The Custom Unicorn

The process by which I resculpted a Breyer Charging Mesteno

The Horse after I began destroying it. Using a heat gun, I softened the hard plastic and proceeded to saw off the tail and begin removing the mane with an x-acto and sandpaper.

Detail of the mane being removed.

A view of the underside of the Horse before I redid the area.

After the mane was removed, I sawed off the head, and I wanted it placed differently.

Head and neck are reattached using glue and epoxy putty. I carved off the chin and nose because I want to extend te head to make it a little longer/larger, and I did not want lumps coming up later.

The head is now angled upwards more. A strip of epoxy clay holds the curved shape of the neck.

Other side.

I start covering the horse with a lightweight stoneware clay. Some areas are very shallow, while others (like muscled areas) get bulked up more.

When I picked a horse model, I wanted one that was very simple (undetailed) so that I had the most freedom to give it an effect I liked without the orignial sculptor's anatomy choices influencing mine. The references for muscles and such came from photographs of horses.

A closer view of the left shoulder. The texture is from sandpaper. I sanded the whole sculpture as I went. I removed excess areas with a blade, and added extra clay where needed.

A view of the chest of model before I resculpted it.

The left arm completed (unsanded)

Working on the insides of the arms.

On the right is a hoof I've customized. On the left is how the bottoms of the hooves looked originally.

Working on the right arm, and starting to build up the neck.

The body and back legs being built up. I don't use many tools with this kind of clay- just ball-point tools and clay shapers. A misting bottle is a necessity.

The left side refined a little.

Veigns are sculpted using modelling paste. The cheeks begin to be covered up.

The underside after I have resculpted it (unrefined)

Clay is roughly added to the end of the face and then refined into a mouth and nose. The horn is a long skewer that has been inserted through a hole in the forehead with glue and fresh clay on the end so that it adheses to the internal surfaces. It's near-impossible to break!

The facial features are refined a little.

Cheekbones are added, as are the upper lip and brow bones. I wanted these to be very prominent to give the Unicorn a classical and regal look.

Nearly there!

Some of the mediums I'm using. The modeling paste is for filling in gaps and creating veigns, the binder medium covered the completed sculpture, and the gesso goes over that in a few layers to provide the painting surface. The holbein bottle is just a water mister to keep certain parts of the sculpt workable.

The rough face with the nose refined somewhat.

Eyes have been completed, the horn has been sharpened, and the ears have been added.

Sanded down a little.

Complerely sanded (I use sandpapers ranging from 400-800 grain, and then a buffer.)

With the binder medium

With the first layer of gesso.

More to come!