Making People "The how to" or rather "how i do"

[Tony]

I did warn you that i would post a "how to" on making Polyclay figures. The main reason is to show that its not as hard as people think.
Seriously im as artistic as a very non artistic 5 year old and my figs are not surposed to look real they are just population for my railway. the great thing about making your own is the scope is endless and you can make people that fit with your railway, hopefully you will give it a go and enjoy doing them as much as i do but to your own standard.
Cost wise you are looking at less than 50p a fig plus your time, I make 20----30 at a time because a lot of the work is repeatitive and its quicker to do the same process at the same time than to clear it all away after doing one or two
So what do you need

From left to right
1 Silver cooking foil
2 white spirit ,,,,,for smoothing any finger prints etc
3 scissers for cutting foil
4 Polyclay.......... this varies in cost a lot, Google "polyclay" and you will come up with loads of sites and makers in allsorts of colours i get mine from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350447342898?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 he is the cheapest i have found and its easy to work with and lasts a long time and 4lb is enough to do at a guess 50-60 people
5 Mug of tea though it will go cold while you are working
6 Various tools mainly sharp points of different sizes made from wood metal and plastic..... you can buy modeling tool kits but they are a lot of money and most of us have something better knocking around. I will go though different ones i use later
7 on the right are a roll of fuse wire and some brass rod these i use for making custom things people might carry so a solding iron will be needed
8 paint will be required later but im not worrying about that yet

OK im going to make 30 people in one go, I have a loose list of ideas but most will evolve as i go along, Mike Beaver creek and Stuart Marshman both want some hobos for box cars and i want miners for my quarry, Nudists for my beach, rock climers for my water fall cliff face and some hikers plus what ever turns up at the time
Size and scale is upto you i tend to go slightly larger so mine are more 16mm than 1/29 cos i like them to stand out and i like it that way but for reference i have the item they are to go with close at hand to compare with
Here is a Bachmann box car and a blacksmith i made earler and a silver foil skeliton which is the frame we start with (see next photo)
dont worry the skeliton will get smaller !!!!!!!!!

By the way im doing this "on the hoof" so to speak so what you see is how far i have got at any one time. hopefully i will have 30 skellingtons by the end of today and if all goes to plan 30 should take about ten days 2 hours a day before work But we will see !

So making Skellingtons
Cut foil into squares about 4"x 6" and then cut 3 cuts 1 at the bottom to make 2 legs and 2 at the top to make 2 arms and a head
scrunch the sections together tightly and you should have a five legged star (skelington)

ok im off to make another 29 please ask questions and il hopefull post the next stage tommorrow

Tony

 

[tramcar trev]

Bluddy brilliant... Im a bit that way myself ..I have no trouble with straight lines or things that can be machined but sculpting the human form is not on my list of things in my resume...

 

[ge_rik]

I'm awaiting the next installment with bated breath. I've had a go at trying to make figures and errr... let's just say I've kept putting it on the back burner (for about three years!).

This is as far as I got the last time .............

Any guidance will be gratefully received...........

Rik

 

[bobg]

Rik that's pretty good compared to what I can produce, I'm with Trev. No straight lines? No can do!

 

[mmts]

shoulda took the foil with you Tony......... docks closed again!!!

 

[Richie]

Good to see how you made them Tony as they looked fantastic when i saw them at Mikes open day

 

[Tony]

shoulda took the foil with you Tony......... docks closed again!!!

He he he im at home been called off with four hours pay and a few more than 30 skelies (Not Truckers skelies either) finished

You can see here ive taken one of the skelingtons and roled out some polyclay very thinly and cut it into strips and molded it around the skelington

Then forming it into the shape i want making sure it looks right...... The one climing the ladder has had fuse wire stuck in the hands and feet as hooks so he can hang on......... NOW is the time to bake your persons....... 15mins at no more than 130
When they come out they will be solid and fixed in the shape they are now and ready to recieve there clothing and heads

The one in the doorway will have a bottle of JD and a sack

Tony

 

[Tony]

I'm awaiting the next installment with bated breath. I've had a go at trying to make figures and errr... let's just say I've kept putting it on the back burner (for about three years!).

This is as far as I got the last time .............

Any guidance will be gratefully received...........

Rik

Rik i think the problem is you tried todo to much at once..:thumbdown: you will hopefully see once i have a solid frame i then normally do the trousers and shoes and bake them.... you then have something to hold without distorting the bit you have just done... i then do the top eg shirt , jacket etc as that normaly overlaps the bottom half that then gets baked lastly i do the head and hands and that i may do in 2 stages depending on the hair or a hat etc,, there are no hard and fast rules and each one can be different
i have just uploaded another update where i show covering the foil in a thin layer of polyclay and posing it in the shape you desire
i have showed it that way as its the best way to start but to be honest i often go straight from foil to trousers or overals because im used to it but the first atmpts were much worse than yours
Hopefully im showing the safest way to do it , you can then take short cuts and improve on my efforts
one last thing is scruffy is easyer than smart,,! scuffy has more creases i have lost count of the number of policemen ive changed it to tramps or workers because i just cant do realistic suits or uniforms
try again youll get there

Tony

 

[Tony]

Getting on Quite well top photo is box car hobos climbing man and doorway man with rough trouser coat

Using a wooden paint brush handle im pushing the clay around and creating creases turnups etc until it looks right

now the first coat of clay is baked hard its easyer to shape the second coat
Not worrying to much about boots,,,, but concentrating on pockets and zips, any buttons etc i then using a plastic paint brush handle to smooth out any lines i dont want )wooden handles stick to the clay and tend to tear it) any straight edges that need defining i use a stanley blade

Then below we have the two boxcar men with trousers and a mountain climber plus the first coat on some miners posed ready for baking i know they look naff but they will be fine trust me
Total so far is 30 foils made 15 with first coat clay applied and posed plus 3 with trousers in a total of three hours
*Note the first coat men have been squashed and pulled to the right size's (height etc) before baking but im not worrying about hands or feet to much yet

 

[beavercreek]

Lovely to watch the peeps being born Tony....nice job

I am off to ZZZs now...keep up the goodly work mate!

 

[ge_rik]

Rik i think the problem is you tried todo to much at once..:thumbdown: you will hopefully see once i have a solid frame i then normally do the trousers and shoes and bake them.... you then have something to hold without distorting the bit you have just done... i then do the top eg shirt , jacket etc as that normaly overlaps the bottom half that then gets baked lastly i do the head and hands and that i may do in 2 stages depending on the hair or a hat etc,, there are no hard and fast rules and each one can be different
Tony

Thanks Tony. You're right. I didn't bake in stages and as you say, while trying to get the next bit right I kept distorting what I'd just done. Let's just say I'd started inventing new words by the time I'd got to this stage. :wits: Mind you, I suppose I could have populated my railway with Frankenstein Monster lookalikes................

Rik

 

[Tony]

I mentioned at the start about white spirit and so i have not used it to show what you get if you dont use it (if that makes sence)
what it does is when sparingly painted on clay before baking is to smooth out any tags or sharp edges that bodies or clothing doesnt have but you get when trying to do details and that can be seen in the photos below,
I have done the upper bodies on the two hobos and you can see they look a bit angular and there are little tags of unwanted clay

It isnt a problem as i will lightly rub them down with sandpaper before i do the heads............. but as a word of warning white spirit will melt the clay so tiny dabs of spirit with a soft brush are the order of the day

So heads, hands and paint and two will be finished..........They look such a mess at this stage but be patient

Tony

 

[tramcar trev]

Very clever, I think I'll stick to cutting scones out with a scone cutter..... I"m inclined to cheat, I'll by 20 or so assorted figures via Ebay and then make silicone molds and cast them in resin, ok not as cheap but at least I can do it this way.....

 

[robsmorgan]

Thanks for posting this thread Tony, bought a selection of Premo materials around 6 months ago and been intending to get some people made this autumn/winter - Now I have no excuse with your excellent step-by-step..... keep it going!

Cheers
Rob

 

[Tony]

Very clever, I think I'll stick to cutting scones out with a scone cutter..... I"m inclined to cheat, I'll by 20 or so assorted figures via Ebay and then make silicone molds and cast them in resin, ok not as cheap but at least I can do it this way.....

Trev i have got a casting kit i recived for christmas and i keep saying il make figs that are easy to copy but endup making ones that (not sure of the word) are too multidimentionable (if that is a word) i think unless someone knows better i would need a 3 or 4 peice mold made
Tony

 

[tramcar trev]

Tony, not sure what material you're kit contains.. But yes the little figures are multidimensional eg arms and legs etc but the way to do it is to make a 1 piece mould and then cut between the legs with a scalpel so that they can be exricated from said mold. Or you could use the lead soldier technique and fill any really severe undercuts with a thin piece of this clay or similar which after you have cast your copy you cut away. You only need to make certain that there are no open loops that the silicone can join onto itself so it only need to be a thin section.... The silicone rubber I use is very stretchy and esigned for severe undercuts.

Sorry I'm not articulating myself very well....

 

[Glengrant]

Well, this brings back memories. I am in the same boat as Rik, tried it a coupla years ago, made such a hash of it that I dumped all the stuff in a box and put it on the back burner, as you say. One of the snags was I couldn't seem to get the scale correct, some guys were little shorties, a bit like me, other were about eight feet tall, but with tiny heads. Maybe I ought to have another go. I think the idea of making the body in separate parts is a good idea, and I did in fact make a row of heads. Maybe it is time, with the long winter ahead, to resurrect this project, after all, if you guys can do it, surely I can? Eh? I think the whole secret is not to take the thing too seriously, after all you can always hide the bad ones behind a bush or stuff them in a coach (some of my coaches will be a bit overcrowded!)

 

[Tony]

Well, this brings back memories. I am in the same boat as Rik, tried it a coupla years ago, made such a hash of it that I dumped all the stuff in a box and put it on the back burner, as you say. One of the snags was I couldn't seem to get the scale correct, some guys were little shorties, a bit like me, other were about eight feet tall, but with tiny heads. Maybe I ought to have another go. I think the idea of making the body in separate parts is a good idea, and I did in fact make a row of heads. Maybe it is time, with the long winter ahead, to resurrect this project, after all, if you guys can do it, surely I can? Eh? I think the whole secret is not to take the thing too seriously, after all you can always hide the bad ones behind a bush or stuff them in a coach (some of my coaches will be a bit overcrowded!)

Stick them on poles and setup an Amason indian tribal camp ... No seriously your right not to take it to seriously. You will find your own style coming though. And find yourself looking at the human body in a different way........... The way people stand, move, dress. The face is perticuly interesting you dont relise how many different shapes and sizes there are of all the different bits that make it up. And when you are doing one (i am at the mo doing the Climbing hobo) just move the tip of the nose slightly up and he becomes a different person
As for doing the bits seperatly i tried once and believe me the way ive said is far better : Get a solid frame so your work cant move and you have something to hold.... start with the trousers, bake it, then the top half etc then the head, and before long you will find yourself cutting corners and getting more adventurous, also something simple like a worker in overals is a good start and remember the detail like collers and ties. buttons, pockets. Movement is another good tip cloths move in the wind or when you move so put a crease or stretch line under the arm or elbo. get someone to wear a jacket and reach up or wave and see how it rides up from the waste etc but now im getting ahead of myself
Tony

 

[Glengrant]

Yes I think the baking in sections as you build the little blighters is a good idea, I think I might have gone on a bit longer in my earlier attempts had I done that. If you try to build the thing in a oner you start to mess up the bits you've already done, good thinking. Incidentally, I know I'm being a bit pedantic, but I recollect from the earlier "Mad" posts on this subject, the correct term for the skellington was "armature", why I do not know. Skellington sounds OK. Why, I've got a real one, most of what I laffingly call my own body is wrapped round a skellington.

 

[Tony]

Ok we nearly there now with the two boxcar hobos
NEXT the "Heads"..... Here i am lucky as im going for the full beard and hat,, ZZ Top scruff look,,,,, I Will tackle normal face detail on another fig later

Here i have shaped a blob of clay in a sort of oval facing to the side, Quick"Tip" people dont always look straight ahead and its more intresting if your person looks slightly to one side

Next using my trusty sharp wooden paintbrush handle 2 eye slits from each side roughly halfway up the face with a small gap for the bridge of the nose...... Next using same handle with the tip in the same place (corner of the eye) but pointing up i push in making the side of the nose then role out over the cheek and do same on other side you should have what looks like a norman helmet with a long nose guard.

Next lay the handle across the face under where the nose will finish and make a grove from one side to the other pushing the nose up a bit if you want. you can the with a small pointed tool make a mouth and a dimple on the chin,

Next 2 tiny and i mean tiny blobs for the eyeballs pushed and molded into the sockets

Hey presto you have a chinaman. it will look different everytime. Not to worry althis is to be covered with a beard

so the beard is just a flat strip of clay That you press on with a point (i use the wooden handle again)

You can now have great fun pulling and proding the clay with the tip ( Note the smaller the tip the neater the hair will be )
I use this technic on the hair on the top and back of the head pulling it about and over the coller using the clay that is part of the head
Now our china man looks like father christmas

Ok nearly finished
A HAT
These are so simple.... Just a flat piece of clay placed ontop and then with your tool push down around the shape of the head
After all hats fit the shape of the head so it works for me

one last thing cut the brim to shape with scissers and flaten the edge so its not that thick

Turn up the brim like a stetson and a grove down the center

I just need to cover the wire hooks with hands give them a final bake and then we can paint them woop woop woop