Learning to Sculpt
Sculpting can be a fun and exciting hobby, or you can sculpt professionally and get paid for it if you really
love it and like to make art. Making a living as an artist isn’t always easy but it can be done if you are
committed and you are a good artist.
Learning to sculpt really begins with learning to draw. Because sculpture is three dimensional you really need
to understand form and dimension, especially the form of the body, if you want to be a great sculptor. Even if you
don’t want to sculpt people having a solid understanding of form drawing and being able to draw the ideas that you
have for sculptures as well as possible will help you conceptualize all the details of the piece that you want to
create.
Because drawing is so integral to learning how to sculpt experts say that if you want to learn to sculpt you
need to learn how to draw. Start by taking some figure drawing classes or reading some books on figure drawings. It
helps if you take figure drawing classes where you can draw figures from a three dimensional model but it’s not
always necessary.
Learn how to draw in order to sculpt....
Some of the best sculptors are self-taught and never took a drawing class in their lives. However, if you
haven’t had a lot of training in drawing or if you haven’t drawn a whole lot in your life then you definitely need
to at least read some books on drawing and put in some serious practice time drawing before you can even think
about learning to sculpt.
After you have a good foundation in drawing you need to learn modeling. Modeling is one skill you will use
probably more than drawing when it comes to make sculptures. Models are what you will use to judge the form and
proportion of your piece, to finalize any details about the shape or the pose, and to bring the image of the
sculpture that you have in your mind to life. Usually models are done on a small scale compared to the size of the
finished sculpture but not always.
You might be tempted sometimes to skip modeling and go right to casting or
carving but that would be a huge mistake. Your model is your guide and your
reference point and you will need that in order to create the sculpture that you want to make without wasting a lot
of expensive materials. Take the time to learn and practice modeling if you want to be a skilled
sculptor.
After modeling you will need to learn actual sculpting techniques.
Again, you don’t necessarily need to take a class on these methods but you will need to get some studio time in to
practice your technique. And unless you are lucky enough or wealthy enough to have a sculpting studio in your home
or garage you will need to visit a working, commercial art studio to get in the practice time you will
need.
Some of the start up tips you can find in our subsequent pages are,
- Your first and essential sculpting
tools.
- What kind of sculpting materials to
use?
- Which professional sculpting group you should
join?
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