Sculpting 101: Useful Reference Books

ote: most books on sculpting you'll find are concerned with what is known as water clay or terra-cotta clay. This is the natural earthen clay that occurs in riverbanks, etc., which has been used for thousands of years by sculptors. You may also see references to plastilina (or plasticine, as it's referred to in the United Kingdom and Australia), which is simply an oil-based modeling clay which never hardens. Most techniques for water clay and/or oil clay can be adapted for sculpting in polymer clays like Super Sculpey. The primary difference is one of scale. Sculptures in water or oil clay tend to be much larger than those in polymer clay (mainly because the latter have to be able to fit in your home oven), and so the tools used to sculpt them are larger.

In addition to the books below, you should collect books on the making of movies (such as THE MAKING OF JURASSIC PARK), because such books are full of behind the scenes photos of models, maquettes and sculptures. The quarterly magazine Cinefex is extremely useful in this area. I also collect art books by artists such as Frank Frazetta, Brom, Boris Vallejo, Michael Whelan, Wayne Douglas Barlowe, Don Maitz, Berni Wrightson and others who illustrate science fiction, fantasy and horror subjects. I also collect books on dinosaurs and animals with plenty of illustrations.

I collect sculpting reference from the web, too. Lots of websites have photos on them that you can use for sculpting reference. Look at bodybuilding sites, physical fitness sites, fashion sites (for clothing reference). Sites on movie stars and movies can have lots of useful pictures too.

All of the above will provide inspiration and accuracy to your work. Here are some reference books I've found to be useful. You can find them at bookstores and art supply stores.

SCULPTURE: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE by Louis Slobodkin (Dover Publications, 1973, ISBN 0-486-22960-2) is a good overall introduction to sculpting in a variety of media, including stone and wood carving.

MODELING THE FIGURE IN CLAY: A SCULPTOR'S GUIDE TO ANATOMY by Bruno Lucchesi (Watson Gulptill Publications, 1980, ISBN 0-8230-3097-0) is one of the best guides to sculpting human anatomy. Lucchesi sculpts a skeleton, then adds muscles and skin to create a finished sculpture. Many photos from different angles illuminate the shapes and composition of the human body.

MODELING THE HEAD IN CLAY: CREATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR THE SCULPTOR by Bruno Lucchesi (Watson Gulptill Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-8230-3099-7) is an in-depth guide to sculpting the features of the human head.

MODELING A LIKENESS IN CLAY: STEP-BY-STEP TECHNIQUES FOR CAPTURING CHARACTER by Daisy Grubbs (Watson Gulptill Publications, 1982, ISBN 0-8230-3094-6) is a guide to sculpting a likeness from photos or life.

MODELLING AND SCULPTING THE HUMAN FIGURE and MODELLING AND SCULPTING ANIMALS by Edouard Lanteri (Dover Publications, 1985, ISBN 0-486-25006-7 and 0-486-25006-5) is a two-volume set packed with useful instruction in sculpting and anatomy. These are sculptor Shawn Nagle's favorite books on sculpting.

DYNAMIC FIGURE DRAWING, DRAWING THE HUMAN HEAD, DRAWING DYNAMIC HANDS, and DYNAMIC WRINKLES AND DRAPERY by Burne Hogarth (Watson Gulptill Publications). These books, by comic book artist Burne Hogarth, are great anatomy references for sculptors as well as illustrators. The last book is an excellent reference for sculpting realistic looking clothing.

ATLAS OF HUMAN ANATOMY FOR THE ARTIST by Stephen Rogers Peck (Oxford University Press, 1982, ISBN 0-19-503095-8) is another essential reference for sculpting human anatomy. Packed with terrific, informative illustrations.

DRAWING THE HEAD AND FIGURE by Jack Hamm (Perigee Books,1963, ISBN 0-399-50791-4) a classic book on human anatomy that is still in print (and deservedly so. Great information on proportion in this book.

HOW TO DRAW THE HUMAN FIGURE by Louise Gordon (Penguin Books, 1980, ISBN 0-14-046477-8) is an anatomy reference for that focuses a bit more on the female figure than most anatomy books. Features excellent drawings of musculature in action.

AN ATLAS OF ANIMAL ANATOMY FOR ARTISTS by W. Hellenberger, H.Dittrich and H. Baum (Dover Publications, 1956, ISBN 0-486-20082-5) is an essential reference for sculpting animals.

ANIMAL PAINTING AND ANATOMY by W. Frank Calderon (Dover Publications, 1975, ISBN 0-486-22523-2) is another excellent reference for animal anatomy.

ANIMAL DRAWING: ANATOMY AND ACTION FOR ARTISTS by Charles R. Knight (Dover Publications, 1959, ISBN 0-486-20426-X) is written and illustrated by the renowned illustrator of both prehistoric and modern animals.

CARICATURES IN CLAY by Tom Wolfe (Schiffer Publishing, Ltd, 1995, ISBN 0-88740-713-7) is a fun, full-color guide to sculpting small caricature busts in polymer clay. Much of the information here can be applied to sculpting more realistic busts as well.

REVENGE OF THE GARAGE KIT THAT ATE MY WALLET by Terry J. Webb (Webbhead Enterprises/Davidson Printing Co., 1994, no ISBN available) is a nonpareil guide to the garage kit hobby, with hundreds of photos of garage kits, as well as interviews with major companies like Horizon, Kaiyodo, Geometric and Billiken. Includes articles on sculpting and painting, as well. Copies of this are hard to find, but are well worth the effort. The first two books in the series (even more difficult to find) are THE GARAGE KIT THAT ATE MY WALLET and SON OF THE GARAGE KIT THAT ATE MY WALLET.

BUILDING AND PAINTING SCALE FIGURES by Sheperd Paine (Kalmbach Books, 1995, ISBN 0-89024-069-8) can be found at model and hobby shops, and is a good guide for painting figures, as well as giving information on sculpting figures at smaller scales. Also includes a good guide to molding and casting. Check out Paine's excellent HOW TO BUILD DIORAMAS, too.

HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY by Stan Lee and John Buscema (Simon and Schuster, 1978, ISBN 0-671-53077-1) is a good reference for the exaggerated physiques of superheroes, as well as their dynamic poses.

HOW TO DRAW COMIC BOOK HEROES AND VILLAINS by Christopher Hart (Watson Gulptill Publications, 1995, ISBN 0-8230-2245-5) is another good comic book reference.