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How to Make a 3-D Sculpture

Sculpting is the art of carving, molding or otherwise shaping materials and objects into works of art. Sculpture has been used since before the beginning of written history, with some finely preserved examples from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia existing in private collections and museums around the world. Sculptures can be made out of anything you like, with some modern artists, like Marcel Duchamp, using prefabricated materials as their sculptural materials.

Things You'll Need

  • Any physical material that can be reshaped or reconfigured
  • Sculpting tools suitable to your chosen materials
  • Bonding agents suitable to your chosen materials
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose an object, form or feeling that you wish to represent in three dimensions (3-D). This can be a particular person, a type of person, an animal, a building, love or jealousy, and anything else you can imagine.

    • 2

      Pick the materials you wish to work with. Think about a material or materials that would be particularly suitable to portraying your subject matter. For example, you may wish to carve a very small tree from a stick, or chisel a stern face into a piece of stone.

    • 3

      Construct small study sculptures to get yourself familiar with the tools and techniques of working with your material. Take chances and do not be afraid to ruin your studies -- they are purely for practice; every failure is a lesson learned.

    • 4

      Gather your materials and begin shaping your 3-D sculpture. Work in large forms first, getting the shape and any skeletal work out of the way. Then, gradually build up detail and texture into your sculpture. If you have decided to construct a mobile in the style of Alexander Calder, you will want to affix any hanging materials last.

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Sculpture

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