Duration: 42s

In this lesson, Wendy demonstrates why photographic reference is essential when sculpting believable character faces, particularly older ones. By studying real portraits, she shows how age is conveyed through subtle structural changes, sagging skin, and wrinkle patterns rather than exaggeration. Wendy emphasizes choosing reference images that communicate personality and archetype, using multiple sources to guide design decisions. The lesson reinforces that strong character sculpting comes from careful observation, comparison, and intentional interpretation rather than imagination alone.

Duration: 6m 6s

In this lesson, Wendy outlines how to build a simple, stable head armature using wire, aluminum foil, and masking tape. The focus is on creating a lightweight skull structure that supports polymer clay while preventing cracking or unwanted reactions during baking. By isolating the head from the body, Wendy explains how this setup allows for easier handling, full 360-degree viewing, and flexible positioning during sculpting. The lesson establishes the structural foundation needed for expressive, believable character heads.

Duration: 2m 33s

Wendy begins sculpting the first character head by focusing on roughing in facial features rather than refining details. Working from simple forms, she shows how to block in the jaw, nose, lips, cheeks, and eye placement while considering the skull and underlying anatomy. The process is treated as a sketch, allowing the character’s personality to emerge gradually through proportion, gravity, and subtle exaggeration. The lesson emphasizes observation, iteration, and restraint, showing how aging, expression, and character develop through careful buildup rather than early precision.

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Wendy develops a second character head by intentionally pushing and reshaping a generic base into a more exaggerated, fantasy-driven form. Rather than refining details early, the focus is on altering proportions by shifting mass upward, widening features, and rebalancing the face while still respecting the underlying skull. She shows how exaggeration can be effective when applied with restraint, keeping the character believable rather than caricatured. By experimenting with feature placement, ear size, and overall silhouette, the lesson illustrates how personality and mood emerge through bold structural changes and continual evaluation from multiple angles.

Duration: 8m 34s

In this lesson, Wendy shows how to develop a third character head by working from a more delicate base and guiding it toward a refined, elderly female character. The focus is on subtle reshaping through gentle pressure, elongation, and careful redistribution of existing clay. She emphasizes working symmetrically with both hands to maintain balance while refining features such as the chin, lips, cheekbones, and jaw. Aging is expressed with restraint, relying on fine surface lines and soft hollows rather than heavy folds or exaggerated jowls. By the end of the lesson, the contrast between the three heads becomes clear, showing how small structural decisions create distinct personalities.

Duration: 6m 34s

Wendy shows how to bring a character head to life by refining surface details and aging features through subtle additions and careful softening. The focus is on breaking down overly firm structures by adding small amounts of clay to create sagging flesh, softened jawlines, and natural compression under the eyes and brow. She emphasizes variation and restraint so the face does not appear mechanical or overworked. Fine tools are used to draw in deeper folds and selective surface lines, which are then gently softened with acetone to remove sharp edges and unify the forms. The lesson reinforces that believable aging comes from layered decisions about flesh, gravity, and texture rather than excessive lines, and that final surface refinement is essential to achieving a natural, lifelike result.

Duration: 34m 5s

Wendy shows how to sculpt aged hands by emphasizing structure, proportion, and subtle signs of age. The process begins with establishing correct hand proportions and building the palms and fingers separately to allow greater control over detail. Knuckles are formed through gentle pull and press motions rather than carving, creating natural joint definition and relaxed finger bends. She highlights how age is conveyed through slightly enlarged knuckles, visible veins, surface creases, and softened forms rather than exaggerated distortion. The lesson reinforces that sculpting expressive, believable hands takes patience and practice, with small, deliberate adjustments producing the most convincing results.

Duration: 17m 5s

In this lesson, Wendy shares a simplified approach to sculpting feet when the character wears footwear. Since the figure will have boots, the focus shifts away from anatomical toe detail and toward creating strong, functional base shapes. The feet are sculpted as mirrored boot forms, emphasizing balance, heel structure, and slightly enlarged proportions for stability and visual appeal. Wire is used only as a temporary guide and is intentionally left removable before baking, allowing flexibility during assembly. The lesson highlights practical decision making, showing how understanding the final costume allows the sculptor to simplify forms while still achieving believable, effective results.

Duration: 4m 2s

Wendy now focuses on painting the character heads after baking, explaining how color and surface treatment enhance sculpted forms and bring characters to life. The lesson covers surface preparation, selecting appropriate base tones, and applying translucent paint layers to support facial structure without overpowering the sculpt. Emphasis is placed on subtlety and observation, showing how age, personality, and realism are conveyed through small shifts in color, shadow, and texture. By learning to build depth and variation gradually, artists can gain a clear approach to painting surfaces that feel lifelike and reinforce each character’s individuality rather than simply adding decoration.

Duration: 24m 25s

In this lesson, Wendy shows how hair is applied to finished character heads as a final expressive element, using different fibers, textures, and densities to convey age, personality, and individuality. She approaches hair as a sculptural and compositional choice rather than a decorative afterthought, with emphasis on direction, layering, and asymmetry to avoid a manufactured look. Through experimentation with placement and style, Wendy outlines how hair and facial hair can subtly reinforce mood, history, and character identity, bringing the figure closer to a finished look.

Duration: 31m 11s

In this lesson, Wendy shows how to construct and stabilize a full body armature in preparation for padding and costuming. She explains how wooden supports are integrated into the wire structure to secure the head, shoulders, and torso while keeping the form rigid enough to work on at scale. The lesson also covers key workflow decisions, including when to attach hair relative to body construction and how armature planning responds to the finished character design. Wendy emphasizes practical problem solving, demonstrating how strategic taping and light stitching help manage larger figures, prevent interference during later sewing stages, and create a stable foundation for building body volume and form.

Duration: 6m 40s

In this lesson, Wendy shows how to fabricate the body using a padding and covering method. Volume is built by padding the armature with fiberfill to establish the body’s proportions, then securing and unifying the form by stitching a nude, stretch fabric over the entire structure. The focus is on creating a stable, softly shaped body that supports costuming rather than sculpted anatomical detail, providing a repeatable workflow that can be applied consistently across different character figures.

Duration: 11m 17s

Wendy continues costuming the body by exploring fabric choices, color palettes, and overall silhouette to support the character’s personality. Through testing different materials and tones, she evaluates how color, texture, and drape interact with the sculpted form. Rather than committing immediately, the costume develops through visual testing, reinforcing how clothing design supports mood, movement, and character identity. The lesson emphasizes an intuitive, exploratory approach to costuming, giving artists a framework for using fabric selection and garment construction together to create a cohesive, expressive figure.

Duration: 31m 14s

In this concluding lesson, Wendy reflects on the character figure she has completed so far and the broader process of the workshop. She explains that while the figure may still receive additional details in the future, it has reached a satisfying stopping point. The lesson emphasizes character sculpting as an expressive and rewarding practice, encouraging artists to observe real people, study faces of different ages, and draw inspiration from life itself. Wendy frames character work as a way to bring personality, depth, and vitality into sculpting, inviting viewers to continue experimenting and developing their own characters beyond the workshop.

Duration: 1m 23s