Hot Sculpture How-Tos « Sculpture

How To: Work with Polymer Clay for Beginners

Polymer clay is an exciting arts & crafts medium. Actually, "clay" is a misnomer; it contains no true clay, but rather consists of tiny particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) combined with plasticizer, which is what makes it malleable like clay.

How To: Cast a nude model with silicone

Watch this video to learn how to make a mold of a female torso using Body Double RTV silicone rubber. This is a great technique for sculptors!

How To: Make a paper mache baby elephant

In this tutorial, we learn how to make a paper mache baby elephant. To begin, you will need a pattern, which you can find at Ultimate Paper Mache. There is a grid on the pattern that you can use to expand onto a large piece of particle board. This will give you the entire body for the elephant. After you cut the elephant out of the board, glue and nail it together with spacers in between the body parts. After this, crumple up newspaper and then tape and squish it onto the wood until the muscl...

How To: Make a silicone mold of a toy figurine

In this tutorial, we learn how to make a silicone mold of a toy figurine. First, roll out clay and press the bottom of the figurine into the center. Next, use a plastic bottle to create the mold box. Cut the bottom off of the bottle, then press the bottle into the clay to make sure the figurine is centered. Now, press the bottle down into the clay and make the silicone mixture. When you're done mixing, pour it into the bottle. Pour in a stream to avoid any bubbles inside of it. Let this sit o...

How To: Sculpt & carve fake teeth from soap

Need a use for a model tooth? Learn with this "Tooth Carving 101" tutorial how to carve a fake tooth from a bar of soap. One will need a small carving knife, a bar of soap and about thirty minutes. Your fake tooth with make for one heck of peculiar mantel piece.

How To: Sculpt a human head with Philippe Faraut

This video tutorial shows how to sculpt a realistic human head out of clay. Follow along with artist, Philippe Faraut, and learn how to mold, scrape, and design a human bust sculpture.

How To: Make a two-part mold with urethane RTV rubber

This video segment will show you how to make a simple two-part mold using Urethane RTV molding rubber. The same process can be used for silicone molds.

How To: Make a shrimp from a straw

This is a tutorial on how to make a shrimp from a drinking straw and a pair of scissors. This is a nifty arts and crafts project for the summer, or doing on the side of the road for money. Everyone will be astounded by your shrimp-making skills.

How To: Make a latex mold

This video segment will show you how to make a simple mold using TAP Latex Mold Builder.

How To: Make fake ice with Encapso K silicone rubber

This video demonstrates how to use Encapso K to create a lasting faux ice display. Encapso K is a soft, clear silicone rubber that perfectly simulates water. Learn how to sculpt mock ice for a beer bottle sculpture.

How To: Make a mold of a face using silicone rubber

Watch this video to learn how to make a mold of a face using Body Double Silicone Rubber. This is a great technique for making masks or sculptures! Watch as he casts a finished lightweight casting.

How To: Make a paper mache "fishwichwich"

In this video you get to watch a talented mache artist make a fishwichwich from paper mache. It is fast paste but you get the idea of how he does it. Starting with the paper mache materials, the paste and paper, he makes the body and head in several pieces. He pastes these together and uses some sort of stick to make its spikes. He covers the spikes with mache so they have a more realistic look and starts to smooth out the features of the fish. Once the body is done, he's got the teeth and so...

How To: Sculpt a human head

Interested in making a human head sculpture? Get step-by-step instructions for sculpting a human head with expert sculpture tips in this free art lesson video series.

How To: Make simple one piece silicone rubber molds

Check out this video for how to create simple one piece silicone rubber molds. This technique is ideal for smaller projects (less than 12" x 12"), this is the easiest process for creating parts, patterns, tools, & molds. We demonstrate creating a silicone rubber mold and then the casting of parts with Repro, epoxy casting resins and polyurethane elastomers. This process can be used in automotive, mechanical, fine art and film special effects uses.

How To: Make a clear silicone rubber mold

This is an excellent video that covers creating a clear silicone rubber mold to deal with a complex parting line or irregular shape. When a project requires a complex parting line, it is often easier to pour the entire mold in one process with clear rubber, then cut your parting line. This process also saves at least a day in creating the mold. This process can be used in automotive, mechanical, fine art and film special effects uses.

How To: Build your own Stonehenge

This video demonstrates how to build your own Stonehenge. This would be a good project to do with children, because you could teach them a little history at the same time.

How To: Make a simple mold and cast liquid plastic and resin

Watch this video to learn how to make a simple mold and cast Smooth-Cast 300 liquid plastic and resin into it.

How To: Sculpt a bust with modeling clay

Sculpting can be fun! In this free online art video series about sculpture, learn how to make a clay bust, including hair, eyes, nose, shoulders, and mouth from expert sculptor David A. Clemen.

How To: Spray rubber to make plastic molds of anything

This video tutorial shows how to use Smooth-On's EZ Spray Jr. system to spray mold rubber, liquid plastics and casting resins. Learn how to make molds out of any object out of rubber, plastic or resin.

How To: Make a mold and cast of an arm with alginate

Use alginate to make a mold and cast of an arm. Watch this video for a detailed list of needed ingredients and step by step instructions on how to do it yourself. This is a good technique for sculpture or special effects.

How To: Build a six inch cube out of cardboard

Learn the basic steps to build a 6 inch cube for the Form and Space Foundation class at Otis College of Art and Design. This video is great for any beginning design and art students.

How To: Paint eyebrows and hair onto your reborn baby doll

The importance of paint cannot be underestimated when it comes to correctly constructing a reborn baby doll. There are many tutorials showing you how to correctly replicate the hair on your baby doll's head, but what about the eyebrows? This tutorial shows you how to use a variety of paints and fine tip brushes to correctly achieve realistic eyebrows as well as head hair for your next reborn project.

How To: Mold fantasy miniature characters

In this two part video you'll learn the complete process for casting duplicates of a miniature figure. How to make the rubber mold in two parts and how to cast the miniature duplicate. A two part mold is the kind of rubber mold you make for complex minis like figures, warriors, wizards, dwarves etc. You'll learn everything you need, and exactly what to do to duplicate your own miniature fantasy characters.

How To: Make a silicone face with Gel-10 & Polyfoam

Attention aspiring horror movie makers! Have an interest in making fake heads to use as your gory extras? BITY Mold Supply has supplied the world with this great tutorial on how to cast a silicone head or face from Gel-10 and Polyfoam. In the later half of this video, BITY lends great tips on how to paint your finished silicone face for a realistic look.

How To: Make a fiberglass mold

This how-to video series is a step-by-step guide to molding fiberglass. These videos give a simple introduction to fiberglass mold construction, explained using a model aircraft cowling but the same technique applies to any fiberglass sculpture. The entire process is detailed from plug, to mold, to finished fiberglass part. Follow along with the eight steps: develop the plug, construct the parting board, lay up the mold, release the mold from the plug, prepare the mold for fabrication, lay up...

How To: Make a duplicate sculpture using a press mold

Mary Buckman describes how to create a cast clay sculpture from a press mold. Press molds can be used over and over again to duplicate a sculpture without going through the tedious process of actually sculpting it or without the artistic talent required to. Watch this video sculpting tutorial and learn how to use a press mold.

How To: Sculpt a baby statue out of polymer clay

This is a video sculpting tutorial on how to make a polymer clay newborn baby. Follow along with the step by step visuals and see the baby's features take shape. Learn how to sculpt a baby statue out of polymer clay by watching this instructional video.

How To: Use polyurathane casting resin

Here learn how to use polyurathane casting resin in silicone molds. This video is produced by Carl Hill from Gatehouse Candles.

How To: Make a surreal paper mache hand

If you're looking for ideas for creepy decorations to make for your next Halloween party, or just want to have a little fun, you can use papier mache, cardbord paper, a little foil and some paint to create a surreal cartoon hand.

How To: Make a paper mâché dragon

Are you an aspiring paper mâché sculptor? In this video, see how Dan from Monster-Man.com builds a really cool paper mache dragon from start to finish. Although instructions aren't given, it is easy to use this video as a guide to begin your dragon's structure and build up. Be on your way toward creating an extremely impressive paper mâché dragon with help from this video.

How To: Turn an old vinyl record into a bowl or platter

Seeing as record players are getting harder to find, here's something useful to do with your records, turn them into serving dishes! What you need to do is get some tin foil, oven safe dishes and of course records. Two different types of dishes can be made, a shallow plate-like dish and deeper bowl-like dish. For the shallow one use a cake pan for its form, you'll need a glass jar or an empty tin can for the other one. Start off by setting your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Ce...

How To: Make a paper mache glitter wand

This video teaches you how to make glitter wands using a simple and fast method. For a wand measuring about 18 inches long, you will need a sheet of A4 printer paper, glue, 2 strips of 1 inch wide 2 ply tissue paper, a pair of scissors, black and gold paint, an old sponge and glitter. First roll the sheet of paper and stick it so you have one small end tapering towards a slighter bigger end. Stick tissue rolls on the rolled paper and seal off the ends by twisting gently. When the glue dries a...

How To: Make contemporary installation art

Each & Every One of You (EEOOY) is a mock TV show pilot that teaches ordinary people how to make contemporary installation art. If these words strike fear into your heart or make you cringe with memories of seeing contemporary art and wondering what the hell it was all about, this show is for you!

How To: Make a mold of a sculpture

This three part instructional sculpture video demonstrates how to make a two part plaster mold. Make a plaster mold to make stop-motion animation puppets from clay models. A plaster mold can make casts out of almost any material. This model will be cast out of foam rubber with a movable metal skeleton.

How To: Make an epoxy face mask

Sure, epoxy is poisonous if ingested, an eye irritant, and probably carcinogenic, but you can still make a mask out of it anyway. The flexible quality of epoxy, allows to make an exact mold of your, or any desired face. Watch this video sculpting tutorial and learn how to make an epoxy face mask.