! You’ll be better than me with all this practice!!
I’m sure there are different techniques to doing short hair on a dog, but yes short shallow strokes as you say would do it - try to do slightly different gentle angled strokes in the same direction as the hair would grow, if you see what I mean. That makes it more realistic and not just a load of straight short lines. I’m still learning in doing fur/hair, there are some amazing sculptors out there that make it SO real you have to look twice. You could experiment on a piece of clay first.

I don't think anyone could ever be better than you at sculpting!
And that is such a good idea, to do strokes more at an angle- so more curved lines in the direction of its growth rather than straight? And I'll definitely experiment on clay first! Thank you so much!

Bonnie wrote:

I don't think anyone could ever be better than you at sculpting!
And that is such a good idea, to do strokes more at an angle- so more curved lines in the direction of its growth rather than straight? And I'll definitely experiment on clay first! Thank you so much!

ah, there’s loads better than me! That’s right, you’ve got it! Curved is the word!

Perfect, I'll give it a try this time! Thank you again!

I can't believe you made these 2 new fantastic models so quickly! Sculpting and painting!!.. You have gold fingers Bonnie!

Wow oh wow! Wonderful hounds!

These Afghan Hounds are soooo charming.
Especially the adult one is full of life .
And your models already have very charming style, which makes them easily recognizable :)

Thank you so so much Caracal, Paige, Kosta and Luke!

Wonderful models!!