This is my very first sculpting project - an Asian male head I call Kang, or "Sweet Candy Kang". He's to be my original character named Kang. I didn't have a specific look for Kang, because I created this character after seeing Iplehouse's Asa - that was supposed to be his doll form. But then I stumbled upon a Korean drama called Master's Sun by the recommendation of my sister, and I saw Seo Ing Guk (an actor and a singer), and I realized that's what I want my Kang to look like. Incidentally, Seo Ing Guk's character is also named Kang Woo (my character is just Kang), also referred as "Sweet Candy Kang" or "Kang Candy". So I decided to make my own doll head for my character, and here's what I've been up to. First, this is my reference map. Seo Ing Guk, Jay Park, Lee Philip, Jang Geun Suk and Key are my respective models for reference. And this is from Day 1: All sorts of things were wrong at this stage. Day 2: Looking a little bit more Asian, maybe? Lips are the hardest thing to do, seriously. And Day 3 (today), after first sanding: His nose has more shape now, and after sanding I can now see better where I need to add and where to remove. The lips are still giving me trouble, but I like how he's coming together. All in all, I'm doing a lot better than I expected, the last time I sculpted something was on 5th grade. Sorry about the quality of the photos, some are straight from my Instagram and all are taken with my phone as I can't be bothered to take proper pictures of these early stages. But for now, I think I'm about 6-7 hours in to this project (I work in tiny bits - sculpt for an hour and then let it harden a bit, and then return and sculpt some more...). I'm working with DAS paper clay. So far I think it's alright to work with, now that I understand how it works. Please be free to comment, I'd like to hear suggestions and feedback, even critique. ♥ This is my first head so don't be too hard on me, but I'd like some feedback so I know I'm going to the right direction, or to be routed to another direction if this one is the wrong road.
We're big Kpop fans in this house, too! I'd love to see a head with Key's features. My biggest tip is to hollow out the head and get some eyes in there as soon as possible so that you can sculpt the eyelids around a form. It's very helpful for realism, and will save you from having to destroy a lot of detail if you save that step for last. Keep going!
ghostdollie, thank you so much! ♥ I am not as big of a k-pop enthusiastic as I used to be, but I'm still loving the beauty of Asian features - and I do watch Korean dramas when I have time. Thank you for the feedback and suggestions! I will do as you say, that sounds like a good advice. Update! Day 3 (I think): Eyes. (Note: I only carved out the eyes. The back of his head was still intact.) Looking like an orc, omg XD Day 4: Built up his lips and made his eyes a little bigger. Taking pictures really helps you to see the proportions a lot better! Realized that I didn't like his eyes so I filled out the eye holes again. Made new eyes, a little higher than the previous ones. Also started shaping his nose more, and added to his lips... And I guess I added more to his forehead and chin at some point? I'm losing track of my process already. XD Last of Day 4. If it even is day four. I started this on... 5th of Feb, but I work on-off on this throughout the days so I keep getting lost with the dates. Day 5 (today): His eyes have been filled up again, and a lot of sanding and carving was done. I am slimming down his face from the sides and I made his chin smaller. Also the nose is starting to get more shape, yay! I really like his upper lip! Although it is not yet quite symmetrical, but I'll work on that soon. I like this side of him better, so I'll work on the other side to make it as close to this one as I can. Oh and I added more clay to the back of his head, but I think I need to sand it smaller again. From the front. He kind of looks like he's sneering at me from this angle. XD Anyway, sorry for the picture spam, I wanted to show as much of him as I could. I'll work on him closely throughout the week so a lot of pictures will happen. So far I love this so much. It was incredibly hard at the beginning, because I didn't quite understand how to make the paperclay do what I want, but I think I got the hang of it now. I love it how I can just add and sand and add again. You can't do that with doll modding as easily. I think Kang is going to turn out great! ♥ Next I will probably post some pictures of this head next to my other dolls, because I want some for reference. I already noticed that he's very different from all the other dolls. A bit more realistic, I think? And his head is quite large, that's why I'm trying to slim his face down to make him fit into my crew better. Thank you for reading and as always, I'm open for comments and advice! ♥
ghostdollie, thank you so much for the support. ^u^ ♥ Not much work has been done since the last post because I have been busy with all sorts of stuff. But now that I finished all my face up commissions, I have more time for sculpting again. I have lost count of days so sorry, don't know in which day are we going. XD So, on Monday I shaved his head smaller from everywhere since it was way too big to fit in with the rest of my resin crew. And today, I added some more clay to his forehead after I was pointed out that he had too little of that. I'm really liking the head proportions now, he's looking all better. Also some modifications have been done to his nose and lips. Anyway, pictures: Don't mind the scratches, those will disappear once I get to sanding - probably tomorrow. I still think this side of him looks the best, and I'm trying hard to make the other side symmetrical. It just isn't as easy as it sounds. XD Alright, next up is some sanding to smooth out the surface and then I'll cut his head open and start with his eyes. Luckily some new tools are on their way, hopefully will be here early next week. Also I might just have to get my hands on a dremel... Anyway, that's all I've done. As always I'm open for comments and advice ♥ Thank you for peeking! PS. Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I can't be bothered to use DSLR for process pictures :'D
Small update because I sanded him again. I am happy with him, but I do notice a problem: his nose and mouth are not completely aligned - as in the middle of the mouth is not in the middle of the nose. I don't really know how I'm going to fix it yet, as I'm happy with both the lip and the nose and I don't want to ruin them. But the best option seems to be to reshape the lips so they will be aligned with the nose. Anyway, pictures: You can see where I'm going to open his head. I'm waiting to get a dremel in my hands so I can do that - I learnt that a hobby knife isn't enough for this job. :P And a comparison with my K-doll Kasis. They're supposed to work aesthetically since they're linked to each other in the story, which I think they do. They look very different because K-doll's style and level of realism is not the same as mine, but I think they look nice together. Can't wait to get the tools so I can continue with Kang. ♥ Thank you for looking, sorry for the double post ♥
What a pleasant face! Even without eyes it looks very peaceful and sweet, and it does look good with the K-doll head. Good choice with getting a dremel, I went on without one for a long time and my hands suffered greatly from it.
@sailor: Thank you so much! I actually follow your tumblr and I'm a fan of your work - so I was very thrilled to see you commented ♥ I'm glad you like him so far and think that he's working with Kasis. Now then, an update. There haven't been much work done on him because I've felt really uninspired lately. Quite frankly I'd like to either throw him to the trash or to the wall perhaps... But I don't want to give up so I'll keep working on him until he pleases me. Anyway, I opened his head with a dremel, gouged out the styrofoam and poked some holes into his head. His eye holes are not the shape I want - one of his former eye holes reappeared, apparently I hadn't filled it well enough before. But now he has nostrils and I'll start working on the inside of his head and his eye holes and... Maybe some ears too. Here's some pictures: Drew some lines on his face when I was trying to figure out if he's symmetrical or not. Did not help, I don't know... After there pictures I did work on him a bit, with the eye shape and his nose and lips... Also shaved his head slimmer (yet again), as I felt his head was too round. I want him to have an interesting face shape and features, but I don't know... I don't like him that much at the moment. :/ Also I saw a dream not long ago in which I started sculpting a girl doll I'm planning, and it was so easy and nice that now I'm tempted. I really want to try out sculpting a body, but I haven't planned one for Kang, he's supposed to be just a head. I really want to start on the girl... Egh. Anyway, sorry for ranting and thank you for reading! I will try to take some pictures of his current state and update soon. ♥
