How to sketch a sculpture

In a sculpture class my sophomore year of high school, I was introduced to the material that is foam core (I think that’s its official name). Foam core is a sort of thin-ish sheet of foam with paper glued on either side, making it firm. To work with it you must have very sharp knives, else the foam will tear away in chunks when cut. You also must be very cognizant of the way you are holding the knife, as with the depth of foam core, holding it at an angle will affect the edge.

My first project using foam core was inspired by a Dr. Seuss drawing of a house. Something as crazy as…

The Reference Photo

…can be a bit intense to look at and say, “I know exactly how I’m going to replicate this".” It’s just so all-over-the-place.

So I sketched it using cardboard.

With my hot glue gun in one hand, and my scissors in the other, I had no trouble mashing together pieces until it resembled something I liked. Similarly to sketching a portrait, the point of a sketch is not to be perfect, but to eventually get to a product you can finalize and add detail to without wasting time. In a previous post I mentioned the importance of proportions, and how they are part of the sketching phase. Well, in sculpture it also applies, and while not many people will “sketch” their sculptures beforehand in 3d using something like cardboard, they may need to adjust their design just as much as they go along.

With my mini cardboard model, I was able to jump straight into the unfamiliar medium of foam core with plenty of confidence, and ended up with a result I was quite happy with (until I painted it, but that’s just because my painting skills were sub-par).

If you’re ever uncomfortable or unsure how to approach a new medium, try approaching it with one of your favorite, or previously well-acquainted mediums in a similar way first, and then jump into the new one.