Step 4
After the first baking, you can now start to build up the volume. You don't need large quantities for this scale and it is sufficient to roll a small ball of BeeSPutty between your fingers and then put it on your thumbnail. You can get by with this small amount for a while and if the mass is no longer usable due to the constant immersion with the modeling tool, you simply roll it again to a new ball and have a clean, smooth amount again. The placement on the thumb nail has the advantage that you don't lose focus all the time (after all, we're all slowly getting to the age where we're completely stuck without a headband magnifier) if you take new modeling clay out of the pack and always slightly warmed it, i.e. has softer mass available. I generally prefer soft masses. I am more of a “stroker” than a “carver” and like to work with a small, soft brush to smooth out details or to shape them at all.
At the same time as the volume is built up, you also start modeling the figure's clothing. Here, at the latest, you should have made a decision about what the figure should wear later. So what comes next is a boring, but at least lengthy process of applying - see if it fits - and reapplying modeling clay. Again, you should always check whether the proportions are not out of control. Unfortunately, this happens faster than you think and nothing is more frustrating than scratching a beautifully modeled part off a figure and having to make it new just because it has become a little too thick!
BeeSPutty adheres wonderfully to surfaces, but problems can occasionally arise with the smooth wires of the arms, as the mass does not want to hold up. Here you help yourself with some turpentine substitute, which you spread on the wires, then apply the modeling clay and then, after everything is completely covered, wetted again with the solvent. Then you should let everything air out for a day, otherwise the mass would be too soft to be processed further. Fortunately, there are enough other construction sites that you can dedicate to.
Something else about the tool used:
If you model a lot, preferences for certain tools will emerge over the years. That was also the case for me. I have always used hooks and blades. Both dentist's cutlery and correspondingly good quality. It is not advisable to save here. No one who wants to work even halfway professionally should work with inferior tools. Nowadays it is easy to get such things online. When I started years / decades ago, you still had to rely on flea markets and your luck.
For a while I held modeling courses with a good friend (Dennis Zarnowski), in which we developed a tool for the participants, and which I have been using myself ever since: the "Mass Shifter MKI" or, lovingly called "Captain Hook“. For me, it combines all the advantages of different tools. The small blade is perfect for removing material or smooth edges, such as To model belts or sharp incisions on the figure. The hook also allows me to reach unfavorable locations and makes wonderful folds with its curved shape.
For our second course we then developed another tool: the "MKII mass shifter". Again, two useful things have been summarized: the kinked flat round tip for removing and applying modeling clay, and the end with the loop for smoothing / leveling surfaces. Since both tools have a wooden handle, they are extremely light! An advantage that should not be underestimated when working on small objects.
In addition, there is a cheap school brush for "gently stroking" the modeling clay (with and without solvent), as well as some rubber brushes, so-called clay or color shapers in different degrees of hardness. In a few exceptional cases, additional tools are added, but they are not used permanently.
There is nothing more to say for today ...
Martin