# First attempt sculpturing...



## Zab

I've looked at pictures.. this wasn't very good.. O__o
I'm not sure it'll be a horse at all, it looks like it'll end up with a flesh eating horseish-creature..


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## Heybird

Zab said:


> I've looked at pictures.. this wasn't very good.. O__o
> I'm not sure it'll be a horse at all, it looks like it'll end up with a flesh eating horseish-creature..


LOL RUN Horsie run!!! :lol: Nah I'm sure it will come out fine. Did you get some clay carving tools as well?


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## Zab

heeh.. I won't expect too much for the first ione.. but the second better be prfect! >D

No, just a pliar-thingy and cutter for the wire, and a nice, really small, sharp artists razor knife thingy.. for details. I figured I could just as well use what's in the house as buy a lot of tools I'll never use, I wouldn't know which ones to get 

Some of the tutorials I've skimmed through said the same.. so I'll try and see


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Wow! You're really starting out from scratch! That's awesome. I have high hopes for you. You're an amazing artist. your base looks right-on so far.


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## Zab

Thanks! 

Ive already changed it.. it has claws and so now xD


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Awesome! I love the darker stuff :twisted:


Zab said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Ive already changed it.. it has claws and so now xD


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## Zab

Mohahaa!

I want the clay to get here now! 
And it better be good cuz now I've made a bit for my monster horse.. xD Dunno if it'll fit..
And where can I find a small enough curb-chain? :O


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

You've got to be kidding me! It's so tiny and cute!:lol:


Zab said:


> Mohahaa!
> 
> I want the clay to get here now!
> And it better be good cuz now I've made a bit for my monster horse.. xD Dunno if it'll fit..
> And where can I find a small enough curb-chain? :O


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## Vidaloco

I think your base looks great too. My eyesight is bad and I have arthritis in my hands so I will have to watch your work instead of trying it myself.


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## Zab

yes, the bits fit's perfectly..on my finger xD
I added a curbchain to it now..one thatgoes from the rein, through the rein-ring, up at the cheek piece/curb ring, under the chin and then out again the same way.. and it works! xD If I put it on my finger I can feel the curb effect.. perfect for a fantasy bit.. x) I'll show it later..

Vidaloco: well, I hope that'll be fun, at least


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## Zab

Gah! I've nver been good at waiting!  Here's a new pic of the bit, with chain..I've even made small rings in the end to fasten the leather-reins in.. 

(the dragon is bought in a store.. and a little too small for the bit, but wth )










I think I'll go carve some clay tools now..

Gimme my clay! I hate waiting xD

Maybe I'll make a harness while I'm at it..O__o

(I've actually never done anything like this before.. well, when I was like.. 6-7 years old I tied bridles to my ''My Little Ponys'' out of yarn. does that count? xD)


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## masatisan

Sculpey is one of the best polymer clays you can get. I have an 8 pound box that I got for Christmas 4 years ago (or maybe even longer) and I still have a bit less than half of it. It's great but before it is baked it will ruin finished wood, damage plastic and leave oil-stains on paper if it is in direct contact for too long, once it is baked though it's fine.

Also if you ordered original sculpey or super sculpey you might find it a little soft, it's annoyingly soft for using tools on and tends to squish at the lightest touch (it will be less so if you put your project in the fridge/freezer before using tools on it). 

Best of luck, hope it arrives soon!


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## Zab

I've ordered both super sculpey and regular sculpey as I had to get the price up to a certain amount to be able to order 

I've never used anything but play doh and regular clay (a few times) so I'm sure this will be better than anything I've tried anyways


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## Lunaries

Ooooh, looks like it's going to be awesome -- can't wait for more pictures!

Can I suggest wrapping wire around the legs, though? It will hold the clay better and make it a bit less likely to fall off. 

Dude, tiny bit for awesome. That is so adorable!


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## Zab

that's a good idea  I'll see if my thin wire is thin enough..


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## Equuestriaan

Omg, it looks AMAZING so far! Please show us progress pics as you go!! =D


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## ohmyitschelle

Oh wow! How impressive... that bit is too cute.
I look forward to following this Zab!
x


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## Zab

I won't get my clay untill monday! *cries* I'll have to wait all weekend!


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## reinbeaudream

I think you're off to an excellent start!


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## Zab

I made this in play-doh out of frustration and impatience.. xD


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## Zab

okay! finally gotten the clay!  Small package tho.. :/

Anyway.. I've started.. then I realized the legs wouldn't carry it, so I had to change my plans and make+bake the legs first..
After some hours work, one leg is finished.. x__X The red is regular sculpey that I used and baked first to save the super sculpey, and the white-ish is super sculpey, after I baked it..
It's more dificult than I thought and I find myself wondering abut stuff I thought I knew.. like ''how does a hoof look..''
And yah. it's skinny leg.. its an evil horse so it has evil, skinny legs-.


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## my2geldings

Keppt he scalpel on the down women! d o w n on the table :lol:

Just kidding, kidding. I am looking forwards to what the result is going to be. Everything you've done in the past has been absolutely awesome. You really have a good sense for dimensions and textures. Make sure you keep us posted on this.


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## Vidaloco

Looking fabulous so far. I love to sculpt, I find it much easier to "feel" the shape of things than to put it on paper.


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Oooh! I LOVE how you're doing the legs. This is exciting =}


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## Sixxofdiamonds

Ahhh, the waiting! I can't wait to see more!


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## manhirwen

I love your evil skinny horse! Keep up the good work and show us progress pics PLS!


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## Zab

Aw, thanks for the encouragement!  *plays with scalpel* xD

I think the sculpting part is finished.. it's in the oven now. I'm gonna paint it, even tho it's almost a pity with the burnt mane and red eyes.. but.. yes. I will paint it.. xD
I'll take the easy way and just silverspray it


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## Zab

Maybe its more of a rabbit-dragon-horse..Oo A frightend carnivore..O___o;


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## Zab

Hm,.. I wanted it to have like.. a dark groundcolour and then silver on top. So that the deeper parts stayed black..

I spray painted it black and tried a thin coat of silver.. but it didn't work.. you think I could use olpaints or something, rub it in and then rubb it with a piece of cloth or somethibg to get the silvery back on most of it?


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## upsidedown

Do I see an evil horse? no. Evil mule? Yes.

I'm going to steal him. Whats his name?


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## Zab

It's not a mule  It has dragon ears xD
Zantone.


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## upsidedown

Evil dragon mule 

Cuuuuute. I want him. I just got some sculpey the other day and I remembered why I always failed in art when it came to sculpting. But its fun to play with when your not being graded


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## Kiki

LOL looks a bit gruesom at the mo but I think it looks so far so good LOL. Better than my sculpture attempts LOL. Looked like a cros between Ayres Rock and an elephant!!


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## 2hot4u

are you done it yet? can't wait to see final results!!!!!! did you end up making a little harness or saddle?


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## crystal8489

I wish I could do stuff like that!!!


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## Zab

Yes, it's done, just painting left  No tack.. and the bit I made didn't fit 

Thans everyone


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## Lunaries

Hmmm. Maybe try metallic acrylics, with a top coat of varnish? Shiny stuff is always good, and acrylics'll dry quicker...unless you put them on in like, horrendously thick coats. Like I have a habit of doing. D'oh!

He is absolutely awesome! wow! I LOVE his anatomy, and his expression, it's priceless! Goodness.


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## Zab

I spray-painted him in silver but will probably rub some black in to give depht.


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## Sixxofdiamonds

Ahhhh! I can't wait to see the finished product!!  The anticipation!


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## Zab

Poor people  It has to dry for 5 more days first 
(It's dry to touch, but not dry to mess with.)

Anyway.. in silver but without black for contrast


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## Sixxofdiamonds

Wow!! It's amazing what color can do! Stunning! It looks as if it were carved out of silver.


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

That is soooo awesome.


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## Zab

Change of plans.. Evil mule will be airbrushed


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## bekahBoo

omg, what an adorable little bit! and even though youve named it an evil mule, its still very good! its sort of abstract art which i think is awesome!
i feel like that takes a lot of patience to work with something so small.
props to ya!!


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## jwhisperj

How come I can't see the pics!!??? I am really excited for this!! I can't see anything, did you post them? the suspense is KILLING me! Maybe my computer is broke....


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## jwhisperj

Ok got to see it I really think you got some skill!


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## LeahKathleen

Did you post pics? I see people talking about the silver painted evil mule and I can't see it. :[


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## Zab

Sorry about the pics, the host page for them is appearantly in trouble of some sort.. the pics will come and go untill that site is ok again. It's usually very reliable.

And it's still a horse, it got teased into being a mule


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## Vidaloco

Hard to believe he started out as tin foil and wire. Fantastic job Zab!


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## Zab

Thanks! 
He's..yellow at the moment xD I', playing with my airbrush..-


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## Zab

Ok, finished! 

I definetly need practice on both airbrushing nd sculpting, but I'm quite happy with the result  Especially the sculpture. heeh.. both my first sculpture ever and my first airbrushing ever! ^____^

I messed up at first with the painting and then I didn't re-primer it.. big mistake. But I managed to fix it.. and then at the last layer, of course, the brown paint came on too thick and started running.. I think it was partly because the airbrush messed up too, I hadn't gotten the paint to blend well enough and it clogged it up. But I'll learn 

The neck is very loong.. it was intended but now it looked worse than I expected. I tried to make the coat a bit like an antilope or somthing, but without copying it but making my own version. I think I did it well enough.

I'll count the running paint as sweat marks since he's struggeling for his life and panicing  I don't have any excuse for the poor ground contact with his feet tho..would be realistic in sand.
The eyes, mouth and blood are painted with an ordinary brush. The bridle and bit and hobble is also made by me.^^

*click*


If you want the story about this fantasy creature..
They're called 'zantos' and are carnivores, hunting by sneaking up to their prey, pretending to be relatives, and then rapidly biting the zebras or antilopes or whatever, with their long, flexible necks and sharp teeth. Their coat are both goodfor blending in with the grass and the prey. People try to ride them and tame them, but in differense to horses, zantos always attack when frightened, so the poor humans are most often killed pretty instantly. This one has been captured tho and is about to be 'broken'.. They do give any rider certain respect, if you manage to ride on them.. (I have too much spare time, I guess.. x) I want one,..:O)


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## Zab

Here is a link if the above pic won't show up.


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## manhirwen

That's crazy! How big is it? What kind of clay were you using, I tried to sculpt last night with regular clay and it's really heavy and hard to work with.


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## Zab

Super Sculpey 

Uhm.. I don'thae a ruler here.. a red bull can reaches up to the eye of it  You can compare a bit to the phone in the backgrund.


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

That is wicked!! I love it.


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## Zab

Thanks!


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## LeahKathleen

o.o That's awesome!


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Wow! I didn't look at the larger version until now. That detail is awesome. I'm so impressed.


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## crystal8489

I think is looks fantastic! It doesnt look like a first timers work so good job .. I wish I could do stuff like this. I need more time...But i really do love that..


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## Zab

Thank you! 
I am pretty pleased with it. ^^


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Did you tally up how many hours it took you? I can only imagine...


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## Sixxofdiamonds

Fantastic, Zab! I really hope you start to do more with the sculpting!! You could easily sell them!!

ETA: It reminds me of a tiger mixed with a horse, the pose, the coloring and all of it.


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## Zab

BackInTheSaddleAgain: No, I'm not sure, but it's the most long lasting poject I've done. Which doesn't say much since I rarely spend more than a few hours on any art The sculpting took two full days with bakig, sculpting, carving, baking again and so on.. Then I silversprayed it wchich took a few minutes, and then I changed my mind and airbrushed it.. which took.. maybe an hour 

Sixxofdiamonds: Hehe.. yah, tiger-horse would be an awesome predator and mount


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Did you use air dry clay? Did you just bake it in the oven? I always have trouble with cracking once it dries... the packaging insists I need a kiln to bake it =(


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## Zab

Sculpey is a polymer clay, and it's baked in the oven  It's much easier than regular clay.


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Aw, darn. I got 10 pounds of the wrong stuff. LOL


Zab said:


> Sculpey is a polymer clay, and it's baked in the oven  It's much easier than regular clay.


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## Zab

****** Regular clay has a different, raw feeling tho  Not at all too bad - if you just manage to work with it x)


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## manhirwen

Regular clay is too heavy for sculptures like the one you did IMO. But when I've fired and painted my dragon head maybe I'll post a pic or two.


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## Zab

Please do 

Yes, for sculptures like mine, but you can still do very good sculptures that has a completely different, and real, feeling to them.


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## manhirwen

I want to make a bunch of dragon figurines LOL.. so I think I'm going to have to buy some of that sculpey stuff


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain

Well, I guess it's trial and error. I'm workig with a really strong but light base for the body and overlaying the clay. Hopefully it will hold up...


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## jwhisperj

really NICE work there! You should get into more of this I think you found your nitch! You could make some money!


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## Zab

BITSA; Good luck! 
Manhirwen; you should! 

jwhisperj; Thank you!  I'm not interested in makig money n it tho, I've already made some on my art (recently sold a picture for about 500-600 usd, but it didn't feel that good). It's just there for my own pleasure


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## jwhisperj

I understand. It is always nice when you find something just for you.


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## manhirwen

Oh ya, here's that dragon head I mentioned!

dragon head 2 by ~Manhirwen on deviantART
dragon head 1 by ~Manhirwen on deviantART


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## Zab

Neat!


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