On-Armature Bust Part 4: The Blank Head

[@Picassapicassapicassa]

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[@dave5194]

In some other tutorials, I've seen artists filling and wrapping the armature in newspaper. Is clay sliding a big issue when doing it that way? I want to do that to save on material cost & weight. Also, would stainless steel wires also work for the armature? Thank you!

[@intheround8310]

You can absolutely do that. Of course the big advantage of packing your armature is the reduced weight and material usage. The disadvantages are: 1. With this type of armature, you typically have to sculpt to the final pose rather than posing after establishing a likeness (which hardly matters if you’re not doing a likeness). 2. The mass of clay you use with an egg-beater style armature actually keeps everything moist for much longer, which can be good for beginners because they can take a long time with a first bust. But if you work fast or wrap your work really well, double bagged with moist cloths and all, this shouldn’t be a problem. 3. The sculptural feel of paper under clay, the springiness of the feedback you get, is really unpleasant for me. To avoid this, you could use packed aluminum foil instead, but then you have to be extra careful with the drying or the clay can crack as it shrinks against the rigid interior.

[@dave5194]

@In The Round What about using stainless steel wires? My thinking is that the steel can be just as strong yet flexible as the aluminum at the right gauge and should resist rusting while being cheaper than getting say, 3 gauge aluminum, which appears to be what you are using.

[@intheround8310]

@@dave5194 In my experience, the relationship between strength (how much weight the wire can support) and flexibility (how easy it is to bend) is better for armature wire than for steel. That said, you can really use anything you want for an armature as long as it works. As a general principle, I'd encourage experimentation over relying on received wisdom, provided the stakes are low - that is, that the loss isn't too great if the armature fails.

[@lindahl458]

How do you avoid air pockets to prevent cracks when drying?

[@intheround8310]

While it’s of course best to avoid trapping air while building up your masses, a few small air pockets aren’t typically a problem with on-armature sculpting (or with off-armature building for that matter). Air pockets are potentially problematic for two reasons: first, the wall will be weaker at that point, and therefore more vulnerable to the stresses of warping and shrinkage; second, if heated too quickly, the moisture in the air pocket could expand in the kiln and cause a rupture. Although these concerns are real, trapped air is a far less dire a problem than most ceramists seem to think. In respect to the first problem, if all the seams are thoroughly worked together and the walls well-compressed from both sides, they should be strong even with a few air pockets. When sculpting on an armature, this kind of compression will be a necessary byproduct of the sculpting process on one side, and the hollowing and reassembly process on the other. Furthermore, if you’re monitoring the work as it dries, any small cracks that may emerge, from air pockets, poorly made seams, delaminations, or whatever, are easily fixed. In respect to the second problem, if your work is dry, your preheat long, and your firing schedule cautious, the moisture in trapped air shouldn’t be a problem for most sculpture clays. In fact, I’ve intentionally fired trapped air many times! That was a long way to say, don’t worry too much about trapped air, but it didn’t actually answer your question. For me, the best way to minimize trapping air when making additions is to spread the clay over the underlying surface by pushing it with the base of my hand or pulling it with raking fingers. You’ll see me doing both of these many times over the course of this series.

[@lindahl458]

In The Round thank you 😊

[@bilal_ahmed1011]

If we are working with photographs for likeliness, how wil we take accurate measurements? Can you guide me with that please.

[@intheround8310]

That's challenging. Pictures can be deceptive because of lenses distortions and foreshortening due to subtle shifts in the angles from which the images are taken. If you can't take measurements from life, then you're probably just going to have to best guess it. This isn't a very satisfactory answer, but I'm afraid I don't have a better one.

[@bilal_ahmed1011]

@@intheround8310 no no it's a very apt answer to the question. Even during drawing classes our teachers recommend drawing from life to get the best of the proportions and the attributes of the human. Thank you very much for the effort. An extremely intelligent video.

[@juanjimenez384]

Hello! Excuse me, what clay do you use?

[@intheround8310]

This is just a generic midfire stoneware, available from most art/craft stores.