8 de July de 2025
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When you’re sculpting, there are essentially two ways to approach the work: from the inside out or the outside in. In simple terms, that means either adding material or subtracting it.
Most of the time, you’ll find yourself adding material. When you begin with an armature or framework, you’re starting from scratch—you build volume up bit by bit until you reach the form you’re after. This process is a kind of dance. It begins with building, but eventually, you must also carve and subtract to shape the final forms with clarity and purpose.
Some sculptors prefer the opposite approach. They begin with a solid block of clay and carve into it, much like a traditional wood or stone sculptor would. There’s no single right way—go with what feels natural to you. Personally, I work mostly by adding. It gives me more control over the process, allowing me to move forward step by step, adjusting proportions, establishing key anatomical landmarks, and following the gesture of the figure as it evolves. It’s a rhythm—a kind of sculptural choreography—where each movement builds on the last.
This additive method works equally well with oil-based and water-based clay. The only practical difference is that water-based clay can be softened and smoothed with water at any stage, which adds a bit more flexibility to the process.
From Simplification to Form
Once I’ve laid out the basic structure—often a simplified block-in of the figure—I begin adding material based on anatomical reference and intent. I start by applying clay in rough volumes. Then, using a spatula, I “draw” the anatomical shapes or profiles I’m aiming for directly onto the surface. Once I’m happy with these outlines, I move to a hack blade rake tool to begin refining.
The hack blade removes the high points and helps level the surface. It’s a rough but effective first pass, giving the early forms a solid starting point. These initial shapes can later be subdivided, redefined, or adjusted to better fit the overall figure. But at this stage, it’s about establishing a base to work from.
Cleaning the Surface
Raking the surface creates a lot of visual “noise”—clay residue that obscures the real form. This needs to be cleared away so you can properly read the surface. I use a rough sponge, like Scotch-Brite or a wood-finishing sponge, to clean up the clay bits left behind. Once clean, the sculpture reads more clearly, and you can better see what’s working and what needs refinement.
Refining the Forms
Next, I use a guitar-string-style rake tool, which works similarly to the hack blade but allows for a more delicate and controlled pass. At this stage, I’m being more careful—I’m shaping the forms I intend to keep. It’s also the moment where you start seeing more clearly what’s missing or needs adjustment, so adding and subtracting continues in a back-and-forth rhythm. That’s the whole point of the process: being able to see what’s happening so you can respond to it and refine your work.
Final Smoothing
Once I’m happy with the sculpture, I use a sponge to smooth the surface. I usually cut the sponge into smaller pieces using scissors or a blade so it’s easier to control. I work carefully to avoid flattening the forms I’ve already established. Once the surface is clean and consistent, I often take it a step further by lightly torching the surface with a flame. This melts the outer layer slightly, removing the remaining visual noise and giving it a unified look. It might sound excessive—but it works beautifully, and it leaves the surface ready for any final texture work.
And Yes—You Can Add Texture
What’s that? Add texture at the end? Absolutely.
Texture can be introduced at any stage—but applying it at the end lets you make an intentional decision about what the surface should communicate. In an artistic context, texture is not about faking something (like stone, wood, or skin), which is common in the film and effects industry for realism. Instead, it’s about enhancing the character of the piece. You might choose to add areas of contrast or rhythm that help guide the viewer’s eye, highlight the forms, or emphasize the emotion of the sculpture.
I’ll explore textures more deeply in a future article.
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Until then—keep sculpting, and enjoy the process.
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Sculpture studio © 2025. Javier Murcia.
Developed by Tulpnic.
Sculpture studio © 2025. Javier Murcia.
Developed by Tulpnic.
In-person workshops are scheduled in different places at different times of the year. Most workshops run twice a year in different locations in New Zealand, Auckland being the most demanded of the locations. Australia and Europe are other locations planned to run workshops.
We are setting up a different challenge with a live model changing pose each time. Plenty of material, tutorials and online courses can help you on this journey and keep you connected with the community. To ensure you get this information, sign up for the newsletter.
If you are missing one day out of 2 or 3, we recommend you to wait until there is another chance as you might be missing quite a bit of information and time to do your work. If this is a 5 days workshop it might be ok.
Not really. Simplified figure is the only workshop we have designed to teach the basics of building the human figure so you have enough knowledge to make the most of a model. So, if you are thinking of joining the five days figure workshop with model, this might be good for you, although it is not mandatory.
Not really. The more experience you have the better. Javier Is an experienced sculptor and can adapt to your level whether you are just beginning or you are experienced, whether you are just looking at learning more anatomy or pursuing a more artistic challenge.
The workshops are designed for:
If you want to learn about the human figure, I would suggest you join the Online courses. Why? There is a lot more information Javier can share with you. You can find your time to invest in your learning process. Head studies online is about six weeks course, and the figure online course is about ten weeks. The more hours you put in, the more you will learn; that´s a rule. And finally, it is more personalized as the progress of your work will be reviewed every week by Javier personally.
If you are interested in doing a workshop but you don´t know which one, get in touch and let us know what is that you are looking for and we will help you. Either if you are looking for some good training, knowledge or just living the experience as a hobby, we can help you.
This book is essential for learning more about the human figure as it is very complete. Includes proportions based on eight heads ( be aware that we are using 7.5 heads), bone structure explanation, balance and range of movement of the joins. The anatomy applied to the figure is not necessarily as accurate as in the Paul Richer book. This book also includes pictures of models for an applied explanation.
This book is excellent for learning anatomy from a medical perspective applied to art. Here we also find his 7.5 cannon explained. The illustrations are accurate, giving the precise location of muscles, layers and mapping of the human body. This book is used in official academies like the Florence academy.
In this book, Michel Lauricella presents both his artistic and systematic methods for drawing the human body–with drawing techniques from the écorché (showing the musculature underneath the skin) to sketches of models in action. In more than 1,000 illustrations, the human body is shown from a new perspective–from bone structure to musculature, from anatomical detail to the body in motion.
This small, portable book presents a unique perspective on the human body for artists to study and implement in their drawing work. In this book, artist and teacher Michel Lauricella simplifies the human body into basic shapes and forms, offering profound insight for artists of all kinds, sparking the imagination and improving one’s observational abilities. Rather than going the traditional route of memorizing a repertoire of poses, Lauricella instead stresses learning this small collection of forms, which can then be combined and shaped into the more complex and varied forms and postures we see in the living body.
This book provides a simplified and practical vision of the human skeleton to help all artists in their drawing studies. Here you will find the most common and useful approaches to the body’s underlying skeleton and bone structure, which will fuel your imagination and enrich your observational skills as you draw the living form. In this small, portable guide, artist and teacher Michel Lauricella focuses on the essentials you need to know.
This book is excellent for the quality of the drawings; very expressive, fresh and accurate. This book is recommended as a reference for the quality of work we can achieve in the art standards mostly applied to drawing. It is also a good source of images of bodies and living anatomy.
Here are a few small set of high-quality sculpting tools available from the following stores. These are the kind of tools you’ll likely only need to buy once—if you take good care of them, they can last a lifetime.
