Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Video Project with Little Tybee - Phase Tres

The next character created for our story is the Fortune Teller.

Halfway through the video, the Wanderer walks into the Fortune Teller's tent and appears to have taken a seat next to him. Actually we will see the seated version of the Wanderer inside the tent. It's a bit of visual trickery.


His body in-progress. I used another wood, instead of basswood, for his torso, upper arms and thighs. Not sure what kind of wood it is - it carves as easy as basswood but has a coarser grain.



In the middle of carving the hands - challenging, but very rewarding work.



Finished carving..... and filing... and sanding. These probably took about 4 hours to make.



His head after sculpting and baking. I'm pretty happy the way he turned out.
When sculpting heads, I don't have a lot of confidence in my abilities, and consider most heads I've done "happy accidents". Though pleased with the results, I'm always pleasantly surprised by the personalities that emerge.



His body, ready for painting.



Ready to be dressed. I create, and age, the clothes before I paint the figure, so at this point he is ready to be assembled.



Detail of his hands. I used a darker skin color to suggest a Middle Eastern/Moroccan heritage.



His super-fancy shoes.



His finished head. He'll be wearing a hat/headpiece by the way, so pay no attention to his hairline.



His distinctive profile came out a bit like Baron von Munchausen. I rarely use visual references, so his appearance came from deep inside my brain. (I will say it's one of my favorite movies.)



The many, many hats I considered for him. This is a sign that I do indeed have enough found objects to pull from. Each hat or headdress certainly lends a different feel to his character.



My choice for his hat - it goes so well with his outfit and has the perfect feel to it. It's actually a small round wooden picture frame with a small metal cup on top.



He'll sit before a crystal ball of sorts, and his arms will be manipulated by rods from underneath the set.



Another view.



Our two characters as they will be sitting. I'll be building a table for this scene, and the crystal ball and stand are yet to be designed and created. The one in the pic is just a stand-in.



Next the High-Diver..............

Friday, August 5, 2011

Video Project with Little Tybee - Phase Deux

I finished "The Wanderer" and thought I would post some in-progress pics.

This is the first of 6 figures I will be making for this project. I'm pretty happy the way it turned out and I love to see the how the marionette moves with all those strings.....

His hands - one's carved and one's just started.


I'm actually making 2 copies of our hero - one is a full marionette and the other is a seated figure whose arms will move via rods from underneath. I "cast" the front of the head, (using more polymer clay), so they would be identical.


All the arms, legs, boots, and heads - painted and aged - ready to be assembled.


Dressing the seated figure.
Sometimes it seems like assembling a puzzle; they have to be put together in a specific order. I've learned this order after making a few frustrating mistakes in the past. Luckily, on these two figures, the vests can be slipped on from the back, which is not always the case.


The marionettes' body ready to be dressed. His socks are felt.


His boots are ready to go on after his pants are on.


Adding the strings to the the marionette - 12 in all.


His head showing the 3 strings that control the movement.


Stringing up the marionette. He seems a little dejected without his head.


All finished! except for maybe a little tweaking for functionality. He is approx. 18" tall.


His back, showing his awesome European shoulder bag.


More to come. Next is the Fortune Teller............