Recently I posted a lens on squidoo about making an armature for sculpture. If you do much figure sculpting, you may want to check it out.
Making an armature for your sculpture is so important for various reasons. It adds structural support, strength, and durability to your final product, ultimately helping to increase the life of your sculpture.
Many sculptors use wire, but there are other products you can use, such as Magic Sculp. This is a two-part epoxy that air dries.
If you want to use wire, you can pick some up at your local craft or hardware store. 20-22 gauge usually works pretty well for most sculptures, unless your are making something more along the lines of a miniature. Then you may want to go with a 24 gauge.
Also play around with paper clay as an armature for your sculpture. Once it's completely dry, wrap with some masking tape before applying any type of polymer clay. I would still recommend using a wire armature underneath the paper clay for added durability.
I go into a little more detail on my lens about this, but remember, there are probably dozens of different ways to go about making an armature for sculptures that you complete.
As always, make sure your workspace is clean and dust free. Also make sure you have a good selection of tools, especially for cutting wire. A good, strong pair of scissors usually works well for smaller wires (22 gauge or less), but for the thicker ones, you'll want a pair of wire cutters.
Please feel free to read my lens on how to make an armature for sculpture, and leave any comments. Thanks for visiting!
