Pop Sculpture: How to Create Action Figures and Collectible Statues

I had this book on my "Wish List", hesitating because these guys are so obviously WAY AHEAD of me and I will never, ever catch up. I just started polymer a year ago and found myself gravitating towards sculpture, which I've never done before, and moving pretty fast on acquiring skills. But there is so much to learn...just like anything else. So the book kept drawing me in until I bought it. And I was so glad I finally gave in. First of all, the book's quality is top notch. The photos are large so detail can be studied at leisure. The color quality is great. The techniques are completely comprehensive...down to earth, easy to understand with loads of photos on procedure. Second, the writing style is great. You are put at ease from the first. The tone is laid back and full of wry humor (just my kind) but it is obvious these guys are SERIOUS artists, aside from their credentials, and that they totally enjoy their work and admire it and each others as well. Third, I appreciate the fact that they let you know the kind of mistakes they themselves have made. They certainly do not put themselves on a pedestal and, in poking fun at themselves, make the student feel at ease about making his/her own. The sense of comradery is totally evident. And, as a woman, I appreciate that a woman is included in the group and given extreme honor as to her position in the field. Fourth, there are chapters on doing business as an artist and even photographing your own work. I bought several books on desk top photography, etc. and they are all good. But this one was sweet and simple and pulled it all together for me. Fifth, even though each of these artists works a different medium and I only am doing polymer right now, I garnered invaluable information just by skimming thru the first time I opened it. Last, this book has become my main textbook for sculpture so far. The more I look and read the more I find. I seriously recommend it for anyone that aspires to be a master at this craft. You will enjoy it tremendously.

This book is both comprehensive and entertaining, generously filled with all the ins and outs of the profession and tips and tricks gathered from the authors' combined experience, with additional insights from their professional peers.

This book is very detailed and written by three professional sculptors working in the toy industry.All the instructions are well written and illustrated with photos to clearly illustrate each step of the process of making a toy, they aren't stingy with information either they let you know their secrets and tried and true methods that they use.They include information on but not limited to,making an armature,sculpting,casting molds,creating an action figure with various forms of articulation,and painting the figure.This is the only book on making a toy I could find ,but its so good, I don't know how anybody could write another book to top it.

I love this book. It paid for itself ten times over by the second chapter and goes onward and upward from there. Written by absolute experts in this field, these gentlemen are truly modern masters. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to not only "look over their shoulders" as they create, but to be lead by the hand, patiently and humorously, to create my own masterpieces. They, through this book, have persuaded me to attempt to mix my own custom sculpting wax formula. If it satisfies my sculpting needs, I will have saved thousands of dollars in materials alone, considering today's retail prices of premixed clay and wax products. They also don't try to cram branded products down your throat, but let you in on the money-saving secrets, economical techniques and handy work-arounds that have served them well.This book is a real treasure I will be referring to for years. Thank you Tim, Zach and Ruben.

A very useful book for getting started with sculpting as well as setting everything up. My one complaint is there's really very little in the way of actually sculpting HOW-TOs in the book, which is fine, but if you're learning how to sculpt accurately, get a book on anatomy. This book shows you how three particular industry talents, and really, only one or two of them, go about sculpting pieces, the materials they use, etc. etc. If you aren't familiar with sculpting/carving in wax, this book will try and familiarize you with it, but it basically only shows you how to get a rough sculpt done in clay/whatever, then casting it and finishing it in wax, and doing another cast in resin. Sound complicated?If you aren't familiar with that whole process, the book will get you started with it. If you ARE familiar with it, then there's the main problem: you're already familiar with it, and all you'll divine from the book is a handful of helpful hints. The book does a lot to really impress on you that you can't get good sculpts if you aren't finishing in wax. But, if you just want to sculpt some figures in clay or Super Sculpey, like me, without dealing with all sorts of other things like casting in wax and wax pens and whatever else, again like me, then this may not be a wise investment.Otherwise, there's lots of pretty pictures and a bunch of great, helpful hints if you want to seriously devote yourself to sculpting in the figure kit/statue/action figure industry.