From the Knife's Edge

Winners of the Edge of Reality Miniature Contest

2009-09-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a busy month with lots of votes but it has come to a close and it is now time to announce the winners of the Edge of Reality Miniature Contest.

And the first place winner is...

...with 59 votes...

... Florian Schulz (AKA: Glorian Underhill)

Second place goes to Alex Bates with 40 votes

and

Third Place goes to Henk de Nijs with 30 votes

Congratulations to all the winners and I will email you to discuss when your prize will be coming.

As you know, prizes are:

"The first place winner will have his picture sculpted into a miniature and receive a painted copy by the talented painter Vesa Mäkelä plus 10 metal copies of the miniature when it is released for general sale.

The 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive a free copy of the miniature (the 1st place winner) and bragging rights. 2nd and 3rd place winners may also be optioned to be sculpted as miniatures at a later date but this depends on demand and my time and is not guaranteed:). In the event that they are sculpted 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive 6 metal copies of their miniature once it is released for general sale."

Over the next few weeks, I will take you through the process of sculpting a miniature from selecting the inspiration (in this case Glorian) to putting on the finishing touches.

Thanks again to everyone who voted and please look for contests in the future.

Voting is now closed

2009-09-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone, it is September 30th so the voting is now closed. Any votes after 12:00am on September 30th will not be counted towards the tallies.

I will do a count and list the winners of the contest before the week is out. Thanks again to everyone who entered and voted.

James

Voting Parameters Revisited

2009-09-19T15:18:00.001-07:00

Due to some discrepancies on the voting, I have to reiterate that only blogger registered entries count as votes. If I can't click over to a profile (or your site) then the comment will be deleted. This is to avoid spamming and to ensure that no one is posting repeatedly under different names.

In addition, the deadline for voting will be closing sometime between now and the end of the month to avoid ballot stuffing.

I have erased all votes that were not registered and will do so between now and whenever the deadline comes.

Voting Has Begun!!

2009-09-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we are finally there and after receiving several photographs for the miniature contest, we are now on the way to choosing the best photograph for the miniature.

But before you get down to voting, I want to list a few rules.

1. This is supposed to be fun so let's keep posts light. Give words of encouragement but any inappropriate slagging will be removed from the posts. Comments are always welcome but let's keep them friendly and "G" rated.

2. Only vote once. More than one vote will be discounted from the overall tally.

3. Only votes from registered voters will count. Anonymous votes will not be counted towards the overall tally.

And that is it. Three simple rules and a whole lot of fun.

If you have a photograph up, feel free to state your case in a post. You can tell everyone why they should vote for you but don't slam the other photos in a petition to win your own votes. The more fun we have, the better.

At the end of the contest, I will tally the votes and the photograph with the most votes wins.

Some great ways to generate votes are:

Do: Tell friends, family and coworkers to vote for you.
Do: Provide links from your blog or site to your photograph.
Do: Announce your news on your networking pages like Facebook, MySpace or your regular forums.

Don't: Take out hits on people who don't vote for you.
Don't: Bribe people with money, miniatures or anything else for their votes.
Don't: Force your pet to vote.

The deadline for votes is until September 30th, 2009.

Lastly, the entries have their own post so if you vote for a photograph, make sure you only do it in their own post.

The entries are:

Glorian Underhill
Katia
Math Major
The Power
The Pimp
Metal
Snatreaper
The Dicer
The Tennis Player

Edited: It came to my attention that some of the links weren't working. They are all up and working now, sorry for the inconvenience.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #9

2009-09-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

Name: Henk de Nijs
Age: 32

Country: all the way from Europe, a small country called the Netherlands (fighting water one day at a time)

Likes to: draw, play miniature games and to play tennis (I may not be the best tennis player in the world, but I can swing hard enough to keep zombies away, they are bigger targets then a small yellow ball anyway)

Favorite James Van Schaik sculpt: Nightwing/Starfire duo for Heroclix

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #8

2009-09-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

My name is Wilma de Nijs-Scheper, I am 30 years old and live in the Netherlands. I am married and have two children. We all love to play games in all different shapes and sizes: boardgames, miniature games, card games you name it. What fun will it be to beat my husband on the tabletop with a miniature of my image. Let's roll some dice!

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #7

2009-09-04T15:33:00.001-07:00

Allan Grimm

Rosedale, MD

I’m a Web Programmer at Johns Hopkins and an avid HeroClix collector/player/modder. HCRealms users would know me as snatreaper. I started reading James’s Blog when he started with his sculpting tutorials, and quickly realized that he sculpted a lot of my favorite HeroClix. As a result, when this contest came along I had to enter. It would just be awesome to have a sculpt of myself done by my favorite sculptor.

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #6

2009-09-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

Name: Dan Seaman
Location: Oregon, US

"Searching for a arcane shrine deep in the woods, our hero uses magical energies to divine what dangers lie ahead."

This pic should be chosen because it would make an awesome figure for Shadowrun WOD,or any other modern RPG. Plus I look metal, and everybody should have atleast one metal looking mini in their collection!

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #5

2009-09-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Alex Bates, bouncer in Fairbanks, Alaska. A broken hand and -40 winter weather doesn't keep me from wearing my pimp coat, though!

I'd be a great miniature - I can check ID's at your miniature bar, toss the drunks out of your zombieville mall, or dodge bullets in modern and pulp games.

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #4

2009-09-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

name: Trevor
location: Santa Rosa, California

Witness the power of the Protectorate of Menoth! (Well at least if someone
else is playing them!) As a recently recruit to Warmachine, I'm now part of
Op-For local gaming group sharpening my wargaming skills.
http://www.op4.org.

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #3

2009-09-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hello!

My name is J.B., and I'm currently an undergrad at UCSD.

I'm hoping you vote on this picture - it's one of my more dynamic ones. If it was any MORE dynamic, a rip in time and space would appear and swallow the camera whole.
Trust me - I'm a math major.

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #2

2009-09-04T15:01:00.001-07:00

Entry Number Two is from Katia and Eden and represents modern witchcraft.

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest: Entry #1

2009-09-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hi,

My name is Florian Schulz and I’m from Wolfsburg, Germany. In the Blood Bowl world im Glorian Underhill, Mercenario extraordinaro. The Original Idea to run around, dressed up as a Blood Bowl player came at my second small tourney. If you dress a little up as a Blood Bowl player you got one ReRoll extra for the game. So most coaches took only the black sunblocker under their eyes, and I as the tourney organizator took on my full downhill-armor.

The Base I’m standing on is actually a real polystyrene made base, painted black. We made it for that tourney, but also took it to the Eurobowl 2007 in Italy and some people there stood and posed also on it. At the Eurobowl and some following tournaments I wore that armor too. But it was quite hot in it on a sunny Italian weekend. But my minis didn’t complain, and so I am not allowed too.

Blood Bowl is my Game, and Blood Bowl Tournaments are my only desire. *hopes my girlfriend doesn’t read this*

So other guys who know me from some Blood Bowl Tourneys, know that I’m completely mad. Yelling ‘DODGE!’ when I have to, and ‘BAAAAAAM!’ for every important Blocks. While wearing a full armor and sunblocker under the eyes just add some color to the picture.

Why I should be made as a mini? Because I almost wet myself when I heard from the contest. Being able to really paint myself and let me run with my Blitzers on the field to get the Ball, smash some faces and make a Touchdown is to great and insane to be true. Just to see the look on the faces of these guys when I say, I will now pick up the ball instead of this Thrower or that Catcher will make that action. The blocks I will take will feel double painful, and the sweet taste of victory will taste like iron on my lips.

That’s why you will vote for me. Because I’m mad, and pewter is my medicine. And you will make that possible with your Vote. So ‘VOTE!’

Yours

Glorian Underhill

Disclaimer: Please note that all post numbers used in the Edge of Reality contest are not authentic numbers and will be disconnected at the end of the contest.

Edge of Reality Contest Closed

2009-09-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone.

Well the deadline for the Edge of Reality contest has passed so the entry period is closed. I've had many great entries and I'll be posting the contestants sometime this week and the voting will begin. Just a quick note to those of you who haven't submitted bios for your photo there is still time to get them to me.

James

Edge Of Reality miniature Contest FAQ

2009-08-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

The deadline for entries into the Edge of Reality mini contest is approaching and I have had several questions from you about the contest. So, with that in mind, I thought I should post some of the questions and answers on the rules of the contest just to be clear.

Thanks to all those who have entered and as a special sneak peek I have added some previews throughout this post. If you are thinking of entering be sure to get your photo in to me before the 1st of September.

Edge of Reality Miniature Contest FAQ

Q:Who can enter this contest?

A: The contest is for people 18 years of age or older. In addition, the photograph must be of you and it cannot be of someone else or your child (see the 18 years or older).

Q:Where do I send my photo's?

A: Send all your photo's to : james_vanschaik@yahoo.com

Q:How do the prizes work? What are they?

A:There will be a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners as voted on by the readers of my blog. The first place winner will have his picture sculpted into a miniature and receive a painted copy by the talented painter Vesa Mäkelä plus 10 metal copies of the miniature when it is released for general sale.

The 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive a free copy of the miniature (the 1st place winner) and bragging rights. 2nd and 3rd place winners may also be optioned to be sculpted as miniatures at a later date but this depends on demand and my time and is not guaranteed:). In the event that they are sculpted 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive 6 metal copies of their miniature once it is released for general sale.

Q:How does the voting work?

A:When the deadline for entries is reached, voting will begin. Each entry will be feature with their photo and a little background if provided by the contestant. Readers can vote by posting a comment on a entrants blog post. The comment must be from a registered user to count, no "anonymous" votes will be considered. You can vote for yourself. Votes must be clear i.e. "I vote for Joe". To do this click on the persons entry blog post and leave a comment that includes your clear statement as to who you are voting for.

Voting will have a specific time period and deadline after which no more votes will be accepted. Once the deadline is met, the votes will be tallied and the winners determined.

Q:After the contest is over how long will it take for my figure to be sculpted?

A: There is no set date for the release of the miniature. This is impossible for me to determine other than it will be within a year (this is a safe estimate). Many factors depend on how quickly the miniature can be produced that are out of my control (sculpting time, availability, casting availability, painting time of original etc.) so entrants need to be reasonable and have a degree of patience and understanding when it comes to expectations of final production of the figure.

Lastly, when I am sculpting this miniature, I will be placing up works in progress with a few tips on sculpting from the photograph to finish.

Q:Will the figure be released by a miniatures company for sale to the public? If so which company?

A: This is a possibility, but at this point no actual company has commissioned this product or agreed to produce it. I may decide to sell it myself or to another company and reserve the right to do so.

Q:If the figure is not released by a company will I still get my prize?

A:Yes. At the very least I will have the figure molded to get the needed amount of castings to award the prizes.

Q:Once the figure is done who owns it?

A: All rights and ownership, production, intellectual, to the green or otherwise are the sole property of James Van Schaik. The winners receive their prizes to keep but do not retain rights to the figure.

So hurry and get your entry in, the deadline is coming!

Anatomy, the continual learning process.....

2009-08-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

One of the most important aspects of sculpting is anatomy and I am always studying it. Anatomy is not something you ever can completely learn. There are no books or courses you can read or take and viola! you've learnt anatomy! (Don't get me wrong school is always a better option than self teaching, but everyone continues to learn after school as well).My philosophy is that anatomy is a continuing study, that as an artist, I strive to keep learning.

One of the best series of books for anatomy is Burne Hogarths's series of books on anatomy. I have all of these in my reference library and they are invaluable. Part of the reason for this is the way in which the drawings are illustrated. Most of the muscle groups are broken down into thier base shapes, which lends itself to sculpting because the shapes are the same that you would form the putty to sculpt them. His drawings give clear definitions of the muscle groups without being confusing like other more technical medical anatomy reference.

Burne Hogath's Dynamic Anatomy
Copyright ©2003, By Burne Hogarth Dynamic Worlwide Media LLC.

Throughout this post there are a few samples from his book Dynamic Figure Drawing. Each muscle group is first shown as a shape which helps you visualize the individual muscle. The drawings are clear and easy to read and naturally relate to sculpting.

What I like about these books is how clear they are. When I first started sculpting I was using medical anatomy drawings and while they were very precise, I found them very confusing and difficult to interpret. I was lost until another sculptor Jeff Grace showed me these books, and I am grateful.

So if you are having problems with anatomy here is a good place to start.

Industry Interview-Professional Painter Vesa Mäkelä

2009-08-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

As promised earlier, here is an interview with a professional painter Vesa Mäkelä. Vesa is a relatively new face in the painting scene and does work for Pulp City Miniatures and his obvious talent will ensure that he will see much more success in the future.

"Pulp City:Chronin"

Vesa has also generously volunteered to paint a figure for the winner of my contest to keep as part of the first prize!

Since Vesa is a painter I thought many of you would enjoy some insight into how a professional painter operates. Sculpting and painting are two essential skills in today's hobby whether it be in fixing separate parts, converting or customizing mini's, or making that great base for a diorama.

"Defiance: a diorama using Corvus Belli Cutter and Billie and Alyx minis from Hasslefree"

Enough Rambling Here is the interview:

JVS:Briefly describe your background in miniatures and gaming, and of course painting.

VM:I’ve been painting minis for about six years now with a few longer breaks and many months away from the hobby but for the last two years I’ve been painting pretty actively and trying to improve my techniques and style. I am not much into gaming anymore but oddly enough, I still love to paint playable skirmish groups for visually intriguing games.

JVS:Do you have any official training or experience in fine arts?

VM:I have done some fine art studies mostly traditional painting and drawing.

JVS:When did you paint your first miniature? What was it?

VM:I painted my first miniature in the late autumn of 2003. I happened to find a box of plastic citadel dwarfs from a local book store. I built and painted four of them and started to wonder why they didn’t look anything like the picture in the box. Then I learned about undercoating and GW paints…

JVS:How and why did you make the transition from painted as a hobby to being a professional painter?

VM:I first got an opportunity to paint a group of minis to get some old Rogue Trader era Citadel figures as a reward and as a passionate collector of RT minis I of course pounced on the chance. Then I slowly started to get more commission offers from collectors and gamers and moved to doing commercial painting as a logical step.

"Pulp City: Tangent"

JVS:How did you learn and improve your craft? What tips, tutorials, or books did you use?

VM:I’ve never had tutorials next to me when painting but I’m sure I’ve learned many things from them. Studying master painters techniques from the pictures of their works have always been important to me. Some of the feedback I’ve received over years on a Finnish miniature forum Sotavasara.net have also been a major source for encouragement.

JVS:How much time on average does it take you to paint a miniature from start to finish?

VM:If the figure is very simple and I’m doing a basic paintjob I probably can finish it in one sitting with no rush, if the mini has a lot of tiny details and different types of surfaces it should take a day or few. It is very hard to say any average without defining the level of painting.

JVS:What would you say is your specialty?

VM:I would like to think that my specialty is the placing of light and shadow which I use to imitate the directional lighting. I also like to strengthen this effect with strong contrast by using complementary colours. It’s an old technique but I aim to use it expressively to learn how to create almost impressionistic effect on a three dimensional object.

JVS:What has been your greatest challenge with regards to painting miniatures?

VM:There are many things I could put my finger on but I think the greatest challenge was the full wood elf army commission that I did last year. Painting a whole army on a such a high level in two months was very tough but I learned a lot during that time and it especially added a nice bit of dexterity to my blending/layering technique.

"Pulp City: Sister Bedlam"

JVS:What type and brand of paints do you prefer?

VM:Vallejo Model Colour range of acrylic paints is definitely my favourite, the drop-tip bottles fit perfectly with the use of a wet palette and the wide range of different hues is very inclusive. I actually painted my very first minis, the dwarfs I mentioned before, with VMC paints! After that I immediately moved to official GW paints and during last couple years, ironically enough, Vallejo started to conquer my painting table back.

JVS:What type of brushes do you use?

VM:I use EM-4 Kolinsky brushes sizes 1, 2 and 3. When I paint larger surfaces I tend to use some cheaper Schubert model brushes because they hold more paint and withstand my violent brush handling habit better. I also have a mystic sealed W&N Series 7 size 2 brush which I preserve for extreme emergency.

JVS:Are there any other tools you use?

VM:When painting I have Tamiya tweezers in my reach just in case if I need to remove a dust fibre from the mini. I also have needle to open clogged paint bottles and something to smooth sludgy paints.

JVS:What type of thinner do you use?

VM:To thin paint I just use tap water, it’s nothing fancy but works well. Some time ago, I used Vallejo glaze medium for glaze to prevent the puddles created by surface tension but now I use more brush control, precise thinning and drier brush when glazing.

JVS:How important is basing to the process of painting a miniature?

VM:For me basing is very important. When I decide to paint a mini I first start to think what type of base the character needs. The base tells a story and the mini tells a story and when these two are well combined with attention and care every finished miniature is like a small diorama.

"Yu Jing Mech-engineer from Corvus Belli"

JVS:Do you use sculpting techniques in your work? If so briefly describe them?

VM:I haven’t combined much sculpting with my painted works yet but nevertheless I’m practicing sculpting and have entered my sculpts in few competitions. My aim is to develop my sculpting skills and combine them with painting to be able to realize some personal ideas in a miniature form.

JVS:How important is photography in your work?

VM:For me the photography is the most important way to share my work with the wider audience, it’s also my primary way to receive people’s thoughts about my works.

JVS:Briefly, describe the process from start to finish that takes place when a company commissions you to paint a miniature?

VM:It’s very complicated so I thought I should make a little comic to explain how it happens!

To see more of Ves'a amazing work visit his blog "Static Painting" HERE.

"the dragon is from Ultraforge and the rider from the Asmodee's Hell Dorado range, Karl Franz on a griffon is from Citadel"

Thanks again Vesa, for the great interview and for volunteering to paint the grand prize winning figure!

My next insider interview will be a in depth look at what goes into creating and managing your own gaming company when I chat with Maciej Zylewicz, the owner and operator of Puly City!

From the Edge of Reality: Minature Contest

2009-08-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked through a group of figures and thought, `Man, this looks exactly like me...Well, except for the elf ears, the big huge sword or the long werewolf tail that`s sticking out of it`(Not that I`m saying your hairy or anything.)

You know you probably have, or you have, at the very least, found a figure that was the perfect match for a character, a friend or a spouse. There just seems to be that one figure that is almost close to perfection but it is lacking the true essence of who you really are and you would love to find a miniature that you can display proudly on your gaming table or desk that does.

Now you are probably wondering where I am going with this whole speel (and yes, I will be the first to admit that it sounds rather like a used miniatures salesman), but there is a plan to all this rambling and it simply this:

To announce a contest that I am having on my blog!

Yeah! A contest! Really!

But this isn`t going to be a contest like all other miniature contests, this is going to be a contest where the end result is you - yes you - being immortalized in a pewter miniature. Darn it...just a second...

(sounds of a struggle fills the blog...)

(Elevator Music playing)

Okay, sorry about that, for some reason a deranged used car salesman hijacked my post and I had to kick him off.

But he did have it right, I am having a contest on my blog where the winner will have the opportunity to be sculpted and finally cast in pewter (note: The likeness of you will be cast so don`t worry about the scalding metal...honest)

The main just of the contest is simple. Between now and August 31, 2009, send in a photograph of yourself in your most dynamic pose. You don`t have to be in a costume, you don`t have to have a prop and you don`t have to be holding one of my figures (although the latter may garner you some browny points, just kidding). Of course, you can do all three if you want.

All you need is a photo (G rated only) of you in whatever pose you want.

On September 1st, 2009 (or shortly thereafter), I will post all of the submissions on my blog and visitors to the blog can vote for their favorite photograph. The photo with the most votes will have a figure done of them and they will receive ten copies of the finished miniature.

So, if you have ever wanted to be immortalized in pewter and join the ranks of one of my favorite miniatures to date, "The Fanboy" , then send me your photographs to james_vanschaik@yahoo.ca.

You too can be like "The Fanboy"

And now for the boring legal jargon: By entering this contest, you agree to have your likeness reproduced as a miniature and waive any right to monetary compensation for this miniature in exchange for the agreed upon copies after it has been released for sale.

Note: This contest is for contestants that are 18 years and older.

New Rafm

2009-08-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry about the long delay between blogs, normally it is hard for me to find time to blog but the summer is especially busy for a sculptor. All the major trade shows means every client you have wants all their figures before the convention season.

I just thought I'd post photos of this Cultist Leader I did for Rafm. I thought it would be good to post photos of the greens and the metal version. I always like to see a figure in metal because it really looks quite different from a green. You lose most of the scratches and dents, and seeing a miniature without the colour variation that a green has gives it a whole new look.

You'll notice some slight differences between the metal and green. I tweaked her face slightly, fixing it up and filling it out. The spell effect is available as a limited edition so you can get the figure with or without the skull.

Here is a link to the Rafm site to find out more.

I will soon have my first behind the scenes game manufacturer interview I did with the owner of Pulp City up so stay tuned for that.

My Sculpting Tutorial

2009-06-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

Miniature Mentor has released the tutorial I filmed with them and it is now available for download. Basically in this tutorial I sculpt this figure from the ground up.

In the tutorial I start from a metal armature and progress through each stage including underpinning and musculature, clothing, equipment, hair, face, and hands. Throughout is a running commentary describing each step. Don't let the title or description "sculpting with green stuff" fool you. The techniques can be used for any type of putty and I use the same for procreate, brown stuff, and fimo.

The figure is also available through RAFM here so you can actually purchase the figure and have it in hand as a reference when you are viewing the tutorial.

Visit the Miniature Mentor site here to get the tutorial, just scroll down the list until you see my name and the figure.

Below is the excerpt from the miniature mentor site describing the tutorial:

"Miniature Sculpting with James Van Schaik is the ultimate guide to sculpting 32mm miniatures using Green Stuff. Learn from an industry veteran as he takes you through all the steps required to build this Anime Girl.

Miniature Mentor's Secrets of the Brotherhood series takes you inside the hidden art of miniature sculpting. Learn it all in this massive 6 HOUR tutorial. James covers every aspect of the creation of this mini from building the armature, to laying down the under-pinning to building up the muscle masses to finishing and detailing the face, hands, pouch, shorts and blouse."

New Pulp City Figure

2009-06-02T05:06:00.001-07:00

Here is the latest press release of the first figure I did for Pulp City. I posted the painted version and the brown. I really love the paint job they did for her. Here you can see three generations of a character. The first is the concept art I got from Pulp Monsters, the photos of the brown I sent them for approval, and then the final painted version they are using to market the figure. To learn more about Pulp City Hero's visit their site here.

Chainmail Part 2

2009-05-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got the chailmail photos done to update the chainmail tutorial. i had shot some photos last week but I accidentally erased them so i had to redo (just keep in mind I was a little rushed) them so here they are:

Step 1: Add the putty to the figure and smooth it out with a clay shaper.

Step 2: Add any contours BEFORE you cut the lines in. Use a round tipped clay shaper.

Step 3: Cut your lines or "grid" into the putty. If you want finer mail make the lines closer together, if you want large rings make them further apart.

Step 4: Add the rings by using a pin tool and poking holes side by side down each row. Insert your tool into the putty and rotate it outwards in a circular motion (be very careful!). Stagger or offset the rows to get the "weaved" look.

DONE! This is what it should look like (although this is a real rush job so I ended up pulling it off!)

Try it out on your own and experiment. You may run into other difficulties and if you need any help or have any questions feel free to comment and I'll help if I can. You can check out the previous chainmail tutorial here, it may help explain things as it has diagrams.

Update on Pulp City Stuff

2009-05-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

Here is some stuff I did for Pulp monsters. I had been meaning to get around to posting these awhile ago.

The first one is called Trail for a nice painted shot and his background go here, I had fun with the cape on this guy because it kinda reminded me of Spawn, it was challenging because I had to make it one piece so it would mold.

This guy is called Dead Eye and you can find out more about him here. Being a football fan I really enjoyed this one. I tried to get them to let me put a Steelers logo on him but they wouldn't let me :(. He really reminded me of bloodbowl.

This guy here is called Rook, check out the awesome paint job and background here
I used a mix of Brown Stuff and procreate on these. I like using the brown on armoured pieces so I can scrape it after it dries with a scalpel to get really sharp, clean edges. Maciej at Pulp Monsters uses RTV molds for casting his masters so I can use procreate without worrying about them blowing up during vulcanizing.

Check Back later today or Monday for an update on the Chainmail tutorial. I am doing a figure with chainmail so I will photograph the process and add them to the blog.

New Sculpting Tutorial

2009-05-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It's been awhile since my last post but what can I say, sometimes it is hard for me to find the time to update my blog. Thanks to all of you who have been patient.

I've been really busy lately sculpting for many different companies, soon you should see some of the fruits of that labour. I also was busy filming a sculpting tutorial with Miniature Mentor which I'm really excited about. For those of you who aren't familiar with Miniature Mentor here is a link to their site, check it out they do great painting tutorials.

The work I did with them is basically a tutorial where they filmed me sculpting a figure from the ground up. It is shot in amazing Hi Def and I provide a running commentary explaining each step as we proceed. I was amazed at the detail they managed to capture in the film, you can see every nook and cranny with amazing clarity.

The great part about it for me was that I got to sculpt whatever I wanted for a change.

Here is some photos of the figure I sculpted during the tutorial which will be available from Rafm later.

Mary Statue

2009-04-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I got the first prototype for the Mary statue in. Here are some photos of the finished product:

If you are interested in getting a copy email me. They are available finished like in the photos above or bare metal for those of you who want to paint it.

Sculpting Chainmail Tutorial

2009-04-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted a tutorial so I thought I'd do a quick post on sculpting chain mail. The following is an excerpt from my "Basic Sculpting" textbook I wrote awhile back for some sculpting lessons. It has been edited slightly from it's original version.

Step 1

Take some putty about 1mm thick and roughly the same size as the area to be covered, flatten it between your fingers and apply it to the area by gently pushing it onto the figure.

Step 2

Smooth out the putty making an even surface using your sculpting tool and clay shaper. Be sure there are no air bubble’s or seam lines and that the putty is thick enough. If there are any areas showing through you must pinch off a small amount of putty and apply it to the surface.

Step 3

There would normally be a slight hollow under the pectoral muscles. Add this contour by gently running your tipped clayshaper underneath these muscles. You want to create a smooth hollow.

Step 4

Now add the surface details. Start by taking your exacto blade and faintly cutting a grid pattern of horizontal lines about 2mm apart down the area until you cover it. This is your rows of rings.

Now you need to add the rings. Take your pin tool and gently poke holes along each grid line. Continue filling each row with rings until you have completely filled the entire area.

More Reaper

2009-04-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a piece I did for Reaper.I based him after the outlaw Josey Whales.

New Reaper Stuff

2009-03-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have been doing some stuff for Reaper, here are some photo's of A ghast figure:

Evil Genius and the Corporate Bail Out

2009-03-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a few funny videos that seem fitting realizing some of the news headlines recently.

The Invisible Man

2009-03-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to post some photo's of the figure I did for Reaper. This figure is part of their Chronoscape line and was a little challenging because I had to figure out how to convey the fact that the character was actually invisible.

Here he is:

I decided to use the drapery in his coat to help add the illusion of his hand being invisible, so I sculpted the point where his hand was as if he were gripping the lapels of his jacket.

Work in Progress #3

2009-03-04T05:16:00.000-08:00

Ok here is an update on the figure I am working on.

I finished the base of the smock the figure will be wearing. As you can see the rough underpinning has now been covered and I added the drapery of the smock. They key to sculpting drapery is to make sure the surface you are sculpting is completely smooth before you sculpt in the folds. This way you don't have to smooth out your surface after you add the folds and thus don't distort them.

The best tools to use for folds are clay shapers -see here- to learn more about clay shapers. Another good tool to use is a pin tool

Any Questions?

Work in Progress #2

2009-03-02T04:49:00.000-08:00

You'll remember a few days ago I posted photos of a couple of armatures. In that post I talked about the importance of underpinning and the "ground-up" method. See Here if you missed it.

This was one of the armatures that had been Bulked up:

I am doing this piece for RAFM miniatures.

Below is the same miniature. I finished the shoes and pants and added yet more underpinning to his smock to give it more depth.

As you can see the underpinning on the smock is still rough and is simply meant to add definition and to give me a foundation to work on later. If you tried to sculpt something like this without underpinning it first you would probably find that the putty would warp and bend in ways you didn't want it too. You would also find that you couldn't get a smooth surface without losing the shape you were trying to achieve. It would also be hard to get a sharp edge because when you applied a tool to the smock there would be no support underneath and again the shape would distort.

At this point I have also began to bulk out the shoulders and cut the head off.

Note: This figure in going to have separate arms and heads much like a GW space marine sprue, that is why I have taken the head off (just look at the ball socket at the neck to see what I mean).

DO NOT do this on a regular figure, you need to keep all the limbs and head attached to judge proportion properly. Normally if I need to cut a figure up in parts for production I sculpt it completely and cut it up after.

Next time I will post the next step.

Any Questions?

Second Favourite Tool

2009-02-27T04:34:00.001-08:00

One of you asked about the tool I used for edges so here it is. This is your basic run of the mill No.11 Exacto blade. The key to this tool is that the edge has been taken off and the tip smoothed out and then it has been polished using a dremel.

I use this for sharpening edges or trimming excess putty. It is also good for cutting panel lines and details in hard-line stuff like guns and machinery.

Any Questions?

Favourite Tool

2009-02-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

People always ask me what types of tools I use or if I have a specific type. Surprisingly, I only have about 4 tools I use on a regular basis, here is a photo of my favourite one:

This is a basic wax carver that you can get through most dental supply stores. Games Workshop also sells a similar tool. Here is a link to a site where you can find them :

http://www.usdentaldepot.com/categoria.php?c=577&sc=3030#nogo

The tool is the inlay carver. I use this for about 80% of all my sculpting and have thickened the handle using hockey tape so my hand doesn't cramp up. This tool is great for shaping and smoothing. I have also ground the edges with my dremel and polished the edge to keep the putty from sticking to it. You also have to make sure the tools you use don't have sharp edges because an edge will "catch" or "gouge" the putty when you use it.

Any Questions?

A Couple of Armatures

2009-02-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

Here are a few figures I'm working on. This is the basic stage where I've just added underpinning to the metal armature. One is going to be a body matrix so it isn't posed.

Underpinning is essential to all sculpting, it gives you underlying musculature, a base to work on so you have support, and adds depth to any shape you are sculpting.

As you can see I have basically added the underlying musculature to bulk out the figure. I will add details on top of the underpinning later. I always sculpt from the "ground up" so you can see I've started the footwear on these two first.

Any Questions?

54mm Virgin Mary Statue

2009-02-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone.

It's been awhile, but I've been busy. Here is some photo's of a statue I sculpted and donated to a fundraiser for my son's school.

Bloodrose

2009-01-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Happy New year!

Here is a sneak peek of one of the figures I did for Pulp City. She is some type of alien. This figure was very challenging and a lot of fun. The roses are sculpted on the figure.

To find out more about her visit:

http://forum.pulp-city.com/viewtopic.php?t=494

Introducing-Pulp City

2008-11-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to introduce you to the new company I am working for called Pulp Monsters. They produce an awesome superhero skirmish game called Pulp City. The concepts and art for this game are really fun to work on I love working with them. Here is a link to their site to go check it out:

http://pulpmonsters.com/heroes.html

The rules for this great game are absolutely free and it takes very little investment to start playing as it is a skirmish level game so you only need a few figures to start. If you like superhero's you will find something you like about Pulp City(one of my favourite parts about the website is the cool sound effects).

Keep an eye out for upcoming photo's of my stuff that I sculpted for them, I will post them as soon as legally possible!

End of an Era?

2008-11-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well as most of you have probably heard the plug was finally pulled on Wizkids yesterday. Imagine my surprise as I was perusing The Miniatures Page and saw the announcement. It was a complete shock to me as I had just finished having a great conversation with the product manager on Friday about future plans and commissions for Wizkids. I feel very saddened by the news after working on a product for so long (my first figures were in infinity challenge and I had just sent out some for B&B) and my sincere condolences go out to the employees of Wizkids who had this sprung on them.

I would like to thank all of the Heroclix fans who supported the game so much and made it such a success over the years. As a result your commitment has allowed me to keep sculpting the characters I love and feed my kids over the years by keeping me gainfully employed. It is such a shame as some of my best work was done for HOT and B&B which may now never see the light of day. I have to walk away with the knowledge that I can at least use them for my portfolio.

I feel very disappointed by the raw deal that many of the fans have gotten from the way this was all so suddenly yanked, you guys deserve much more for all the support and money you all have invested in the game over the years.

On a positive note, you never know this may be the best thing for Heroclix if it gets picked up by another company it may breath new and exciting life into it. It also opens up the property to any company willing to pay the licensing fees.

New Photos Uploaded

2008-10-22T14:29:00.001-07:00

I updated my Flicr page with some of the sculpts I did for the new Arkham Asylum set.
Check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24546626@N04/

Lyssa Drak was my favourite. The set was diffucult because alot of the characters I did were unknown's to me. In total I did 7 figures for it.

James

Thor

2008-10-18T14:45:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos of a Thor figure I did in my spare time. I really enjoyed this because it is rare that I actually get to paint one of my figures. This is for personal use only and will not be sold as a part of any product line.

New Tutorial Series

2008-09-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know I taught a beginners sculpting class a few months ago. I thought I would post some of the material that wrote for the textbook that I used for the course here.

Here is the first part that talks about some basic fundamentals that are handy to keep in mind when sculpting. (You may notice that the text refers to the reader directly, this is because I wrote it to address the students)

Level 1 –The Basics

Key Things to Consider When Sculpting

Before we start, I’d like to cover a few basic ideas that we all need to be aware of. Sculpting is an art and it takes years of practice to learn how to do. The one important thing to remember is that skill increases with practice and time. It is important for you to remember this when you look at not only your own work but each other’s work. Do not judge yourself by the quality of a sculpt or conversion that you have just done, ask yourself these important questions; is this piece better than my last? What did I do that worked out well or was easy? What did I do that didn’t work out? And the #1 question; what can I do to improve? The goal is not to sculpt a Bernini off the bat; the goal is to always strive to make each sculpt a little better than the last. Don’t stick to what I teach you, there are many different ways to sculpt something, there is no final word. Don’t be afraid to redo something you screw up or experiment with a new technique.

Most importantly don’t give up, one of the most important attributes sculpting requires is patience. I have had figures where I have re-sculpted the face over 5 times before getting it right. Sculpting requires an immense investment in time and you must be able to take that investment and flush it down the toilet if it goes wrong. You must learn to self examine your work with an impartial eye. This can be very difficult when you pour so much creativity into a piece, the personal interest you place in a sculpture is enormous and you must be able to see past that to accurately judge if a figure you do is good or needs improvement.

You must also train your eye to see in 3D. Examine the people and things in the world around you every day. Train yourself to look at the contours of each object you see, this can be something as simple as the texture of an orange or the pattern in the bark of a tree. Study people. Look at the folds in their skin, the shape of their bodies and the folds in their clothes. When you train you eye to see in this way you will subconsciously train your mind to recognize these different patterns and textures, which will in turn help you sculpt them when you are working.

Check your ego at the door. You must try to be humble. If you believe you know everything and are the greatest talent since Michelangelo you simply will not learn anything. The best way to learn is from other sculptors and they will avoid you if you have an attitude like this and certainly will not share their techniques with you. If you believe you are the best you will be blind to errors in your work and as such will never be able to improve. Eventually if you do seek a career in sculpting you will end up facing an art director who doesn’t approve of a piece you do and your ego will probably cost you the job. Your talent can only take you so far.

The Joker

2008-09-11T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I put the photos of the Joker I did for the Arkham Asylum expension up on my Flikr page. It is a bit different than the production model, they changed the scenery.

Here is a link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24546626@N04/

James

Interview

2008-09-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

I did an interview for a fellow artists blog. If you are interested here is a link to it:

http://www.john-cartunemansdoodles.blogspot.com/

James

Likeness Exercise

2008-08-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Greetings to everyone who missed me. I have been very busy during the summer finishing figures for the Hammer of Thor expansion for heroclix (26 figures in all) and after a short break I am back.

One of the hardest things to do on a miniature is a likeness and I like to try and practice it as much as possible. Here is my attempt at Luke Skywalker, I had to primer it in gray to get a good photo.

What do you think?

James

New Photos Uploaded

2008-07-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

Just a heads up to let you know I uploaded photos of my Young Avengers Hawkeye sculpt I did for Secret Invasion. Just go to my flicker account to see.

Deadlines

2008-07-09T05:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know I'm still alive. I've been busy with a deadline so it has kept me from posting for the last couple of weeks. I'm mostly caught up now so regular programming will resume shortly. One of the realities of being a freelance artist is that you often get to set your own hours but sometimes you have to work extra hours to meet a deadline; this means weekends, overtime, and holidays.

James Van Schaik

Vimy Ridge-Part Two

2008-06-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of my sons Vimy Ridge model project. We stuck to simple painting techniques, nothing too fancy because I wanted him to be able to do it himself. The board had a base coat of mud brown, one dry brush of graveyard earth highlight, and two washes to bring out the detail in the ground. After it was all dry he added flock and stones with white glue and water mixture.

The same went for the miniatures themselves, they just had a base coat of the overall colour of the uniform, then he painted the faces and hands flesh, the rifles and boots dark brown, and a wash of citadel flesh wash to add some depth to the figures.

He made the barbwire by wrapping wire around a wooden spool and then wrapping it around matchsticks for the posts. The roof of the bunkers were made from corrugated cardboard.

New Captian America Cameo in Hulk Movie

2008-06-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

I just came across this exclusive spoiler about the new Hulk movie. Apparently Marvel studios is continuing it's cross-marketing scheme with it's characters and has put a scene in the new Hulk movie with Captain America. Unfortunately the clip was cut from the theatrical version but http://www.comicbookmovie.com/ has managed to get their hands on the clip.

Warning: apparently part of the reason for it's omission was that the course language would bump it from PG to AA so beware of the harsh language; not intended for young viewers! Maybe they'll put it in the DVD.

Here is the video:

James VS

The Skills to Pay The Bills?

2008-06-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Often one of the most difficult parts of being a freelance sculptor in a industry where many of the companies have very little regard for the artist is getting paid. Add the fact that there are a lot of amateurs who are willing to work for next to nothing just to get their work out, and the end result is that those of us who do the job for a living often get undercut by people who don't depend on sculpting to feed their family and make money. Recently, the arrival of cut rate sculpting services from China has made the situation even worse. Some artists are independently wealthy or have spouses with high paying jobs and have sub-par rates as a result.

Often companies expect the artist to work for free and have the opinion that they are doing the artist a favour by giving them exposure. When you do ask for proper compensation they end up turning to one of the above mentioned cheaper sources. Often companies just don't pay their bills on time or put off paying for months on end. I don't know how many times I've had a company with long outstanding debts just leave for weeks on end without paying their bill. It's usually at times where you need the money like Christmas; the convention season is also a time when this is a common occurrence. I've often wondered what some of these people would say to their boss who left town the day before payday and said "oh by the way, I'll be off at Gencon this week so I'm not going to give you a paycheck".

What any artist should realize when they undercharge or low ball a price is that they are taking food from the mouths of my children, not just my own but every other professional sculptor out there who depend on their trade to pay the bills. Any new sculptors who low ball are really only hurting themselves because once you charge a company one price they will never, ever, give you a higher rate; you are just locking yourself into a low wage. There is always another desperate artist waiting to give them what they want for next to nothing.

The sad part of this environment means that there will be fewer and fewer professional sculptors in the gaming industry as it becomes more and more impossible to make a decent living from sculpting. The death of the metal miniature, and rise of the cheap, pre-painted mini sculpted by a cut rate, sub par artist from China will also drive many of the great sculptors into other lines of work.

My wife is a writer and unfortunately the writing Field is afflicted with the same rot that plagues the gaming industry. She found this video on one of the writing sites that she visits, which is an interview with Harlan Ellison and he eloquently sums up how I have felt for many years. My first reaction after seeing it was "Amen to That," then I wrote this rant. Here it is, he is talking about writers but if you swap the word writer for sculptor it is the same situation. I'm sure my peers will truly appreciate this.

One word of caution, this isn't a video to listen to at work or if you have your kids present.

James Van Schaik

Vimy Ridge Model Part1

2008-06-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite hobbies has always been terrain building. I think it reminds me of when I was a boy and my dad would take me to one of his friends house whose elderly parents lived in the upper story. His father was an avid model railroad enthusiast and his entire attic was converted into a giant model train display; complete with towns, mountains, and real working lights. I used to spend hours there playing with those trains and I guess that's why I like building terrain so much.

One of my favourite boards that I built was a section of Omaha Beach from D-Day for a huge game a friend and I ran over the convention season a few years ago.

When my 6 year old son's school sent home a notice about a model contest at the local museum I jumped at the chance to help him build a model. The criteria was that it had to be a significant person , place, or event from Canadian history. We gave him several examples and options to choose from like D-Day (one I personally was rooting for), the war of 1812, the Canada Arm, The Trans-Canada railroad, Terry Fox and Vimy to name a few. He chose Vimy because he liked the fact that it was the birthplace of Canadian National Identity and Pride.

I wanted to make sure he did the model himself so the only role I played in the making of this was using the sharp tools and showing him how to do each step, he did all the work himself.

Here is a scan of his blueprint. He wanted more machine guns and "Lasers" but I tried to keep it realistic!

Here is the first step after cutting and gluing the base foam shapes. The material we used was pink Styrofoam insulation. Once the layers were glued down he coated it with plaster of Paris to fill in the seam lines and create a rough "mud" texture. Once he layed the "PoP" down he just took some rough grit sandpaper and dabbed the surface to give it the rough look.

Once that was all dry he primed it with a base coat of white house paint.

Next post I'll add the painted photos.

Later

James VS

More Photos

2008-05-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hi
Just a heads up that I uploaded yet more photos to flicker.

James VS

Video Tomorrow and New Photos

2008-05-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

I will be posting a new video tutorial tomorrow. It would be up tonight but the downloads are messing up so I have to fix them.

I also uploaded new photos of Howard the Duck to my flicker page so go check them out.

James Van Schaik

Sculpting a Closed Fist

2008-05-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Ok At long last here is another tutorial.

I figured for this one I would do sculpting hands as that is one of the most common conversions used in modelling and one that is fairly easy once you get the hang of it. I apologize for the distance of the video but my recorder doesn't zoom in that close, however I tried to explain each part using my own hand as a reference point. Hopefully it is clear, if you have any

P.S. There is one more part to this that I am trying to upload, I may have to post it on another post. I apologize for the inconvenience but this program is very picky when it comes to video

Sculpting Lessons Begin Friday

2008-05-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder that my sculpting lessons start this Friday, there are still spaces available so if you are interested check out the link below and call the Comic Book Collector.
For more information and details for signing up you can see the original post on Sculpting Lessons here. Ignore the pre-registration deadline, you can enter right away.

New Photos Uploaded

2008-05-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hi all
Just added a bunch of cool photos to my flicker account. These include the Fantastic Four and some other cool Marvel stuff, I really liked working on these so go check them out.

Sculpting Lessons Deadline Reminder

2008-05-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder that the deadline for the Pre-registration for my sculpting classes is fast approaching. If you are planning on taking the course be sure to get into the Comic Book Collector and pre-register before the 14th. It looks like the class is filling up quite quickly so don't wait if you are planning on attending.

New Photos Uploaded

2008-05-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

I uploaded the photos of Spider Girl and the Super Skrull to my Flicker account today so be sure to go and check them out. They are part of the new Secret Invasion expansion set for Heroclix coming out in July. Once Wizkids previews anything that I have done I can release the photos to the public so be sure to check it regularity.

P.S. Don`t worry I`ll be doing another tutorial soon, I just have to figure out what.

Free Comic Book Day

2008-05-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

My sculpting demo at the Comic Book Collector went well on Saturday. It was great to see all the Heroclix and comic fans out in force and I'd like to thank everyone for their great compliments and enthusiasm. One of the drawbacks of being a sculptor is that you work alone most of the time and you don't get very much feedback on your work so it I really appreciate going to events like FBD. You get to meet the fans and get face-to-face feedback. Special thanks to the two Tim's at the CBC for having me.

Sculpting Lessons Finalized

2008-04-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

The Course Details are finalized so here is the updated information for anyone interested.

Have you ever wanted to sculpt or convert your own figures but didn’t have the knowledge?

Do you look at the pages of gaming magazines and wonder “how can I create a miniature like that?”

Have you been continuously beat out by other people in painting competitions who have entered miniatures with poor paintjobs but excellent hand sculpted conversions?

Now you can learn from professional sculptor James Van Schaik in a professional level class that includes a sculpting kit, full textbook for reference and over 25 years of gaming experience, 9 as freelance and staff sculptor.

He has worked for renowned miniatures companies such as Games Workshop, Wizkids, Ral Partha, RAFM Miniatures, and Reaper.

This is an eight week course and students will learn the fundamentals necessary to carry on to more advanced sculpting classes. Learn to sculpt: Hair, Straps, Fur, Basic Jewellery, Pouches, Skulls, Chainmail, Chains, Wood, Stone, Cloth and all the fundamentals of sculpting.

Spaces are limited so please reserve your spot at the Comic Book Collector today for only $200.00, plus $35 for the sculpting kit.
This is an excellent deal since it is a rare opportunity and other art courses, in comparison, can range in cost from $200 to $500 dollars.

Course will be held at:
The Comic Book Collector
779 Dundas St.
London, On
N5W 2Z6

For more information call: The Comic Book Collector at 519-433-6004, or jamesvanschaik@excite.com. Course Starts May 30th, and run Fridays at 7:30 PM, Pre-registration deadline is May 14th.

Sculpting Tip-The Design Phase

2008-04-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

Whether you are starting a project first thing you need to do is come up with a concept. A concept is a blueprint or guide for you to follow. Take some time to find reference for your project. If you are sculpting a character from comics or another source get as many angles as you can, include front back and each side. Take note of any equipment the character carries, if it is something from real life gather as much reference for it as possible. If it is a specific item created for the character again gather as much reference as you can find. The internet is a resource library you can draw from to find reference. Another great source for reference is your local library.
Once you gather all your reference you need to organize it and condense it into “cheat” sheets that you can refer to easily and display in front of you. I often use Photoshop to create reference sheets for each specific part.

At this point you need to take some time to consider each aspect of your project and jot down any notes you come up with on a rough sketch such as pose and height. If you are doing a conversion plan how you are going to alter it's pose. Record any alterations on the rough sketch. Plan out the details you want to add or alter and record it on your sketch. Plan out any other details like weapon, head or hand swaps. The rough sketch will give you direction throughout your project and help you anticipate any problems you may encounter.

How a Miniature Begins-The Armature

2008-04-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

For this weeks tip I thought I would show everyone how a miniature starts. I know this is a little advanced but I thought everyone would like to see how a figure is sculpted from the beginning.

The videos below show how I stretch and pose an armature and I go into underpinning a little.

The tools I use are simple miniature pliers and clippers that you can find at most hobby stores, and a pair of calipers which you can find here . Calipers are essential for measuring proportions so if you are serious about sculpting humans I'd pick up a set.

If you are interested in getting some armatures Reaper miniatures sells some Here. They also have some with muscles, these are good if you want to get a handle on how things work for practice but its always better to do it on your own.

As always if you have any questions feel free to post them and I'll answer them as best I can.

I apologize for the number of videos but I had to break them up into parts because blogger only accepts short length videos.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Upcoming Sculpting Demo

2008-04-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested I will be doing a sculpting demonstration at a local comic shop on Free Comic Book Day (May 3rd). Feel free to come in and ask any questions and bring anything you want signed.
Here is the Name and Address of the store:

The Comic Book Collector
779 Dundas St.
London, Ontario

Upcoming video

2008-04-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick heads up to watch out for a new video I did about armatures, I am still trying to get it uploaded but I have had some problems with the program.

Professional Sculpting Lessons

2008-04-09T05:37:00.000-07:00

The first course for my sculpting lessons will be starting soon in London Ontario at the Comic Book Collector.
Course 1 – Sculpting Fundamentals and Miniature Converting, is a 8 Week course and includes a sculpting kit that contains all the tools you need to start sculpting. This course introduces the student to the tools of sculpting. In addition, students will learn how to use the media (putty) and also learn how to implement many different effects and surface details. This course is designed for the miniature enthusiast who wishes to learn more advanced techniques to create highly intricate conversions or modeling projects. Students will learn the fundamentals necessary to carry on to more advanced sculpting classes that involves creating entire miniatures rather than conversions off existing miniatures. Some of the areas covered include:

Hair
Straps
Fur
Basic Jewelry
Pouches
Skulls and Skull Reliefs (shoulder pads detail etc.)
Chainmail
Chains
Wood
and more....

Space is very limited so if you are interested email me at: jamesvanschaik@excite.com to obtain more information about the course and pre-registering. As the deadline approaches and dates are set I will post more information.

Sculpting Putty Part Four- Drying and Storage

2008-04-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

The putties I described earlier all have the same properties and methods for storage and drying. You should only keep about an inch or so of putty out in your work area at a given time, chances are you will never use more than this amount on a given project. The rest should be stored in the freezer to keep it from drying out. If putty is left out it will slowly cure from the exposure to air and you will notice that your putty will have small lumps of hardened putty that will generally not mix and leave your putty with a rough, gritty texture. Make sure you "pick" out any such lumps before you start working.
Keeping putty in the freezer retards the natural hardening process so if you find you are working on a piece and have to leave for any reason before you have a chance to finish you can put the piece in the freezer and it will keep it from drying for a short period of time ( I wouldn't push it past 24hours). When you come back to work on the piece just pop it out of the freezer and in a few minutes it will thaw and you can resume work.

Drying
Once putty is mixed it will "air" dry within roughly 20 minutes. Air drying does not mean that it is fully dry, in order to completely cure the putty needs to be "cooked" in a oven or type of kiln that we sculptor's refer to as "The Cooker". This precision engineered piece of equipment is an amazing amalgam of common household parts that can easily be assembled by even the most novice modeler. Here is my cooker:

I know.. I know.. your asking yourself "how can I ever obtain the parts for, let alone construct, such a wondrous device?" Well here's how:

"The Cooker" Parts List*

1. A large empty coffee tin (don't waste the coffee! Drink it!)

2. A simple desk lamp or heat lamp (these are larger and may be necessary for larger coffee tins, you want to be able to rest the lamp on top of the tin)

3. 1 50 watt bulb (DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, use any higher wattage, it will melt your figure!)

Once you have gathered your part simply cut open one side of the tin with tin shears or similar cutting devise (be very careful here we don't want any dismemberment) as shown.
That's it your done!

To dry putty in the cooker just place it inside for about 20 minutes and the putty should harden. Brown stuff will harden to the point where you can shave or sand it and green and procreate will fully cure so that when you touch the piece it won't warp or distort. I recommend cooking any project at each stage before going on to the next to ensure that you have a solid base to work on and you don't accidentally smudge something you just spent a half an hour sculpting (trust me I've learned this the hard way).

Hope you enjoyed the tips on putty, oh and yes the photo didn't make it past the sensor due to NDA reasons.

James

Sculpting Putty Part Three- Procreate

2008-04-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

In this last post on putty I am going to cover one of the newer putties on the market- Procreate. Procreate is made by a company called Kraftmark, here is a link to their site http://www.kraftmark.biz/. From there you can find many suppliers. The average cost for a package is about 10.00.

The makers of procreate boast that their putty has the consistency of green stuff and will harden like Brown stuff, making it superior to both for sculpting. I have to admit that at first I had my doubts about these claims, after all how could such a miracle substance exist? After using it I can tell you that it does come close to the companies claims as possible. Since trying it I have switched to it for most of the sculpting I do. My only complaint with Procreate would be that while you can shave it slightly, it still does not compare to brown stuff when it comes to hardening. It is for this reason that I still use Brown Stuff for all my hardline sculpting which is still the best for that job.

It mixes and dries pretty much the same as the other putties. Add more hardener and it is thicker and dries faster, more softener and it takes longer to dry. I am not certain about the ability for procreate to be vulcanized as the company I work for at the moment uses RTV technology. A few years ago I did do a piece with procreate for a company and when they vulcanized it it warped and broke down from the heat however many companies seems to be using it.

My next post will cover storing, drying, and sanding all the different putties.

Deadlines

2008-04-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

Jus t a quick post to let everyone know I'm still alive. I have been very busy for the last while so I haven't been able to post anything, regular proramming will resume shortly.....

Sculpting Tip #2-Clay Shapers

2008-03-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

I thought I would continue profiling the various sculpting tools I use and picked one of the most useful - clay shapers. The clay shaper is an awesome tool used for smoothing and creating folds in clothing and many other jobs. Clay Shapers rank in my top three tools that I use and they are a must for anyone that is serious about sculpting.

You can find them easily on the web by doing a Google search for "clay shapers", be sure to order the size 0. The type I use are made by Royal Sovereign. The shaper comes in three different colored tips, white (soft), grey(firm) and black (extra firm). I use the black tipped ones the most although I do have a grey set.

Here is a link to the Royal Soviern website:

http://www.colourshaper.com/

There are five different shaped tips in a set. A flat tipped shaper that is great for smoothing out broad surfaces, a pointed tip which is used for creating grooves and folds, a circular "cupped" tip that I use for rounding off things, a wedge that is great for cutting lines, and finally a curved tip which I honestly haven't found a use for but I'm sure there is.

I decided to include a little tutorial video of the clay shaper in action. In this video I'm using the flat clay shaper to smooth out a figure I'm working on and a cupped tip to round off the "naughty bits". These tools are quite easy to use, to smooth with them you just run the tool across the surface of the putty in broad even strokes. Please note: the little munchkin in the background is my 3 year old son, he decided to add the commentary to the video. Also please excuse my stubby fingers, I'm still working on my cinematography degree.

Email Correction

2008-03-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

It was brought to my attention that the email address that I listed to send questions to had a problem so if anyone sent me any here is the correct email : james_vanschaik@yahoo.ca

Sorry for any confusion this may have caused and thanks to Derek for giving me the heads up on the error.

Sculpting Putty Part Two - Green Stuff

2008-03-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Today we are going to cover the most commonly used sculpting putty "green stuff". Green Stuff has been popular with miniature sculptors for many years. Also made by Polymeric, green stuff is widely available, here is a link: http://www.warehouse23.com/item.html?id=PSI000-23.

You can also find green stuff at most miniature companies however I would recommend doing some price shopping before you buy, compare the price to the length of strip you get. The product above is about a 2 foot strip (don't quote me on the length but I'm very close) for $12.00.

Green Stuff comes in a multicoloured strip (yellow and blue). The blue part is the hardener and the yellow part is the softener. When mixed in a 50% 50% ratio it will cure in about 20 minutes. Again if you use more hardener the putty will be thicker and harden faster; add more softener and it will have a thinner consistency and take longer to dry.

Green stuff has a very soft consistency to it. This characteristic makes it ideal for organic sculpting. It's great for things like faces, capes, hair, and other non technical objects. It is somewhat hard to master using green stuff (something I still haven't managed) but once you do it can hold very sharp features; just take a look at any of Tom Meier's work and you can see how truly amazing this putty can be in the hands of a master.

My only gripe about green stuff is that it can't be sanded or shaved once it dries. It is very unforgiving in this way. If you mess up a part or need to smooth something out you pretty much have to cut away the offending section and redo it.

Next up -Procreate

Sculpting Putty Part One-Brown Stuff

2008-03-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

On my other post anonymous asked the question: "What are your sculpts made with?? I.e. what kind of putty are you using, it looks like you use at least 3 different kinds and are there reasons you use certain ones?"

I have in total about four different types I use and each has it's own unique properties and uses so thought it would be a good idea to make a series of posts about each one.

The first we will cover is "Brown Stuff". The company that produces it is called Polymeric and it is readily available on the Internet. Here is a quick link to a supplier : http://www.warehouse23.com/item.html?id=PSI011-24. Other suppliers include Rafm miniatures and Reaper Miniatures just to name a few.

Brown stuff is a two part epoxy putty, the white strip is the hardener and the brown strip is the softener and when the two are mixed the putty will cure in about 20 to 30 minutes. Normally you mix the two 50% white, 50% brown. As with all expoxy putties a trick to remember is that your ratio of hardener to softener will determine the eventual density when it dries. If you want a harder surface for armor plates or technical pieces use more hardener, if you want more organic shapes or flowing texture for things like faces and drapery use more softener. The mix ratio will also determine how quickly it cures. If you are working on something that is particularly challenging that you know you want to spend extra time on use a higher ratio of softener; this will make the putty cure slower and give you more time to work.

The main advantage of Brown Stuff is that when it hardens you can sand it or shave it with a scalpel. If you want to sand it use a fine grade sandpaper. This characteristic makes it best suited to hardline sculpting where you require a keen edge and flat surface. I often use Brown Stuff for things like armor plates, guns, and other technical parts. I normally recommend Brown Stuff to beginners because unlike say green stuff, which can't be sanded very easily, if you make an error with brown sometimes you can rescue a piece by going back and shaving out rough spots and uneven surfaces. This is something you can not do with green stuff. Brown also has a thicker consistency than green stuff so it is a little easier to work with for beginners.

Next time I will cover green stuff.

Questions?

2008-03-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

Do you have any questions about sculpting, the gaming industry, or terrain building? Working on a project and need advice? Ever wondered how something works in the gaming industry like the production process. Any gripes, complaints or topics you would like me to discuss. You can post these questions or, if you wish to remain anonymous you can email them to me at:

james_vanschaik@yahoo.ca

(just add "knife's edge" to the header) and I'll do my best to aswer them.

James Van Schaik

Sculpting Tip of The Week

2008-03-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Each Wednesday (schedule permitting) I will post a sculpting tip. To start off the tips section I thought I'd begin with a valuable tool I use called a glue tip. These tools are used for applying resin or glue and are common in the jewelry industry. If you have ever seen a company logo pin with coloured resin, medals for kids sports with coloured centers it is very likely that the coloured parts is really expoxy that has been applied with a syringe. Here is what they look like (minus the putty handles I added):

These are readily available at most hobby supply stores. You can find a set here at Lee Valley tools http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=20003&cat=1,110,42967&ap=1 . This is a good set but the only drawback is that you only get a few different sizes of tips. I got my set from Rio Grande tools. You can also use mechanical pencil tips but you are limited to one size if you do.

This tool is useful for doing things like rivets, buttons, lace eyelets, and many other effects. They are very simple to use, you pretty much just have to press them into putty to create the above effects.

Here is an example of making a rivet with a glue tip on a squat that I am working on for a Space Hulk campaign I am playing in.

Step:1 The first thing you do is apply a small amount of putty to the place where you want the rivet to go, in this case it is on his shoulder pad. Press down on the putty to make sure it sticks to the model firmly.

Step:2 Gently press down with the tip into the center of the putty. Make sure you use plenty of lubrication (Vaseline works) or the tool will stick to the putty and pull it away from the figure and stick inside. Make sure you press all the way into the putty.

Here's what you should end up with. You can see the outline of the rivet and the excess putty around it.

Step 3: Next take a pin tool or exacto blade and gently pull away the excess putty. Be careful not to push toward the rivet- pull the excess putty away.

Presto! The perfect rivet making tool!

I used the same technique for the studs on his gauntlets. You can find these tool very easily, what you want to look for is adhesive tipped syringes if you Google them. I would highly recommend picking up a set because the have a multitude of uses and will improve your modeling projects immensely.

Inside the Sculpting Process

2008-03-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be interesting to go into the "making of" a miniature for the first few posts. Often I get asked how the sculpting process actually works overall. The first thing that happens is the planning process. The client will provide all the specifics like scale, desired pose, number of parts etc. Some clients provide full concept art that includes an exact pose and full turnaround art.

What is turnaround art you ask? Turnaround art is a drawing that includes the front, back and complete blueprints of any equipment like guns etc. A lot of gaming companies use this art because they need it commissioned when they design their game to get a unique look and include it in any rulebooks they produce. It serves a second purpose by allowing them to supply the art to sculptors if they produce miniatures for their game. Other companies that own major Intellectual Properties insist on turnaround art to control the quality of the property.

Turnaround art makes the sculptor's job easier because it cuts out a lot the research that I would otherwise have to do myself and provides an excellent guide. The only drawback to turnaround art is that it limits the sculptor's creative license and means that you have to follow the art exactly, which can be difficult when you are first starting out. The above photograph of the ninja is a piece I sculpted for Aberrant Games and is an example of a figure that I was given turnaround art for.

Often you are not given turnaround art, in which case the client usually provides a set of guidelines as to what they are looking for but otherwise leaves the details up to you. This is normally done for historical pieces or fantasy pieces where they will say something like" I want an elf with a bow". If the character is already established like a comic character, such as the figure below, or from a movie, the client will provide you with reference but not turnaround art.

So once I have the art, I get the scale from the client, which is usually in mm. This is provided by the client and if I screw up and go over the given scale, I am responsible to fix it. Scale is one of those skills that you have to constantly work on and develop, and it grows with experience.

When I first started sculpting, I struggled with scale and often my figure grew to be to big and I had to redo them but it is a natural part of the learning process that develops with experience.
By no means am I infallible when it comes to scale, but I have trained myself to watch scale and my figures usually match the specifications I am given more often than not these days.

Often a client will ask you to sculpt in a specific style. Clients usually have a complete range that is done in a specific style and will desire any new figures to match that style. This can vary from sculpting more realistic proportions to sculpting more cartoony or misproportioned figures. As a professional you have to be prepared to meet the needs of your client regardless of your own tastes.

The last thing you consider before starting a project is production requirements. This usually involves how many parts the client desires the piece to be when it enters production. This can effect the complexity of the pose because any parts of a figure that are on a different plane will need to be molded separately which increases the cost of production.

That's how a sculpt is commissioned, how it is actually sculpted is another matter altogether.

James Van Schaik

Welcome To my Blog!

2008-03-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog.

In this blog I will share with you the everyday experiences of a sculptor as well as modelling and sculpting tips and other insanity that goes on in the gaming industry. I will also offer and comment on things like industry ethics, iP rights, and current events taking place in the gaming world and offer an insider's point of view that is both new and unique.

Throughout these posts I invite you all to chime in with your own comments, the goal here is to create a environment where like minds can engage in a interesting and informative dialog about gaming.

Until Next Time
James Van Schaik