JUST A QUICK NOTE

Just a quick note to say i AM still here & working like crazy to get things done. I have been side tracked recently whilst working on a project for an artist friend (more on that another time - still in the works). Sadly this has had me side tracked for a little time & will for another week at least.

I alongisde that am trying to get unfinished projects, well finished so i can move up to selling some of my work. Until recently issues with my current bank & online payment methods (couldn't create any online payment methods ie: PayPal etc) because my current bank is well crap! (For those in the UK am currently with Northern Rock -Say no more eh!). I AM currently under the process of switching banks to rectify the problems my current bank causes.

That along with my family breaking or destroying everything i make i have been trying to asses what can be fixed to sell & what i want to even try to fix to sell. Not to mention the previously mentioned unfinshed projects ahem!.

Remember my wall mounted grim reaper project (in my sidebar finished listing):

Well this is him NOW:

This is the kind of damage i am having to deal with on many of my finshed projects as well as trying to get projects finshed too. I put this guy at the bottom of the main stairs hoping my saying NO RUNNING DOWN THE STAIRS would keep him safe. Well you can see how much i get listened too eh. Mercifully not all my finished projects look like this but those that are damaged are to this extent.

Essentially I AM STILL HERE & working like crazy to getting more tips, tricks & how too's sorted both here & on YouTUbe for you all. I can only ask That you be patient with me during the extremely busy time. I WILL Get to posting more very soon.

DRAGON SLAYER WEAPONS - MAKING THE SWORD BLADES PART 2

Okay now the plastic straws are locked in place time to make the actual blade shapes stand out more a very simple & straight forward process. This can be used to create any sword blade no matter the size or shape reqired.

I then cut serial box cardstock to the width of each 'angled edge' (the cutting edge) of the blades. I only cut these to fit from the 'outer edge' of the straws on each side of the blades NOT all the way across the middle section of each blade. I want to keep the 'hollow centeral groove' the straws created there. Then using the straws as a guide i tacked these card strips in place down the length of the sword blades until they met the start of the points creating an angled cutting edge like a real sword has.

I then cut out some arrow head like points. I also cut out a matching U shape  in these to the match the width of the groove running down the center of the sword blades which the plastic straws created for me. I then tacked down ALL the 'outer edges' with masking tape. This will not only hold it all in place but will also help it keep this shape when i start to add some paper strips later as it all dries out.

To create a curved edge that matches the groove down the blades center i simply used some half inch masking tape to create the filled in curve effect shown above. I will use this 'same' trick when i attach the hilts later. The blades are NOW ready to be paper striped over to make them rigid & strong. I will get on with the next stage shortly & show you the next stage adding the hilt etc later. I will be stripping over the blades using only 80gsm white A4 printer paper. Once dried fully this WILL make an extremely strong blade trust me.

DRAGON SLAYER WEAPONS - MAKING THE SWORD BLADES PART 1

So time to make some large sword blades.

The easiest way i find to make large sword blades is to make the baldes in 2 parts front & back on a large wall. If you are short on space this is an ideal trick to know lol.  First of all i drew out the blade shapes, the outlines anyway on several pages of A4 paper. These i then taped together minus the 'hilt' sections i will explain why not that bit later. Next i used some 1 meter long plastic straws to create a central 'hollow ridge' that runs down the length of each sword. You can see the coloured straws in the picture above, both in the foreground & on the wall.

Next i paper mache stripped over the straws just to hold them in place with just 1 layer of news print strips.

From left to right: The first 2 blades are going to be as they are seen here, just half blades. WHY? Well these are going to be 'disguised' wall mount brackets for a couple of large wall mounted dragon heads (if i ever get them finished that is). There will be NO wood, wire or any other kind of metal strips or supports in these 'half' blades ONLY paper. Because i work to as much a hollow & light weight form as i can. Along with the fact the weight will run 'down' the wall & the half sword blades. The weight of the dragon head WILL be spread out 'down' the wall & the half sword blade(s). That is a project for another time. I am only making these half sword brackets NOW since i am making swords anyway lol.

The next 4 blades are actually only '2' blades in reality - Front & back remember?

Next time i will exlain HOW i intend to create the sword blade shape 'whilst' keeping the whole blade holow & still strong too.

DRAGON SLAYER WEAPONS - SWORD UPDATE

Both the axe & the swords of these weapons are to have 'embossed' dragons on them such a the type on my vases are to have, shown below are a couple of the types of dragons i will be using on the blades.

But more on these later. For now i want to talk about the changes i have & am making to the hilt to the first sword so far.

As you can see as mentioned before i changed the snouts (rounded them off) & now have added a few horns to both dragons.

Here it is close up:

As you can probably see too i am adding teardrop diamonds for the eyes of these dragons too. I have to work on the horns a little to shape them but i also have to build around the eyes too. I will be using pizza box card stock to do this later.

I will also be adding some standard shaped diamonds for a spaced ring around the outside of the pomel hasp too. Both types of diamonds are shown below. Sorry for the fuzzy picture unfortunately my pain tollerance levels for standing were exceeded by the time i got this far.

More soon

NEW MASK - UPDATE

I finally got my sons NEW half face mask finished but forgot to get any pictures of him wearing it when he was here yeterday (Sunday). He & his girlfriend normally stay over night on Sundays but we did not fnd out until about an hour before they left that he had to be up early so they were not staying over.

I still have the mask here as he forgot to take it with him when they left. So the minute he pops in again as he sometimes does through the week i WILL get some pictures & post them imediately for you all to see it being worn. It goes without saying he IS well pleased with the final mask design.

For now here are a couple of mask shots to look at.

DRAGON SLAYER WEAPON WEEKEND AHEAD

Over this weekend (starting today) i have decided to down tools on ALL work on unfinished & current projects to work on some 'dragon slayer weapon' related WIPs that i started ages ago but but the inspiration for which dried up on me. I had put a hold on ALL dagon slayer WIPs until i could find the inspiration for a particular one of my large swords i was working on. The original WIP below.

I just couldn't get a working theme for the dragon heads on the hand guard. Even mounting it for safety & hopefully inspiration as i passed by it dozens of times a day did not help. Then yesterday it finally came to me how they wanted to look. The NEW look dragons (partially finished) below.

When i make a dragon head i like to let the initial shape go the way it wants to go. Then i refine the look later. Unless i have a specific desgin in mind i always (no matter the size of the dragon head create a pointed snout. On the new look gaurd here i have removed the pointed snouts (rounded them off) & have begun to add some horns. All i have to do now is add 2 more horns then the finer details such as eyes & surrounding flesh lids etc, but you can see where it is going now at least.

I did already start a large blade for this sword but it was made from some left over paper pulp i had & well i don't like it anymore. ALL these weapons are to be to full scale BUT!, i don't want to make them so they can be swung for any reason. So i am making them ALL in such a way whilst they ARE strong in theyre construction they WILL break if used as weapons even in fun play. They WILL how ever be able to be swung once or twice at force before they'd break (the blades 'slot' into the hilts). So with  this in mind i am not going to use pulp on the replacement blade for this or any of the other swords i have planned.

Amongst these dragon slayer weapons are more swords as i say but i also want to make some axes too. Below is an axe i started so long ago now i forget how long ago it actually was now. The skull on this axe is extremely strong as i was trying out some new techniques at the time. Instead of making a NEW skull each time i simply incorperated the ideas 'over' the original skull.

The blade to this axe is solid but not with pulp. It is in fact several layers of pizza box card stock. Again whilst my axes will be solid construction (the axe blades are fixed in place) I am going to make them all hollow from now on too. If you remember a while back i mentioned i was going to make around 80 to 100 skulls? Some of those skulls are for these weapons. By making so many skulls in this way i won't end up making them so 'solid' which will make these weapons dangerous in the wrong hands even if they are just paper mache.

So thats whats going on here at Darkside HQ this weekend & possibly all next week too. I should have a few of these weapons at a finished state awaiting painting by next weekend to show you all.

GREAT NEWS MARZEL!

Great news at last Marzel. Your gift is on the way. It was posted today & should be with you anywahere from 1 to 2 weeks from now. I hope you like it & can find a small place to hang it when it arrives. I honestly think it is the ugliest thing i ever made, but then it was only to try out a tissue pulp recipe/experiment lol.

I know i put the right address on it, but if it does not reach you for some unknown reason i didn't put a return address on the parcel so it will go missing for real this time lol. You will know it has arrived when a shoe box (literally lol) sized parcel in brown wrapping paper with a large white hand written label arrives. Sorry for the delay in the sendng too.

DAM THIS PC

My PC has been playing silly billies with me this last week so have a lot of catching up to do.  I am STILL installing software & won't be back online until tomorrow fully. But should be online later for a while. For any blog updates i have missed so far give me a little time guys & i will get to you.

LET THE BUNNY TIMES ROLL

Happy easter everyone i hope this special weekend is as chocolate filled bunny-tastic as you hoped it would be. Don't be eating too may chocolates in one go though will you lol.

GIANT CLAM SHELL BUILD - PART 3

I am going to have to stop saying what i have planned or what i have coming up next in my blog here & everywhere else, why? Everytime i plan something or promise something when the day comes to do it - life gets in the way!. So no more rambling (before life gets in the way again) here at last is the short video on HOW TO build your clam shell armature.



I have improved the temlates for the segments slightly by refining the shape a little more & adding the longer claw like 'peeks' too. Simply right mouse click then 'save picture as' just as before to grab a copy of the template. Then print off 5 or 6 of each sizes (re-size to suite YOUR project) then as before glue this onto some cardstock, cut out & follow the video above. You will not need ALL the 'peeks' on the templates. Simply build first then remove unwanted 'claw-like peeks later by trimming them off.

The NEW improved template:



















On finally doing the short video for this it occured to me just how to make a more realist giant clam armature. I have more than enough of the materials i need for the new design. Sadly i wont have time to show it to you for a little while i have too much to do right now. I will just as soon as i can how ever.

Below is a close up image a of real giant clam so you can have some idea of how to modify YOUR clam shell. I suggest pulp might be the best option to 'enhance' the armature i have shown you how to make.

So for now have fun. I would love to see any results people have with this first armature version. I won't publish or make public in anyway pictures or videos anyone sends me to look at unless you say i can. Remember have fun art SHOULD be fun.

AN OLD PROJECT LOST & FOUND NOW IT'S GOING!

Congratulations MARZEL he will be in the post as soon as i can possibly get him in there. Make sure to hang him on the wall quick as he likes to go off hidding lol.

AN OLD PROJECT LOST & FOUND NOW I WANT IT GONE!

Some time ago now i was experimenting with tissue pulp to see how strong, versitile & light it might be. Since at the time i had Sluggich my first Troll Screamer bouncing around in my head. So when i made up some tissue pulp i came up with this guy.

I meant to hang him on the wall but never did he kept going missing then reappearing again. I only just found him behind my desk of all places today after dropping something else down there. NOW looking at him i find him to be quite the ugliest thing i have ever made lol. He is around 3 ounces in weight,  23cm tall, 12.5cm wide, 8.5cm deep. His finish is a dark 'aged' metalic bronze effect & is ready to mount straight on a wall.

So why mention him if i think he is ugly etc then?

Well i basically i want rid of him. He was only after all a test piece/experiment for tissue pulp. So ANYONE who wants him can have him. Whilst i don't think he is good enough to put up for sale i don't just want to throw him in the trash either. So if you want him just let me know. The FIRST name & address i get, gets him. DO NOT post your land address in the comments here. ONLY send your land address by EMAIL. You can contact me here: jontytheghoul@btopenworld.com.

I won't be able to pop him in the post for about 2 weeks as the postage will be coming out of my own pocket & i only get paid every 4 weeks (2 to go). There is no time limit on this as he is not going aywhere, today at least lol.