Long story short, for those who’ve heard it, is I got a miniature for my Undead and Necromantic teams to use as a coach. The model’s quality was lacking, so I decided I’d give sculpting a miniature a shot. It’s something I always wanted to try.
Using the miniature I bought as inspiration, I got to sculpting. Actually, first I made a wire armature. I knew it I was going to do this right then I needed a solid foundation.
Slowly I built up the miniature until it started taking shape. I continued to add detail and came up with this.
Sculpting Showcase
Sculpting Thoughts
You can see there’s a few things I didn’t sculpt, wasn’t even going to attempt a face quite yet, and I had issues with the hand, but it’s like 95% me.
Now, I’m going to bury the urge to criticize my own work here. I couldn’t expect miracles on my first outing. It’s a learning experience after all.
So, I’ll refrain from pointing out the flaws and saying how I wish I could have done X or Y better.
There things I could have fixed but I made the choice to forge ahead, complete the model, learn, and apply those lessons next time.
Honestly, that’s one of my biggest pieces of advices in this hobby – don’t seek perfection every single time. There’s so much more value in completing something despite imperfections than there is in trying to get everything right and frustrating yourself. Being frustrated is never productive in this hobby.
Anyway, as a whole I’m very happy with the miniature. Honestly, it may be my favorite thing I’ve done. I had a vague idea of how I wanted to approach this, and I improvised along the way as I always do, and it came out how I envisioned it, which rarely ever happens and probably why I’m so pleased with it.
The idea with this model is he’s a necromancer. Someone has to resurrect the dead (actual Blood Bowl rule for Undead and Necromantic teams), so it made sense to me.
To further give that impression, I sculpted the ribs over the armor. I didn’t want to go for something realistic but more stylistic instead – something imposing.
The amulet I sculpted is a source of power, and of course his hand is showing his necromantic powers in use.
The book is his playbook and just suits the model in general.
Lastly, I’m really happy with how the cloak came out. It’s my first time creating a cloak this way. I used Ron’s technique for this one.
Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed sculpting this miniature. There was a ton that I learned that will make the next attempt go better and quicker.
I have since managed to get the coach all painted if you want to see the finished product.
Have you ever sculpted a miniature? I’d love to see it if you did!
Blood Bowl Stuff
I love painting miniatures and teaching people how to paint. I also really love blogging, so I've combined those two passions here.
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Great work buddy!
That’s what love about the hobby, they’re are so many aspects to explore and your work is a prime example of this. Thank you for sharing it :D
Muchas gracias and you’re right, this hobby is damn near endless in pursuits – it’s why I love it.
Very impressive! I know you’ve done a fair amount of sculpting bits and add-ons before, but this is really a whole new level.
I know I’ve seen plenty of greens by professional sculptors that have bits from other Models used for parts that are particularly tricky or time-consuming, but not crucial to this particular sculpt. I’d file the face/hand/book under that category here.
I think it’s mostly just because of being all green, but, particularly from behind, he reminds me quite a bit of Dr. Doom. I look forward to seeing him painted up!
Thanks! This is something I’ve wanted to try for years but never really had a project I thought would be suitable. I needed a one-off type of model and this was the perfect opportunity for it.
Yeah, I’ve seen it too – the use of existing bits. I figured I’d do as much as I could for the learning experience, not that it bothers me morally to use plastic bits in places. But yeah, some things just aren’t worth trying to do.
Good call on Dr. Doom. He does have that look to him. The cape and hood being very smooth lends to that I think.
Fantastic first outing!
Thank you. Now I need to find another excuse to sculpt a miniature to apply the lessons learned from this one.
Very interesting to see the final piece, watching it come together on your social media channels is one thing but the finished product is great.
Well done for pushing yourself out there.
Thanks.
Yeah, when I was working on it I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out. It really wasn’t until it was done and a day later that I realized I had impressed myself. Again, no masterpiece, but still something I’m proud of.
Really nice work dude! Bravo for attempting a whole model too. I can’t venture beyond a bit of patching or small sculpting, so to tackle a whole Miniature is pretty cool!
Much appreciated.
I feel like you’ve got the skills, having seen your work, to tackle something large like this. I mean, when you break it down it’s really just a culmination of lots of small parts. It’s not an arm, it’s a shoulder, then a bicep, then a forearm. So forth and so on.