The Oh-so Drastically Different Magical Sculpt That I Call Oddity

 So you remember my old standing ASB sculpture, eh? Well I decided that I didn’t like the way it looked, that it’s shoulders were too long, that it’s legs were too long, and that everything just wasn’t as I wanted it. So, I fixed it. It started with bending the legs at the knees, just to see how it looked, as I was planning on just peeling all the clay off it and giving it another go. 

Yet, there was something magical about it that I really liked, a little spark that wasn’t there before I moved it. It was as if it spoke to me and told me how everything should flow and fit together. So, it spoke and I listened. I completely reworked the entire sculpt, now it is cantering, somewhere between a beginners mount and a classic show horse, a versatile and wiggly horse, eager to move forward, romping around. 

I believe the inspiration hit me when I rode one of my school barn’s lesson horses. I decided to ride outside, as it was less busy, and well, COVID is a thing now... I was kinda just goofing around outside, just doing what I wanted, and we were catering off the rail and it just felt natural and perfect, as I wasn’t telling him what to do or really anything. It was really just that frame in time where it was just me and the horse, together as one, gliding along. 

That was what I wanted to capture in this sculpture. 

Shaded Blacks and Undertones, Finishwork Series Pt. 1

 When I look at finishwork, especially a black class, I like to look for a nice shaded black with a fleshy realistic look that you’d be able to see on a real horse. These horses are never a “flat” black, which look like they were painted in plain black acrylic, never to be finished or picked up again. The horses I’m moved towards to are blacks with nice coppery undertones, blue undertones, or brown undertones. These horses have more thought and brilliance to them. 

Black horses don’t have to be sunburnt to win a black class, but in my opinion, have to have a realistic fleshiness and realism to it. In order to make a black realistic, we actually have to add highlights and shadows that aren’t seen in a real horses coat, such as highlighting muscle definition, darkening the shadows, and lightening up the areas around the eyes and mouth. 

In the picture above, you can see a lot of brown and blue areas, which should be expressed in the model. Sunburnt blacks are commonly seen with “highlighted” manes and tails, where the top of the mane is a black as seen in the rest of the body, and brown out as you get closer to the end of the mane.

This horse has blue undertones, which could be portrayed with purples and blues in your model. These purples and blues make up a true black, where the whole body, mane and tail are black. The muzzle and around the eyes, as well as the thinly haired areas (groin/armpits) will have a grey tone rather than a brown tone, as seen in the photo above. 

Boris Medallion- how I did it

Today I will be showing you all how I painted my latest medallion, Boris!

Step 1: Wash it off!
This is a super important step to make sure that the horse has no more mold release when you prime it. If you do not wash the horse the primer will either not dry, or will peel off later in life.

Step 2: Prime!
Use a light, thin layer. I recommend letting this first layer dry and coming back to it, and doing like 3 thin layers of primer.

Step 3: The first layer of pastels!
Once your medallion is primed, it’s time to paint! I use a pan pastels on my medallions most of the time. I used burnt sienna, raw umber, and yellow ochre tint for the first layer. Dust these on, and try to get as many debris off as possible.

Step 4: First layer of matte spray!
Spray a thick even coat of matte spray for this layer. You want to make it as smooth as possible! After you spray, the color will come off extremely diluted. This is why we use multiple layers of pastels!

Step 5: Repeat step 3 and 4 till you get the color you want!

Step 6: Paint background, halter, and silver hardware!
This will require many thin layers of watered-down acrylics, and about three layers of silver paint for the hardware, depending on the brand of paint. (I also put a layer of white down to start the eye)

Step 7: Painting the Eye
I first started out with a layer of white acrylic (as seen above), and let it dry. I then use black acrylic as the base of the pupil. I then go over it with three or four shades of brown, making the highlights/shadows of the eye.

Step 8: Painting the Mane/Forelock
We’re almost done! The next step will be to get a base layer down on the mane by using a light acrylic layer. I used a yellow ochre for the base. I then added burnt sienna, white, and yellow ochre tint to create shading.

Step 9: All the details!
This includes making all the highlights/shadows on the halter, eyelashes, and just general refining.

Step 10: Final Matte Spray! (We’re almost done!)
To seal all all of the work we just did in, we need to do a final coat of Matte Spray. Apply it in a smooth, even layer. I do this two times to make sure that the layer is hardy and will stand up to anything.

Step 11: Gloss Time!
Our final step is to gloss the eye, nose, and background. I use either gloss varnish or glossy clear (emphasis on CLEAR) nail polish. I gloss the nose once, I usually use about two layers of gloss on the eyes, and multiple layers of gloss on the background. After this all dries, you’re done!

Sculpture, Part 1- The Armature

Today’s tutorial is going to be on the beginnings of my latest in-progress sculpture of an American Saddlebred in the parked-out position transitioning into the walk.

The first step in any of my sculptures is having the inspiration to make something. You can’t force a sculpture! If anyone forced a sculpture,  it would not look, well, correct! You can see the labor that someone puts into any sculpture, you can see the inspiration for the idea, the artistic view they put into that sculpt. It’s amazing!
     For me, this sculpt was inspired by my experience in showing saddlebreds, and the power of the saddlebred. I wanted to make it look like it was about to drive off of its haunches, into a powerful trot.

Next, I sketched out the horse that I want to sculpt. I figure out the main position that I want it to be in, then I‘ll look up images that have a similar body position.

You can see the notes that I have to revise when I go to make my armature.

My third step after this is making a rough armature. I used a GG Valentine to compare my armature to. I recommend not using a super thin wire if making a traditional scale horse! I use three wires of about the same length, and making them all a bit (not too much, though!) longer then you think they need to be. I make them all about an inch and a half longer than I have measured. I then wrap them all together in the middle to make a spine. After I figure out the length of the spine, I re-bend all of the proportions to how they seem fit compared to my model.

(I didn’t take a pic of this step)

I then add on the bulk of the mass on the neck and barrel with aluminum foil and tape.

I’ll leave it off here! Stay tuned for part two.

I did it!

Today was my official ACT testing day, and while I think it went pretty well, I am extremely tired now! I was planning on posting a quick tutorial today, but that will need to wait till my brain re-sets!

I’ll leave with a photo of my finished NaMoPaiMo model with a halter made by Priam Costumes.

Doesn't he just look like such a sweetheart? He is a Luan resin sculpted by Celtic Cob Studios