Customer Reviews

The Portrait in Clay

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was searching for a book that could help develop my limited talents. I followed Peter Rubino's guidelines and created a very credible portrait following his step by step geometric approach. This book can make everyone better at sculpting, regardless of skill level or talent. The beginner can improve dramatically - and the advanced will find new and fascinating dimensions for creating the portrait in clay. This book is a MUST READ for anyone who's had an interest in the art of sculpting at any level.

Start with this book. I bought this book when I was halfway through a sculpture workshop at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I learned so much from this book. Peter Rubino demonstrates two ways to "get started" and clearly shows techniques to help you figure out some of the tough parts of sculpting a head(like the eyes.) The photographs are clear and the text is direct. This is really a terrific book. If you are interested in getting started tn clay portraiture then buy this book. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Rubino's formula for constructing a head is a pretty sure-fire way of arriving at a structually correct representation of a subject. However, I miss the sensitivity to character and personality necessary for a true "portrait" . The fact that he does not include the full neck and shoulders so one knows how the model holds his head is important even if this part of the body is removed in the final presentation.

A student using this book should consult Luchesi and Grubbs also.

Rubino's work is outstanding. He is able to take the novice and professional artist through the basic steps of seeing geometrical forms and planes of the face. He uses a step by step approach to completing the bust. Beginning with clay, to using appropriate instrument to finishing the product with a patina. If one follows his detailed instructions, the artist will be able to complete a replica of a figure in only a few settings. I strongly recommend this book. It is a real buy!

My wife and I decided to study sculpting together and started with this book on a recomendation from an art professor friend who uses this book as part of his curriculum. We have had tremendous success...what we like is that no steps or details are skipped as with the one or two other books we tried, so we do not get discouraged along the way...Peter Rubino...keep our momentum going!

I am an art student, and I bought Rubino's book before enrolling in a 3-D figure study class this semester. I have just worked through the instructions for modelling the basic portrait (i.e., not from life, which is the second part of the book). Following Rubino's instructions as exactly as I could, I was able to construct a pretty good likeness on the first try. This book is an extremely useful beginner's guide to portraiture, as long as you accept the fundamental idea that you have to measure carefully. And you really do have to, even though it seems boring and uncreative at first. Note that there is little reference to surface anatomy, just planes, at least in the first section. The basic model is the young white male with a completely neutral expression, which probably shouldn't surprise anyone. Another caution: inspect the illustrations as well as the written instructions, because important nuances show up there. But if you want to get started on the right track, and nail down the basics, I can't imagine a better book. For further study, I would look at Eliot Goldfinger's works on anatomy for artists, which are detailed and comprehensive.

I have recently beagan to study sculpting more seriously and received this book as a gift. I improved tremendously with the help of this book. I'm not sure how best to communicate the message; but i must convey to you the importance of this book to anyone interested in sculpting. Does anyone know if a second series is planned?

I am trying to get a hold of as many books on sculpting techniques as possible as I live 2 hours from the nearest college, so this is how I have to learn. While I also gave Katherine Dewey's "Creating Lifelike Figures in Polymer Clay" a high review, those techniques just don't translate as well into sculpture as I had hoped (though her discussions on scaling and proportion do). Peter Rubino's "The Portrait in Clay" is an excellent step-by-step beginner's guide to sculpting portraits. Its broken down into 5 sections.

The first shows you the basic techniques on a generic head.

The second section is a brief section on tools. Its brief because he doesn't use very many tools.

The third section shows sculpting with a live model. The photos (the failing of far too many scultping books) are clear, detailed and actually show the area being concentrated on. They are not perfect, but still do an excellent job (you sometimes have to skip ahead a couple of pages to see what the current step looks like when completed).

Section 4 is a detailed discussion of the individual features of the face: nose, eyes, ears, the mouth and chin. Part of what makes this book good is that during the first and third sections, he refers to these sections with page numbers so you are not just flipping around. However I think he could have merged sections 1 and 4, or at least put 4 after 1.

Finally Peter details the finishing process: hollowing, firing and applying a patina. I must reserve judgement here. It reads good, but this is for water-based clay and I work in oils so I can't really comment on it.

Books like this create a difficulting when attempting to rate them due to the differing abilities of the potential reader. So for this I will say 5 stars for the beginner, it has everything you need to make a good portrait in clay. You might even make a few bucks off what you learn. For the intermediate I would call it 3 stars because there is probably something in here that will make your process a little easier or more accurate. For advance artists, I doubt you will find much of value.

My criticisms are three-fold. First, the artist's finished portrait created during this book doesn't look like the live model. But I think this is due more to the artist's eye than his techniques. Second, it doesn't offer any methods for smoothing the work to create more lifelike texture. And third, his patina finishes are, in my opinion, way too heavy-handed. He attempts to create the bluish effect of aged bronze, but really ends up just painting it blue.

Again, a great book for the beginner, the best I've read so far.

This book walks you through the various stages of portrait sculpture.
As a novice sculptor, the upclose, step-by-step, all angles photos including the proper usage of tools, was especially helpful. While the artist does simplify the process, the artform is still very challenging and intimidating. This book helps to de-mystifying the task.

Excellent tutorial on portrait work in clay modeling. This book takes the student, step by step through the process. Best book I've seen on the subject.