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| MODELING HELP DESK |
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Clay model armatures, what to use?
 Q: Wesley Grandmont III, asks:
What are you guys using for an armature [for clay models] to build on top of and/or pose the final figure with?
A: Tommy D'Aquino writes:
I'll usually just use styrofoam and heavy wire. The foam is for the bulk
body and head area whereas the wire is for the appendages. I generally
just sculpt for modeling, not posing, so there may be other techniques in
building more poseable sculptures.
Tommy DAQ, http://www.fred.net/tommydaq
A: Alan Snow writes:
You can buy very cheaply, armature wire in a a number of stiffnessess,
diameters and sections (round to enable all round movement and square
section to reduce the action to a roughly 4 directional movement). You
can bind/twist the joints together, then use fast "ZAP" glue. At Aardman
they use a mix of this and custom built ball and socket joints or
armatures made to size. These are more durable for stop motion. Most of
there armatures are made in Bristol or Manchester ( the latter also
provided Tim Burton (NightMare Before XMas, etc......not Rocky Horror
Show [lets do the timewarp again!]) with a lot of his armatures.
To make your own joints, bike chain links (the outer "8" shaped plates)
can be used by drilling a pair of the plates between the existing holes
and using a nut and bolt in the new hole. This is then tightened on a
pair of predrilled ball bearings seated in the two outer holes (buy the
ball bearings as "It is a better man than I Gungerdin" who can drill
ballbearings without a lab). Join the joints with stiff rods. I can go
into this and other processes more fully if people are interested and if it
is thought relevant.
PS. By fixing large metal plates in the feet and placing "Earth Magnets"
under a thin tabletop, you stop the buggers escaping.
Alan Snow
A: Moses Chong writes:
Well you could find good armature wire at leading art stores that sell the
sculpey. I normally use wires that are about 3 milimeter in diameter for the
main skeletal structure, and use a smaller wire for the hands (about 1.5
milimeter in diameter) It also depends on the size of the macquette The ones I
build is about 8" to 10" in height. It is a good idea to use aluminium foil to
bulk up the skeletal structure especially the ribcage area. The foil is
lighter anyway so you don't have to use so much super sculpey and it also
lessons the strain on the frame. I almost always double-up the wires on the
spinal area just to make it sturdier. Try to mount the frame on a board
first...before you start applying the sculpey so you can be sure the sculpture
wont fall when you put it in the oven.
Anyway if you don't have a store that sells armature wire... you could
probably use clothes-hanger wire. That'll work too but it is alot tougher to
twist and bend but it isn't impossible. Just get ready for a little bit of a
struggle heh heh.
Moses Chong
A: Steph Greenberg writes:
You might also try using annealed rebar wire, which you have to clean before
soldering. Soft, reposable, not much of a trick to hook up with solder, strong
in the right guage. Also super cheap (200 ft for about $3 or less). Not as
thick as real ball joints and aluminum wire, but servicable.
Steph Greenberg |
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