Geospiza fortis' Animal Models

Roger wrote:

Geospiza fortis wrote:

Thanks both of you. Roger, as for what you said, I have improved more than I had expected over the past year alone. It gets frustrating though, as I worked out a new texturing technique before I even finished painting my rhino.    

I am sorry, I didn't want to cause you any kind of frustration. Your work is formidable and I am not even able of making a constructive comment, much more a great sculpture as you do.
I mean only that your figure would improve with more visible folded parts and with texture, yours look great, but this technic would probably work better in an elephant.
If you notice, while yours looks more or less uniforme, you will see that in the picture below of a real rhino, areas like shoulders and neck have different textures, in fact it is more wrinkled in neck area than in shoulder area, for example.
ABout folds, I mean the bottom of the neck and brest, and maybe also between sholder and leg. Less plain flanks would also help.
But the work is magnificent.
Your great bison, will also look surely better, if you find a deep contrast between woolly and sparse fur areas.

I am sorry, I didn't mean to blame anything on you. I was only thinking critically of my own work. You are more than capable of making a good constructive comment. I agree completely with what you said, and, when the time comes, I will use it if I were to make another rhino. As for elephants, I have decided to make one soon. I probably won't start it for a while, though.  

Thank you, Roger, and everyone else as well for the supportive comments.

Geospiza fortis wrote:

I am sorry, I didn't mean to blame anything on you. I was only thinking critically of my own work. You are more than capable of making a good constructive comment. I agree completely with what you said, and, when the time comes, I will use it if I were to make another rhino. As for elephants, I have decided to make one soon. I probably won't start it for a while, though.  

Thank you, Roger, and everyone else as well for the supportive comments.

Great! It is good that you are exigent with your own works, it will help you a lot to be better and better.
It is a joy to see all your talent developing and the beautiful figures you're doing.

Thanks.
Here's a little experimenting on the bison's fur texture. The pictures I'm using were taken in summer, so there isn't as much heavy wool.
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Its just a simple trial. Any thoughts?

looks great  keep it up  

Excellent   

Bonobo wrote:

looks great  keep it up  

I agree    

Thank you Carola, 4U, and Bonobo! I realised I haven't checked this thread in a while. The bison is very near to being finished, and the bear has already been baked. I have a question, however. Is there a variety of paint which is best to use? I use Reeve's Acrylic paints and they seem a little too glossy.

Also a wonderful american buffalo

Looks great! I use System 3 Daler & Rowney Acrylics, they're very good quality. To avoid glossiness, you could try the dry brush technique.

Thank you Widukind, and Harriet. As for the paints, I think I will try those next time I visit the store.

I am also finished sculpting Esther, my female bison. Just took a few quick photos, and into the oven she goes!
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This last photo ^ reminds me of older US nickels.

And here she was in life:
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[Not my Picture]

She's really impressive! Can't wait to see her painted.

Thank you, Harriet, but before she's painted I want to finish her sibling, Ryan. Hopefully he won't take nearly as long to make.

Getting interesting your strong girl!

Great job! I'm very exciting to see her as well!  

    

Your models I like very much. They are getting better and better. You're going in the right direction.    

Stunning!!   

Your bison is looking wonderful so far, Geospiza! Can't wait to see it finished!

Thank you for your positive comments! I just got her out of the oven- she's cracked. Does anyone have experience fixing cracks? I covered it with Super sculpey and textured it again, but the crack was still there.

Geospiza fortis wrote:

Thank you for your positive comments! I just got her out of the oven- she's cracked. Does anyone have experience fixing cracks? I covered it with Super sculpey and textured it again, but the crack was still there.

There's no use in using sculpey to fix cracks in already baked pieces because it just won't bond, so avoid that. I used epoxy putty like the one used for plumbing to repair cracks in my cape buffalo head and it looks fine to me. I've read that you can use a piece of baked sculpey, grind it or use a nail file to create dust from it, then mix the sculpey dust with epoxy glue to create a paste that you can use to fill cracks and then just wait for it to harden, no need to rebake.
Good luck!

Thank you. I guess I'll get some plumber's putty, then! The last time I filled cracks it was with silicone. This will definitely be better.

Probably too late but you can also try to use superglue and baking soda.

That's a great idea, 4U!

I just started a lion this weekend, sorry for the bad picture, I only had a second earlier to take it:
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And my tortoise has been baked:
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And so has my bear:
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I haven't painted any of these yet, as I haven't gotten to the store to find new paints yet.
Also, as for my school project, you can expect to see these species:
Przewalski's Horse
Andean Bear (still unpainted)
Hood Island Tortoise (unpainted)
King Cobra
Lion (started sculpting)
Brazilian tapir (nearly finished sculpting)
Babirusa (needs a re-make)
Bongo (Started armature)
Dromedary Camel (started armature)
Temminck's Tragopan
Blue peafowl
Indian Elephant (endcap)
That list as probably for more my reference than anything...   , but I thought I'd post it anyway.

Beautieful work again!!

That looks great! I love the anatomy! I can't wait to see some finished, great work!