The humble beginning of a new sculpture

This is the humble beginning of a new sculpture. Usually I don't show the process, and wait until the piece is finished in as polished a state as can be. But today, I'm sharing with you how I start building it. I always start by creating not only the face but also the hands and feet -- those are the parts that are most expressive and I give them the attention they deserve. Then I creat a wire armature--a 'stick figure' if you will--and start building the limbs and the body onto this armature. Next time, I'll share how it'll look.

So this is close to the finished piece-- one of two pieces I have in mind. I touched its 'vallies' with brown shoe-polish to accentuate the depth and its ridges with a dab bronze acrylic paint to accentuate the lines. Because I used oil-based clay on a metal armature, he can move his limbs and my next step will be to try and animate his movements.