Making Kagura part 2

Welcome to the second installment of Midztoyz's Figure Making Mini Tutorial.

Sorry for the delay. If you haven't read the first part just click here. There have been some changes to the original plan, but not too much. The figure I'll be making is still Kagura (from Azumanga Daioh), just the scale has changed. I'll be doing a 1:10 scale instead of 1:11. In this installment, I'll be explaining how to work with reference, making armature, and some bits about general sculpting.

So let's continue with the tutorial!

First of all an artist need references, LOTS of it. Fortunetly, the internet is an almost unlimited vault for reference resource. This is where I tell you that,"Google is your fried". Actually any search engine will do. Since we're going to make a figure based on an existing character, we need to collect reference for that character. Get as many reference as you can. There is no such thing as too many reference. While you're at it, get some reference on body proportion, musculature, and poses too. This is also a good time go collect some nude pics and other stuff for..er...anatomical studies. Yeah that's it.

After choosing a reference picture, I print it to the scale I want to make my figure. Kagura is 156 cm, so in 1:10 scale she would be 15,6 cm. I printed out the picture and draw a stick figure by using the print out as a guide. This stick figure will be my template to make the armature. For the armature I use aluminium wire (1mm thick) that I bend to take the shape of my stick figure. The coils seen in the picture is for the foot.

Get the proportion right from the start.
It will save you a lot of trouble in the long run

I then mix up some epoxy putty to make the limbs, chest and groin. The purpose for this is to make the armature have solid 'bones'. This way the only way the armature will bend is at the joints, just like a real skeleton! By doing this you can make realistic poses and don't have to worry about bending the armature in the wrong place. Let the putty cured completely before continuing.

Pay attention to the size of the 'bones' and make sure to leave out the joints.

After the putty has cured, we can start posing the armature. I'm going for a sexy streching pose because Kagura is in the swim team. It's a good idea to have someone pose for you to get a natural pose. You can also look at the pose in different angle. Take your time deciding the pose, making sure the pose is just right and didn't look strange or crooked.

Keep the pose natural.

Once you have your pose, it's time build up some muscles. Clay muscles that is. This is the step I start to flesh out the figure. Sorry for the lack of intermediate photos, I do get carried away when I start to use clay. I'm using oil clay for this. It's also good practice to have an anatomy reference handy while you're sculpting. That way you can always double check your muscle placement and avoid making 'imaginary muscles'. Keep building the clay until you have the shape you desired.

As you can see, for a female figure it lacks something. Make that a pair of things, and we're going to fix that. Yep folks, we're going to make us some boobies. Just make two round balls of clay and taper one side of the ball. Make sure that the balls are similar in size, you dont want lopsided breasts. Attach the breast on the chest and sculpt is as you see fit. If you're wondering how to get a smooth surface for the clay, just use vaseline and a light touch.

Here's she is after a successfull breast augmentation ;)

We got boobies XD

And that's all for this installment.
Next time we'll be sculpting the details. Hands, feet, face and the works.
As usual, just ask if you have any question regarding this post.

Until next time!