It has been a while since I have added some information on baby proportions, and some lovely people have been asking about them.
One of the best books I have invested in on human proportions is Tom Richardson’s “Art Student’s Guide on Porportion of the Human Form”. This book Is the modern reproduction of Johann Gottfried Shadow’s work on human proportion. Note: it is full of copies of his original plates and translations into English. Very little text except for the beginning. This book is invaluable if you only want to know the proportional measurements of the size of a newborn up to adult sizes (both men and women).
Now, it doesn’t show any photographs of newborns- instead there are illustrations; but photos you can find online doing a simple google search. The book is excellent for exact measurements of everything- for those of us who sculpt babies it shows the exact measurements from head, arms, legs, torso, even eye placement, nose placement, length of forearms, calves etc. from newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and on and on.
Now if you are doing a mini, divide the measurements by how many inches your sculpt is supposed to be (such as six inches). Easy Peasy!! Now I know that all babies are not the same size. Boys are usually longer than girls, however, these illustrations are and measurements are just averages and are invaluable for those of us whom haven’t had a baby to measure!!
I bought my copy from amazon for $29.95. I understand this is a hefty investment, but I cannot stress how important it is for an accurate looking sculpt!! I visit ebay religiously watching prices of OOAK sculpts, and those whom have studied proportions and put time into their craft sell for hundreds more than those who don’t!
One of my favorite sculptors for example is Sugarbabies Creations. Here are a couple adorable photos from one of her more recent ebay auctions:
Take a look at those hands and feet!! The detail is impeccable! This baby sold for almost $900 if I remember correctly. Now I know not everyone can sculpt like her, but it is the effort that she puts in to make her babies look real that shows. I will bet that she studies proportions with every sculpt.
Which comes to my next point: if you are just beginning to learn, do not get discouraged if your first few sculpts don’t sell, or don’t sell well. Even artists like Tina Kewy admit that for years she only sold her dolls for enough to cover her supplies. Keep your head up and keep practicing!
Anyhow, excuse my ranting because I’ll be the first to admit that I am a newish sculptor, and my sculpting is far from perfect, but I do believe that by studying and learning when I can-especially in the beginning when you are building your foundation is how my sculpting will improve! What do you think?
