Wire
Wire is a very odd material to use and was my most disliked one that I used. The things I noticed with wire is that it is a very malleable material which means it can be bended very easily into a multitude of different shapes. It can also become quite sturdy in the fact of holing up a shape and not crumbling. It can be noted that using wire is like drawing in 3D due to the linear, curves and bends you get can mimic that of 2D drawing.
The limitations of using wire though is that since it is too malleable the shapes of objects and sculptures can become disfigured dues to physical pressure or mistakes. An example of this is the sphere I created, to start off I made three perfectly sized circles but when I tried putting them together I bent them out of place a little and made them look less circle like and more oval. Another limitation is depending on how thick the piece of wire is will determine the detail and how malleable it is to a degree. This means that you will need to buy different sizes just to make a detailed sculpture. This also is a limitation in itself since wire can be very expensive and so needing different sizes of it will cost the person a lot. The wire also cannot be coloured in and so different coloured wire will need to be bought, while this adds a nice aesthetic to the final sculpture it will also cost the sculptor even more.
ModRoc
ModRoc was my favourite material to use as I found it the most easiest to mould and make strong sculptures from. It is a very strong material and so can be used to hold up an object when using it for the legs or foundation. It is very easy to apply to anything and so can be wrapped around any armature made allowing it to sculpt into unique shapes and making the shape even sturdier. To actually use ModRoc was easy as well since all I had to do was dip it into a cup of water and then apply it to a surface and rub. However, this meant I had to wait for the material to dry which wasted a little bit of time.
The limitations of ModRoc are that it can't have a material applied over it except for another layer of ModRoc making it less useful for certain situations. An example would be adding paper mache over ModRoc, this material would not stick to the ModRoc due to the glue. It can also be very messy making sculptures and your work space look less professional then it could. There are also a lot of health and safety issues with ModRoc such as if the sculptor breathes in too much of the particles produced it can cause lung cancer known as silicosis and can be worse for eczema do to its drying out properties. Once ModRoc dries it cannot be moulded again and can be easily broken, if it breaks then more ModRock will needed to be added over it but that can disfigure the sculpture.
Paper Mache
Paper mache was an okay material for me to use, it was easy but very time consuming when trying to make some of the shapes I needed. Like ModRoc it needs to be wet but instead of just needing water and applying it to a surface you need to use glue mixed with water that been spread all over the surface of the paper. This would have to have been done over and over again with pieces of paper until the shape you want has formed. You also have to work quick with the glue and water which can be both good and bad since it makes you work fast but working fast can lead to slip ups. The strength of the paper mache can depend on the amount of layers you give it and the strength of the glue since its mixed with water, it can dilute the strength of the glue. The paper needs an amateur to actually work properly and look correct for a sculptor. The expense of paper is very cheap though and it is a very easy to get source or material since most shops sell them. It can also be used in a recyclable fashion by using it for sculptors but should be handled with care since it is easily ripped and not very durable to liquid.
Gummed paper
Gummed paper is also another water based material so its easy to stick onto certain surfaces but agin the sculptor has to wait for it to dry. The surface of the gum paper can be very smooth though and so allows for more refined looking sculptures. It is also very strong with its sticking abilities making it need less layers to hold two separate objects together. It is also very versatile allowing for it to have multiple uses in different types of ways. The paper is very durable however, so too much water can cause it to disintegrate.
Corrugated card
Corrugated card is a strong material to use, it can hold up an object as the material is very sturdy, this however means that it is hard to bend and is not very malleable. The best part about corrugated card is that it is a good armature to wrap other materials over. However, for water based materials if there is too much water used it will cause the card to disintegrate and make the sculpting go awry. It is also an easy to come across material since a lot of daily life objects use it for packaging and so can be recycled for sculpting use.
Combination
When it came to combing the materials I found that some materials were better combined with other. In my opinion ModRoc was a great material to combine separate object or encase a material in ready to combine with another due to its strong combining qualities. The only bad thing is its irreversible and can look quite tacky if not moulded equally.
Corrugated card is the best to use for a thick base and can be combined with any of the other materials (as long as they aren't wet too much) but can fall down if being combined with wire since they can't really help each other out in ways.
Wire is also a good armature but for smaller designs and goes very well with paper mache for making wings.
Gummed paper is good for a starting foundation when sticking two objects or surfaces together such as sticking two sides of a rolled up piece of corrugated card. However, if used to make a thick layer it would take a long time so its many good for single layer use. It cannot be stuck onto ModRoc but is good to stick ModRoc onto shapes with gummed paper in use.
Paper Mache is a good material to use on any of the above except for ModRock (as the sticking properties don't work when being placed onto it). It feels very similar to gummed paper so its a little bit useless in my opinion to mix those together but is very good for placing over wire or corrugated card.
No comments:
Post a Comment