For this mini project, I followed along with a tutorial on YouTube from Grant Abbitt on sculpting a little clay-esque owl. This was incredibly fun, and although I have only dipped my toes in the Blender sculpting waters, I feel excited about sculpting forms after this. It truly feels like painting, and for that reason I love it.

The first steps were to get the general form sculpted out. I got a much better grasp on each of the brushes during this part, discovering what would be helpful to me.

Next were the feet. This was kind of fun, and gave me experience in adding shapes into existing sculpting sessions as well as a use for the mirror modifier that I had actually never used before, in this case for use of mirroring the feet around the body to center them.

Last was the fun part, and almost always my favorite part, no matter what I’m doing in Blender. I decided to pivot from what Grant was showing at this point when it came to the owls materials and background. I liked the idea of a clay or ceramic figure, but made mine a like pink-orange, almost what terracotta looks like before firing. I then added a cool metallic gradient to the floor, and some fun contrasting lights in front and behind the owl.

I love the final result! Although the concept wasn’t my own, it is fun to follow along and add my own spin on things. I think my little owl is adorable!

To be honest, however, the colors came out a bit more dull in the render than I was expecting, but overall, I am proud of my owl.