hello there well we're really stoked to be bringing you this sculptural lesson because we'll be creating a beautiful shy horse with montmartre polymer clay but before we get into it if you love art then make sure you have a look at the other lessons at our webpage at www.weather.gov/fortworth course if one is committed to creating a realistic work the movement and proportions must be absolutely exact so good set of reference drawings are a necessity I have tried to be as meticulous as I can with these views because not only the general form is referenced from them but also the armatures creations fully amateur will be using 3/16 Booker rods a ruler and calipers a wooden pallet for a plinth tie wire eight nuts and washers a drill and 1/16 drill bit pliers and also some side cutters and a hacksaw that are not shown first we need to make the armature these pages are in the PDF that can be downloaded from the above link or at our web page step one is to bore the holes in the pallet Auklet so centrally place the template on the pallet tape it down and using a 3/16 drill create the holes once the holes have been drilled mark the aspect of the template to avoid confusion remove the template and we can move on to finishing the book a rod length of our armature start with the back legs and make the first bend marked of end point with a piece of blue tack and use some flat nose pliers and slowly bend the rod to the desired shape keep checking it against the plan until it's right by this process on all four legs and take your time I will say at this point that our length of Booker rod will not bend past ninety degrees as it will break so bear this in mind I have also found that book a rod that has maybe been lined in a hardware shop for years becomes brittle and inflexible so try to purchase new rods if you can and before you make the final cut screw the nuts on as removing them will recut the thread and make that final cut with a hacksaw so the holes have been drilled in our wooden base color and the legs have been fashioned and cut to shape so now we can attach them it is helpful to refer to the template to get the right rod in the correct hole place the nut on first followed by the washer place the rod through the base thread on a washer then screw on the other nut use the second pair of pliers to tighten follow this procedure for the other three lengths of rod when all four rods are secured to the base position them appropriately and tie the two sets together and then create a backbone length of the armature fashion the appropriate Bend and then finish the legs and tie it onto the legs it is very important that this backbone length is tied in securely as it braces the whole armature in fact I can't stress enough the importance of building a strong armature as it enables you to be robust install ting and ensures the longevity of your sculpture it is just as important for it to be accurate too so take your time this step may not be glamorous but your sculptures success hinges on this engineering foundation okay well once we're happy with the legs we can create the head neck part of the armature blind that onto the body so let's get that made it is easier to do one smooth bends with the line links and cut it with a hacksaw when the shape is right for extra reassurance you can use epoxy glue over the bound wire if you like okay then well our armature looks pretty good the next stage is to pack our horse up with aluminium foil we can then create a thin skin of polymer clay around it can do our first baking so let's get the aluminium foil in the whole idea of creating a core is to ensure that a finite thickness of polymer clay is used as well as offering a consistent layer of clay around the base it is also a more economical way to sculpt so clay wastage is minimized make sure you compact the airfoil so there is no air in the voids and shrinkage from heat is minimized tie the bolt out shape onto the armature as tight as you can bulk out the head as well but make sure not to add too much here the worst thing that can happen if you add too much material and it limits your sculpting should you need to remove clay so less is best the next stage is to add the first foundation layer of clay ultimately this should be a 5 mil thick layer I'm using Montmartre polymer beige clay in the 500 grand pack incidentally to are required in a project this size if you have a place pasta machine use setting one and totally encapsulate the area pick the thickness consistent and excludes Onegin overlap the close strips slightly and blend them together ensure there is no pockets of air between the alfoil and the clay the reason for this is that the air heats up and cannot escape and it fluctuates in temperature aluminium is very heat stable and cools quickly play requires a smooth cooling transition to avoid spending and/or contraction this expansion and contraction is what causes cracks and clay from the body and down the leg rods and smooth them out to a taper but again don't create too much bulk but this that should do it it's nice and smooth the initial skin is on our sculpture and it doesn't really look like a horse yet but that's okay because there's a fair bit of visual information like bones and muscles that will go on it asked out our initial baking so let's bake this and just follow the instructions once the model has cooled condition your clay and bulk out the legs now shire horses are a monstrous breed but their legs are still relatively slender back on more clay than you need and then carve it away until the shape looks right keep turning the turntable so you can view the model at all angles if you remove too much clay you can just apply more over the area pack it tightly over the LODs so there is no air voice incidentally buckle rods make for a better armature and normal wire due to the threads supporting the clay sculpture is all about observation and a continuing refinement if you keep at it you will get it to a point that you're happy with useful calipers to get the accurate measurements of certain key points like the bottom part of the back leg here in fact it's quite interesting that lump on the back of the leg is called the calcaneal and its distance to the plinth is the same length as the point from the back to the belly and the distance from the summit of the withers to the sternum and is also very close to the length of the head so you can use all of these comparative measurements to ensure an accurate model there is a diagram outlining these measurements in the PDF by the way build up the glutes with clay and shape them with the modeling tool I find it easiest to roll the tool over the surface to suggest a nice compound curve if you are to create a sculpture like this you will need a good range of modeling tools you will work out soon enough what tool does what and it becomes second nature to pick the one that will give you the correct desired effect as you sculpt your horse you have to suggest many subtle elements such as muscles and bones and they all have to be in the right place or it doesn't look correct to the viewer this is a wonderful challenge we spoke to the sculptor I have found regardless of the viewers expertise on horses they generally know if it doesn't look right so if you are to embark on a project like this it is good to brush up on your Anatomy all horses have a large tendon from the calcaneal to the fetlock elements like this are better put in for mature display smooth in the knees are a good example of how bones are evident beneath and again the position must be correct a shire horse on average weighs 850 to 1100 kilo so you can well imagine they need to be very robust to support their body weight the murder of interest they are also on average 17 hands tall that's about a hundred and seventy eight centimeters the largest recorded horse in history was a shire fittingly named mammoth owned in 1848 and he stood 219 centimeters high once the legs have been shaped I add some clay to suggest the pectoral muscles and the biceps I love this stage it makes all the prior tedious work worthwhile it's a good practice to lay these muscles in as they are on an actual horse's body and blend them in this tends to look more convincing I use a small pointed wooden tool to refine each muscle I'll also use a stiff Catalan flat brush to smooth in any additions next I add the large deltoid muscles that wrap around from the sternum area up to the scapula shoulder blade region on draft horses this is extremely pronounced I blend it into the top of the four leg and smooth it all off I can then build up my friends Natomas and deltoid muscles that extrude over the shoulder with many years of hauling ploughs and farm work he's pretty shredded in the 1500s draft horses were a valued warhorse or heavy charger but by the mid 1600s the type was relegated to farm work as the cavalry favored lighter faster mounts at 1,100 kilos the shoulder blades would be quite apparent so I fashioned an appropriate shape and applied to the correct position I also add clay onto the top of the neck the show's neck is slightly arched and long in proportion to the body I add clay to suggest the mastoid muscles on the front of the neck and then layer skin over the top portion of the body and smoothly blend this into the hindquarters so no transition is apparent once the body is done I follow the same process with the neck the shire horse has an enormous capacity for pulling weight in 1924 had a British exhibition a pair of horses were estimated to have pulled a starting load equal to 45 tons and they were apparently working in slippery footing the term shire are first used in the mid 17th century although the breeds roots go way back I've refined that next shape bearing in mind not to remove too much clay remember it is easier to remove clay than to have to reapply it I use a ribbon tool to remove more plain to define the mastoid muscles I can then start on my friends head the head of the shire is long and lean for its relative proportions I have very large eyes with a large muzzle and a predominant chin to suggest all of this information we need a good amount of clay just push and pull so lay a thick sheet over the head and ensure there is no pockets are there between this layer let's listen to some music while I sculpt the head [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] well that's all the main elements I really hope that you're enjoying their movie now we can move on to the main detail and that beautiful feathering around most draft horses fit so let's get that on traditionally many draft horses have their tails and Mane's braided to keep them out of the way and to look beautiful of course so for the tail I'm creating a simple plat as well as looking impress it from a sculptural point of view it's also easier once the individual hairs have been suggested cut it into three equal proportions and then create the platter I like to create elements like this on a sheet of perspex because it adheres to it slightly and doesn't move around too much once the platter is created it's a simple job of applying it onto the horse one thing to bear in mind is that the tail extends from the backbone so it is situated higher than one might think next I create the braided main this braid is created with a series of rosettes once this is fashioned press it onto the neck and cut it to size the main starts behind the eyes and extends to the withers that's the look above the shoulders then use the spike tool to join it remember you're suggesting hair emitting from his neck then use a squad tool to suggest a hair leading to each rosette finally we can create the feet and offenders that are synonymous to most draft horses first shape the hoods and smooth them in ensure the angle is correct then wrap a sheet around the lower portion of the leg cut it to size then suggest the individual hairs emitting out at the appropriate angles with a hobby knife once this is done you can reposition it back onto the leg and blend it in it will be sorry to redefine the fur with the spike tool as a lot of that suggested fur will be flattened out and lost incidentally there is no logical reason as to why shires have feathered feet from my research they offer no protection and next to no heat is lost from the Hoos they are apparently just born like that it's just another example of their wonderful uniqueness if you want to go even further you can add more feathers to really highlight this intriguing element on your shire well thanks for tuning in and remember to always keep on creating see you next time