christyrenee

Created by: philosophyfox.deviantart.com

I'm so excited about getting them.

But I'm kind of addicted to bluegrass music right now. I don't mean like 'Deliverance' bluegrass, but more along the lines of Nickel Creek and Alison Krause(sp*). I can't seem to work and listen to anything else. So anyway....it's cake topper season! Yay! I have several orders for toppers on the book now. Pretty excited about that. Can't wait to show the finished work!

It's Wednesday and after a pretty bummer of a day yesterday I'm ready to get started on something new! Yay! Only two more days till the weekend!

Sometimes I get a little too big for my britches and I don't mean fat(which I most definitely am).

I have what I consider a 'style' of art going. I'm not photo realistic, nor do I want to be. I've worked hard to become better while remaining consistent to the original vision of my 'personal art style'. But sometimes, my ego gets going and I start creating something that I have no emotion for. Something that is totally not me. Does that make sense? Ugh. I did that this week- and it's only Tuesday. I went and fancied myself some sort of highfalutin' artist type and sculpted a dog that wasn't even true to what I do. I know that probably sounds stupid, but it's a big deal to me. And of course it sort of went awry because the customer wasn't happy with it either. I dunno. Just bummed me out. I feel like I've betrayed myself somehow. Man, I know I am sooo weird. Anyways....

Thought I would write down a few things I've learned from sculpting animals with long/fluffy/fuzzy/overall crazy fur textures. One of these days I'll have to make a pictorial tutorial that explains this stuff better. (Like I'm some sort of expert. hahahahahhaha)

#1) Layers are your friend.
This is especially true of dogs like pomeranians, shelties, persian cats, and others with heavy undercoats. Don't be afraid to fire the piece long enough to set the details you have and then add another layer to achieve a fluffy look.

#2) Use your tools to help create movement in the fur.
I have found that using my knife to make gaps in fur around faces and ears helps to ease the lion mane look.

#3) Straight is not always great.
Using straight line textures is not always the best way to create fur. For dogs like huskys and GSD's that have a short but fuzzy coat, using the curved end of your knife tool creates a nice smooth triangle texture that looks nice on these types of pups.

#4) The deeper the texture, the bigger the pain to paint.
Deep cuts in the clay eat paint. You'll need a stiff brush and plenty of paint to get down in those crevasses.

#5) Start from the bottom of the coat and layer the texture.
Hairs lay on top of one another, so beginning the fur texture from the bottom and working your way up or out helps to create a natural looking lay.