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Will
Hi, Thanks for visiting my website. My name is Will and if you have questions
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Miniature Cat and Mouse Sculptures

Here are some awesome miniatures fantasy sculptures created by Matt DeGelleke. He is not a professional sculptor yet but he is interested in making sculptures to sell. He definitely has the talent and skill for it. These pictures are a fine example of what you can do if you set your mind to making miniatures. Here he outlines for us a great process of how to make complex and beautiful miniatures. If you want to sculpt your own you should read his notes carefully. Below I have posted some pictures of his work and some of what he says about how he makes these miniatures. If you are interested in his work you can contact me and I will put you in contact with him.

 

What Matt Has to say about his sculpting of miniatures:

I have been an artist in more forms that I can think of for a very long time, including pyrography, woodburning, glass engraving, some carving, and I had a lot of fun making the mouse. He took roughly 5 hours.  I made a 1.2 inch high version of the mouse, and wish I'd been able to solder the wireframe first instead of securing it with sculpey (Super Sculpey).  The small mouse isn't very strong and broke off a foot. as you stated, sculpey isn't strong enough to make molds, and I'll have to get ahold of the epoxy clay to make a new one.

The larger mouse was done simply by following the steps on yours and a few other sites.  I made the wireframe and firmed some of the parts using sculpey to hold the frame in one place.  Then I fleshed out the skeleton with the sculpey to give the rest of the clay something to stick to and overlayed the primary muscle shapes which I then smoothed together to simulate skin over the muscles.

I outlined the locations for clothing using a knife, and gave it form using thin rolled clay smoothing it in at the thickness I wanted it to be, defining cloth folds.   Separately I made the shield and attached it.  I then baked the clay, as it wasn't strong enough to add weight to yet. When it cooled, I drilled a hole in the hand and pierced it with a rod of metal into which I made the pin/sword in his hand.  When it was baked again, I used a dremel  work to define some details, such as the toes and the fur, and sanded it to give him a desired look.   The sculpey is tough when attached to a wire frame.  I put the mouse up on a high shelf to keep my cats away from him, but the cat got up there anyway and knocked it on to the floor.  He was cracked in several places, but I was able to reshape new clay into the broken areas, blend it and rebake it. Much to my shock, it worked!  I'm sure he's not as strong as he was when I made him, but at least he can stand on his own again.  He's away behind glass now so no more cats can get at him.

  The mouse was fun, as I was trying to make something unusual, but I enjoy exotics as much as the next guy. and dragons are everywhere. 

 

miniature mouse sculpture

Cat and mouse sculptures

Cat Player sculpture

 

Cat player miniature sculpture

Cat and mouse sculpture

Back of miniature mouse sculpture

miniature mouse sculpture

 

Looking for a clay so you can sculpt your own miniatures? Check these out:

ProCreate

Procreate

Miniature Accessories: ProCreate (Professional Sculptors Putty) This is an outstanding 2 part epoxy that is perfect for exceptionally fine detail of small miniatures. If you are making minis in the 25mm range this is the product for you. Has about a 2 hour working time before auto hardening. This workable time can be adjusted a bit. It has good consistency and doesn't stick to your tools much. This is my favorite. I have an extensive tutorial where I use this putty. If you want to learn more about this putty I have a page with tips, hints, pictures and more

 

Super Sculpey (This is what Matt used to make his sculptures)

Super Sculpey Firm

Super Sculpey FIRM Gray- One Pound- Inexpensive and easy to work with. You can get a lot of practice with this and make some nice miniatures. But it isn't fine enough for real small minis in the 25-28 mm range. And to cure this you bake it in an oven. Nice product. A pound goes a long way. Stays soft forever so need to worry about shelf life. I have more information about this product including tips, hints, pros and cons here. About Super Sculpey Firm