Clay dog sculpture of a soft coated wheaten terrier

This is the 3-4 coat of the clay brush up. The clay sculpture will undergo an additional two coats. The left rear leg does not look right; therefore, I will add more clay to the outer side of the leg in order to match the right rear leg. 

Once the over all confirmation is correct the intermediate detail will begin. 

Applying the clay to the dog armature - clay to bronze

This video show the procedure for applying the clay on to the dog form/dog manikin. I melt Chavant NSP Hard in a crockpot and use a brush to  apply the layers of clay. Set the crockpot to low, too high of a temperature will burn your clay. Four pounds of clay took about 3 hours to melt.

This dog sculpture will undergo 3-4 coats of clay before I begin the detail work.

Results of the first coat of clay.

Bronze Dog Staute foam armature ready for clayup

This post will show how I use images to help me line up the foam to the dog confirmation. This is extremely important when the client is looking for correct body proportions...etc. The clay-up/skin that is applied with a brush will only be about 1/4" to 1/2" thick; therefore, I try to get as close as possible with the foam armature.

The goal is to try to keep the sculpture as light as possible. The legs need to be able to support the weight of the clay.

I will not be supporting the legs with aluminum rod for this soft coated wheaten terrier, since his legs are short and stocky. Aluminum rods are some time used when the foam legs are not strong enough to support the sculpture. For instance, rods were used on the life sized bronze poodle.