MagicByLeah

  • Home
  • Sculpt-N-Blog
  • About Leah – Behind The Magic
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Baby Sculptures OOAK / Fairy Babies / July Fairy Building The Armature

July Fairy Building The Armature

July 17, 2012 by MagicByLeah 9 Comments

July Fairy Baby measuring head

My polymer clay July Fairy baby finally has a cured (baked) face and is now ready to get a matching body. If you missed the facial sculpting process you can catch it here:

  • Part 1 – Sculpting the Baby Head
  • Part 2 – Sculpting the Facial Features

Measuring the Baby in Heads

Figure sculptures and drawings are typically measured in heads. An adult sculpture would measure 6-7 heads tall, and a goblin or troll may measure just 5 heads tall. My fairy baby, at less than 1 year in age, should measure approximately 4 heads long. That comes to 1 head-length for the head itself, and 1.5 head-lengths each for the torso/body area, and legs.

The baby’s head measures approximately 1 inch tall, and so the entire sculpture should be no longer than 4 inches total. The arms should be as long as the legs, at 1.5 inches.

Building the Body Armature

The armature is the internal skeleton of the sculpture. Yes, even fairy sculptures require a strong skeleton for structure and support. I created the fairy’s armature using wire for the frame and aluminum foil for the bulk. The bulky internal skeleton allows me to reduce the total amount of clay used and thus the overall thickness. Thicker layers of clay must be baked for longer periods of time increasing the risk of burning, cracking and more.

I’ve decided to try a new armature style, building a wire frame instead of my previous ‘stick figure’ style armature. My hypothesis is that this style will secure to the wire much stronger than my previous armatures. The more secure the skeleton, the easier it will be to sculpt. In the past I’ve had issues with the foil moving around and distorting my clay.

July Fairy Baby body armature

July Fairy Baby measuring body armatureJuly Fairy Baby complete body armature

Alas I am unhappy with this armature for 3 reasons.

  1. I build the torso to exactly 1.5 inches, and forgot to account for any bulk that will accumulate when I add foil and clay. The extra padding will result in a much longer and distorted baby.
  2. I forgot to allow for neck room. True a baby doesn’t have ‘that much’ neck, but I left no neck room at all.
  3. Wires, you can’t live with them, can’t live without em. The wires were getting in my way. Yes they are needed, but they are also difficult to sculpt around.

I’ve decided to pose the baby laying on her side as opposed to her back as originally planned. This will allow for the inclusion of a brilliant set of wings.

Keeping all this in mind I shortened the torso armature to allow for extra padding, and removed the leg and upper arm wires. Since she will be lying down the supports for upper arm and leg are not as important. I will keep the lower arm wire to give her a resting surface.

July Fairy Baby smaller armatureJuly Fairy Baby cutting armature

The torso wire now measures approximately 1 inch in length.

Adding Foil To The Armature

July Fairy Baby foil for armature

I don’t pre-measure the foil. Not ideal I know, but I have yet to figure out a proper method. Instead I just add crumpled strips of foil until I am happy with the results. I added a block of crumpled foil inside the wire and squeezed till it was secure in place. I then wrapped the wire and foil with more layers to keep the entire thing secure and pad the bulk at the same time.

July Fairy Baby wrapping armature in foilJuly Fairy Baby foil on armatureJuly Fairy Baby armature 2July Fairy Baby chest armature

 

July Fairy Baby torso armature

A few more strips of foil and the armature looks set. I used pliers to squeeze it all together. This will minimize any shifting later on. (I was super-careful near the face so as not to break the ears)

The armature is all set. time to add some clay…

To be continued…

Part 1 Head Part 2 Sculpting Face Part 4 Sculpting body

Filed Under: Fairy Babies Tagged With: armature, fairy baby, foil, july fairy, wire

MagicByLeah e-Newsletter

How does a polymer clay fairy get its wings? Which tools are used to create a micro-mini mermaid? Click HERE to sign up for the MagicByLeah email Newsletter and stay up to date with my latest sculptures and progressing magical creatures

Comments

  1. Miriam Rivera says

    March 30, 2014 at 7:35 AM

    beautiful works, thanks for sharing …..<3

    Reply
    • MagicByLeah says

      April 1, 2014 at 11:09 AM

      Thank you Miriam

      Reply
  2. Miriam Rivera says

    March 30, 2014 at 7:41 AM

    wonderful work!!!…thanls for sharing

    Reply
    • MagicByLeah says

      April 1, 2014 at 11:08 AM

      Thank you Miriam

      Reply
  3. belinda says

    May 6, 2014 at 3:31 PM

    Hi love your tuts where can i find the picture of baby u are useing to measure your wire form

    Reply
    • MagicByLeah says

      May 10, 2014 at 11:17 PM

      Thank you Belinda. I get my models from this site: http://magicsculpture.com/

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search MagicByLeah

Join The e-Newsletter

Be the first to know when there is a new blog post, sculpture, or tutorial in the works. Click HERE to Sign Up for the MagicByLeah e-Newsletter

New Resource Guide

My Personal TOP 5 Polymer Clay Resources including how I save 40% on polymer clay Send Me Top 5 Polymer Clay Resources

Navigate This Site

  • Animal Sculptures (6)
    • Birds (1)
    • Bunnies & Rabbits (2)
    • Dogs (3)
  • Baby Sculptures OOAK (11)
    • Fairy Babies (7)
    • Goblin & Troll Babies (2)
    • mermaid baby (1)
  • Challenge Contest Entries (1)
  • Fantasy Sculptures OOAK (21)
    • Babies (3)
    • Elves (4)
    • Journey through Fairies Gnomes & Trolls (12)
    • Trolls (1)
  • Learning To Sculpt (2)
  • Miniatures (3)
  • OOAK Art Doll (1)
  • Polymer Clay Jewelry (6)
    • Beads (1)
    • Pendant (2)
  • Techniques in Sculpting (12)
    • Mokume Gane (4)
    • Polymer Clay Canes (2)
  • Tools, Tips, n Resources (4)
  • Updates (1)

Follow on Facebook

Common Tags

angelina film armature baby face bodewell bookend christmas elf clay bunny clay cane clay face clay pen clay support deni convection oven dog sculpture fairies gnomes trolls fairy baby fairy door fairy door bookend fusible film genesis paint goblin baby july fairy mokume gane OOAK pasta machine polymer clay polymer clay baby polymer clay dog polymer clay earrings polymer clay face polymer clay fairy polymer clay jewelry polymer clay pendant polymer clay tools polymer clay tutorial premo sculpey sculpting face skinner blend smiley face cane tiny canvas Valentine Valentine's Day wire armature YouTube video YouTube Videos

Copyright © 2021 · Agency Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in