Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Traditionally, sculptural process have focused on carving and modelling, generally in stone, metal, and wood, but since modernism shifts in sculptural process have led to an almost complete freedom of materials and process. The Western tradition of sculpture began in Ancient Greece, and Greece is widely seen as a producing great masterpieces in the classical period. During the Middle Ages, Gothic sculpture represented the agonies and passions of the Christian faith. The revival of classical models in the Renaissance produced famous sculptures like Michelangelo's David. Modernist sculpture moved away from traditional processes and the emphasis on the depiction of the human body, with the making of constructed sculpture, and the presentation of found objects as finished art works.

Materials may be worked by removal such as carving; or they may be assembled such as by welding, hardened such as by firing, or molded or cast. Surface decoration such as paint may be applied. Sculpture has been described as one of the plastic arts because it can involve the use of materials that can be moulded or modulated. Found objects may be presented as sculptures.

Jordu Schell is a renowned American sculptor and concept artist who has been working in the film and television industries for over twenty years.

Jordu Schell began his career as a sculptor and Halloween mask maker. He primarily sculpts in clay and other physical materials, rather than in CGI or in 2-D drawings, although he works in those forms as well.

Schell first started designing FX for Hollywood on Bride of Re-Animator, and went on from there to work with Stan Winston on such movies as Predator 2, Edward Scissorhands, and Batman Returns. In television, he designed aliens for the opening season of Babylon 5.

From 2005-2007, Schell was instrumental in the design of the Na'vi and other creatures in James Cameron's movie Avatar, shaping the designs of the characters with physical sculptures when Cameron felt that the CGI designs were not capturing his vision. Schell sculpted numerous maquettes to help solidify the look of the Na'vi race, often working in the kitchen of Cameron's Malibu home.

Ronald "Ron" Mueck (English pronunciation: /mjuːɛk/ or /muːɪk/; born 1958, Melbourne) is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor working in the United Kingdom.

Ron Mueck began his career working on the Australian children's television program Shirl's Neighbourhood. He was the creative director and made, voiced and operated the puppets Greenfinger the Garden Gnome, Ol' Possum, Stanley the snake and Claude the Crow amongst many others. The show was made for Channel 7 Melbourne between 1979 and 1984, broadcast nationally and starred the ex-lead singer of Skyhooks, Graeme "Shirley" Strachan.

Mueck's early career was as a model maker and puppeteer for children's television and films, notably the film Labyrinth for which he also contributed the voice of Ludo, and the Jim Henson series The Storyteller.

Mueck moved on to establish his own company in London, making photo-realistic props and animatronics for the advertising industry. Although highly detailed, these props were usually designed to be photographed from one specific angle hiding the mess of construction seen from the other side. Mueck increasingly wanted to produce realistic sculptures which looked perfect from all angles.

For the artist see Tom Shannon (artist)

Thomas John Shannon (9 December 1884 – 9 June 1954) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1927 until his death. He was variously a member of the Australian Labor Party(ALP) and the Australian Labor Party (NSW).

Shannon was born in Redfern, New South Wales and was the son of a Cab Driver. He was educated to elementary level at St Benedict's, Broadway and worked as a grocer's boy and eventually as a real estate agent. He became involved with community organisations including the Hibernian Australian Catholic Benefit Society, a provider of social security insurance, and was elected as an Alderman on Sydney City Council between 1921-27 and between 1930-48. Shannon was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as the Labor member for the newly re-created seat of Surry Hills at the 1927 election. The seat was abolished by a redistribution prior to the next election and Shannon transferred to the seat of Phillip where the sitting Labor member Phillip Burke had retired. He retained the seat for Labor at the next 8 elections and died as the sitting member in 1954. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (NSW) during that party's estrangement from the ALP federal executive but he did not support later manifestations of Lang Labor. Shannon did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office.