Beastman WIP (my first sculpt)

Bonehead · Beastman WIP (my first sculpt)

Hello everyone. I started my first sculpt of a Beastman yesterday.
I used a Reaper beginning dollie for the armature and extended the legs a bit. The mini is 30mm in height. Here is a pic.

So far just the lower legs are done. This was not as easy as I thought and took me quite some time. I should have bent the right knee more outwards but hope I can work around that with greenstuff 'cos for now his right lower leg looks a bit weird and contorted (not sure if you can see it in the pics).
I'm undecided what to do with his arms for now. Maybe a ball in his right hand and his left arm pointing somewhere in a typical thrower pose. Or perhaps a chainsaw.

More pics will follow.

All criticism and suggestions are welcome.

Hoomin_erra

Not sure about the facial expression, looks a bit blank.

Igor Tahavanale

Bonehead

brownrob

give him a saw!!!!

Hoomin_erra

Bonehead

Did some work on the legs. Not completely satisfied with the result, though. I think I put too much greenstuff on him. Well, it does not look so exaggerated on the mini as it does in the pics and the muscles are not finished yet. So I'll see how it develops.

Maybe I will cut away and rework some parts later. Any tips from the more experienced sculpers?
Actually I have no problem with him being a bulky beast. Oh, and I think he will get a chainsaw.

fen

I was quite excited about this, until the Chainsaw came into the picture. I don't like beastmen with chainsaws, it just doesn't work for me.

Still, I'll be interested in seeing how it takes shape (up until the point you start work on the chainsaw)

Bonehead

The final decision on the arms will be made when everything else is finished and I see what fits most. I could also sculpt two sets of arms to choose from. That is if he is good enough to get cast.

Bonehead

And here is another shot next to a normal Beastman for comparison.

Bonehead

Update! More muscles.

Don't know if all the muscles are right. Didn't use any anatomy reference. I just say he is a mutated Beastman who spent too much time in the gym.

Urb

I think you have to over exaggerate the porportions to achieve any effect when miniature sculpting. For example look at the size of weapons. Ever see a porpotionally scaled sword on a miniature? Looks damn small doesn't it?

Anyways. Looking great so far. I like how the quads look but I think you need to build up the back of the calves a bit on the back. Normally I wouldn't say anything but you are doing such a nice job it would be a shame to miss some of the details.

Keep up updated!

Bonehead

Thanks Urb. The back is not finished. I had to take a break and let it dry. Damn those fingerprints.

So, I'll work on the calves next.

aerofool

That's a bang-on job! Looks better than my first attempt at sculpting anything!

fen

What head are you going with? I hope to see something a little more like the newer Beastmen (or the original citadel ones) rather than a duplication of the FF style goats.

Bonehead

Darkson

Not the best pics, but some like these (dog-faced, apes, insects - not all with horns).
http://www.solegends.com/citcat88/0205rocbeasts.htm
http://www.solegends.com/citcat88/0206rocbeasts.htm
http://www.solegends.com/citcat88/0206rocbeasts.htm
http://www.solegends.com/citcat89/c890220chaoschamps.htm (always like the guy bottom left)

http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20280rcbeastmen.htm
http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20281rcbeastmen.htm
http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20282rcbeastmen.htm

"Chaos is very random, blah, blah, blah" so why only goat heads?

Bonehead

Thanks for the links. Some great varieties there.

fen

Darkson

Bonehead

I'm nearly finished with his legs now. Just some fine tuning and smoothing to do. After that I'll add some fur.
Can't get the greenstuff as smooth as I wanted to. I think I'll leave that for the pro sculpers.

The legs now look huge compared to the torso.

Bonehead

Another update. I started with the upper body.

The pics are a bit dark and I have not much work done but I thought I put the pics up anyway for the full step by step.

Justice

looking aces so far! I've been thinking of doing something simlar myself for a while, thoug probably a Satyr rather than a beastman (just cant get off of the greek vibe!)

Only thing I'd say is watch your anatomy, the calves are almost starting to look bulkier than the thighs, and if you intend to further bulk the thighs be carefull the legs don't get too hefty! Try gettin some animal anatomy books I got a good one cheap on amazon, I'll post a link when I get a chance!

Keep it up, it'll be the muts!

Bonehead

Thanks Justice. I got e few problems with the calves. One was too big so I added some more GS to the other one which then was bigger... Still not finished with the thighs but left that for now and will later work on them when I add the fur. It also appears more odd in the pics than it actually is.
It was strange to look on the mini with the huge legs and the small torso so I decided to bulk up the upper body first and then see where I can take off excessive muscles etc.

If some of you think about sculping for yourselves I can only advise you to just start right away. It is so much fun and even when I know this won't be a masterpiece it will be something I could be proud of. I had the idea to work on a second mini alongside this one but I think then it would take too much time to get one finished. The ideas are there and this will definitely not be my last sculpt!
And a Satyr is a cool idea.

Bonehead

One little step further.

Hmm. Always looks so unclean in those big pictures.

Bodhi

I think this is looking great! Smoothness is very good I think. The only thing would be that the transition from legs to groin and from legs to butt seem a bit TO smooth. You need some crevices at those transitions. But my guess is that this is just because you haven't finished the belly and butt musculature yet.

Also the ilitibial tract and the vastus medialis are far to big in relation to the rectus femoris but that seems to be far to common with beastmen and demonic characters so perhaps it's intentional?

Chairface

Bonehead, I'm incredibly impressed. The muscle structure is looking fantastic!

Bonehead

Some work done. His sixpack.

Bonehead

Not much done recently but I have one problem. Maybe you can see it in the pics.
There is a small crack in the green stuff on his left thigh. I think I stressed the legs too much while I sculpted the belly. I'm not sure but I think the armature inside might also be broken. What is the best I can do now?
Should I break the leg off and glue it back on? I heard that glue is not appropriate for later casting. Could ruin the mold or something.
This part will get another layer of green stuff anyway (the fur) but I'm unsure if it will be enough to hold the two pieces together.
Or is the best I can do now to pin it again and "glue" it together with green stuff?

Thank for any help in advance.

GalakStarscraper

Definitely not glue ... super glue actually melt during the heat of vulcanization and then bad things happen.

The green stuff fur should I believe actually be enough to keep this in one piece.

Galak

Bonehead

Ewan

I've heard that superglue can be ok during casting IF it's completely covered and not directly exposed to the heat. Personally, knowing that superglue can go wrong in a mould would keep me from using it in a sculpt though.

Bonehead

I put more mass to his upper body. This takes longer as the legs. A not so interesting step but I show it anyway.

djengis_khan

damn thats looking very good!
If you finisch him nicely he can be casted!

Now get back to working on him!

Djengis

Darkson

Have yo decided on a head-type yet?

Bonehead

IronAge_Man

Why not just include two or three heads to choose from, like Heresy do?

Bonehead

Darkson

Sculpt the different sets of arms and heads, Impact would just need to supply one or the other (so 4 variants available, depending on which you order). No need to do a Heresy, and supply ALL the heads and arms with the fig (that's not a knock on Andy btw, as I'm sure the extras will come in handy).

Bonehead

One arms set will be a chainsaw. Could very well be used for other conversions.

GalakStarscraper

Bonehead

I will go multipart then.
Just repaired his broken leg.

Bonehead

Worked on the muscles between the belly and the armpits. I like how his left side turned out but on the right side the muscles are too wide afar of each other. Did not really come out in the pics but somewhat bugs me. Do you think it looks ok or should I rework this part?

The arms will be sculpted on and the hands will be two sets to choose from. He will get one shoulderpad (left) but there would be no other good way to conceal the joint between right arm and shoulder when glued together with a seperate arm and I want to leave his right shoulder bare.
I'll leave the soulderpad blank so a number can be painted on there.

Here are some example pics of what I'm up to with his pose when he is finished:

Imagine a chainsaw on the right one.
The legs have the right stance and I wanted his head to be turned to the left a bit anyway. Only thing is that his arms won't be clinging to his body as in the pics. Hope that's no problem when casting the mini. Undercuts and all that...

Norse

Bonehead, the latissimus dorsai muscles should be shaped dependant upon the position of his arms.. the reason his back muscles look a little weird is because we don't yet know how his arms will be positioned..

put in some wires for his arms and then we will know how his back ought to look...

does that make sense??

Bonehead

Bonehead

Just got an idea. At first I wanted him to hold a chainsaw in both hands what limited the possibility for alternate hands, but when I give him a saw in only one hand I can do whatever I want with the other arm.
Also I realized he looks very similar to Heresy's Nether Lord and so why not go that route? Just as I initially wanted his left arm to look like.

The other arm could hold either a ball or a saw (a real chainsaw and no sword-like stuff like all the 40k guys have).

Norse

based on the Netherlord pose I think his muscles look fine right now..

Bonehead

Yes, seems fitting. So I'll use Andy's work for inspiration for the pose. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Bodhi

Bonehead

Bonehead

More pics:

'tis not as easy as it looks.

fen

It's looking quite nice.

Now my first anatomy critique. There is a clear twist in the torso away from the center line of the legs. You have the abs sitting in a straight line downwards, this would be correct if the legs were centered, but they're not, the left one is back. So really the abs should be twisting slightly towards the right (in the photo) at the bottom (to allow them to line up with the muscles of the groinal area.) Of course, that's a tricky thing to acomplish without ending up overexaggerating,and this will not be so much of a problem when clothing is added.
Still I'd certainly suggest a thickish belt with a reasonable sized buckle and a loin cloth. That should conceal the slight jarring feeling of 'wrongness' I get when I look at that area atm.

Bonehead

You're right. Does not look so natural.

A big belt and buckle is ok for me. I also thought about cutting the torso from the legs and repositioning it, turning it to the left but, but I fear that could destroy many hours of work. I'm much slower at sculpting than at painting and I am a very slow painter. But maybe I'll do it. Or would fur be enough to cover that part.
Another thing is that his left shoulder should be slightly lowered opposed to the right one, well, when he has shoulders.
I have some problems with his upper body in general. I is too two-dimensional for my tastes. I just hope it looks better when I've finished his back.

Hmm... Just looked at it again. I can try to cover the muscles with a thin layer of GS and try to work the twist in. A bit fiddly but could work and I can still remove his arms. The wire is put loose into the holes and not yet greenstuffed into place. If it looks crap I could scrape the GS off again.

For now I decided to let him rest for a bit and work on other miniatures. Sometimes it is the best to take a break and review the work later with a clear mind. And I need to paint some figs for X-mas.
But when I have some GS spare I'll add a bit here and there.

fen

Yeah, don't rush it. Have a look at it and consider if clothing will solve the situation.

I certainly wouldn't go with cutting the torso if you can avoid it, because the pose as is works. Just take a little time over christmas, consider the options and then go with whatever seems best.

With regards to the upper body, it's the shoulder blades, collar bones and upper back-neck muscle that are missing. Just have a look at a few body builders/sportsmen/martial artists front and back and you'll see. But get the arms and shoulders in first.

Bodhi

Bonehead

Oh, I know that. You try to make something better and the more often you try the worse it gets.

Morglum Ironhide

Looking very nice so far, and as far as I'm concerned, variety is ALLWAYS a good thing so some extra heads and arms would be great!

Bonehead

The beast will have to wait a bit longer. Don't have time for the hobby right now.