This article will be a short demonstration of how I created “Hugin and Munin,” a sculpture I completed recently. These sorts of sculptures are often referred to as “art dolls,” or “fabric sculptures,” but really it’s hard to place them in any category. They are created using a wide variety of materials and there are no set rules about how to make them. So keep in mind as you read this article that my word on this matter is far from definitive, for there are as many different techniques involved in this sort of art as there are artists.
That said, let’s begin! Everything starts with an idea. My idea for this sculpture came from Norse mythology. Hugin and Munin are Odin’s twin raven scouts. I thought it would be interesting if Hugin and Munin were depicted as human figures with raven heads and wings. I pictured them in all black clothing, to mimic a raven’s all black plumage. After a few preliminary sketches, I set about constructing them. Since there are two figures in this sculpture, I made them at the same time, but I’ll only be showing photos of one or the other (whichever one demonstrates that stage of construction the best) for most of the tutorial.
I start my figures off with wire armatures. I use 16 or 18 gauge electric fence wire for body armatures. You can find it in most garden or hardware stores for a lot cheaper than you’ll find armature wire in craft stores. I buy it in 1/4 mile spools and it lasts me quite a long time. I use pliers to bend the wire into a basic human figure shape (minus head, hands, and feet, which will be sculpted later). I use a double wire construction but I don’t twist the wires together because this actually weakens the armature. It makes the wires more like springs, and they aren’t as sturdy as a simple straight-wire construction. I use electrical tape to secure the doubled wire in various places, so that they will bend in unison when I go to pose the armatures. When making your armature, it’s important to spend some time with a ruler to make sure you’ve got the proportions of your figure correct. You have some leeway, of course, because the wire will be deep inside the sculpture, but getting the arms and legs the right general length for the overall height will save you a lot of agony later on.
Next, I bend the wire armatures into the pose I want. My idea was to have one of the raven twins crouched with his hand out to the ground as if he were studying something, perhaps animal tracks. The other raven man would be standing beside with his arms crossed over his chest as though he were contemplating something farther away, or perhaps, just lost in thought. They would be pegged to a wooden base for support, so here I have them posed on the wooden base to give myself an idea of how close they’ll be standing, and how this might affect construction. I’ve also attached wires to their backs that will later form the armature for the wings.
