Dog Sculpture life size Bronze Poodle Sculpture

Completed Bronze Poodle

2011-03-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well after a few days of confusion with the patina, Tracker the poodle finally gets his coat. The patina artist did an outstanding job, capturing Trackers likeness. Tracker has an unique discoloration on his tail; therefore, the client decided to incorporate it into the bronze.

Bronze Dog Sculpture Patina

2011-03-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

Patination: The bronze casting surface is heated with a torch. Chemicals are applied using a brush or air-brush, in multiple layers that react to the heat. The finish is fused into the surface of the bronze. Once the patina meets our expectation, a thin coat of wax is applied to seal and give the bronze sculpture a lustrous glow. After the bronze is cooled a hand polish and buff is nice to give it a sheen.

To view a video on "how to care for your bronze sculptures"

Bronze Dog Sculpture Metal Chasing

2011-03-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

Bronze Metal Chasing: A variety of pieces making up a single sculpture are assembled and welded together using TIG welders. Next, precision die grinders and other specific tools are used to blend the welded sections together to create a seamless joint. Metal Chasers - Artisans spend many hours removing any defects from the bronze metal surface.

Poodle wax positives for lost wax bronze

2011-01-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

This post shows the wax positives that were casted using the molds. The wax castings are hollow with walls ranging in thickness from 1/8" to 3/8". After the wax castings are re-detailed, they will be ready for the "ceramic shell" process.

Each section will be cast in bronze as is and welded back together to form the life size poodle.

In this image you will note the jaw has been re-attached in order to avoid complex welding issues down the line.

Dog Matrix Mold Fabrication

2011-01-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

Cellophane is used to wrap the entire sculpture. This will temporarily protect the dog sculpture from having the water-based clay adhere to my Chavant clay (Chavant NSP hard was used to sculpt the poodle). The water-based clay mass will later be replace by the silicone.

Here you can see where one of the seams with keys is located. A wall of clay is used to cover the entire area where the silicone will eventually go. The wall of clay is somewhat uniformed in thickness.

Plaster and hemp are applied over the wall of clay. This section is referred to as the “mother mold”. The mother mold will house the silicone mold and help line up all the keys.

Here are two completed (limb) molds.

This image depicts the mother mold after the cellophane and water-based clay have been removed. The other half of the mold will be used to enclose the leg. The seams will also be temporally sealed in order to prevent the silicone from escaping. The silicone will be poured from the highest point of the mother mold.

This image taken minutes after removing one half of the mold. The blue material is the silicone. The silicone is used to capture all the detail from the original sculpture. The next step is to remove the original clay sculpture from the silicone.

Wax is then poured into the mold in order to produce the wax-positives. More on this later….

The American Fine Arts Foundry is the Bronze Casting Foundry I am utilizing for this bronze dog composition. The foundry is located in Burbank, California.

click on the logo to visit their site.

Preparing clay dog sculpture for the mold fabrication

2011-01-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

This section show how large sculptures are broken down into smaller manageable sections. After the sections have been casted in bronze, they will be welded back together. The original clay sculpture will be reassemble in order to aid the welder.

The tail has been removed

This image show how a section of the jaw has been removed. The torso and legs have also been severed.

This is the rear section of the poodles torso. Red wax is used to seal the foam. Without using wax to seal the foam, the silicone will adhere to the foam and create problems when de-molding.

The limbs and jaw ready for mold fabrication.

Completed Poodle clay sculpture is now ready for the mold process

2010-11-29T13:21:00.000-08:00

The clay poodle dog sculpture is now completed. The client will now review the images and make last minute requests for any modifications. Once the poodle sculpture is approved, I will give the entire sculpture a wash with a solvent in order to minimize any tool marks and shavings that may still be visible on the surface. The process will take 2-3 days to allow the solvent to dissolve and ensure the clay returns to its natural hardness.

The solvent is used to slightly soften the clay in order to aid in the blending.

Applying a wash at this stage helps with the surface detail in order to give it a more realistic look and feel. By not cleaning the dog sculpture surface before the mold fabrication will create additional work for me during the wax-positive stage.

Molds capture every detail; therefore, it is wise to only fabricate a mold after everyone is happy with the final clay sculpt.

A wax-positive is an identical replica of this clay sculpture; the only difference is that it is a wax casting from the mold. Wax-positives for most bronze castings are hollow. The walls of the wax cast vary from 1/8” to 5/8” in thickness.

More on the process once the images are available.

View of the under side of Trackers head.

Front view...

Profile of the entire dog sculpt.

The paw area showing the poodles nails. Let me know if you wish to have the toenails shorten.

Tracker (poodle) front leg.

Detailed image of the fur texture.

Another view of the fur texture.

click on any of the images for a better better view

Final details are added to fur texture

2010-11-20T16:00:00.000-08:00

Adding the final detail to the poodle’s fur texture. After building up the clay layers for the fur texture I am now using a fine ballpoint tool to create the hairlines. The clay is very hard; therefore, I am only able to work 3-5 hours a day before my hands cramps. It looks like I may miss my target date of Tuesday as the completion date. I will not cut corners; therefore, I anticipate it will only take an additional 2-3 days.

The head, neck, chest areas are completed. Tracker's right side still need to under go the final detail.

Here you can see a detailed view of the ear and head area. A final wash will remove the minute clay shavings. Mineral sprites will be used for the wash.

Here is another view of Tracker's right side that still needs the hairlines applied to the fur clusters.

David, do you wish to have the tip of the jaw narrowed a bit more. I narrowed it once, but I am not sure if it needs to be narrower.

Fur texture for Tracker the poodle

2010-11-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

The images on this post show what Tracker looks like after his second coat of clay. I will apply one more coat of clay to finalize the fur texture.

For a better view of the texture, click on the image...

Here is tracker standing on my kitchen table...

I do not remember if Tracker is neutered, for now I made him a full male.

Right side profile.

Left side profile.

First layer of clay for the dog armature

2010-10-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Tracker (poodle) gets his first coat of clay. Two to three layers will follow in order to capture the poodle's fur texture.

The first image shows where the rods became embedded into the legs. Molted clay was allowed to saturate the groove and rod area.

I used a crock pot to melt my bricks of NSP hard Chavant modeling clay. The clay was applied using a brush and spatula.

Here you can see where I reattached the head to the body. A 3/4" x 12" pipe was used to join the two sections. Clay was then brushed on to fuse the sections.

The additional layers of clay will fill in the areas that do not look quite right. For instance the rib and neck sections.

The ears and jaw areas will also be revisited.

Aluminum rods used to reinforce styrofoam armature

2010-10-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here I embedded a 3/8” diameter aluminum rod in the legs in order to support the weight of the dog sculpture. Aluminum is used because of its lightweight and softness in case the mold maker needs to sever the legs to make a multi-part mold.

Tomorrow I will proceed with the clay-up on the remaining exposed foam.

The groove, which houses the rod, will be filled with molted clay.

Poodle head sculpt critique

2010-10-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of the current stage of the head sculpt. I need you to give me your input. In other words, where do you want me to tweak the sculpt. Please note, once the head is reattached to the body, we will encounter additional corrections. For instance, the ears will be modified in order to better fit the pose of the slanted head. Below you will note I made additional notes for myself.

In this image, I rotated the head in order to best compare it to my sculpt.

Here are my notes...

The tip of the jaw needs to be reworked, it appears to broad
The ears will be detached and refitted once the head is back on the body and cocked to he left as in the image you provided.
The cheek areas appear to need more hair.
The bottom jaw area can also benefit from more hair as well.
The bridge between the eyes and nose may need to be defined a bit more. I other words remove some of the hair in order to show more bone structure.
Feel free to email me any additional areas you wish to have altered; however, if you do not agree with the items I noted above please indicate. The image I am using to capture Trackers likeness is the one you provided; hence, his coat appears to be much more fuller than in the images to shot.

Here you can see his bottom teeth as depicted in the image. Since the upper teeth are hidden; will not be seen, they will not be sculpted. The eyes were reworked to give him a happier look.

Another view of the teeth and snout area.

On this profile image, you can see that additional hair may be needed on the lower jaw.

Detail work has begun on the poodle's head sculpt

2010-09-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have started on the detail texture for the head fur sections. After the ears and snout fur is detailed I will remove the jaw and commence on the teeth and tongue sections.

Poodle gets his new eyes and fur texture

2010-09-16T16:48:00.001-07:00

Tracker gets his new eyes and the sculpting of his fur texture begins.

Canine Tracker gets his nose sculpted

2010-09-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today turned out to be a dog nose day. I spent a couple of hours proportioning and detailing the canine’s nose.

The teeth will be introduced after the interior of the mouth is completed. I inserted eyes, but they still need work.

I will add more hair towards the upper section of the nose.

From this image I noticed, I need to build the snout area to give it a fluffier look. The ears need direction.

Poodle head armature clay-up begins

2010-09-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

The first application of the hard NSP Chavant Clay. To get started I inserted two bricks of clay into the small crock-pot. The crock-pots are very inexpensive at your local Walmart or Target. The clay was brought to its melting point slowly in order not to destroy the clay's properties. It took about 3-4 hours to get the clay into a melted chocolate like texture. The temp dial on the crock-pot was left on “low” the entire time.

My beloved crock-pot... how my wife misses her kitchen tools... LOL

Here I used a paint brush to apply the clay. A small spatula was also utilized.

The goal was to first apply a complete coat of clay on the entire surface before I began to build up the features.

The face coat is just about complete. It is basically the same size and shape as the Styrofoam armature.

Profile of the poodle head.

Here I added plastic temporary eyes and a temporary nose. I also opened the mouth in order to match my reference image.

Here is Tracker (poodle) after the first clay application. Many more layers are to come within the next few days

I slanted the head to get an idea of what areas I need to focus on in the next few days. I will have family members critique the sculpt at this stage. My middle son is ruthless with his critiques. He takes no prisoners, he reminds me of a Simon Cow with his criticism. But that is what I need complete honesty, the goal is to capture the poodle’s likeness.

Preparing poodle head for tilt table and clay application

2010-08-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

Today I removed the head from the foam sculpt. The head was removed in order to mount it on a sculptor's tilt table. The tilt table gives me greater leverage. Tomorrow I will begin the clay-up process.

Rear view of the poodle's head as it sits on the tilt table.

Front image of the dog's head.

Here is a bird's eye view. Notice I removed a section of the nose. I will sculpt the nose and attach later.

Note how nicely the table tilts.

Here is the headless poodle. The head was removed using a hot-wire tool.

Another view of the tilt table at work.

Poodle styrofoam sculpture begins to take shape

2010-08-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

I will spend one more day tweaking the Styrofoam with a rasp before I detach the head. The head will be detached in order to place it on a portrait tilt table. The tilt table gives me greater leverage. The hind legs will also be repositioned. Moreover, I will reinforce the legs with a ¼” diameter aluminum rod.

Poodle armature begins to take shape

2010-08-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today's results were created using a rasp and drywall tool. The process was broadcast live on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tutorial%3A-how-to-sculpt-in-clay---artistsculptor

Here you can see where the eye-sockets were created. The legs will be formed after the torso has reached the desired shape.

The drywall tool worked well on the Styrofoam. The only draw back is that it creates giant size snow flakes. As I was working I was thinking snow, but the room temperature told a different story, it was in the 90's. So much for positive thinking.

Here is a closer look at the tool. It worked like a coarse rasp.

Tomorrow I will continue with the same procedure; until I get within 1/2" of the desired scale.

Styrofoam poodle rough cut for armature second phase

2010-08-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today I began to remove the excess foam in order to get closer to Tracker's confirmation. I first used a felt marker to scribe my cutting lines. The process will take several passes before it begins to look like a poodle.

I used a hot-wire hand tool. It is like cutting butter. The fumes are the part I dislike. Yes, I used two fans to aid with the ventilation.

The Styrofoam dog will look more like a block dog for now, but with every pass it receives it will fine tune the desired proportions.

Here Tracker looks more like big bird, but this is normal. The next two phases will get him looking more like a poodle.

Styrofoam poodle rough cut for armature

2010-08-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

I started off with a 50" x 40" x 15" block of Styrofoam and used the hot-wire tool to cut out the rough profile.

I modified the tool and create a somewhat hot-wire jig saw... worked great.

Here you can see all the scrap pieces. They will be used for future sculptures. If you ever priced Styrofoam, it is expensive, go figure.

Here is the poodle profile cut-out. Perhaps Friday or Saturday I will revisit the poodle armature with a hand held hot-wire and work on removing the excess foam. We want to get close to the poodle's life-size measurements. I plan on making the final clay dog sculpture an additional 5% larger in order to off set the shrinkage we will encounter during the foundry procedure.

Rough Rendering for Poodle clay sculpture

2010-07-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

This will be my reference study for roughing out the Styrofoam and keeping the poodle sculpture in proportion. Moreover, it will allow me to purchase the correct sized block of Styrofoam. The block of Styrofoam will be purchase Monday and I will commence the cutout using hotwire tools to expedite the process. Tuesday August 4th is the scheduled day for the hot wire process. If anyone is interested in viewing the process live, you will need to visit my dog sculpting channel. I should be ready to go by noon, PST. I will post follow up images within 24 hours of the procedure.

The pose is a fairly accurate description of what the client expressed.

The legs will be repositioned later.

Film strip snapshots of all images take of Tracker

2010-07-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Possible standing poodle poses for the bronze statue of Tracker

2010-07-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

This image taken at the beach depicts Tracker in a great action pose. Though the image lacks detail, it is not an issue since I have plenty of high resolution images of Tracker the poodle.

Tracker the Poodle photo shoot

2010-07-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

Tracker is quite the gentleman for he was very well behaved.

The photo shoot and measurements for the life-size commission went better than planned.

My flight left Ontario International Airport at 7:30 Am and I was back from San Francisco at 1:40 PM.

Below are a few of the images taken of Tracker the poodle

This is a bird's eye view of the proposed pose.

Here is the diagonal view for the pose.

Tracker it was a pleasure to take your photos and measurements for your life-sized bronze sculpture. Soon there will be two of you in the office. Hopefully your bronze clone will be as behaved as you.