Monday 9 July 2012

Blood Angels - Knights of Blood Shoulder Pad Sculpt



I did a test model previously where I painted on the shoulder pad icon freehand (see picture below). I was very happy with the result at the time but recently I looked at the model again and felt like I could improve on it. Of course now I have a tiny bit more sculpting experience after my Silver Skull Marine shoulder sculpt. I also wanted to redo the paint scheme to fit in more with what GW has published in the Blood Angels Codex, the scheme is a very dark metal combined with the bright red of traditional Blood Angels opposed to the one I followed ( see picture above) which is a bright metal almost silver with the red.



So to start off I wanted to sculpt the icons on rather than freehand them. I started with the Blood Angels Tactical Symbol which is a teardrop shape and so reasonably easy to do. I began with a small piece of greenstuff which I worked into a round shape and then pressed until I was happy with the depth or height of the greenstuff, once happy I began to cut out the teardrop or blood drop shape. Next clean up the surroundings and there you have it. Remember to use a lubricant all the time, I use oil but Vaseline works just as well I hear.



Next up was the Knights of Blood Icon, essentially a shield a teardrop and some swords. Now the shield is not a complicated design nor the teardrop but the swords worried me a lot. How was I going to get them matching and in proportion. I thought about this for a long time, do I start the swords first or try and add them after the shield etc etc. In the end I went for adding them in after the shield. I began the shield the same way I did for the tactical symbol, round bit of greenstuff smoothed down to the correct height or depth. and cut out the shield design. Clean up. All great so far.



I then allowed the greenstuff to cure completely and then repeated the tactical symbol process albeit a smaller version to go onto the shield.



That was the end of the good, when I tried to sculpt the swords it was a nightmare, I managed to do one but could not get any of the other pieces to match in proportion or look. I abandoned that process and decided to start over and do the swords first, so I cut off the shield and tried to sculpt the swords, unfortunately I could not get it right that way either, my sculpting skills and experience not good enough. Don't know if I should have waited for the greenstuff to cure a bit before trying to cut out the design or what?? (if you have some suggestions please leave a comment)

I went back and redid the shield and blood drop again with the plan to paint in the swords later.

So a mixed bag of results for me here. Anyways stay tuned and see how he turns out with the new paint job in a future post.



Vitor



8 comments:

  1. I'm with you, Vitor. I've been experimenting heavily with sculpting myself. The teardrop looks great, though!

    Maybe roll out some green stuff, let it sit till it stiffens a bit, and then cut your sword shape out? It might be easier to do this way than to try to sculpt on top of more green stuff.

    Krisken of Scratchbuilt 40k

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    1. Thanks, I thought about letting it cure afterwards also, will have to try it out in another experiment.

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  2. Very cool, man! I'd say that painting the swords may be easier than trying to sculpt them, due to their size and fiddly-ness. Looking forward to seeing more, either way - keep up the great work!

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    1. Those swords are really fiddly!! very tiny indeed,in fact while I was cursing I was envious of those sculptors that can do this stuff!

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  3. what about making one sword then making a mold for it and casting it to make the second?

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    1. Thanks, didn't think about that idea!

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  4. Draw or print a template for your swords. You can do a single sword to keep the proportions correct, and then just flip it and use it for the other side.

    Roll out your green stuff, let it partially cure, then trace your template.

    Work smarter, not harder.

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    1. I did think of this idea and honestly, those swords are really very small, about 1mm thick, not much to work with, for me anyway. Maybe a combination of the above ideas will work. Thanks

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