Head first

He doesn’t have a name yet

Hey, who’s this? A new face! :)

On larger sculptures, like this new 1:9 scale warmblood, I like to set up the head separately. The rest of the horse is very heavy (1-2 kg), which isn’t easy to hold in your hands for a long time.

The head is made of Apoxie Sculpt, and a little wooden skewer. 

 

Adib's mold is almost ready!

Photo by Jolt Studios

Good news, the mold for big Adib will be ready soon. Making copies of a sculpture is an art in itself, and I'm very glad I can outsource it. I wouldn't know where to start! 

 

 

While Jolt Studios are preparing the mold for Adib, I'm making a companion for him. A brand new traditional scale Arabian mare. Here you can see the sculpture being sanded. 

 

If you missed out on the first batch of Adib, don't worry, there will be more opportunities to buy him. The exact dates depend on how the casting schedule develops. Stay tuned! 

The best way to stay updated on sculptures available for sale is to sign up for the email newsletter. 

Little Adib and his big brother's head in progress

I find it easier to sculpt the head separately. Plus, it's always quite satisfying when I attach it to the rest of the horse. :D

Big Adib

 

My mini sized Adib just asked to be made big, and so did the people on Facebook. So here he is, still very much in progress, traditional scale Adib!

Saved from the bin

 

When you use epoxy to create your sculptures (like I do) and things don't go as planned, you sometimes end up sawing off a part of your project. Starting over can be easier than manipulating the stone hard epoxy into a different shape. 

Over the years I gathered quite a collection of hacked off bits and pieces. I just can't throw them away, you never know when they might come in handy. 

 

 

 

Like this head. It didn’t suit the horse it was on, but it’s cute and I kept it. 

I also keep a ‘spare epoxy horse’ on my table, because I always mix too much of the stuff. Right now it’s a damaged Encanto resin, I’m using leftover bits of epoxy to customize him into a heavier muscled schoolmaster type of PRE.  

And what do you know, it’s a match with the head! 

 

 

 

His name is Devante. He still needs a lot of work, but I like him already.

Upscaling

The traditional way, for traditional Lola

Everything is still sketchy

And in a more modern fashion, I'm printing parts of Eclair's big brother

Coming soon... Eclair

 

Eclair is a mini Dutch Warmblood (KWPN) mare. I sculpted her basic shape digitally and then printed it with a resin printer. Her top layer and detailing are done the old fashioned way, by hand, because I like the look and feel of it. :) 

 

Eclair's proud, but friendly nature and strong legs betray her ancient Gelderlander bloodlines. I imagine she is an elegant and powerful mover. The Dutch Warmblood is the world's best sport horse (I may be biased here). She sure was fun to sculpt!

 

Eclair is quite large for a mini. Here she is with her stock horse buddy, Mojo. 

 

 

The name just came to me when I put this freshly 3D printed part on my table. Never sculpt when hungry. :)

Eclair will become available for ordering next week.

How it's made: sculpting in epoxy

The original Miss Lizzie sculpture is made of two-part epoxy clay*, sculpted layer by layer over a lightweight armature. Epoxy turns rock hard only a few hours after mixing, which is a curse as well as a blessing. It takes a different approach than working in soft clay or wax. Here are some things that I have learned over the years: 

- Always wear gloves when working with epoxy, frequent exposure can cause a nasty allergic reaction to it (like your skin falling off, trust me, I've seen it). Try powder free nitrile gloves, they last long and don’t smell bad like the latex ones.
- Build the sculpture up in layers (like an onion) instead of working on one body part at a time. I find it easier to get the proportions right this way. 

- Don’t sculpt any details until you’ve got the overall shape and depth in all dimensions. If you need to correct an area (you probably will), it will hurt less if you don’t have to destroy many hours worth of detailing.

- A sculpting stand is not your friend when working in epoxy. Putting the sculpture on its feet regularly helps keeping the symmetry and balance on the right track. 

 

 

 

* I use Milliput Superfine White. Favorite sculpting tools? See here.

How it's made: the ingredients

For this picture I collected all the things I use to make my sculptures. Not necessarily in the quantities I need for one sculpture, otherwise you would see a heap consisting mainly of nitrile gloves, aluminum foil and toothpicks.

Not pictured here: the 4000+ reference pictures on my iPad, and the little saw I use when things have gone wrong badly. And my sweet husband who is just the greatest support.

I like to keep the process as simple as possible.