The Hobby Phase: Sculpting Tattered Cloaks

In today’s hobby tutorial I’m going to show you a simple thing that you can sculpt with greenstuff to add some interest to your models: tattered cloaks. The techniques used here are quite versatile and once you’ve practiced a bit you’ll find you can adapt them to make other things too, such as banners or tabards.

General Tips for Working with Greenstuff:

• My main tip is to keep a dish of water nearby to wet your tools and your hands as you’re working to prevent sticking.

• Patience! There are times when I’ve been tempted to add just one more detail to a model before the greenstuff is fully cured, only to ruin what I’ve already sculpted. Some details, like fur trim on top of a cloak, are best added the next day. 

• Practice makes perfect. I don’t think I’ve ever begun a sculpting session without messing up my first attempt, so don’t be afraid to roll up your material and try again. If you need to step away from it for a while before trying again, you can always submerge your greenstuff in some water to prolong its curing time for a bit. 

Above: This is a bit of a do what I say not what I do moment. At this point you can see there is a small lump midway down the sculpt. This is caused by leaving in a portion of green stuff where the two kneadable components were touching during storage. In this case I chose to forge on and ignore it since I was making a distressed cloak but for most projects make sure to remove these kinds of imperfections in the material before beginning to sculpt!

Step 1: For cloaks of any kind we want to start by stretching out a small piece of greenstuff until it forms a vaguely triangular shape that is roughly tall enough to reach the shoulders of the miniature you plan to put it on.

Above: Also don't do your sculpting on the same surface you use for painting, put something down on top or you'll end up with little pieces of brush bristles and flock getting onto your material as seen here. Though since I was going for a grungy look with my finished product, all's well that ends well!

Step 2: Then we’re going to flatten our piece of greenstuff against a damp surface to finish pushing it into the shape of a cloak. Be careful at this stage not to press it to thin, both to avoid sticking to your work surface, and to avoid ripping it unintentionally. 

Step 3: At this stage we’ll use a damp hobby knife to cut our cloak into a more precise shape. Then we’ll cut a small V shape where the miniature’s head will go. At this stage you could stop if you want a cloak that’s intact. 

Step 4: Here’s where we start weathering the cloak. To start, we’ll use a damp hobby knife to lightly score the edges of the cloak.

Step 5: Then to finish the effect, we’ll go back over the cuts we made with more force, using the hobby knife to drag the material and cut straight through where we want it to look most weathered. You may just want some weathering on the bottom, or you want to make the entire thing look tattered, it’s up to you!

There you have it, now you’re ready to sculpt cloaks for crumbling skeletons and preening lords alike! Stay tuned for part two, where we’ll take a closer look at how you can adapt this technique to sculpt beards and hair.

The finished product added to a model to create a ghostly look.