I have started a life-sized sculpture of an American Toad (
Anaxyrus americanus) in polymer clay. I will post pictures of the progress here.
Any comments, criticism, and questions are welcome!
STEP 1
Gather reference material.
Fortunately the animal I chose for my subject is abundant and easy to find in my area, and so I am able to use my own reference photos. I even located a live model in my yard, just after I started the sculpture!


STEP 2
Using information from the photos and live model, I sketch out the toad at the size I want the sculpture to be. In this case, it will be 60 mm snout-to-vent, which is pretty average for this species. The important thing here is to get the proportions of the body and limbs correct; I don't need to worry about details or pose yet.

STEP 3
I begin forming an armature from wire, using my sketch as a guide. The armature allows me to play with poses before adding the clay, and also supports the clay; in short, it acts like a skeleton for the sculpture. The basic forms are complete here; I still need to add finer wire for the toes and bulk out the thicker areas with aluminum foil.

More to come!