Fundamentals of Sculpture

The three fundamentals of sculpture must be present in a sculpture because they are interdependent, so if one is
missing there is no success.
1. Form - The total mass or configuration that the subject or idea takes. It is the physical structure of the sculpture.
2. Content - The emotion, message or passion that the sculptor intends to convey through his/her sculpture.
3. Technique - The combination of materials and tools to create the sculpture.

Elements of Sculpture
1. Line- A line is an identifiable path created by a point moving in space. Line is one-dimensional and can vary in
width, direction and length.

2. Shape- A Shape is a line that is “closed”. They have an interior (inside) and an exterior (outside). All shapes are
two-dimensional, meaning that they have only length and width.

3. Form- Form describes objects in three-dimensional space. All forms have, height, width and depth.

4. Space- Space is the area between and around objects. It describes how the artist uses the area to arranges
things within a picture.

5. Texture - Texture is another element, like form or space, that can be real (run your fingers over an Oriental rug,
or hold an unglazed pot), created (think of van Gogh's lumpy, impasto-ed canvases) or implied (through clever
use of shading).

6. Value- Value is the darkness or lightness of a color. When dealing with pure color (hue), value can be affected
by adding white or black to a color.

7. Color- Color is the element of art that refers to reflected light. Over many years, artists and scientists together
have created general theories about how colors work together in art. This is called Color theory.

Types of Sculpting Techniques

1. Carving - Carving is one of the oldest sculpting techniques, and you can still find it today in many modern
sculptures. This technique involves the sculptor carefully chipping away from a chosen material, slowly bringing
their desired figure to life.
2. Assembling - Assembling is the opposite of carving, as instead of taking away from a material, assembling
continually combines materials, forming a sculpture. This technique is more modern as finding resources is
easier than ever before.
3. Modeling - Modeling is a technique in which the artist molds a material to create the desired piece. Ancient
artists used this technique to make pottery, manipulating soft materials like waxes and clays.
4. Casting - The last technique artists commonly use is casting, where they’ll pour molten materials like metal into
a mold. An outsider may view this as not being very artistic, but much of the artistry comes from creating the
mold and refining the cast piece.