Bronze Dog Sculpture Metal Chasing

Bronze Metal Chasing: A variety of pieces making up a single sculpture are assembled and welded together using  TIG welders.  Next, precision die grinders and other specific tools are used to blend the welded sections together to create a  seamless joint.  Metal Chasers - Artisans spend many hours removing any defects from the bronze metal surface.

Completed Poodle clay sculpture is now ready for the mold process

The clay poodle dog sculpture is now completed. The client will now review the images and make last minute requests for any modifications. Once the poodle sculpture is approved, I will give the entire sculpture a wash with a solvent in order to minimize any tool marks and shavings that may still be visible on the surface. The process will take 2-3 days to allow the solvent to dissolve and ensure the clay returns to its natural hardness.

The solvent is used to slightly soften the clay in order to aid in the blending.

Applying a wash at this stage helps with the surface detail in order to give it a more realistic look and feel. By not cleaning the dog sculpture surface before the mold fabrication will create additional work for me during the wax-positive stage.

Molds capture every detail; therefore, it is wise to only fabricate a mold after everyone is happy with the final clay sculpt.

A wax-positive is an identical replica of this clay sculpture; the only difference is that it is a wax casting from the mold. Wax-positives for most bronze castings are hollow. The walls of the wax cast vary from 1/8” to 5/8” in thickness.

More on the process once the images are available.

View of the under side of Trackers head.

Front view...

Profile of the entire dog sculpt.

The paw area showing the poodles nails. Let me know if you wish to have the toenails shorten.

Tracker (poodle) front leg.

Detailed image of the fur texture.

Another view of the fur texture.

click on any of the images for a better better view

Final details are added to fur texture

Adding the final detail to the poodle’s fur texture. After building up the clay layers for the fur texture I am now using a fine ballpoint tool to create the hairlines. The clay is very hard; therefore, I am only able to work 3-5 hours a day before my hands cramps. It looks like I may miss my target date of Tuesday as the completion date. I will not cut corners; therefore, I anticipate it will only take an additional 2-3 days.

The head, neck, chest areas are completed. Tracker's right side still need to under go the final detail.

Here you can see a detailed view of the ear and head area. A final wash will remove the minute clay shavings. Mineral sprites will be used for the wash.

Here is another view of Tracker's right side that still needs the hairlines applied to the fur clusters.

David, do you wish to have the tip of the jaw narrowed a bit more. I narrowed it once, but I am not sure if it needs to be narrower.

Fur texture for Tracker the poodle

The images on this post show what Tracker looks like after his second coat of clay. I will apply one more coat of clay to finalize the fur texture.

For a better view of the texture, click on the image...

Here is tracker standing on my kitchen table...

I do not remember if Tracker is neutered, for now I made him a full male.

Right side profile.

Left side profile.

Poodle head armature clay-up begins

The first application of the hard NSP Chavant Clay. To get started I inserted two bricks of clay into the small crock-pot. The crock-pots are very inexpensive at your local Walmart or Target. The clay was brought to its melting point slowly in order not to destroy the clay's properties. It took about 3-4 hours to get the clay into a melted chocolate like texture. The temp dial on the crock-pot was left on “low” the entire time.

My beloved crock-pot... how my wife misses her kitchen tools... LOL

Here I used a paint brush to apply the clay. A small spatula was also utilized.

The goal was to first apply a complete coat of clay on the entire surface before I began to build up the features.

The face coat is just about complete. It is basically the same size and shape as the Styrofoam armature.

Profile of the poodle head.

Here I added plastic temporary eyes and a temporary nose. I also opened the mouth in order to match my reference image.

Here is Tracker (poodle) after the first clay application. Many more layers are to come within the next few days

I slanted the head to get an idea of what areas I need to focus on in the next few days. I will have family members critique the sculpt at this stage. My middle son is ruthless with his critiques. He takes no prisoners, he reminds me of a Simon Cow with his criticism. But that is what I need complete honesty, the goal is to capture the poodle’s likeness.

Poodle styrofoam sculpture begins to take shape

I will spend one more day tweaking the Styrofoam with a rasp before I detach the head. The head will be detached in order to place it on a portrait tilt table. The tilt table gives me greater leverage. The hind legs will also be repositioned. Moreover, I will reinforce the legs with a ¼” diameter aluminum rod.

Poodle armature begins to take shape

Today's results were created using a rasp and drywall tool. The process was broadcast live on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tutorial%3A-how-to-sculpt-in-clay---artistsculptor

Here you can see where the eye-sockets were created. The legs will be formed after the torso has reached the desired shape.

The drywall tool worked well on the Styrofoam. The only draw back is that it creates giant size snow flakes. As I was working I was thinking snow, but the room temperature told a different story, it was in the 90's. So much for positive thinking.

Here is a closer look at the tool. It worked like a coarse rasp.

Tomorrow I will continue with the same procedure; until I get within 1/2" of the desired scale.