Sculpting Miniatures - Intro to Sculpting Muscle

In this introduction, I cover the basic techniques used for sculpting muscle on your miniature.
Tools:
FIMO Classic
Colour Shaper Size 0
Metal Sculpting Tool

[@TheGamerZapocalypse]

I really like the poses you get with your sculpts. Especially while working, the consideration and looking at the overall pose and how the rest of what the figure will have with it, like a weapon, for example will also create the final total look. To me they are equally important. That's key to a good looking mini Imho...the "flow" of the pose and everything else on it complimenting each other. The more flow, the cooler it looks. It's amazing to me how just changing a weapon on a figure or changing the way a cloak is shaped for example plays into what would be the coolest looking pose then. It's like some grand balancing act of the two, the pose and whatever the figure is wearing and carrying. Right on. Separate muscle groups I find is the way to go. It also helps you master anatomy on this scale. This is a great way to bulk the figure if it will be covered with clothing or armor that would otherwise cover up the same areas if you would have taken more time for more definition. I find myself sculpting this way though even if there is nothing to hide, just have to dial it in to a finished surface faster.

[@sythirius42]

Awesome stuff, very cool videos.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Thank you!

[@paulhowes1396]

I like the dramatic Marvel type comic pose on this one. BB

[@kaidan8460]

Genial !! bin mit meiner Figur auch bald fertig, habe mich auf 4 cm ausgelegt, womit ich dann die Details besser bearbeiten kann und die dann auch besser zum Vorschein kommen :-))

[@AdamBoyes]

Hi Tom. Again thanks for a great video. I see you have sculpted the hand on this one. I would appreciate a video on that. It looks very intricate and delicate. Thanks.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Great suggestion! It's now on the list and will probably be one of my next videos.

[@Machinepriest]

Yes! Hands, totally. Sculpting open hands are a pain, and I can't really get it to work with the polymer on putty technique.

[@AnyCleverUsername]

Loving these tutorials - learning so much - so few genuine sculptors of this scale making videos. keep it up. Would love to see a tighter crop on your work, as mentioned below - I can only imagine how difficult it must be to sculpt with a bigass camera in front of you. Also I see you do most of your work with FIMO - Can you tell us why you choose that medium over putties - is it just the curing process allowing you to 'save' your work as you see fit? How does the workability compare to GS or Magic Scuplt or ProCreate? Should we all be using it? Sorry for all the questions - I'm a straight up noob - been sculpting for less than 3 months...

[@TomMasonSculptor]

+AnyCleverUsername putty vs. FIMO is a much bigger discussion. For me it is extremely helpful to have the flexibility to add and remove material at will. If something is too bulked underneath for a proper fold, I can just push deeper into the clay. I can even cut it off and immediately add more FIMO and everything is the same consistency. The main difference is that you have to very good at planning or engineering what you're doing when working with putty. With the FIMO it's much easier to just explore the piece and maintain energy while working. In the end you should use whatever you prefer sculpting with that yields the best result. But if you ask me what I recommend, it's definitely FIMO. I plan on doing a video about the different materials in the future. Thanks!

[@AnyCleverUsername]

+Tom Mason Thanks for the input. I'll be adding FIMO to my online order. I love experimenting with different media (mediums?). Along with #0 colour shapers.

[@MarkNiceyard]

Very nice video, as always. I'm starting to sculpt conversions on minis and things like mushrooms on bases. It helps to see you doing stuff on this channel. Talking of Megacongames: What minis did you sculpt there? MERCS?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

MarkNiceyard the majority of the MERCS miniatures as well as a huge chunk of the Myth Journeyman miniatures. Thanks!

[@JoshuaMainEaxe]

Awesome stuff. I have been watching the miniature mentor videos with aragorn sculpting in fimo so this helps me reinforce the concepts. I am having trouble getting art or pictures to use for dynamic poses that are not someone's property. I am in great shape and actually workout a lot and know all the muscles you cannot remember in your videos, lol, should I maybe take pictures of myself for reference or are there specific books you recomend?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

I studied Burne Hogarth's Dyanmic Anatomy and Dynamic Figure drawing A LOT. However when it came to real world application, I found it very helpful to pick up a few body building magazines. You won't find a more true and extreme example of musculature than that.

[@iwestbury]

Hi Tom, great vids. Is there any chance of a close up at the end of each vid so that we can get an insight into the details? Thanks

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Ian Westbury someone just suggested this on one of the other videos. It's a great idea I plan on doing going forward. Thanks!

[@canuckotter]

Tom Mason Another thought - You're keeping the model near the middle pretty much the whole time, you might be able to tighten up the angle a bit throughout shooting which would give us a lot more detail. The videos are great as is (I watch a fair number of instructional videos on KZbin, yours really are among the better ones!) but more detail would make me even happier. :-) Thank you for doing these! A stupid flu has me flattened today and I don't have the attention span to do actual sculpting, but the videos are full of fantastic info and I'm learning a ton and look forward to trying it out soon.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Good suggestion. I'll try pulling in a bit more. As the channel grows I hope to get even better equipment so the picture is nice, large and clear. Thanks!

[@digitalink1575]

Hi Tom, Thanks for another useful video. I have some questions regarding the fimo: - Are you using fimo classic or soft? - Working with fimo instead of GS makes the work too slow?, I ask because I know the fimo requires heated in an oven to harden.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

I use Fimo Classic with a bit of Fimo Mix-Quick mixed in. Working with Fimo tends to be faster overall for me. I find actual sculpting time for me tends to be about the same. I can sculpt faster with Fimo but need to stay very focused. Where you really save time is not having to set the figure aside constantly while it cures. With Fimo just keep sculpting until you're done then back.

[@jhonjairoserna2250]

quisiera ver una figura ya terminada porque todos sus videos nunca termina la figura gracias

[@andrewgoldstein1029]

Tom, do you bake the figures to harden the Fimo after you sculpt them? If so, are there any problems to watch out for when the Fimo is applied over Greenstuff and/or the wire armature? Or with superglue, if I've used that to help secure the wires together?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

+Andrew Goldstein I've never encountered any problems with FIMO, Greenstuff or super glue when baking the FIMO. I've even cooked the FIMO again after sculpting additional parts with Greenstuff and ProCreate and everything comes out fine. Good luck!

[@jeremygrefe3673]

Hi TOM!Im gonna be building some of those block vises you like to use in your videos.on top of your vise blocks there is a darker material the figure stands on.,what is that material?-thanks!

[@TomMasonSculptor]

+Jeremy Grefe whether it's light green or dark green, the material on top of the blocks is Kneadatite "Green Stuff". The darker color is just from it being cooked several times.

[@noblesculptor3386]

Great work, please what this modeling medium ?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

For this miniature, I am using FIMO Professional polyclay.

[@salsa101]

Does cx5 work as well as fimo over puttied armature at this scale?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

F/X Art Desk I've never used cx5, but I'd imagine it would work fine. Greenstuff is pretty sticky and all the polyclays I have used so far have worked fine. It really just come down to your preference of materials.

[@Brickerbrack]

Out of curiosity: You're sculpting Fimo, which has to be baked, over the top of Green Stuff, which doesn't. I've read a couple of horror stories about putting Green Stuff in an oven - at the kind of temperatures required for baking Fimo, apparently the Green Stuff has melted, boiled and turned black. What's your experience in this regard?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

That really surprises me. I'd be curious to see some of these stories. The temperatures required to bake FIMO are actually lower than those required to vulcanize rubber in the typical molding process. I sculpted in greenstuff for many years before moving to FIMO and all of my pieces remained in tact. My only guess is that the greenstuff was heated far more than people were letting on, or there was some other factor at play.

[@gabby2549]

Can you use polymer over green Stuff?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Absolutely, but only if the greenstuff is uncured. You need to apply the FIMO when the greenstuff is still sticky.

[@jaylonrobinson7092]

What's the ribbon looking tool for?

[@TomMasonSculptor]

I'm not sure which tool you're talking about here.

[@Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeasy]

tom what are the green stuff is it putty??

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Yes, green stuff is an 2-part mixed epoxy putty. The official name is Kneadatite made by Polymeric Systems Inc.

[@Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeasy]

do you usually buy it or just make it? thanks for the respond! I really like your work Im starting to make clay sculpt because of the great tutorials you made! thanks from all all of us :D

[@TomMasonSculptor]

I buy greenstuff. It comes in 2 parts (yellow and blue) that you have to mix together. Once you mix the putty starts curing so you have a good hour to work with it before it starts getting too hard.

[@Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeasy]

ohhh shocksss! the third world country problem starts! hahaha sorry there is no greenstuff in the Philippines i thought you could make kneaddite goners will thanks for the fast reply tom! preciatted!

[@minitzonthesun]

A boulder for the shoulder reminds me of "over the shoulder boulder holder", a bra. Alright I'm working on arms tonight, looks like I will be up late. Looking forward to more.

[@TomMasonSculptor]

Post it to your channel. Look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[@robertomunoz7564]

Change that stupid music, its anoying af. Video Is great.