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..............

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............

Video Project with Little Tybee - Phase 1

I'm excited to be teaming up with the wonderful band Little Tybee on their next music video. Brock Scott, lead man extraordinaire, and I have come up with an interesting, and very challenging concept. I'm creating 6 marionette characters for the piece, and will be art directing and creating the miniature sets too. If we can pull it off, it's going to be amazing.

Here is my progress so far on the main character, The Wanderer.


My sketch for The Wanderer. He will be approx. 18" tall and be operated by 10 strings.


His torso, ready to be carved.


Legs are cut, ready to be carved.


I'm making ball and socket joints at the shoulders to maximize his movements.


His head from polymer clay.


His body so far.


I hollowed out his head so I could insert his neck. There is a pivot at his neck so he can look up.


His boots cut out and ready to be carved.


Done.


Much more to come - stay tuned, I'll try to post my progress regularly.
And in the mean time be sure to check out Little Tybee.

"Serene" Skater Figure - Final Images

I've finished my latest commission and have named her "Serene".

As always, click on the images for a larger view.

The polymer clay head after painting and aging.


Her head in my hand - which gives a sense of scale.
I love this shot; the light coming through the window was perfect.


Serene's body, painted and ready to be assembled. The tape on the torso helps me position the legs.


Her legs after they were glued in place.


Here I'm stitching up the front of her dress.
I always have to cut my clothes up the back to get them on the figures - then I stitch up the back. For this dress I'll cover the stitches with a piece of trim.


The final shot of Serene.
I placed her on a base made from a vintage tin and a piece of Plexiglas. I very rarely use any kind of plastic, but I wanted to give the feel that she was standing on ice. You can see through to the bottom of the tin, which I think is a nice effect.


A close-up of her head.


A detail shot of the skates.
I cut two holes in the Plexiglas to accept the posts on her skate. You can see the tip of the skate on her left foot rests perfectly on the "ice" - sometimes things work out perfectly........

Latest Commission - A Skater Figure

My current commission is of a static figure much like my piece "Serenity" which I made back in 2006. It's not often I revisit or recreate my pieces, but it's been fun to add little improvements and to see how my style has progressed over the years.

Here are some in-progress pictures...........

The legs as they were being carved.


The legs are carved, and the position of the boots is determined - keep in mind there will be blades on the skates.


The skate blades were cut out on the scroll saw.....


...and then filed to shape.


The boots are carved and holes are cut into the bottoms to accept the blades. The metal rod was soldered on for added strength.


The blades were glued into the boots and the teeth were cut into the blades with a triangular file.


The torso, and the arm almost finished. She will be "wearing" mittens so I did not have to carve her hands and fingers.


Her arm, carved and sanded. Her other arm wraps around her back.


Her head as seen from the side.


More to come, as progress continues.....................