Sculpture Techniques (Carving, Casting, Assemblage, Relief)
This domain tests the four sculpture routes-carving, casting, assemblage and relief-and the logic that distinguishes subtractive from additive work. Expect questions on tool direction, mould design, joining methods and relief depth.
Core rules
- Carving is subtractive: work from large blocking cuts to finer cuts, cut with the grain in wood, and never cut towards a hand or a clamped edge that can split.
- Casting is additive/reproductive: a mould must have a release agent, a pouring gate, and vents; undercuts in a rigid mould lock the cast in.
- Assemblage joins separate found or made parts; the joint must suit the material-dowels and glue for wood, welding or bolts for metal, mechanical fixings for mixed media.
- Relief is sculpture attached to a background: low relief projects slightly, high relief projects strongly, and sunken relief cuts below the surface. Depth should be planned in stages, not carved at random.
Worked example
You plan a low relief of a fish on a plaster slab. Because the mould will be rigid, you avoid undercuts beneath the fins; you model the fish in three depths-background, body and fin-and keep the deepest cut at the outline. Reasoning: the three depths read as form under raking light, and the absence of undercuts lets the mould lift cleanly.
Traps that cost marks
- Carving a deep undercut in a rigid one-piece mould.
- Starting with detail instead of blocking.
- Using a weak adhesive on a load-bearing assemblage joint.
- Treating high relief as fully in-the-round sculpture.