I'm trying to pick up sculpting. Did you watch or read any material from other sculpters to learn techniques for working at such high detail on such a small scale? With almost all artisans, even if it's very very good, I can at least imagine how it was done with human hands. With yours.. not so much! You must have some ways of working with it, favorite tools, that type of thing?
I love your work sooo much 
Keep up the amazing work. You're definitely my favorite artisan.
And I really hope you are feeling all the way better soon!
Sculpting, like many other art forms, can have a slightly steep learning curve when you first get started (and especially on such a small scale). I've been messing around with sculpting since I was in high school, and I continued to noodle around with it through college. Funny enough, my biggest hurdle back then was scale. I've always disliked sculpting large pieces, and I much preferred things that you could hold in your hand or set on your desk. It might be worth noting that I draw on a very small scale, and my handwriting is also very small.
TOOLSMy absolute favorite tool is a small angled spatula. I've shaped it a bit to my liking with a hammer, and smoothed it out a bit. It's an excellent all-around tool, and I use it for a lot of detail work, slicing, and smoothing. It also just feels right in my hand. Another extremely useful is something I found at Michael's many years ago. It's just got a small ball on the end of it, smaller than a BB. I did some smoothing on it as well, and it's perfect for shaping and smoothing out areas on your sculpt. Finally, a good ribbon loop is always handy, especially when you're first shaping and removing clay before diving into fine detail. I have a whole roll of tools that I use as well, but not nearly as much as those three.
Keep in mind that there are no "right" tools for sculpting, only what's right for you. There are some tools that work better on a smaller scale, and some that work better on a big scale. Most professional artists make their own tools out of wood and metal, or even hardened clay. It really depends on what is comfortable to you. You can literally sculpt with old sticks you find around the yard if you shape them with a knife and then sand them and polyurethane them. Or the lid of a pen. Or a knife and fork. You would be surprised what you can do with everyday objects. A good starting point for working on a small scale is to get some cheap dental tools.
Another handy thing is a magnifying lamp or glass. Mine is fixed with a big arm that clamps to my workbench. The light is very bright, and the glass is big enough that I can comfortably see very small detail. You can also purchase dental loupes, but you're wasting your time unless you get the expensive ones. I had a pair for a while but I switched to the magnifying lamp because I prefer it.
As a final word, learn to SMOOTH and learn to LAYER. Smoothing your clay really does wonders, and learning to work in layers prevents you from screwing up so bad that you lose the entire piece.
LEARNING TO SCULPTI used to be a freelance cartoonist on the side. I mean, I wasn't incredible, but people paid me for my work. In 2010, I decided that I wanted to learn how to cartoon, because I had all of these funny jokes and ideas, but my drawing was somewhat lacking. I'd been doodling for years, so I wasn't a "stick figures only" kind of guy, but I wasn't a cartoonist. I picked up a cartooning book (I forget the name, if I find it I'll put it here) that quite literally changed the way I approach most hobbies now.
The book told me to draw a new single-panel cartoon every day for six months. It said to take like fifteen minutes in the morning to meditate and relax, clear your mind, and then draw something. It didn't have to be amazing, but it needed to be something. So, I did it. And six months later my cartoons went from looking like garbage to actually being pretty good. I learned a lot along the way about how I liked to work, not how others liked to work. New ideas would flood into my head, and
I began to think like a cartoonist. This is absolutely key in mastering a hobby or a skill, especially creative ones.
Practice. Seriously. Just practice, and sculpt what you see. Find a subject, set a goal, and then sculpt it. It doesn't matter what it is. Just sculpt anything.
I like to start my sculpts with basic shapes. I roll balls, or cylinders, etc. I then place those and smooth them out. Once the basic shapes are in place, you can start adding small amounts of material that will be your details. Know that you will most likely mess up and need to remove material, but that's totally okay. That's how it goes. If you want to get serious about sculpting, then sculpt for an hour a day. Make something different every day.
One of the best pieces of advice that I can give you is to make three versions of a single sculpt. Yes, three. Your
first attempt should be a rough draft, your
second should be polished, and your
third should be your best work, ready to be molded and cast. In my humble opinion, the biggest mistake that newer artisans are making is casting the first thing they sculpt.
- Get an idea in your head, sketch it if possible.
- Do a rough sculpt, but finish it to the end. Don't worry about major detail, just get the basic idea down. No need to layer here, but it's a good technique to practice. I try to get these sculpts done as fast as possible.
- Take notes on what you want to change or do better. Really study the sculpt and figure out what you can do better.
- Resculpt, and this time pay attention to detail. You should really be trying hard here, specifically fixing all of your initial mistakes. I try to make just about everything smaller this time around.
- You can stop here if the work is acceptable, but I find that the third time is when you are really comfortable with the design.
- Sculpt your Final Master, and pay extreme attention to detail. Work in layers, building upon the last. This should take you quite a bit of time, no need to rush.
If you want specific literature on sculpting, here are some good ones to check out. Keep in mind that it might seem boring to read, but a lot of time mentally preparing yourself to sculpt is just as important as practicing.
- Beginner's Guide to Sculpting Characters in Clay
- Sculpture Principle and Projects (Slobodkin)
- Portrait Sculpting (Faraut)
These will cover all of the basics of clay sculpting and design, as well as technique. They're good reads, and I refer to the Sculpture Principle and Projects frequently.
Another path you might consider is paying for some clay sculpting courses online. I may do one of those when I get more time later this year, so I can keep progressing. I can't give you much direction there, but there are many sculptors that offer courses and you can watch the videos over and over again. If local courses or classes are available, then by all means take them. It's a good way to get started.
