LEARNING ANATOMY THROUGH SCULPTING PART ONE: THE HEAD

For the past year I've been stretching my boundaries as an artist. I've experimenting with painting, figure drawing techniques, and design. In an attempt to go a little further and learn something valuable along the way, I've decided to start sculpting. 

I bought some clay from the art supply store and took it home, where it remains in the box untouched. I honestly had no clue how to start.  I realized I would have to do something soon when a co-worker gave me some of his leftover oil-based (never drying) clay. 

My father sculpted all the time while I was growing up, but I never really tried it myself ( randomly playing with clay as a kid doesn't really count).  The Palette & Chisel Academy Of Fine Art has open studio sculpting from a live model, in addition to quick sketch figure drawing. While I wanted to go try that, I thought it might be a good idea to practice first.  I had a small skull model that I bought for reference about a year ago, so I decided to recreate that in clay.

Once I completed it, I thought that it might be neat to put the individual facial muscles on it. I consulted a couple of anatomy books to see how to go about adding the muscles.

Because the skull was my first creation I was reluctant to cover it up. I also worried that the non-drying clay could get messy if I started adding to it so I decided to add the muscles onto the model skull. Here are the results:

Front

I found the neck muscles so challenging that I had to consult multiple anatomy books for the sides and under the chin. It was fun, but tough. 

Neck

Side

One of the results of this exercise is that I am finding that the way I draw heads is changing. Creating something in 3-D puts a different perspective on the object and that change is reflected into the drawings. My drawn heads seem rounder and more solid then before. They feel more real.

Because I the fun I had and the lessons learned for the head, I have decided to do the same with the entire figure. Stay tuned...

NOW ON SALE

My Final Femforce story ( at least for awhile while I work on other projects) came out a few weeks ago and is still available. Here's a description of what's in the issue:


FEMFORCE #167 IS NOW AVAILABLE!!! The long-absent NIGHTVEIL returns to the team, just long enough to reveal a new crisis- the disappearance of her Cloak of Darkness-before vanishing again herself, in a story titled “Roundabout”, written by Mark Heike, penciled by newcomer Jim Sullivan, with finished inking by Scott Shriver. The other wandering team member- SHE-CAT -likewise returns, and makes herself a bit more useful in a tense situation.  A mysterious and powerful stranger forces a dangerous stand-off at the Orlando International Airport, and the FEMFORCE race to the scene to deal with the emergency as best they can, in “Stuck In The Middle”, scripted by Mark Heike, penciled by Rock Baker and inked by Jeff Austin. Then, things turn strange in the 30th century as The BLACK COMMANDO is held captive by girl space pirates, while in the present, the villainous ALIZARIN CRIMSON uses dupes from the future to slip the bonds of her Altrannian prison in  the latest installment in the Adventures of Blackie and Bullets (guest-starring JET-GIRL) , “Future Shock”; written and inked by Bossman Bill Black, with pencils by Eric Coile. If you’ve been wondering what sort of things former military liason to the FF, ROBERTA STROCK has been doing since she was appointed to a cabinet position, read “Time To Take Strock”, illustrated by the FF lead art team of Baker and Austin, from a story by Mark Holmes. You can’t keep a good soldier down!! Next, everyone’s favorite reluctant superheroine YANKEE GIRL is forced to make a difficult decision in “Yankee Ingenuity”, written by Mark Holmes, pencilled by Riccardo Desini, and inked by the redoubtable Jeff Austin. Then, it’s a three-way blast from the past with a trio of never-before-seen “retro” adventures. First, we go back to 1956, for a rare solo story starring one-time FF member The BLONDE BOMBER.  BB finds herself mixed up (in more than one way) with illegal arms dealing and third-world freedom fighters while vacationing in Spain in “Busman’s Holiday”; scripted by Mark Heike, penciled by Manuel Diaz, and inked by Scott Shriver.  Then, in 1948, Miss(the future Ms.)Victory is forced to confront a former Russian ally during the Berlin airlift in “No Substitute For Victory”, written by Mark Holmes, with art by Scott Larson and Jeff Austin. Finally, back during the war-torn years of the early 1940′s, DINOSAUR GIRL  must team up with a half-dozen other costumed operatives to deal with submarines and giant marine demons while breaking up an enemy plot to mine the dangerous ore that gave Vivian Strand the awesome size-changing powers in “The Menace With Eight Arms”, written and drawn by Rock Baker, and inked by Mark Dail. All this plus a special text tribute to the late, great former FEMFORCE artist Dick Ayers by head honcho Bill Black. 

This book can be purchased on the AC Comics website. I have a number of other projects that should be coming out in the near future. Please continue to watch this space for more information.