I saw this book mentioned enthusiastically on another forum. Has anyone seen it, yet? If so, is it as good as it sounds? Book information from Amazon.Com. Pop Sculpture: How to Create Action Figures and Collectible Statues. Tim Bruckner; Zach Oat; with Rubén Procopio. Product Details * Paperback: 272 pages * Publisher: Watson-Guptill; 1st edition (October 19, 2010) * Language: English * ISBN-10: 9780823095223 * ISBN-13: 978-0823095223 * Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches * Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds * Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars Reviews from Amazon.Com: An excerpt from the Editorial Review An excerpt from a Customer Review I am somewhat leary of it being a Watson-Guptill publication, but it seems to be larger than their standard 160 page art books, so maybe it actually has some useful information inside, and isn't just another Watson-Guptill coffee-table book?
This sounds just AWESOME. I need this book to complete my life... /drool I'm also into Urban Art toys/Designer toys. I'd love to release some art toys of my own but there's never been anything official to consult. Thanks for this KWM!
You are welcome, Jphobia !!! ) Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought http://www.amazon.com/Babes-Beasts-Brawn-Sculpture-Fantastic/dp/1593070136/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Babes, Beasts, and Brawn: Sculpture of the Fantastic. Steve Kiwus. Product Description Product Details * Paperback: 160 pages * Publisher: Dark Horse (September 12, 2006) * Language: English * ISBN-10: 1593070136 * ISBN-13: 978-1593070137 * Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches * Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds * Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars This book looks more like a Vanity Book than a how-to book. It might look nice on the coffee-table, eh?
Second book is definately a coffee table book. The female sculpture on the front doesn't look like the best example they could've given either. (looks a little dorky,haha)
The first book does look really good. To bad my local library doesn't carry it. But for 20 bucks plus whatever shipping will be I may just have to buy it anyway. God knows I can use all the sculpting tips/help I can get.:p
LOOK INSIDE! Pop sculpture : how to create action figures & collectible statues. Tim Bruckner; Zach Oat; Rubén Procopio. New York : Watson-Guptill Publications, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-8230-9522-3 (alk. paper) 0823095223 1. Modeling 2. Action Figures (Toys) I. Oat, Zach II. Procopio, Rubén III. Title IV. Title: How to create your own action figures & collectible statues. TT916.B78.2010 731.4'2-dc22 Excerpt from Pages vi & vii: Table of Contents FOREWORD 9 INTRODUCTION 10 A Brief History of Pop Sculpture 11 About This Book 14 The Stages of Creating Pop Sculpture 15 1. Art, Reference & Design 16 The Joy of Specs: Putting Together Your Reference Art 16 Bringing Your Figure to Life 28 Articulate Yourself: Designing an Articulated Figure 30 2. Materials, Tools, Supplies, and The Workplace 36 Sculpting Materials 36 The Wax Artist's Cookbook 51 Pro's Prose: Materials 55 Be Cool to Your Tools 60 Pro's Prose: Tools 64 3-D Scanners and Digital Sculpting Programs 65 Pro's Prose: Digital Sculpting 66 A Happy, Safe, (and Efficient) Workplace 68 3. The Rough Sculpt 76 It's What's Inside That Counts 77 Going In For The Lay-Up: Creating Your Rough Clay Sculpt 82 A Journey Of The Self: Review, Reflect on Your Sculpt 91 4. Casting In Wax 98 Making the Waste Mold 99 The Casting Couch (and Chair, and Table...) Setting Up Your Workplace 103 The First Cut is the Deepest: Cutting Your Figure into Parts 105 Hot Wax Weekend: Making the Wax Casts 117 5. Finishing in Wax 120 Practice, Practice, Practice: Getting a Feel for Wax 121 Know Your Tolerance 125 6. Making a Master Mold 144 Sectional Revolution: A Seamless Collection of Parts 144 You've Got Pegs Now Learn How to Use Them 146 Barbarians at the Gates: Gating Finished Parts for a Master Mold 150 7. Resin Casting and Finishing 158 The Hard Stuff: All About Resins 158 Mo' Molding, Mo' Problems: Repairing Molds 159 Urethane, I'm a Thane: Resin Casting 160 Finishing Moves 169 8. Articulation 180 Facts and Figures: Articulation Basics 181 Figuring it Out: Putting Your Figure Together 194 A Separate Piece: Roughing Out the Figure 196 Know When to Mold 'Em: Fresh RTV Master Molds 197 Assembly Required: Putting the Parts Together 199 9. Accessories 202 Accessories to Kill [With] For 203 Planet of the Capes 208 Life's Tough, Wear a Helmet: Making Thor's Helmet 214 All Your Base Are Belong To Us 219 Got To Gate You Into My Life 219 10. Painting 222 A Place to Paint 222 Good Color References 224 Prime Suspect: All About Primers 226 A Brush With Destiny: All About Brushes 228 The Money of Color: All About Paint 230 Paint Misbehavin': Time to Paint 233 The Varnishing 242 Asgardians (and Olympians), Assemble! 246 11. Photography 250 What You'll Need 251 Shooting Gallery: Your Photography Station 252 Take the Shot! 254 12. Going Pro 260 AD Phone Home: How to Bid on Jobs 261 Building a Rep 264 SPECIAL THANKS 269 INDEX 270 Excerpt from Page 15: The Stages of Creating Pop Sculpture Here is how the sculpting process usually flows once you have your design and art references. We've noted the points at which you need client (Art Director) approval. * Receive control art, review manufacturing methods * Build an armature and create a rough clay sculpture of the figure - AD Approval Needed * Determine where to cut the sculpture into parts for reproduction and cut into those parts * Create RTV waste molds of the clay parts * Cast the parts in wax * Refine and finsh master wax - AD Approval Needed * Create new RTV molds from the wax parts * Cast the parts in resin * Refine and finish the resin parts * Prime and paint all parts * Assemble painted parts into final figure - AD Approval Needed * Photograph finished sculpture Image Exceprt from Page 18: Holly Starlite All excerpts used under Fair Use for educational and review purposes.
There is a blog for this book !!! http://popsculpturebook.blogspot.com/2010/04/pop-goes-athena.html This is a promotional video for the book at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUVjOaci2CE Ruben Procopio (one of the authors) sculpting at the Collectors company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7MI8r_SFfI This book is looking better and better all the time.
Yeah, I ordered a copy of Pop Sculpture on the 15th, and it arrived today, the 21st. ) Yeah, they use wax as a material in their process. There, on pages 51 and 52, some wax recipes. And on page 100, Converting a Paint pot into a Pressure Pot. Silicone rubber mold making, casting resin, it's all here. If you don't hear from me for awhile, it's because I'm busy reading.
I guess I should follow-up with a review of this book. I have had a chance to read through this book from cover to cover since I got it. First off, to date, there are no books available at all, for making a resin BJD, from scratch. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. There are no step-by-step books for making a resin ABJD. Learning To Be A Doll Artist by (deceased doll maker) Martha Armstrong-Hand (1999) is about making a porcelain BJD. Yoshida Style BJD Making Guide by Ryo Yoshida is about making an OOAK BJD in Air-Dry Clay. Pop Sculpture kind of fills the gap between those two books in that it details how to use a pressure pot, and how to make silicone rubber molds, and cast PU resin into those molds. You must fill-in the gaps yourself. Reading Pop Sculpture is like looking over Tim Bruckner's shoulder as he sculpts, molds, and casts a resin figure of Athena, and makes an Action Figure of Thor with joints. He has a nice sense of humor, and he is generous with the information he presents. There are plenty of really good photos of the process, as well as some nice photos of what can be done with silicone rubber molds and PU resin. Tim models in oil-clay over a wire armature, then cuts the sculpt up into pieces and molds it in a silicone rubber waste mold. He uses a pressure pot from the very beginning, when making the waste mold, in order to make sure that freshly mixed rubber is pulled into all the cracks between the chopped-up rubber he puts around his sculpt. He casts carving wax (aka toy wax) into the waste molds, then finishes the figure in wax, using a wax pen. Does this sound familiar? This is similar to how Martha Armstrong-Hand developes a BJD. After he finishes detailing the wax sculpt, he makes the final silicone rubber molds for resin casting. He uses the pressure pot when making the molds and when casting the resin. Everything is detailed very nicely. This book has all sorts of details that make it a very handy reference book for doll makers who are interested in casting their dolls in resin. Although the Thor figure is jointed, the joints are Action Figure joints, and are not tensioned with elastic. twigling's Zen book is still the definitive book for BJD joints.
I'm still waiting for it in the mail, however I bought a book on modelling faces that was supposed to come cheap with it and I can knock out a decent human head in 2 hours flat instead of adjusting and guessing for days. Can remember the name, I'll drop it here later
"Modelling Heads and Faces in Clay" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modelling-Heads-Faces-Berit-Hildre/dp/1408102676 Very clear and helpful. TOTALLY recommend this to all serious BJD makers
Thanks for the update kwmelvin. I don't really have a problem piecing things together especially when it comes to the mold making process.
Modelling Heads and Faces in Clay Okay, so I found a copy of this book through Alibris, and ordered it today. I already have several head modeling books in my reference library, including: Modeling The Head in Clay. Margit Malmstrom and Bruno Lucchesi. The Portrait In Clay. Peter Rubino. Modeling A Likeness In Clay. Daisy Grubbs. Making Original & Portrait Dolls In Cernit. Rotraut Schrott. One more head modeling book won't hurt.
I would say that Pop Sculpture is a good book for someone who is just learning about silicone rubber mold making and PU resin casting. I have been making molds for a few years now, and there were some new things for me in this book, especially about using a wax pen, and a pressure pot.
