Muscles of the Face

You can find this and other images for the muscles of the face at the link below.

MUSCLES OF THE FACE

Nose and Hair

To begin the Hair it is a good idea to draw a line in the scalp for the hair line. Roll out a slab and cut the curve of the hairline in the opposite direction of the line drawn on the scalp. Place the cut slab on the hairline backwards. and blend it into the skull. Flip the slab over and notice that the hairline is established. Use the wood and wire loop tool to go into the newly formed hair line to make marks that depict the hair as it grows from the roots. Smooth the slab back and begin to form the locks of hair. Add sculpey as needed to complete the look desired.




It is a good idea to have the primary forms pre-baked. To do this use a heat gun.

When building the forms for the nose make sure that the spheres are in proportion to the face. In other words if the sculpture is not supposed to look like Pinocchio the spheres for the nose should not be too big. Also remember the nostrils usually sit just inside the two inside corners of the eyes. Make sure to look for relationships of parts to whole this will help keep the sculpture looking more believable. If there are exaggerations make them as believable as possible.

Place a strip of sculpey across the larger sphere to act as the nasalis muscle, but also to hold the sphere in place. Then add the two smaller spheres to depict the nostrils. Once these are in place is it necessary to begin to model and carve the nose to reflect the contours and details that are in the drawings or that which you see in the mirror.

Keep the face clean and smooth so that it contrasts with the hair or other textures that will be added. If the character is scarred, or a Zombie it is particularly important to keep the areas that are smooth "really" smooth so that the scars or other surface treatments "POP".

When the modeling and carving is complete go back into the sculpture and redefine the edges and contours to make them stand out.

Eyes and Mouth

To begin an eye get set up. Roll out a coil and a slab. The eye fits in the socket like a ball. Remember it goes back on the sides, back into the head rather than resting flat on the face. Use the wood end of the wire and wood loop tool to round the ball into the socket for a snug fit. Make sure the eye ball sits back in the face it should not be bulging out beyond the brow bone. It should sit back under the brow. The brow bone may need to be built up a bit.

Next add the eye muscle. Do not make it too thick. Roll out a slab for the eye muscle and cut a slit into the middle.The muscles of the face are very thin in general. Use the tool to tuck the eye muscle around the eye ball and orbital bone making sure to look at the drawings and in the mirror to get the details or the contours correctly.

Make a small button to depict an iris and pupil. Complete the details and there...AN EYE!

The mouth is a combination of the muscle, the secondary form, for the mouth (the orbicularis oris) and the tertiary forms, the details. The teeth should be the first part of the mouth to go on the sculpture. The teeth are the bones the help the way the lips look on the face. For example, if someone has a little bit of an overbite, then the upper lip will protrude a little bit over the lower lip. The teeth are simple to make: Roll out a thin coil as shown in figure number 2. Cut the length and roll the coil even smaller on one end. This will form the root of the tooth. Then gently apply some pressure between the index figure and thumb to squeeze the other end of the tooth for the biting edge. Make a hole in the gum area of the mouth and insert the root end of the tooth up into that hole made for the tooth. It is not necessary to go to all this trouble for all the teeth, just the important ones or the ones that are going to show.

Next it is a good idea to include some of the basic muscles of the face, for example the zygomaticus or the masseter. Use the face muscle chart included on this blog to help you. When this is done cut a thin slab into a circle for the orbicularis oris. Place it against the area of the mouth to make sure it fits. Cut a slit across the diameter of this form, but leave the edges as shown in Figure Number Four. Place this form over the mouth pulling the slit over the teeth to separate for the lips. Working from the center edges of the slit toward the upper and lower edges gently pull the sculpey upward for the upper lip and downward for the lower lip. Add sculpey as needed to reach the correct contours and details exhibited in the drawings and sketches.