When you think of sculptures, you likely think of marble, bronze, and other materials used throughout the ages. However, the modern world has produced some amazing new materials that provide benefits far beyond what those traditional materials can offer.
One of those is styrofoam. Styrofoam doesn’t sound like a proper sculpting material at first, but here are 8 things you should know about crafting styrofoam sculptures and how this versatile medium can be transformed into stunning, intricate artworks suitable for both indoor and outdoor displays, and it’s a major part of the themed environment industry.
1: Less-Expensive Production
One of the most noticeable differences between styrofoam sculptures and sculptures made of traditional materials is that styrofoam is a lot cheaper.
Obviously, the cost of something isn’t always the primary concern. In many cases, lower costs are seen as "cutting corners”. That’s not the case with styrofoam in the vast majority of applications, though.
You can get a beautiful sculpture that truly enhances a project without spending as much, and in most cases, there are no downsides.
2: Lighter Material
Styrofoam is a lot lighter than marble or various metals. This lightweight trait makes it desirable for two different reasons.
First, it’s a lot easier for you to place the sculpture initially, and if you do need to move it due to redecorating, renovations, or simply to remove the statue, it doesn’t take special equipment, safety measures, and other things that are required when moving sculptures made of far heavier materials.
Then, it’s also easier for the artist to work with the material. Since it’s lighter, they can manipulate it easily, get into angles that they couldn’t with heavier materials, and generally have a more pleasant time crafting the sculpture. This translates to lower costs, and in some instances, higher quality due to the easier work environment.
3: No Degradation
In many situations, such as highly disposable items, foam not degrading is a major issue environmentally. However, when crafting styrofoam sculptures that you want to last for lifetimes, that’s a desirable trait with minimal impact.
Styrofoam doesn’t degrade over time. With metal materials, even if they don’t rust, they do oxidize, and the color of the sculpture will change. With stone sculptures, water, and wind can slowly degrade the material until it eventually doesn’t resemble its original look.
Styrofoam sculptures, assuming you take care of them, will look the same in 50 years with no problems.
One area this tends to be extremely useful in is the themed environment industry. Many themed environments are seasonal, and sculptures are only used for a short time before going into storage until next year. With Styrofoam sculptures, you don’t have to worry about the sculptures degrading in storage before the next season.
4: Easier Manufacturing
Because styrofoam is easy to cut through, the manufacturing process is easier whether all the work is being done by hand or the sculpture is part of a manufacturing run with automated equipment.
Styrofoam can be cut through with a variety of hand tools from saws to blades and even heated wires.
This ease of manufacturing makes it a lot easier to achieve higher levels of detail, and of course, this is another way that styrofoam sculpting reduces overall costs. The easier manufacturing is for any item, the less expensive it tends to be.
