Who said that a figure made of snow is necessarily a snowman?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:47

One of the main joys of winter is abundant, thick and dense snow. In addition to the beauty it gives to the world around it, snow provides opportunities that are incompatible with summer: snowballs, snowmen, sledding (or on the butt) from an ice slide. Not a single child passes winter without at least one snowman. Both parents and peers willingly participate in this fun. However, not entirely lazy people with a creative streak can not only entertain their child, but also decorate the yard or a nearby park with a real work of applied art. By the way, children will like this idea much more than sculpting an ordinary snowman.

Start simple

Before you create any complex figure out of snow, you should practice on something simple. For example, to update or improve your knowledge and skills (regarding modeling from this natural material) on a regular hill. Only whenconstruction, improve its design with the use of those skills that will be useful when the snow figures are already erected.

From the snow, if there is not a high enough snowdrift nearby, a mountain of the shape and height that you have in mind is built. If there is a lot of source material, there is inspiration and a reserve of strength, then the snowdrift can be made winding, like a descent for a bobsleigh. Just be sure to mold the sides higher so that the children do not fly off the structure! At the same time, practice working with snow. On a steeper slope, steps are cut or trampled, the whole workpiece is well compacted - where with a shovel, where with feet - and filled with water.

The slide will be very useful, and then, when the figure is directly created from the snow, the kids have something to do, so it will not interfere and destroy the "huts" in the process of creation, and then it will become a pity.

Preparatory stage

Of course, first you need to decide what will be molded. To begin with, it is better to choose something simple, without small details. To help yourself, you can print a picture that shows your future snow figure. But the most important thing is to catch the moment when the modeling material is ready for work. In severe frosts, the snow is crumbly and sticks together poorly. The ideal time would be early spring or moments of thaw. However, on other days, the snow may be of a suitable structure - if the temperature is not lower than minus eight and the air is sufficiently humid.

Before out of the snowto make figures, you need to check its stickiness. To do this, it is enough to squeeze a handful of material in a fist. If, when unfolded, it does not crumble, but repeats the shape of the palm, you can start your exciting activity.

Because you have to work with a cold substance, take care of your hands. On ordinary warm gloves, you need to pull rubber ones, and preferably insulated ones. The ideal choice would be fishing - they do not crack from frost and do not let it through to the body.

Sculptural works in the old fashioned way

To make intricate figures out of snow with your own hands, you will also need a bucket of heated water. Periodically, it will have to be changed - winter is still on the street, and in cold water it is not enough fun to wet your hands even with protective gloves. The process itself differs little from working with the same plasticine or clay (except in scale). Only one caveat: you need to regularly stroke your sculpture with wet hands. So the snow will grab faster, and the figure will become stronger. This is especially true for small parts - without water, they are likely to fall off quickly.

First, the main outline of the planned sculpture is molded. Very thin details are cut with a spatula on an already frozen base.

When the snow figure satisfies your artistic taste, you can gently pour chilled water over it. If there are a lot of small details, it is better to spray from a spray bottle so as not to wash away important “details”. The water will freeze and your creativity will last much longer.

Artistic carving

If the snow is dry, but createwant immediately, we resort to another method. A box is taken (plywood is better, but made of strong cardboard is also suitable), the bottom is removed, the frame is placed on the ground and packed with snow. You can wet it with water for better adhesion. Another level is added on top - until the height of the "tower" is sufficient for the idea. Top is again carried out with wet gloves - and the base is ready. Now a knife is taken, and the carving process begins, similar to what ice statues are made.

Embodiment of global ideas

If monumental figures made of snow are conceived (the photos presented in the article will tell you the general direction in which you can work), you can’t do without a frame. The easiest way to make it is from plywood, slats or boards, just roughly outlining the desired contours. Inside and around them, the snow is compacted and watered with water until the desired figure is obtained. The same basis is needed for through architectural structures, for example, for arches.

Subsequent work is all in the same cutting: cut off everything that does not fit into the image, clean up unnecessary bulges and growths - and get snowy beauty.

Color fantasy

Please note that even if you have created a great sculpture, the source material is too faded and does not make much of an impression. Wanting to achieve perfection, the authors-sculptors go to a variety of tricks. The most accessible is the freezing of colored inserts: you dilute watercolors in water,pour into molds (even children's shallow paska will do) - and into the freezer. Then they can be stuck all over the body of the figure, making it bright and elegant.

More complex are the technologies for painting the entire sculpture. If her body is a uniform color, gouache or watercolor can be added directly to the snow. The difficulty is to achieve a uniform color: the tone usually turns out somewhere lighter, somewhere brighter. Alternatively, you can use a spray gun with diluted paints. However, there may also be trouble in the form of streaks.

Well, the artists just wait until a layer of ice hardens on the figure, then they take brushes and thick paints and paint it in accordance with the intended image.