Pop Sculpture: How to Create Action Figures and Collectible Statues

I had this book on my "Wish List", hesitating because these guys are so obviously WAY AHEAD of me and I will never, ever catch up. I just started polymer a year ago and found myself gravitating towards sculpture, which I've never done before, and moving pretty fast on acquiring skills. But there is so much to learn...just like anything else. So the book kept drawing me in until I bought it. And I was so glad I finally gave in. First of all, the book's quality is top notch. The photos are large so detail can be studied at leisure. The color quality is great. The techniques are completely comprehensive...down to earth, easy to understand with loads of photos on procedure. Second, the writing style is great. You are put at ease from the first. The tone is laid back and full of wry humor (just my kind) but it is obvious these guys are SERIOUS artists, aside from their credentials, and that they totally enjoy their work and admire it and each others as well. Third, I appreciate the fact that they let you know the kind of mistakes they themselves have made. They certainly do not put themselves on a pedestal and, in poking fun at themselves, make the student feel at ease about making his/her own. The sense of comradery is totally evident. And, as a woman, I appreciate that a woman is included in the group and given extreme honor as to her position in the field. Fourth, there are chapters on doing business as an artist and even photographing your own work. I bought several books on desk top photography, etc. and they are all good. But this one was sweet and simple and pulled it all together for me. Fifth, even though each of these artists works a different medium and I only am doing polymer right now, I garnered invaluable information just by skimming thru the first time I opened it. Last, this book has become my main textbook for sculpture so far. The more I look and read the more I find. I seriously recommend it for anyone that aspires to be a master at this craft. You will enjoy it tremendously.

I have been sculpting and making OOAK heads for a few years now and I wish this book had been written sooner. Of all the books in my library this is the only one to deal with Apoxie Sculpt, plastics, and resin casting in a strait forward way. They show you how to mold and cast but throw in important steps like making gates that other doll making books have glossed or skipped all together. This is the only book I have come across to deal with casting resins in a strait forward manner. This book leads you through the process of concept art, rough sculpt from several choices of sculpting materials, to wax casting, to resin casting and painting. Two figures are made, the static pose Athena and a jointed Thor. Step by step painting guides are shown with many clear photographs. This is not exactly a how-to book, it won't take you from no experience to producing a line of action figures over night. It will be less frustrating if you have some artistic experience and have done a bit of sculpting but I will recommend this book for artists, sculptors, and doll makers of all levels. Doll makers may want to pair this book with Learning To Be A Doll Artist this too starts with a static figure and covers wax casting but gets in to slightly different joint mechanics before porcelain casting. Between the two, and the Yoshida BJD book or at least the gist of that idea, you have the best books I've ever seen for creating your own models of people.

This book is a thing of beauty for the self taught sculptor. Not only does it cover the step-by-step processes in producing sculpts of figurines and action figures in a traditional way but there are interviews with artist in the business that give tips, advice, and highlights the differences with working with other sculptural media. Beyond that, it covers a little history of figurines and toys, how to produce figures for design to the painting stage, casting techniques, wax sculpture techniques, polymer clay techniques, the basics of sculpting with epoxy resin, discussions on 3D printing, and much more.

This really is a fantastic work and resource. This covers the whole technical and artistic process in creating sculptures that are fit for reproduction and is FULL of detailed photos and illustrations of each part. One thing this book doesn't really cover, and it isn't really a shortcoming but just not within the scope of this book, is anatomy. If you are just starting to sculpt the human form and you want to eventually cast your creations this will give you everything BUT a foundation in human anatomy. I'm really looking forward to taking my sculpts to a new medium, sculpting wax.

A very useful book for getting started with sculpting as well as setting everything up. My one complaint is there's really very little in the way of actually sculpting HOW-TOs in the book, which is fine, but if you're learning how to sculpt accurately, get a book on anatomy. This book shows you how three particular industry talents, and really, only one or two of them, go about sculpting pieces, the materials they use, etc. etc. If you aren't familiar with sculpting/carving in wax, this book will try and familiarize you with it, but it basically only shows you how to get a rough sculpt done in clay/whatever, then casting it and finishing it in wax, and doing another cast in resin. Sound complicated? If you aren't familiar with that whole process, the book will get you started with it. If you ARE familiar with it, then there's the main problem: you're already familiar with it, and all you'll divine from the book is a handful of helpful hints. The book does a lot to really impress on you that you can't get good sculpts if you aren't finishing in wax. But, if you just want to sculpt some figures in clay or Super Sculpey, like me, without dealing with all sorts of other things like casting in wax and wax pens and whatever else, again like me, then this may not be a wise investment. Otherwise, there's lots of pretty pictures and a bunch of great, helpful hints if you want to seriously devote yourself to sculpting in the figure kit/statue/action figure industry.

This book is both comprehensive and entertaining, generously filled with all the ins and outs of the profession and tips and tricks gathered from the authors' combined experience, with additional insights from their professional peers.

This book is stuffed with excellent information. Whether you think you'd like to try your hand at sculpting and producing action figures and small scale figure sculptures, or you are just curious about how it is done, you'll find this book a fascinating read. It follows the processes in great detail, from conception to sculpting, molding, casting and painting. It even has a chapter about how to become a professional in this art form. The information that interested me the most was about many of the different materials that the pros use to sculpt and cast their sculptures. There's input from a number of professional action figure sculptors about the pros and cons of a wide range of materials and a lot of information about how to use them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Although the techniques and materials are aimed at the collectible figurine and action figure market, they all apply to military miniatures and other small scale projects. As a purchaser of other titles, it is safe to say that no other title comes close to the depth of this one. While the author is Tim Buckner, Tim has collected the opinions and experiences of other established sculptors. The section on possible modeling materials is worth the price of the book, alone. There are several chapters, which will guide a would-be designer from the drawing board to casting and painting a finished figure. There are many, many photographs and illustrations. I cannot recommend this title more highly.

Ich habe mir das Buch gekauft da ich wissen wollte wie diese coolen Aktion-Figuren erstellt werden- ACH SO WIRD DAS GEMACHT :-D Ich habe durch das Buch nun mehr Infos zum erstellen einer Figur, als ich eigentlich bräuchte- aber ich bin froh über diese Übersicht der möglichkeiten. NUR AUF ENGLISCH: Das Buch ist und gibt es nur auf English, Trotzdem ist es Super lehrreich. IM BUCH WIRD ERKLÄRT: MATERIALIEN: Werden alle benannt beim Namen und deren Eigenschaften bei der Verarbeitung. TIPPS/ARBEIT: Es werden beispiel Arbeiten und Profi-tipps gennant mit deren Erfahrungen. Das Buch zeigt auch so deutlich Tipps zu allen Hergängen auch was Arbeitszeit und das Marketing angeht, für jene die vielleicht Beruflich damit Arbeiten wollen. FOTOS ZUR SCHRITT FÜR SCHRITT ARBEIT: Im Buch werden die Schritte anhand von Fotos und von Texten Schritt für Schritt erklärt- wie mann eine Figur erstellt, mann kann jeden schritt leicht nachvollziehen. WIE MACHE ICH EINE FIGUR: Von der Skizze zu Hilfsmitteln wie Werkzeug und den Benötigten Materialien, wie man ein draht-Skelett macht bis hin zur fertigen Figur und wie diese aufgebaut wird von den Arbeitsschritten her. STEIFE BÜSTE ODER BEWEGLICHE FIGUR: (Die Figur kann eine Steife Figur sein oder auch mit Gelenken, hier wird das nötigste erklärt wie man diese erstellt) Von den Materialien her die man Benutzen kann (gibt mehre, werden auch benannt), auch wie man sie verwenden muss um nichts Falsch zu machen. HALTERUNGEN ERSTELLEN: Vom Eigenem Aufbau der Halterungen um stehende Figuren zu Stützen oder auch größere, wird hier auch jedes Teil von der Stange bis zu Mutter hin alle aufgezählt und Bildlich dargestellt damit man weiß wie die Halterung aussehen sollte und warum. GUSSFORMEN SELBER ERSTELLEN: Von den Eigens gemachten Gussformen und auch wie die Transparenten Materialien heißen werden hier benannt die Für Feuer, Wasser oder Rauch verwendet werden- was ich persönlich gar nicht wusste. Auch wie man seine Figur für eine Gussform vorbereitet wird hier Detailliert geschildert. Und noch einiges mehr das sehr hilfreich für Berufsstrebende oder Hobby Modelliere sein kann, die nicht oder kaum wissen wie man Figuren erstellen könnte. An Jene kann ich dieses Buch empfehlen, da es wirklich sehr aufschlussreich ist in Vielerlei Hinsicht von der Erstellung einer Figur. Ob es sich nun um eine Marvel/ DC/ Anime/ Puppe oder einfach nur eine X- beliebige Figur handelt die man gerne Modellieren möchte. Das bleibt jedem selbst überlassen und wenn mann schon etwas Übung hat und es gerne wie die Profis haben will kann sich dieses Buch ruhig zulegen und es angehen. Wie man seine Figur von einer Bildvorlage 1:1 übertragen kann als Figur wird ja hier drin gut geschildert. Ich hoffe ihr habt auch so viel Spass wie ich dabei, und wünsche gutes Gelingen;-)

Bon, commençons par le début : Tim Bruckner est à l'action figure ou à la statuette collectible ce que Rembrandt est à la peinture! Si ces proders vous parlent, et surtout que vous êtes sculpteurs et désireux de mouler, peindre, mettre en valeur vos création : ce livre est pour vous! Vous y suivrez toutes les étapes de la réalisation d'une action figure(un viking barbu) et d'une statuette (Athéna) du dessin technique à l'objet final en résine et peint, en passant par les différentes phases de moulage, tirage en cire, sculpture etc... Au delà du suivi de ces 2 principales réalisations, Tim Bruckner expose clairement les pièges à éviter, les petites astuces à savoir pour gagner du temps et même le bien fondé d'être complet (modeleur,sculpteur, mouleur, peintre et même photographe) pour pouvoir vendre correctement son travail, et surtout lui donner toute la profondeur que vous estimez utile qu'il ait (sans laisser à quelqu'un d'autre la possibilité de ruiner votre travail par une mauvaise peinture ou photo du résultat). On prendra aussi beaucoup de plaisir à contempler les oeuvres persos ou de commandes de Mr Bruckner grâce à de très belles photos des produits finis ou en processus de création. Un must have que je conseille bien évidemment aux novices comme au confirmés, qui, comme moi, y trouveront sans doute des techniques différentes ou complémentaire. Et dans ce domaine, plus on en sait, mieux c'est! "Excelsior", comme l'écrit Stan Lee!

Pop sculpture offer a lot of great tips. Regardless of your experience, there is something in this book for you. Even if you have modeling/casting experience, it is great to hear the pro's comments and get some of their "secrets". Don't let the cover deceive you, it is not just for fan-boys (no offence to fan-boys). It also gives a range for those with little and those with a lot of money. I would also highly recommend The Mouldmaker's Handbook, by Jean-pierre Delpech. THIS IS THE BEST MOULDMAKING BOOK available. Yes, it warrants caps.

Great book. The hidden gems are the tips and tricks which are very valuable.

アメリカのカリスマ原型師が己の持つ全てのテクニックや工程を惜しみもなく公開。 英語なのでスラスラとは読めませんが、カラー写真が大量についているので 見ているだけで大体のことは分かるのではないだろうか？ 二つの作例 (無可動のスタチュー(表紙のアテネ神)とアクションフィギュア)が載っています。 スタチューについては、 アイデアスケッチから始まって アーマチュア(アルミ芯)作成 クレイを盛り付けてラフなクレイ原型を作成 クレイ原型を分割 ワックスを調合(レシピも公開されています) クレイ原型をシリコンの切り裂き型で複製してワックス原型に置き換え ワックス原型で顔・髪など細部を仕上げ ワックス原型をシリコンの切り裂き型で複製してレジン原型に置き換え レジン原型の組み立てと表面処理 塗装 写真撮影 アクションフィギュアについては ジョイントの種類(ピボットからボールジョイントまで) ジョイントの作り方 ワックスシートをフル活用したアクセサリー・コスチューム(マント)の作り方 こんな感じで、日本に居ながらにしてBruckner氏に弟子入り！ そんな本です。