Conan the Conqueror Part 5: The Culmination

Welcome to the final installment of the Conan the Conqueror sculpting blog, chronicling the making of this sculpture of Conan on horseback from the stunning painting by Frank Frazetta. The main sculpting that remains is the horse, although there are many details in the accouterments, weapons and gear (as well as the sculpture’s base) to do.

The first thing to finish was the horse. The pose is difficult as the horse is in furious motion as he jumps over and into the waiting foes. As mentioned earlier, reference is important in any good sculpture, and for this piece it seemed logical that rodeo photos of bucking broncos would be helpful. Other photos of horses jumping, running and rearing up were helpful to get full anatomical reference from all angles. This reference was used along with pictures of Frank’s own approach to horses, with a strong emphasis on the beautiful Kubla Khan pen and ink works.

The horse is thus strong and powerful, with muscles fully flexed as he hurtles forward. As I worked up the anatomy, I changed things here and there, reworking and adjusting various areas. It helps at times to get away from the piece, to renew one’s perspective and to keep the eye fresh. To do this, I’d break from the horse and work on other details, like the saddle pommel, the axe at his back, the shield, etc.

Frank had decided that the tail looked best flowing back from the body, so I worked it up with long flowing tooling movements to give the impression of speed.

Here are the photos more or less at this point. However, the figure has already been approved and molded. The Conan figure you see here and in the final photos is a resin casting used as a stand-in for sculpting and approval:

After completion, I worked in the studs around the front and rear of the horse and refined some areas, retouching here and there. I then sculpted in the misty shape that would allow the whole figure to sit suspended above the base. (The base will be a decorative raised oval base, painted with a faux marble surface.)

Next, I baked the sculpture to harden it. Except for the back right hoof, the other hooves were difficult to work in this pose. So after baking, I removed the lower legs, sanded the hooves and worked in the horseshoes, adding some clinging mud to the bottoms of the hooves. I also sanded the back of the saddle, which I interpreted as being made of wood, and sculpted in some detail that was reminiscent of the decorative elements on the front of the saddle. It also seemed that the axe you see behind Conan would have been attached to the wooden saddle with a simple loop for ease of removal in battle.

I had left the smaller studs at Conan’s waist prior to discussing with the factory where we’d want to cut the figure for production. The massive belt or girdle allows the separation of the figure at the waist. Thus, the arms would not have to be removed, but can be cast as integral parts of the upper figure in a single mold section. This is crucial as I did not want the factory trying to reattach and match up the two sections of the muscular arms and veins.

The last photos show the figure fully sculpted with almost all elements in place, although I left out the sword (simply because I removed it to make an adjustment to the figure and did not reattach it for the photo…).

I hope you found this blog interesting and useful in understanding the sculpting process. I enjoyed sculpting the piece, and it was a singular honor to work with Frank again. My warmest thanks to Frank for his guidance and generous help on this project.

Please stay tuned as we’ll be posting photos of the completely painted figure shortly. Thanks for reading!

CSM

Conan the Conqueror Part 4: Finishing the Figure

Finishing out a figure is very time consuming and certainly not the most interesting part of the process, but it is extremely important, and there's nothing like seeing one's work finally coming to completion.

The process, though, can try one's patience. It can be a little like hammering nails, in that it is just smoothing out with thousands upon thousands of repetitive movements. Normally when I finish out a figure, I make it as smooth as possible, but I decided to leave a bit of texture, a bit more looseness on this piece to convey the impression of raw power and strength that the painting shows so well. This piece will be produced as both a painted edition and a bronze edition and I felt the effect in bronze would be more successful with some texture. At the same time, the painted pieces would need a certain level of finishing to work well, since very loose sculptures can have a sloppy or unfinished look when fully painted.

Generally, I try to stick to a schedule of finishing an area, then moving on.

This doesn't always work, as I may see something that needs attention on another area. But I do try to finish a part - say a leg, for example - as that will show me how the overall figure is looking. I smooth with cross striations using loop tools and rounded wood tools with a gradually lighter and lighter touch as the figure reaches the level of smoothness I want for the figure.

I began with the chest area (the face being finished already) as the strength of the painting flows from the face and chest and moves outward from those focal energy points. I then finished out the shoulders and arms.

I added the helmet to check the overall look and compare it to the painting.

It was important to finish the arms and shoulders first, as the sides of the helmet would make finishing the shoulders difficult. The addition of the helmet also tells you if the face works well and still conveys the look in the painting, but I held off adding any helmet detail at this point.

After the face, arms and helmet, I spent some time sculpting the necklace.

This is an important, eye catching element of the painting. I sculpted the parts separately, hardened them through baking and added them to the figure to check the look. I decided that I'd make the hair flow out the back of Conan's helmet as it does in the Conan of Cimmeria painting in which Conan is battling the Frost Giants and in Frank's other paintings of Conan as well.

I then added the fur around the top of his thighs and the top of his massive belt/girdle. Next I worked in the finished leggings (straps over fur) which are rather loose in the painting. This is another case where it worked best to tighten them up, rather than go loose, as the paint can be applied more correctly and more easily at the factory.

I then photographed the piece and removed the necklace sections, since baked Super Sculpey will peel back from unbaked S Sculpey and the elements will distort. You can reverse that by laying the distorted pieces upside down on unbaked Super Sculpey and the material will bend back to its previous shape.

I added one of the finished hands (which I mentioned were sculpted separately), but the other hand I left off until more of the figure was completed.

I finished out the legs close to full completion, but, as usual, I always know that even a fully finished area may require adjustment and resculpting.

Again, Frank might see something he wanted changed and I might realize a part that needed tweaking here and there. This can add to sculpting time, but the sculpture must be as correct as possible. It's always a case where you're tempted to tell yourself it's good enough, but then you'll wish you'd adjusted it every time you see the sculpture for, well, forever.

This is the point at which I showed Frank the piece.

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Frank was fine with the arms, chest and legs, (and even the hair flowing from the helmet) but suggested a couple of key changes to the face: giving the eyes a bit more of an alarmed look, moving the head back and bringing in the chin a bit.

Back at the studio, I first tackled the adjustments Frank wanted, cutting off the head and mounting it on a board. This made the changes in the eyes and jaw more convenient, as I could turn the head on its side or even hold it upside down if necessary. The wisdom of the adjustments became apparent from the beginning, as it was clear that the face was more closely matching the look of the painting. I then reattached the head and corrected the neck and hair, which had been damaged in the modification process.

I then finished out the legs, added the helmet detail with a dental tool with a tiny ball end, and generally checked the figure over, making very minor modifications and retouching as necessary.

I also added the second hand, worked in the forearm muscles again and finished them, then added the forearm band, giving it some stitching detail.

The large studs for the belt were sculpted separately on a steel cylinder so that they could be hardened and added to the figure, closely matching the curve of his torso. The smaller studs will be added later, pending a technical decision regarding where the figure will be cut (separated) in the production and casting process at the factory.

Finishing out a male figure often means adding the veins as the final touch.

Veins are difficult and require a lot of patience. They usually need some retouching later and I sculpt them in stages as they are frustrating to say the least. They're not my favorite part of the process, but they definitely pull the piece together and they signal that the long process is finally coming to an end.

I think that covers most of what you see here, at least on the figure. There was still the horse and gear to complete, of course, and that, too, would take some time. So here's the finished Conan the Conqueror figure. You'll see the sword and shield in a future installment. Frank approved the figure thus far and I hope it meets with your expectations.

CSM