Any tips for sculpting body hair?

[sculptguy]

Does anybody have any tips for sculpting body hair (chest, arm, etc). I'm working with SS. Thanks

[Curt Chiarelli]

A really surefire way of getting professional results is to nail down your anatomy on the character you're doing and then bake it. Sand the surfaces down to refine it further. Now sculpt in the hair and once you've perfected the results, bake.

[Tommy Allison]

Speaking as a guy with a lot of body hair... I'd say the best way to do it, is to take your sculpt while it's still unbaked, and rub it on some hairy part of you. I use my fingers and palms mostly.

Hope that helps.

[sculptguy]

Thanks guys! I'm a hairy guy, too, Tommy. I like this idea. Never thought of it.In the past I tried rolling mini ss pieces in into hairs, but it wasn't very effective. Curt, I really appreciate the thread in which you discuss sculpting rates. In the past, I've contacted all the statue companies (Bowen, diamond, etc) , inquiring about a price range a sculptor could expect to be paid per sculpt, and none of them ever responded. The subject was always hush hush on these forums, too. I understand that a lot of people are reluctant to divulge this info (they see it as asking how much they make). But I was surprised that the statue companies were so closed-mouthed about it. I never asked them for an exact amount, just a fair price range I could expect to be paid so I could gauge if I could compete in the market and make a decent living. I used to be VERY slow (it once took me 4 mths to sculpt a piece) and was trying to determine if it would be viable for me to pursue this. Yes, I love to sculpt but you guys (as sculptors) know how much time and energy it takes to produce a piece. And love will not pay the bills.

[Tommy Allison]

I actually was kidding about using my hairy palms and fingers.

Just so you understand, I do try to be funny from time to time.

What I would recommend for sculpting hair, depending on the style, is use a stylus or scribe, and create the texture that you want with that tool. I have some specialized tools for creating fur and what not, that makes things easier, but I prefer to actually sculpt the fur, or hair, hair by hair with a scribe, or a spatula tool.

Hope that helps.

[sculptguy]

The suggestion didn't seem too far-fetched because yesterday I was wearing rubber gloves while sculpting a piece and when I checked out the back of it, the fingertips of the gloves had imprinted a reptile skin-like pattern onto the clay (because the fingertips have ridges for gripping).

I'll try not to be so literal-minded in the future