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

Conan the Conqueror Part 1: Introduction

Welcome to the first installment of the Conan the Conqueror blog, which will chronicle the sculpting stages of the Conan the Conqueror Statue, a 3-D representation of the magnificent painting by the incomparable Frank Frazetta. I had worked with Mr. Frazetta (Frank) on two previous occasions and both were terrific experiences for me as a fan of Frank's work and as an artist. There's no question that I benefited and improved as a sculptor by the experiences, and not surprisingly, that has been true of this association. Frank's input and modifications have been invaluable and I hope that the result will be a representation that fans and collectors will find do the piece justice.

I mentioned in the Kull of Atlantis blog that Mr. Fredrik Malmberg, President of Paradox Entertainment (which owns Conan Properties) and I had met to discuss a continuation of the series of sculptures based on Frank's paintings of Robert E. Howard's most famous creation, Conan the Barbarian, painted for Lancer Books in the late 1960s. As noted, I had worked with Frank on a sculpture of his stunning painting of Conan executed for the cover of Conan the Adventurer (Lancer Books, New York, 1966) and had a fantastic experience. Working with Frank Frazetta again was not a hard decision to make and it was an honor to have the opportunity.

The painting, also called the Berserker, was completed in 1967 for the cover of Lancer Books' Conan the Conqueror and is known by either name. You can see from the painting that this is clearly an outstanding example of the skill and vision of a master of the medium and the Grand Master of the genre. This would be a 3-dimensional challenge more difficult than any I had undertaken before, and I would have a legion of collectors and fans of Frank's work to answer to if I failed.

There would be many important decisions to make in choosing exactly what to sculpt and why. This piece would be produced in cold cast porcelain, a resin mixed with porcelain powder. Decisions would have to be reached concerning the size of the piece, how many figures to include, how to attach the horse to the base, mold making considerations, factory production, etc. All of these decisions would determine the success of the project and had to be carefully considered.

First of all, we (Frank, the folks at Conan Properties and I) had to decide how big to make this piece. What would the scale be? I felt that it was an opportunity to sculpt something that would be a centerpiece for, and the pride of, any collection. That's the aim of any piece, really, and it brings out one's best efforts, in my opinion.

Consequently, I felt it was necessary to have Conan the same scale as he is in the Conan the Barbarian I had sculpted some years before. One, as explained above, I wanted the piece to have impact and two, Frank and I agreed with Conan Properties (CP) that this piece begins and ends with Conan on that amazing horse. Everything else is secondary. That's obvious, but it's important in determining that for a sculpture of this painting, Conan on the horse is all you need to make this piece as effective as it can be. And as the first decision made about this piece, I felt that it must be in a scale that is visually impressive to do the painting any justice at all.

All other decisions flow from that one. Thus, if Conan is about 12 inches tall, then the horse is very large; about 18 inches from nose to tail. A larger scale means a higher cost to produce, thus a higher retail price and a larger collectors box, higher shipping charges, etc. Adding the demon warriors would add hundreds of dollars to the retail price (literally) and would add to the fragility of the piece. The size, already huge, would require a reduction in scale that we were not willing to make because a three foot (or larger!) collectors box was simply not practical. Or, I would have to sculpt Conan the size of an eight inch action figure on a toy horse. Not bloody likely!

We all agreed that the surrounding figures are important to the painting, but not so important to the sculpture. We wanted this piece to be as accessible to as many collectors as possible at a price that would be as affordable as we could reasonably make it, and in a scale that would give the most "bang for the buck."

THE ARMATURE

So we'll begin with the armature photos. There are only two shown here, but it's the first big step and is crucial to the process, just as our skeletons are so important in our own structure.

I built the armature from metal pipe as the main support and used aluminum foil as a filler wrapped with aluminum armature wire. The piece will be sculpted in Super Sculpey, a synthetic clay. The figures will be roughed in, both man and horse, then Conan will be sculpted first, followed by the sculpting of the horse.

As you see in the photos, the armature of Conan is not part of the horse armature. Conan will have a simple armature which will be supported by the horse. This allows Conan to be completed and removed, and then a casting of the figure can be fitted to and removed from the horse as the horse is sculpted. The horse armature shows all four legs attached to the wood platform below.

We'll update you on the statue's sculpting process every two weeks. We're a bit late starting the blog and we'll try to debut new installments every other Sunday. I hope you'll stay with us as we develop this complicated sculpture, and I promise next time we'll actually show some sculpting material on the armature!

Until next time-
CSM