FU!UK Sculpting Contest Entries: Non-human Females

Judges' Comments:

"I find the effects of the faces in the "skin" and the hoof interesting touches, but the sculpting could be much sharper for better effect. There's hardly any details in the head on the belt, none of the sharpness of detail that would make it a good sculpt. Ideas, good, execution, needs more sharpness and detail."

"I like the hoof - I didn't spot it at first but then I saw it and laughed - nice touch. Maybe a spell gone wrong or something? Anyway, the sculpting is a little rough and most of it could do with more definition and sharpening. Not really my sort of thing but I would've considered it had the technical work been a bit better."

"I like the idea of the hag hunched over with her bags, staff, and her hoof/boot combo. As a roleplaying gamer, I'd say a hag is a definite must in one's arsenal of character killers so this fits the bill quite well. However I can't see the face properly, and can only guess at its features. The folds of the clothing are forced in some areas, but totally without motion in others. I'm also soo totally against having the holes for sewn material in sculpt without thread to hold it together."

Judges' Comments:

"Sadly this figure is waaayyy too cartoony and strangely proportioned for my interest. It's a bit of a caricature, and the out of focus pictures don't help "

"I think I like this because it's anatomy is so strange, it almost looks deliberate and this gives it a naïve, sort of cave painting feel. The back right leg of the horse is definitely the wrong way round."

"Very cartoony cute upon first view. The face is actually one of the better ones in the category, but the rest of the anatomy is flat out wrong. The sculptor knows his/her greenstuff but really needs to work on using anatomy references."

Sculptor's Notes: Well, you are asking about something women would buy, so forget about sword swinging maniacs wearing bikini and such, women do like cute, soft things, and the fairies are the cutest, several women have fairy tattoed, painted in their rooms and so on. Also my female friends (not into miniature world) don't care about small details, they focus on face and general aspect, so this is what I was searching with this mini. The wings were done the way they are to allow casting.

Judges' Comments:

"I'm a fairy lover, I gotta admit. This is a different way of depicting fairies, and I'm not sure I'm sold on it. Still, much could be done with the painting to make the wings and hair and dress look cool."

"Sculpting wise, the left side cheek looks funky, as if there is an indent that isn't mirrored on the right side, the rest of the face looks very decent. The arms.just don't like the broken arm look, and the hands look puffy and lack the delicateness they deserve on a fairy. The wings themselves are uninteresting and there's no cleft between them.it will look very awkward even after painting. This shows great promise, but I wish better attention were paid to those wings and arms!"

"I think this one has to be the best of the bunch. They have obviously sculpted it with some mold making knowledge as there appear to be no undercuts but also I think sculpting with this in mind has contributed to her bulk. She's not a very dainty fairy."

"Her hands and her face could do with some work (her facial profile is very flat) but overall the sculpting is smooth and I like the detailed belt."

"Hehe. Honesty, I'm not a big fan of fairies. I know it is hard to give sense of flying motion with a figure like this and not have it look like every other fairy thing on the market. It is commendable that this was accomplished to some degree whilst also having a figure that can be cast as one piece. I would have preferred not to have so much rely on the arms being attached to the wings as well. Makes it hard to convert and makes it very heavy looking and bulky. Separate wings are my preference. . Still is the best of this bunch with the nicest facial features especially."

Sculptor's notes: This is a baboon. You can tell she's female as she doesn't have the manes and posture a male baboon would have.

Judges' Comments:

"Needs to improve fur sculpting and should look closer at the anatomy baboons before he/she sculpts another. I have to say though, the face is spot on."

"I looked up many photos of baboons just now and have to say this is one skinny critter! She really needs a larger torso, the poor girl is starving! Her upper haunches of her legs are too thin. The snout needs to come down a bit more gracefully from the middle of the eyes rather than an extension from the mouth. The fur needs a lot of work and the detail of her feet is virtually non-existent. Interesting subject matter though."

Sculptor's notes: Somewhere I saw an image of this pose and it seemed to stick in my mind. Of course, the original was a chainmail bikini chick which somehow didn't strike me as terribly appealing to female gamers. Halflings have always been a favorite of mine so decided to add one to the lot of minis out there.

She's in very utilitarian studded leather armor with a small buckler. The positioning of the bow came from my impression of what a short archer hiding behind some brush may need to do when springing up to surprise at close range without entangling the bow in grass or whatever. I hoped to give her an appropriately cute halfling face with good expression. Due to the pose, the arms and bow are cast separately from the main figure. For casting, the arrow shaft may need to be beefed up just a bit so models won't break.

Judges' Comments:

"The face shows definite promise, though the surrounding hair is stringy and unappealing. Texture is the main problem for me here.the hair, the quiver, the arrows, all look the same. I'm also not sure what's going on at the front leg, a shin guard that's caught in front of the.coat?...while the back leg is under the coat? Better planning would have avoided this problem."

"Never been a fan of the quick "grass" lump bases. The foot, the chainmail, all are a texture problem, with not enough variation, and precision to pull it off well."

"I quite like her pose. I like the tilt of the head as she looks down her arrow. The face shows real promise. I agree on the texture problems though. Each textural element needs more definition."

"Agreed. What texture there is appears all the same so it looks like the grass is growing onto the feet, the hair is growing onto the quiver and so forth. The pose and face is nice. It shows a lot of potential, but in the end it looks a wee bit haphazard and rushed. Love to see what this sculptor could achieve without a deadline."

Sculptor's notes: Orcs beware and never forget to look up. Our lady of the woods isn't shy about driving her speartip into the skull of monsterous vermin. This figure was all about motion. So many figures have that windswept look going, but I always wonder just where the wind comes from. Leaping from the trees brings drapery and hair sweeping back without that swimsuit model pose with a fan blowing look. She is dressed rustically and I hope appears wild enough. Maybe she could make some D&D player a nice elf barbarian. The elf and spear are one piece with the tree base separate.

Judges' Comments:

"Great movement and concept! Some good attention to some of the details, but lacking or lazy on others. Her face looks off, especially the mouth and nose area. Its hard to tell with the sweeping skirt where the skirt ends and the leg begins."

"Wow!! Proper Matrix styles. Problems with texturing again - furry trees? Face needs more work, as does fabric."

"The texture of the tree totally kills this figure, the pointed branch tips look very odd too. The bark should not have the appearance of fur, my guess is a bit of gentle cutting and scraping with a knife could save it. The girl herself is very dynamic and at first glance looks great. Though in one shot it looks as if the right side of her forehead has collapsed. Needs a little more work on the clothing and a lot more on the belt and buckles."

Judges' Comments:

"Eu! The subject matter is wrong on so many levels. Is this a legitimate contest attempt, or is someone having a joke with us?"

"Childbirth is NOT a pleasant subject. It's yucky, slimy and painful for everybody involved, no matter what species you are or how you do it. So don't remind us, cos we won't buy it!"

"The sculpting is crude and the larvae look rather like the slugs I used to make with my mom's leftover cookie dough when I was a kid."

"I'm not going to buy this, in fact nobody is going to buy this. Ever!

Sculptor's notes: Female dwarf trained at Shao-lin, carrying her favourite weapon, the tiger fork.

Judges' Comments:

"Nicely done! Missing a nipple it seems, but I found it appealing to the female dwarf player in me. Good face, painting should help it more, simple, direct. Like it for an RPG character."

"Maybe there's a cold draught coming from one side? Feet and hands need work but I quite like the overall look. I can see it cast in brass as a little treasure or a talisman."

"Not bad I think. Demi-human monks are a rarity in the miniatures market. My biggest complaint is the anatomy of her face, especially around her eye area is off. The superciliary arch should be more pronounced than her eyes and because of this problem the glabella is nonexistent. Fix that by adding a wee bit more greenstuff and she'll be lovely!"

"Another model whose concept helps make up for a lack of sculpting experience. Not refined, but with a good paint job I could see someone wanting this engaging little piece as an RPG character."

Sculptor's notes: A friend was making a mermaid and I decided to join the fun and make one myself. I decided to skip the traditional form and go for a shark based one. Sleek, flexible. Huntress or guard. About to launch herself to something she sees on the surface.

Judges' Comments:

"Theres a lot of good work gone into the face, but with far less attention paid to the breasts, which are just sorta sitting there. It holds the figure back. Hair is done much much better than many here."

"Wish the same smoothness of finish had been done to the arms and chest as well as it was done on the face. Again, very chunky and rough arms and hands. Good concept and execution could be better."

"The profile of her face is very nice. Her neck looks way too muscular for a female anything and her hands are huge (anyone see that Seinfeld episode?). The hair is well done though."

"This looks a bit like a case of two strategically placed lumps on an otherwise masculine body. Excellent face and the body, excepting the weird breasts, otherwise looks good to me. I like the sense of motion and the subject matter is definitely unique. It's a cool idea. The hands are also a bit pudgy or doll-like. If corrections were made, I would buy this figure."

"The departure from the common mermaid style is good to see. The breasts and arms are rather clumsy in execution, and I'd like the hair to give more of a clue as to whether she's above or below water; still, I think this comes across as lithe and feminine, yet predatory."

Sculptor's notes: Sculptor's notes: Female dwarfs DO have beards! Nuff said.

Judges' Comments:

" Nobody at my game table would ever consider this a female. Looks like a large breasted male. I wouldn't buy it, but it is well sculpted."

"I think the hands are different sizes. The lower portion of the body seems to also lack much detail and is very rough, especially as seen on the back.

"Oh! Nice go at chainmail, though the arms are way too long."

"I do not like female dwarves with beards. Period!"

"I like this piece because it manages to look feminine even with the beard (though I much prefer painting beardless dwarf chicks). She really ought to have braided beard strands, though, to match the pigtail in back. The 'Eastern' feel of the armor is a nice touch."