Still Plugging Away At The First Models For The Film Project. Here, You Can See Rough Versions Of The

Still plugging away at the first models for the film project. Here, you can see rough versions of the "young boy" body (to be used for some schoolkids in the background), a couple of heads (we'll see what works after we cast them in latex, starting tomorrow), and "sketches" of the monsters. The pear-shaped one on the right is really growing on me, but the cat/walrus/Reptar hybrid on the left has got to go. I'll keep fussing until something sticks. It's hard to know exactly what's going to work, since the bodies will be clothed (real fabric) and the monsters will have fur. It's like trying to sculpt the skinned version of something you can't quite picture in the first place.

Thanks for sticking with me while I do the boring parts. After tomorrow, there's going to be a lot of cool stuff to see. :)

Just FYI, she does have a head.

I've been up late sculpting every night, so forgive the lazy photo. I'm halfway through a couple of monsters, some other heads, and assorted other puppets, but they're not cool, "wow, the process is so interesting" works-in-progress...more like "wow, someone should teach Cari how to sculpt." So I'll refine a little more before I post those.

And now...a nap.

Yikes, that was a long hiatus. Hopefully the fact that I forced myself back on track excuses today's poor showing. This little flamingo wasn't exactly inspired (or stable...hence the precarious angle), but he is color-appropriate. Maybe that counts for something?

Super Sculpey, ~30 min. 

Hooray, we're in the studio! I spent the better part of my Sunday listening to the Beatles and coating a headless, eight-year-old boy in Vaseline. See?

Because of all the time I spent unpacking the 8,000 boxes of puppet-making supplies we ordered from Burman, I didn't get as much done today as I would have liked. But I did make the first half of the boy body mold (this week I'll finish the mold and hopefully pour some latex before the weekend), and that's a start.

Here he is after a layer of hydrocal:

And after the first half of the mold is complete:

The west side of the studio, just for kicks:

And now the back! I tell you what, this first mold is kicking my butt. Which is coincidentally what we can see in this picture: the generic boy body from the rear. This is the second half of the mold (in progress in this photo, but finished as of tonight), and tomorrow I'm going back to see if the last week's worth of effort actually left me with a usable mold. If so, I finally get to pour the latex! If I'm really lucky, I'll even have a fully finished, painted, jointed, and dressed little boy to show for myself by the end of the day.

If not, there will probably a lot of tears. Maybe I'll even make it an audio post. 

For some reason, New Friend Rob was under the impression that I know what I'm doing and wanted to watch me sculpt today, so I subjected him to the ritual: Jurassic Park III in the background, running commentary under my breath, and eventually some kind of recognizable shape out of polymer clay. He made a couple of cute little figures (pictures forthcoming) and kindly refrained from commenting on my lobster.

Oh, and credit where credit's due: it was totally his idea to use dish soap to make it look like the water is boiling. My friends are so clever.

Super Sculpey, ~90 min.