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.

First layer of clay for the dog armature

Tracker (poodle) gets his first coat of clay. Two to three layers will follow in order to capture the poodle's fur texture.

The first image shows where the rods became embedded into the legs. Molted clay was allowed to saturate the groove and rod area.

I used a crock pot to melt my bricks of NSP hard Chavant modeling clay. The clay was applied using a brush and spatula.

Here you can see where I reattached the head to the body. A 3/4" x 12" pipe was used to join the two sections. Clay was then brushed on to fuse the sections.

The additional layers of clay will fill in the areas that do not look quite right. For instance the rib and neck sections.

The ears and jaw areas will also be revisited.

Aluminum rods used to reinforce styrofoam armature

Here I embedded a 3/8” diameter aluminum rod in the legs in order to support the weight of the dog sculpture. Aluminum is used because of its lightweight and softness in case the mold maker needs to sever the legs to make a multi-part mold.

Tomorrow I will proceed with the clay-up on the remaining exposed foam.

The groove, which houses the rod, will be filled with molted clay.

Poodle head sculpt critique

Here are some images of the current stage of the head sculpt. I need you to give me your input. In other words, where do you want me to tweak the sculpt. Please note, once the head is reattached to the body, we will encounter additional corrections. For instance, the ears will be modified in order to better fit the pose of the slanted head. Below you will note I made additional notes for myself.

In this image, I rotated the head in order to best compare it to my sculpt.

Here are my notes...

1. The tip of the jaw needs to be reworked, it appears to broad
2. The ears will be detached and refitted once the head is back on the body and cocked to he left as in the image you provided.
3. The cheek areas appear to need more hair.
4. The bottom jaw area can also benefit from more hair as well.
5. The bridge between the eyes and nose may need to be defined a bit more. I other words remove some of the hair in order to show more bone structure.
6. Feel free to email me any additional areas you wish to have altered; however, if you do not agree with the items I noted above please indicate. The image I am using to capture Trackers likeness is the one you provided; hence, his coat appears to be much more fuller than in the images to shot.

Here you can see his bottom teeth as depicted in the image. Since the upper teeth are hidden; will not be seen, they will not be sculpted. The eyes were reworked to give him a happier look.

Another view of the teeth and snout area.

On this profile image, you can see that additional hair may be needed on the lower jaw.

Detail work has begun on the poodle's head sculpt

I have started on the detail texture for the head fur sections. After the ears and snout fur is detailed I will remove the jaw and commence on the teeth and tongue sections.

Poodle gets his new eyes and fur texture

Tracker gets his new eyes and the sculpting of his fur texture begins.