Every character is being designed in my head, I am trying to have an undefined vision. When I start carving it is not always that I know how a monster, orc, alien or vampire will look like. As far as sculpting materials or tools are chosen for work, the final effect of can be a surprise. It was similar in this case.

On a piece of wood I crave most of the monsters' heads. I attach screws to it and wrap them with aluminum foil. It is a simple technique that does not require a lot of work. Aluminum foil is a good base for a sculpture and for its filling. Then I don't have to use a lot of polymer resin. On the wood, I draw auxiliary lines in the form of a grid, which makes it easier for me to control the proportion and symmetry in my later work.

For sculpting, I use different materials depending on the effect I want to achieve and on what scale I am sculpting. When I want to make a small-scale sculpture with a large detail, I use polymer clay - Super Sculpey. In my work I also often use other materials such as Monster Clay, NSP by Chavant, or plasticine. Each of these materials gives different possibilities and allows you to work differentl

Some sculptors, before starting creation, are looking for inspiration by browsing photos or looking at the works of other artists. My inspiration come from many directions - they are both objects and very often people or situations that I experience. Thanks to them, I bring out art and the creation needs. I have many ideas for creating all kinds of monsters other creatures. Sometimes series of similar monsters are created - then one is an inspiration for the other.

During carving, I often try to analyze the form of the sculpture on a clear background. As there are a lot of tools on the carving table, it makes it difficult to control the form. Therefore, I always analyze it on pure, white or gray background. Another important thing in searching a shape and character of a sculpt is the right light. Of course, natural lighting is the best, but because I work a lot at night, I use artificial lighting from several points. The most important, however, is the stream of light from above.

I mainly use hand-made tools to work on the portraits, e.g. a needle or a guitar string. Among the purchased tools, you can find the simplest ones, such as a small, handy knife. I never smoothen my sculptures created with Super Sculpey, Green Sfuff or Biss Putty with oil, turpentine or gasoline. These liquids destroy a delicate trace of the tool, which is very important to me. For smoothing, I usually use soft brushes and special techniques.

Below I briefly present the process of work on my last orc. If any of you want to create a similar figure, you need the right sculpting tools, materials such as plasticine, NSP by Chavant, Monster Clay or Super Sculpey, a lot of enthusiasm and patience.
 

Preparation of structuresbased on wood, screws, nails and aluminum foil. Aluminum foil filling.

Basic tools I work with. Most of them are handmade by me. Basically I use about 8-10 tools for a small sculpture.

I start my work by applying the main mass of polymer clay and looking for the right proportions. At the beginning I do not focus on the details but look for the character of the figure through the prism of the main forms.

When I build the main blocks and am sure about the character of figure like orc, alien, zombie, vampire or another creature or monster, then I focus on the details.

Finally, I am looking for the appropriate textures that should appear on the surface of the sculpture. Of course, I keep textures in mind throughout the carving process, but texture is added in the end. Texture is always subordinate in a form.

At each stage it is very important to look at the sculpture from different perspectives and under different lighting. Both artificial and real light reveal the defects of the sculpture. However, the most important thing is always natural light.