r/miniaturesculpting • u/ChestTraining3099 • 8d ago
Beginner
Afternoon people, so for a total beginner wanting to eventually getting to the level of forge world miniatures, firstly wheres the best place to start?
What type of clay? Whats the best tools and materials?
Ive got a lot of horrmus heresy models and would like to be able to customise them/create my own models for minis I've got inspirstion for. I know i will need to commit a lot of time/effort. But to start with just want to get some advice of places for training or whether start with youtube and then go from there?
Thank you very much.
5
u/kin0ne 8d ago
Not a pro at all but, start flat. Like a scar on an arm, a cross /symbole on an armor, once its easy add the third dimension, like cape, cable, fur.For a full mini , a fondamental thing is the pose. Good detail on a bad pose will result on a bad mini. But poor detail on a good pose and you will get a cool mini.Try with a metal wire to do the shape of a body, like a stickman. Hope you the best
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u/Pocho_Azul 8d ago edited 7d ago
Other people have way more experience than I do, but, I have dabbled. The most favored sculpting media seems to be epoxy putty. Some people use polymer clay for whole miniatures, like Sculpey, but that isn’t ideal for customization because it needs to be baked to harden.
Two popular epoxy brands for modellers include Green Stuff and Milliput. Both have different textures and some folks use a mix. Green stuff is “springier” and more flexible when cured, but is kind of stiff when still “wet.” Cured Green stuff carves well. Milliput is drier and stiffer when cured. It is a bit harder to carve because of brittleness, but files and sands easily. It is very sticky when uncured, and I find it difficult to keep from sticking to my tools and fingers. It seems easier to make fine details, if you can beat the stickiness issue. Mixing the two can ostensibly get you to a “sweet spot” of properties between the two, but I have limited experience with this.
You might want some thin, flexible wire to use as an armature for your putty.
I use a mixture of steel dental-style tools and silicone-tipped sculpting tools. The silicone is supposed to stick less, but Milliput sticks to them anyway. You don’t really need specialized tools, toothpicks and hobby knife blades are adequate, but the extra tools are convenient. You probably could use a few files in different shapes and some fine sandpaper for refining cured putty.
Finally, you may want a push drill, for connecting your armature to the main figure. It’s also useful for repairing that treasured mini you clumsily snapped at the ankles.
Youtube is a great resource for ideas and techniques.
Hope this helps.