A first for me to do a video.��The quality isn’t great (as expected), but for the specific steps I wanted to show it came out better than expected.
STEP 1:��PREPARE THE MODEL In order to sculpt scale mail effectively, it’s much easier if its on a flat surface.��Also, if you are using Dwarf bodies and plan to keep the trim around the armour intact, you needs to prepare it properly.
To do this, gently scrape away the existing chainmail using a hobby knife.��You may not be able to do this with a massive craft knife, I use a slim scalpel tool. [attachment=230]
STEP 2:��ADD A LAYER OF GREENSTUFF To do scale mail you need a decent thickness of greenstuff.��By this I mean enough to sculpt ‘layers’ of scale, but not enough that it bulges out over the trim going round the armour.
Get this part right and its a lot easier later on.��Sculpt it too thin and the scales are too lumpy with the texture underneath. [attachment=231][attachment=232]
STEP 3:��DRAW THE LINES OF SCALES This step basically means you draw a line with a craft knife to split it up into however many layers of scale you want,��I’m using the Dwarf Miners bodies and generally stick to 3 layers.��On a couple of bodies I do 4 layers. [attachment=233][attachment=234]
STEP 4:��’TUCK’ THE LINES OF SCALE UNDER EACH OTHER Scale mail works so effectively because the scales overlap.��In order to represent this on a model you need to press down each row on the upper half so that it is lower than the layer above. [attachment=235]
STEP 5:��SPLIT EACH ROW INTO INDIVIDUAL SCALES Use a sculpting tool to press down on each row, effectively splitting it into the scales.��Do them in such a way as represent the pattern below. [attachment=236][attachment=237][attachment=238]
STEP 6: PRESS THE CURVE ONTO THE BOTTOM OF EACH SCALE You could just leave the scale mail as it is, with the armour being made of rectangle pieces of metal.��Some ‘die hard’ traditionalists like me choose to have them curved on the bottom.
I knew this would be easier to explain with a video.
STEP 7:��FLATTEN THE SCALES A step that IMO is often overlooked.��Basically this means very gently pressing down onto each scale to make sure it is actually flat.��The steps above can cause them to be a bit rounded.
Thanks Grim, my scale mail work was always a tad shoddy, but this clears a few things up for me! More sculpting videos people. How about a series on doing faces from someone?
On the miner arms? Hmm. I would just sculpt something appropriate, but some bits of small plasticard bent slightly and glued on might work? A simple strap around underneath to show how its held on.
Another idea being to add a little bit of scale mail over the shoulders.
Looking nice there Tok. Only thing I would suggest is to try and flatten each scale a bit for the next ones. They look slightly rounded, which is not necessarily bad.
To flatten scales gently press your sculpting tool down flat onto them.
I know some people here use wierd and wonderful sculpting tools, so you would need to find something fairly small to do this with (not a craft knife unless you are very skilled).
Though its not very clear, you can see me doing this in the video.
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