What Materials Are Used When Making Sculptures? How to Make a Sculpture?

Sculptures are three-dimensional works made by people’s hands. Sculpture is made by sculpting materials such as clay, plaster, bronze, stone, copper and pouring them into a mold, or by kneading and firing them. From past to present, sculpture making has become a part of our lives as a branch of fine arts. Sculpture making is done by developing it from an artistic perspective. In general, sculptures of people, animals and objects are made.

The materials used to make sculptures are marble, plaster, stone, clay and concrete. In general, clay is the main material used to make sculptures. Sculpture making is completed using certain methods. These are carving, casting and shaping. Construction phase methods are started in line with the materials used to make the sculpture. The answers to the questions of how to make a sculpture, what materials are used to make a sculpture and whether it is difficult to make a sculpture are in our article.

1.Carving Process
The carving process used to make sculptures dates back to ancient times. The carving process is one of the oldest known methods in sculpture. It is seen in archaeological studies that Ancient Greek sculptures were mostly made by carving method. In sculpture production, the carving process is done to bring a determined mass into the desired shape using tools such as a hammer or rasp. This sculpting process has been used by many famous sculptors. Carving is also used in sculptures made of wood.

2.Casting Process
The casting process is generally done with clay, which is among the materials used to make sculptures. A liquid plaster is prepared for the sculpture to be made using clay. To make a sculpture, this liquid is poured into a plaster mold. After the freezing process is completed, that is, when the plaster is frozen, the clay is cut neatly around it to leave a gap. Liquid metal is poured into that space and left to cool. Once the coldness of the liquid is controlled, the sculpture making is completed. This is another answer to your question of how to make a sculpture.

3.Formatting Process
The process done manually before moving on to the completion phase of sculpture making is called shaping. Before finishing the sculpture, the desired shape is given by hand. Again, clay, which is among the materials used to make sculptures, is preferred. Since clay is a soft substance, it is easy to knead by hand. After the kneading process is completed, the clay is left to dry. Clay used to make sculptures must be fired at high temperatures. Otherwise, air bubbles may form in the fired clay and cause cracks in the sculpture. When these processes are completed, the shaping technique is used to give the sculpture its original appearance. This is the last step in answering your question of how to make a sculpture.

Technically applied methods are also very important, as are the materials used to make sculptures. In order to make a sculpture, preliminary preparation is required. During the sculpture making phase, support methods are used depending on the size or type of the sculpture. If the object you will use to make a sculpture is of a large structure, you must use a wooden or metal skeleton. Apart from that, the drawing stages must be completed before starting to make the sculpture, taking into account the technical information.

Finally, if you are going to work with clay, one of the materials used to make sculptures, you should wrap a cover around the skeleton to prevent the mud from splashing. All these processes should be used to make sculptures in a healthy way and to create a work of art.