My "sculptural modeling" style

I finally completed an old project to produce mythological dolphins which can be used as a stand for ship models. When I tried them with a Greek trireme that I made years ago, I thought of two things: one, the dolphins were too big for the model; and two, I should show my model to you guys in case you find it interesting. I do not know if this style of modeling is already practiced. I call it "sculptural modeling." I got inspired by an archaeological piece that I discovered on the Internet. The idea is to represent the ship as if we were using clay. The model should be accurate in proportions; the accuracy in details, instead, is irrelevant. The pleasure one gets from this type of construction is different than the one that comes from constructing something millimeter-accurate. It's more "artsy," so to speak. I am showing you this style just in case some of you see in it the possibility of having fun with it or just a different way to express yourselves. The material is a dough created with sawdust and a mix of carpenter glue and water. The paint used on it is acrylic paint.

At first glance, I thought it was something you could eat.

Bryian said:

At first glance, I thought it was something you could eat.

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Whishful thinking!

I like that, it looks like an ancient artefact.

Welcome to SoS! Since you said,”as if we were using clay” my assumption is those are not made of clay. Did you cast them in metal? They look very interesting.

Namabiiru said:

Welcome to SoS! Since you said,”as if we were using clay” my assumption is those are not made of clay. Did you cast them in metal? They look very interesting.

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I guess you are referring to the dolphins. They were made in epoxy resin and then painted with acrylics. As for the ship, the material is a dough created with sawdust and a mix of carpenter glue and water. The paint used on it is acrylic paint. The base is concrete painted with acrylics.

Cool. Maybe use this technique to make replica's of real archeological maritime-related artifacts? That ties in nicely with 'traditional' ship model building, where we aim to build a faithful small 'copy' of the real thing!

Yes, precisely. The first manifestations of the human drive for representing vehicles or boats as scale models, are important pieces of several museums. The first ship model constructors were probably artists, familiar with the pottery and sculpting techniques. The material I use it's good enough to be utilized in the reproduction of ancient sculptures. The material for this ship is the same I used to make a replica of the very famous Venus of Willendorf. There are other materials available, probably better than mine. What is interesting here is the idea of "extending" the concept of Ship Modeling to the origins of itself precisely. Maybe, somebody here will get interested in creating a collection made up of replicas of those ancient pieces we see at the naval or archaeological museums.

Nice work! It reminds me of ancient Egyptian funerary models and European votive models. In a similar vein, I carved a model of a Native American (Lenape) dugout canoe that reflects the character of the boat without precise accuracy. Fair winds!

I love it. Definitely a work art and very beautiful.

Beautiful works of art.

Very Nice work, AndyA! I completely love your canoe; most of all, its elegant simplicity. You have found the examples of the models I have been inspired by. There are many ship models from the ancient times at the museums and the Egyptian ones are especially beautiful. (Google them with "Egyptian ship models museum.") The second example you posted is La Coca De Mataro. It's a coincidence. I am currently working on this same model. Of course, my approach involves my "sculptural modeling" style.