Conan the Conqueror Part 3:

Welcome to the third installment of the Conan the Conqueror Blog. The main points of discussion in meeting with Frank (Frazetta) were to see how I sculpted the overall mass of the figure and the masses (size and musculature) of the horse and if they met with Frank's vision in the painting.

I added the arms and roughed in the muscular mass fairly quickly, although there was some additive and reductive fine tuning. Specifically, I added material to build up the masses, then carved them with wood and horn tools to shape them into the general shapes I wanted and that I felt matched the size and mass of those in the painting. After meeting with Frank, I would finish out the muscular detail. I had roughed in some muscular mass on the horse (as mentioned earlier) and felt he was ready to go. Here's how it looked at this stage:

We had a good visit and Frank thought the masses worked well overall. He adjusted the head placement, moving it back a bit. He felt the masses of the legs, torso and arms worked well, but wanted the mass of the legs to seem heavier and more affected by gravity, so we agreed I'd flatten them slightly and add a bit of material to the inside of the thighs.

Frank agreed that using the Kubla Khan pen and ink works was a good reference point for this horse. Since only a small part of one back leg is shown, we talked about the legs a bit to find the best leg position for the sculpture. We also considered raising the horse's tail because it had a nice dramatic look, even though it doesn't show in the painting. Frank felt that it was important to consider simple changes to the painting if they worked better for the sculpture as seen from other angles. At this stage, we left the horse tail to a future discussion.

Thus far, the figure had a good start. Next, I talked to Frank about the face of the figure as that would obviously be a key element. The face on Conan the Conqueror is somewhat more loosely painted than the face on the Conan the Adventurer painting I had sculpted some years earlier. There is clearly some scarring on the face of this figure and we decided that adding the scarring to match the earlier painting was fine. There is also some scarring that appears in the painting to the other (right) side of his face and we agreed I'd sculpt that in, as Conan by this time had clearly added some battle scars.

Now it was time to get back to the studio. I sculpt the head of a figure separately, usually. I may sculpt the head first, or midway in the process or at the end, after the figure is fully sculpted. It really depends on what works best in the approval process and the overall sculpting. In this case, it was time to sculpt the head and add it to the figure to get as much accomplished in the next meeting with Frank as possible. I used the painting, of course, but to get the contours more correct I reversed the painting in Photoshop and printed it out. I rough out the head and then incise the lines where the brow line and eyes will be, then the bottom of the nose and finally the mouth. I build up the mouth area and sink in deep hollows where the eyes will be. I then cut the face back and away from the eyes and cheeks and then build the cheeks back a bit, if necessary. The nose is added and then all areas are shaped.

After the head was finished, I added it to the body and began to fine tune the arms and torso, putting in more fine detail muscles and shaping them to suit the figure as Frank painted it. I shaped the serratus muscles, the rib cage and the abdominals with cross smoothing to give them a finished skin effect with thick wire loops and a couple of rounded wood tools I keep highly polished for that specific use.

You can also see more tuning of the back muscles and forearm muscles. I find the back to be the most difficult part of the male figure to sculpt. My observation is that other sculptors also have problems with it. I've also laid in more extensively the flexors and extensors of the forearms, a very complicated and interesting set of muscles and difficult to sculpt. I basically lay in long strips of material and work them together with some surface and depth variation between them for a strong, but natural look.

After the muscular detail was more or less where I wanted it, I cut in the leather strap across his chest to check the look and see if the feel of the painting was coming across properly.

Like any sculptor, I also change and adjust areas throughout the process. A part may look correct one day, but may seem to need adjustment the next. The key is to be sure that the second day's eye is more correct than the previous day's eye. As you can see in the photo, I wasn't satisfied with the shape of the lower leg and calf muscle, so I removed the strapping and made the necessary adjustments. I also fine-tuned the thighs to get the right amount of definition to convey the rugged power of the figure in the painting.

I usually sculpt the hands separately, so you can see how I cut off one of the hands with the intention to reattach it later, after fully sculpting it.

As you can see in the photo, we were still experimenting with the look of the horse's tail in the sculpture. At this point, it is flipping upwards, although in the painting it doesn't show. The important consideration to Frank was that the look chosen was the one that worked best for the sculpture.

Next, we'll attack the finishing of the anatomy, the addition of helmet and other details. Stay tuned!

CSM

Conan the Conqueror Part 2: Building Mass

This second installment of the Conan the Conqueror blog is very late(!), so let's get to it:

Last time we discussed the scale decisions and some background.

Next: How to attach the horse to the base? The horse is jumping and making it appear believable, but securely attached to the base, is technically an important part of the project. Frank and I discussed the misty, hazy quality of the area under the horse and felt that some swirling mist attached to the horse's underside would fit the purpose and would work visually, so that's what it will have.

A base of this kind will also work well for the bronze edition and will give strength and support, while allowing the horse to retain the feel of furiously hurtling through the air. At least that's the idea. The folks at Conan Properties agreed and so we were off to the horseraces.

First, I laid in the sculpting material and blocked in the horse. ("Blocking in" is quickly adding a lot of material to get the basic shape.) I added some detail in the musculature with the idea of meeting with Frank to determine if I was making the horse the right size and with the right build for the statue. The horse's angle doesn't show much of its body, so I referred to Frank's other paintings and pen and inks, especially the beautiful Kubla Khan works.

Next, I added the figure of Conan, but only roughed in for torso, upper arm and thigh size. The forearms would be blocked in later as they can get in the way. Arms can be roughed for blocking in purposes, but can then be removed to work the sides of the figure. In this case, I wanted to set the size of the figure in relation to the horse and have the basics in place for the meeting with Frank. Normally, I would sculpt all the figure and then add any clothing, belts, etc, but in this case the "girdle" (a wide belt used for attaching weapons and accoutrements as well as affording some protection) was so large and matched the natural cylinder of his torso so well that it made sculpting the abdominal area superfluous.

This part of the sculpting process is done fairly quickly. For me, it's best to lay the material in quickly and see how it looks. The adjusting and refining process will take days and days, but this part is more spontaneous and intuitive. Very quick. Most of the material is applied and manipulated by hand although I also use a broad, but fairly small wood sculpting spatula that is like a butter knife in shape.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW PHOTOS!

In the next photos you'll see the lower legs have been added. I added the straps to the legs as well in order to talk about clothing details with Frank. The idea on a project like this is to anticipate how far to take the piece to get the most out of the visit with Frank to save his time and to give me the most information to go on to get the piece correct to expectations. It's also important to anticipate the mold making process and how the factory in China will best be able to produce and paint each retail statue. These would include sculpting with an eye toward lessening undercuts, assessing the danger of elements that can break in production and shipping, and how the figure will be cast and assembled both by our mold maker in the US and by the factory in China.

You'll see in the back and the legs that I'm beginning to hone in on the look. There is more detail in the back and I'm beginning to refine it. The legs have detail in the thighs and the muscular shapes are fairly well established. At any time, however, a piece may require changes and modifications which can mean changing something that seemed correct when first sculpted. This is part of the process for me. A piece can be close to correct, but just off the mark and this isn't evident until it is close to complete and is revisited later. I usually work and rework a male figure's back because it is such a difficult and complicated area. It helped that Frank painted Conan's back in the Conan the Usurper painting, and I had that as reference for building the muscle mass and the look as best I could. Plus, I'd be able to discuss the piece with Frank as well.

At the point seen here, I've used a variety of tools such as large and small loops for smoothing and joining the muscle anatomy and knife-like tools for shaping musculature and for adding and taking away material.

I use a file of photo reference in my work and have built up an extensive reference library over the years. I advise sculptors that ask about it to work using photos of athletic people(bodybuilders, fighters, boxers, figure models, etc.) and adjusting them according to the needs of the figure.

Studying anatomy and the human form to gain a basic understanding of bones, muscles and the tendons and ligaments that join them is also very important.

Hiring and working from photos of a model is a very good idea and for this piece I shot photos of a model to use on problem areas. There is nothing more helpful on difficult areas like the elbows, the back, the wrists and the deltoid/ chest and deltoid/upper arm tie-ins than having photos of a person in exactly that pose.

In the next installment we'll see the piece as it looked in the first discussion with Frank. I promise the wait won't be long and we'll try to stay to the two week schedule from now on!

Clay