Hands...

are a difficult subject. But well worth the effort.

The armature (aluminum and galvanized steel wire) :

About 1/2 way through the process:

More pictures to come tomorrow when I can shoot under some real sunshine.

The Clay: Chavant, NSP Soft "(Non Sulfurated Plasteline) ... sulfur free sculpting clay ... minimizes difficulties associated to mold making ... can be melted and poured at approximately 185°F."

This stuff is much harder than the Chavant Davinci Soft (shown in earlier posts). Still, it is very soft for modeling clay, sticky when warmed up (I heat it up in a clay oven to make it more pliable). Not great for super realistic detail, but I suspect that it will hold detail well enough when cooled below room temperature. I like this stuff because it is soft enough that my hands don't get tired, and it seems to stick well to an armature.

Progress...

I still have some superficial smoothing out/texturing to do, but as far as the anatomy goes, I feel it is pretty well done. All of the major wrinkles and folds are in there, and although I may build the brow up a bit further, the bone structure is complete. Do the eyes seem to be looking at the same point? I'll probably dream about a friendly cyclops tonight.

A quick note about the clay I'm using:

Chavant, Davinci Italian Plastilina, "...wax-free, sulfur-based sculpting clay which has the non-sticky, smooth feel of water-based clay."

This stuff is super soft and is extremely pliable, making it easy to rapidly cover a lot of ground. It gets sticky when the weather is hot and humid, and I've noticed that it has a tendency to sag and lose detail after it has been sitting out for any extended amount of time. I'm looking forward to using this clay in cooler weather.