Don’t neglect your planning!

I know it’s no fun to be technical and careful; we’d all much rather be getting our fingers and hair into our clay, throwing it around the studio gleefully (or is it just me?), but it’s better to stay somewhat disciplined. Most of us aren’t making fine art pieces in which artistic license is the law (which can mean there is no law!), but rather we’re modelmakers who are trying to realistically and accurately portray the horse.

Have fun!

Does this contradict what I just said? No! Most of us are doing this whole thing for a hobby, an extracurricular activity, which should mean we’re doing it for enlightenment, relaxation, whatever. Nobody likes an artist who’s too serious and stodgy. They’re just plastic horses, after all. Play with different poses and builds, different hair styles. Just the act of exploring your equine knowledge and applying it to your very own creation can be a blast. Sculpt a weird thing once in awhile.

Armature is king.

Spend lots of time refining this stage, or you’ll really regret it later. It’s hard to bend deep internal joints back into the clay when they’re sticking out at your stifles and humeruses (humerii?).

No squashing!

You will get frustrated. It’s not a matter of if, but when. When you do get frustrated and in a destructive mood, put the horse down and walk away! Leave him for a couple hours, or days, or weeks and work on something else. When you come back he’ll either look great, or you’ll see exactly what’s wrong with him and will be able to fix it. Frustration comes from knowing there’s something wrong, but not being able to make it look better, no matter how hard you try. So go away, come back after having released your tension and having learned more about the problem area, and you’ll experience an “Aha!” moment.

In the meantime, go hack up a Breyer to let off some steam.

Use temperature to your advantage.

Wax and oil-based clays will become soft with the application of heat, and hard with cooling. So if you need to do large work quickly (like laying masses of clay onto the armature, or applying a big-hair mane) putting a block of clay in the microwave for half a minute makes a huge difference. Or use a hair dryer on the model itself if you need to make big structural changes. Be careful though, because when in the microwave too long the inside of the block will melt first, and you’ll break through the skin into this boiling, runny mass! Not nice.

If it’s a hot day and you’re having a heck of a time with details like ears or nostrils or feet, put the model in the freezer for half an hour to firm up your working surface.

Anatomical notes

Keep it real! Here are some common mistakes.

Cannon bones really are very, very skinny from the front.

Horses do not have eyes like frogs! Their eyeballs are the largest of any land mammal, but most of the sphere is buried.

No, nostrils aren’t ALWAYS flared. Look at a real horse once in awhile. Go here for a demonstration on nostrils.

Muscles aren’t always flexed and bulging with veins! Yikes! If the horse has been shaved for a show, or has had a strenuous workout, veins will show up all over the body. Otherwise, go easy on their definition or they’ll look grotesque.

When viewed from above the horse is basically pear-shaped. Keep this in mind, and look at your sculpture from all angles often.

If you are an artist who is just starting out with 3-D, or an old-timer who really knows her stuff, and have questions or comments about any part of the process, please always feel free to email me and we can discuss horsey things.

Or you can just wimp out and go home. I won’t tell.