A very non-productive September...

Dearest readers and pseudo followers, i want to apologize for this very "dry" month...my creative energy has been transposed into countless moving boxes (along with about 20 years of accumulation within the Pacific Northwest)...though i did start  putting my handy Prismacolor Col-Erase to use again late this afternoon - slow, at first, but some new projects will be posting soon - promise...

For now i'll close this month with a piece that i've finished earlier in September...

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - the action figure - part 3

Phase 3: completed clay model (continuation of my July motor bunny post)
currently residing in my meat freezer (since oil-based sculpting clay tends to get softer with heat, so baking it in the oven - as a fore mentioned - is right out)...

i'm still trying to figure out how to best sculpt the moving joints - there is surprisingly NOTHING on the webs about this subject...if any of you have a suggestion, please let me know!

the next step is to create 2 part block molds for each of the pieces. i'm using a 74/30 hardness polyurethane rubber (2 part liquids) to pour the molds (quite spendy at $12.50 the pound - especially as i'll be needing at least 8 for this guy - that is if i make no mistakes)...

...unfortunately, the clay master only survives 5% of the time during demolding.

USCSS Nostromo crew outfit - part 1: shirt

Living in Seattle i come across my share of cos-play enthusiasts (beyond the run-of-the-mill, out-of-shape cat ear and tail sporting sci-fi followers)...i consider myself a closet sci-fi/horror geek - so this is my first attempt at building my own outfit - keeping it simple...
Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Ridley Scott's 1979 ALIEN, i decided to go for the USCSS Nostromo's flight crew outfit (starting with the t-shirt and shirt as seen worn by Dallas - the white guy with the beard, for those of you not too familiar with the movie)...

well, here it is... it took me about 6 week nights while on the road in Charleston to hand-stitch the shirt (using the hotel issued handy compact sewing kit)...
i got the patches and the pin (science officer) on ebay - great quality, even better price.
now, for the die-hards, i took some creative liberty with the buttons and breast pocket shape (non-rounded)...but then again, this is intended as a Halloween costume prototype, not a competition winner (see SyFy Channel's Heroes of Cosplay)... more to come!

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - the action figure - part 2

Phase 2: clay build-up (continuation of my July motor bunny post)

 

...added some non-hardening sculpting clay to the aluminum tube and foil wire skeleton from earlier. on closer inspection, the clay does not allow for an extremely smooth finish, but good enough for a first-pass rubber mold for wax casting (i'll go into details when that phase comes along)...

also, since i took this picture, i've shortened the neck to better match the proportions of the illustration.

as you can see, the engine and wheel attachment is still in the wire-frame stage - already began sculpting it...although this takes time, as its about 86 degrees here and the clay gets pretty soft (unless i keep placing it into the fridge after every 5 minutes of handling time).

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - the action figure - part 1

Phase 1: model sheet and armature (continuation of my June motor bunny post)

A quick series of sketches for scaling consistency served as a suitable blueprint for the wire-frame armature. the arm (got only 1), head and legs are detachable (all movable parts will be sculpted, molded and cast separately to facilitate proper articulation) - i'm basing the movements of the character along the lines of the classic Kenner Star Wars figurines from the 70s and 80s.

i built each "joint" using 2 sizes of aluminum tubing where one slides into the other - this allows me to detach the limbs and work on them separately, thus minimizing contact to the already finished parts of the sculpture. i filled the thicker parts of the character with aluminum foil to reduce the amount of clay in the final sculpt - not only does this save money, but also reduce the weight of the sculpt and allow for faster drying and curing without cracking (especially when baked)...

...working on sculpting the torso now...

Midnight Liquor Run

i originally sketched this one following my 4 and a bit hour drive from Atlanta to Savannah earlier this month...
...i finally got around to finishing it!

enjoy...

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny

2 Stroke Prosthetic Bunny - i originally conceived this double amputee rabbit back in 8th grade (granted, my artistic skills where significantly limited 25 years ago, though the concept did stick)...
this lop-sided bunny is missing the left arm and leg, and is fitted with a detachable motorized prosthetic to allow for a less sedentary lifestyle...

this character will become my first limited edition 8 inch action figure that i plan to resin cast and hand paint...