A few months ago I briefly talked about wanting to try a new process for sculpting. One that was hopefully going to take me to the next level in detail and eliminate the “waste” mold step. Well here we are and he is finished. After countless days learning and obsessing over Z brush I think I’m finally getting the hang of it!
I really like sculpting in clay. From wiring my armature to starting to blocking out different body parts. When you create with your hands there is something just that cannot be replaced by a computer. However, clay has its disadvantages. For one when it comes time for casting you must make what is called a “waste” mold. It’s essentially a mold before the final mold so you can get a rough copy of you sculpture in a solid form. It is rarely clean and need touched up and prepping so a proper “master” can be made that is suitable to make a multiple part mold from. To get clean seems its needs to be shaped around the horse. That is extremely difficult to do when you have cut the halves into a block of silicone rather than pouring multiple parts. To make a multiple part mold you need to use clay to sculpt around the thing being cast and block off portions. Using clay around clay will just damage the sculpt. A“waste” mold can also be extremely costly and time consuming. I decided to invest in a 3d scanner to eliminate the expense. Although it definitely does not cut down on the time. 3d scanning is very time consuming but much less wasteful in the materials category. For the cost of a few waste molds I was able to make one purchase.
This was my result from the scan. Scans aren’t perfect and it takes a lot of skill and practice to get a clean one. The learning curve for my husband was as intense as zbrush was for me. I’m pretty sure my brain’s storage is completely full now. Anyway, normally you have to take it into zbrush or blender to touch up any artifacting or adding back detail. That is why I decided to stop adding detail and carving out muscles at this point in clay. It was a good starting place. Proportions were close, I had blocked in where things needed to be defined and he was in the position I wanted. I really liked how I didn’t have to go over finished areas twice.
Next was adding detail. I just went from his head to his hind quarters and obsessed over my references, my real horse (Zygi is an extremely patient subject) and all the biomechanics of the Spanish walk. Refining him a bit was a big part of this step. I tried to mirror his face but couldn’t figure it out at this point and accidently mirrored him. I decided I liked it so i went with it. Next I worked on adding a mane the tail.
From there it was just going over him again and again until everything is developed more and more. I look at it in layers. Pushing details, every time I go over him its another layer sharper. This also is when things get corrected or changed. I also have critique sessions with Morgen Kilbourn. Who is an absolutely wonderful teacher! It’s is so nice of her to offer to share her knowledge. Sorry going to plug her critiques, but seriously if you need help with a horse sculpture she is the one to go to!
Anyway, after hours and hours and days and days and test prints to see balance and everything in “real life.” Adjusting, repeating a few more times, staring at him for hours until one day he is finished. and I’m happy with him.
So may I present to you “El Sombra” a Lusitano Stallion performing a Spanish Walk. 1:9 Traditional Scale hollow cast resin by Red Shed. Limited to 100 pieces. Goes on Pre Sale November 15th at 8pm CST. Deposit or PIF. He will begin casting in January of 2027 all paid in full orders will be fulfilled first. Deposit orders will have an invoice sent when your copy is ready to ship. Shipping cost is paid with deposit. His will be priced at $395 plus shipping. Please sign up for my email newsletter at the bottom of the home page to get notified when he goes on sale!
