Sculpting Horses

Sculpt your own horses with wire and putty!

Sculpting Horses

I have been sculpting for a while, and nothing has seemed so daunting as sculpting a horse. They’re very anatomically complex, and have to be very smooth. I decided I needed to have a good one. I picked up a plastic Games Workshop horse for reference, and set to work.

There are some important things to keep in mind while sculpting horses. First, you will need plenty of reference. Most valuable was the plastic horse, though is good to have pictures of real horses as well. Constantly refer to these reference horses for scale and anatomy, as this can be confusing and tough to sculpt with a horse.

Grab a cork, wire, green stuff and tools, and sculpt away!

Materials Used
Green stuff
Thin wire (paperclips are perfect)

Tools Used
Sculpting tools
Shard craft knife
Cork

Step 1 - Armature

To make the Armature, a wire base which will support the horse, use any stiff wire, I used large a paperclip or two. Bend the wire into the shape of the legs which will connect to the cork, leaving extra space at the bottom to anchor the horse down. Poke them into the cork, and you’re ready to start applying green.

Step 2 - The body and upper leg muscles

First, you want to make the general form of the body. Use two pieces of putty, one at the back legs and one at the front. Let them dry, then connect them with more putty, forming the body of the horse. It should be nicely smooth, with a bit of a bulge at the stomach.

Once this is dry, add a piece of putty for the upper legs which you have made so far. Smooth this on, using your reference horses to make sure its in scale. The horses upper hind legs are very large and muscular, extending almost up to its back. The front ones are smaller and less muscular. I did each leg muscle group separately, allowing it to dry before moving on. This will prevent you from damaging your work before it dries.

For the raised leg, using a pin vice, a handy tool which is a hand powered drill, make a hole with approximately the circumference of the wire you are using. Then shape a wire for the legs shape, put it in the hole you just made, and secure it with a bit of putty, and, if necessary, epoxy.
Now sculpt the upper leg muscles as you did with the other legs.

Step 3 - The neck and head

The neck can be made by putting a straight piece of wire at the desired angle into the front of the body while that part is still wet. Once it has dried you will have a sturdy base for the neck, which can be added on over the wire with some more putty.

There are a few muscles on the horses neck, which run almost perpendicularly with the horses
torso. Use your reference horses if you can’t figure them out.

The head is pretty tough, make sure you follow your reference horses very closely on this. Horses have very large heads and your sculpt should reflect this. I sculpted the head, then attached tiny eyeballs, then make a notch in the neck with a craft knife and attached the head with glue and putty.

Step 4 - Lower legs

Now you can start the lower legs, as long as the rest has dried. Keep using your reference horses, taking care to make the legs as accurate as possible. Do not do the hooves yet. Let the lower leg muscles dry, then you can sculpt the hooves. They are large and oval shaped, again, you will need your reference horses for this, to get the shape just right.
Remember that there is a ruff of fur at the ankle, we can represent this with a neat line pressed into the putty with a craft knife.

Step 5 - The tail and mane

Use a bit of wire to make an armature for the tail. Then, starting with a piece of green which will cover the whole tail, sculpt the green, making sure the strands are long and thin. This part can be a bit tricky but if you don’t get it right the first time start over until you’re happy with it.

Use the same techniques for the mane, but without an armature, sculpting directly on the neck.

Step 6 - Saddle

The saddle is fairly simple. Make sure you keep it very thin. Use one layer of green stuff for the cloth which is the base layer then another thin layer for the next part.

Step 7 - Final Touches

I added ears, and finished up the hooves. I also checked for any irregularities or bits I wasn't happy with.

Conclusion

There you have it! Although its not easy, with a few attempts, plenty of putty and enough references, sculpting a horse can be done. Keep your references at hand at all times, as I was lost without them, especially on tough parts like the head and musculature. Good luck!