A Little Bit of Everything II

My little space in the corner of Sheridan's stop motion studio.

 It's been a really busy past few weeks- But things are progressing. This is just going to be a quick picture post- gotta get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow!

My Ultracal molds failed-
I made some mistakes with this, so I
lost the mold & the master sculpt!

I was familiar with using resin, so
I decided to make a quick switch and
do my molds this way. Was a lot faster
& it turned out pretty good

First cast of hands & feet in silicone

Completed homemade ball & socket armature-
This was my dad & my first attempt at this.
We ended up having a family friend machine the
plates in steel to get a more secure joint.

In order to have Charlie's eyes as light as possible, I decided make them resin. They were sculpted in Apoxie sculpt, then a silicone mold was made (left). The casts were then cleaned up and glossed several times to give a nice shine. The vase (right) was made as a duplicate of a small vase I found in my basement. Since I'm assuming it belonged to my grandmother, I decided to make a mold of it rather than destroy the original.

Charlie's head was also another long process. I knew that I wanted to have the head hollow (to keep it light)- this turned out to be a lot more complicated than anticipated. In my last post I showed the numerous heads I had dismissed for flaws. Below is a the first cast I did (lots of bubbles) beside the master sculpt, the the first bit of blushing & paint on the face, final details & whole head attached, finally the completed head with wig & digital features!

Charlie's bed assembled-
I'm really proud of the quilt I
made, the pillow cases/little
pillows & knitted throw!

Charlie's sketchbook & pencil, the plant,
fire wood & the bookcase

Drafting Charlie's pajama patterns. After
several tests in broadcloth, this was the
final pattern.

Charlie's pajamas finished. There's a quarter
beside for reference (looks like a penny
because of lighting- whoops).

The set progressing along

Charlie's almost finished- needs his hair done,
body padded & hands painted.

Charlie: Adventures in Silicone Molding

I am currently making a complex 4-piece (2 pieces for each half) mold for Charlie's head. I chose to use this method based on my research in doll & toy making. This is my first attempt at any kind of molding, and actually my second kick at it. We wont speak of Silicone Disaster 2012.

Things are going really well right now! More progress soon.

Charlie: Sculpting Progress

Things on Charlie have been coming along- I've been pulling 9hr days in the studio sanding, sculpting, priming and patching the bits of my puppet that need to be cast. It's an absolutely slow process but I'm learning so much!

I wasn't happy with the head I posted last week, so I reshaped the jawline by carving away with a knife and sanded the edges down.

His design has changed a bit as I sculpted (smaller eyes, bigger ears) but I actually am liking it so far!

Hoping I'll have everything ready to be cast by the weekend. I know I said that last time, but... I can do it!

Charlie: Head Progress

I figure it's time for an update on the blog! I've been working quite a bit over the last few weeks- I've just started sculpting head for my puppet. Sculpey & Apoxie sculpt- in the middle of priming and sanding. Hopefully he'll be done by the weekend and ready to have a mold made.