The troll bridge day 7 the complete troll

All that's left is the details. Detail is important but make sure not to overdue it. Making things important and other things less important will help the viewer see your illustration. Painters are very good at this skill. They make the foreground detailed and well in view and far away less detailed and sketchy. I gave him a hat made from an old glove and fur blanket made from the lining. The suspenders are made from material with wire closures. It is going to be a fall scene so the figures will have coats and hats on. The shoes I simply painted black.
I then get to work on the bridge. I cut the span from the same pink insulation I made the body from . I cut it and left it rough like the rock it is going to simulate. To simulate the rough rocky texture I cut out some small rocks and glued them to the main structure. When the basic details on the bridge is done I set the troll figure into the space below and took a picture to see how it would look in the frame. The sun light is coming in from the left and lighting up his face. I will have to remember this placement when it is time to photograph it.
tomorrow..... more bridgework

The troll bridge day 6 what is a troll without arms

The arms for the troll I am making out of clothespins. I make a simple joint and drill and attach the hands to the arms with a small dowel. I chose the cloth for the shirt and rolled and glued the sleeves together. Slip the arms into the sleeves and they are ready to add to the body. Fold in the fabric and glue the tip of the arm to the body. It is going to leave a weird line but you can cut a small piece of fabric to cover the joint. Lay it and glue it into place. Then tuck it under and glue the edges so the shoulder and arm look like one continuous piece. It just makes it more natural looking.
The pants go on just like the shirt does. I cut out the pant legs and glued them on. To make the legs look rounder use fiberfill to sculpt the legs. It will make the lower part of his body more lifelike.
Tomorrow.... we finish troll dressing

The troll bridge day 5 making the troll

So now that your sculpted body pieces are baked it is time to make the body. One of the good things about three dimensional illustration is This piece does not have to have any kind of permanence after it is photographed. It is then o.k. to use less than permanent materials. I choose to make a lot of my stuff out of pink sheet foam insulation. I know it isn't a green material but when I can get my hands on a similar material that does the same as the pink I will make the change. You can use tons of different tools to work on this stuff. It can be cut sanded painted plastered carved you name it. It can look very rough or super smooth. For his body i cut out 2 pieces of foam and hot glued together. I use a hot glue gun because it is not permanent and it is quick. One note on this if the glue is too hot it will melt the foam and ruin the structure. I don't have a 2 level glue gun so what I do is let it heat up and then unplug it and use it on the way down. At the highest setting all it does is melt the foam. Take good care of yourself also. Don't sand this without a respirator and good ventilation. You don't want to get this dust into your lungs. After you get the back and leg pieces together start to smooth and shape. I have an old electric knife for this you can do it with any knife. Get the base smoothed out and fit the head and hands on it to see if the proportions are how you like them.
I have chosen the materials for the toll's clothing and put them aside. I begin to cut and fit the cloth to create a t-shirt and collared shirt for it. Working in layers start fitting and gluing the
materials on.
Tomorrow..... More work on the fearsome troll.

The troll bridge day 4 lets bake your head

Its now time to bake the sculpey pieces. I use a toaster oven for this. I have read many opinions about this step but I am going to tell you what technique I use and works best for me. I put the toaster on a very low setting like 250 degrees. Put foil on a toasting pan and line it with fiberfill (the stuffing you fill teddy bears with). This ensures that the sculpture won't touch the pan melt and leave a flat spot on the bottom.
I go for the low heat more time solution. The box says 15 minutes for each ¼ inch of clay thickness at 275 degrees. I tend to let it bake for a long time. You have to keep an eye on it however. it can burn at higher temps. It turns black like a turkey leg left in too long. It should be a nice ruddy pink color when it comes out. Take care on small pieces. If you have small details it is possible to shield them from the heat. You can wrap them with foil to protect them. This is a process that you have to keep your eye on. Don't set the oven to bake and clean out the basement. It has to be watched and tended to for better results. I have overcooked sculpey before. Don't take sculpey out when it is done let it cool in the toaster oven. It should cool slowly so it doesn't crack.
tomorrow..... I start on the body

The troll bridge day 3 -starting the sculpt

I start the sculpting process by preparing the clay. You need to get it warm in your hands. I have heard people putting it into a microwave for a minute to get it warm. I just squish it in my hand. Fresh clay is important. Before you buy it take a look at it and make sure it is not all dried out. Old clay is brittle and very hard. Old sculpey is bad to work with. Fresh is best. I take a rolled out piece of clay and wrap it around the tin foil ball pinching and smoothing. I like to work by addition. Some people like subtraction sculpting taking layers off and smoothing. I like to add detail and smooth the edges to it blends together. I add the mouth and the teeth. Sculpey is very forgiving. It's not like kiln fire clay. As long as the pieces are stuck together you should be o.k. You don't have to spend all kinds of time scoring the edges and smashing these things together. I like to use a printers roller to smooth large areas. It works great and makes quick work of bumps and lines. After the details are added I switch to the rubber tipped tools for details and final smoothing. The hands are next and are made of solid sculpey. They will be thin enough to not take hours in the oven.
Tomorrow Proper oven firing.....

The troll bridge day 2 getting materials together

After the sketch is done I am going to concentrate on The main figure. The troll is the central character and is key to the image. I gathered my tools. These can be anything traditional to objects that you would never think of to sculpt the clay. I swear by these rubber tipped clay tools they make smoothing so much easier. I am using super sculpey. This is my favorite sculpting clay by the way. It is expensive but I haven't been able to find anything that can match it.
I begin with the head a good starting point. The face will carry much of the emotion so getting the details of it is key. I use aluminum foil as many do for the base of the head. Ball it up and shape it as needed. Remember to make it a bit smaller than the head is to be. If you make it too large and then cover it with clay it may be larger than you had intended. The foil is going to serve a couple of purposes. It is going to make the sculpture much lighter and when you get to the baking stage the bake time will be much less. Also less clay means it lasts longer. At 13.00 a box it can start to add up.
Tomorrow the sculpt begins!

Working on a new three dimensional illustration "the troll bridge"

I keep having this image pop into my head. I started sketching it down in my moleskin and this character I came up with could only live under a bridge. I decided that I need to bolster my 3-d portfolio with some more images. I have been working with sculpy a lot lately so instead of drawing or painting I got out the clay and started working with it. In the next couple of weeks I am going to do god willing nightly updates with fresh steps in the illustration process. There is all this stuff in my head and I think it might help to get some of it out to be a help to other artists. I am going to photograph all the steps and present them here.
The first step sketch