SOMETHING FOR MY ETSY STORE - ANOTHER UPDATE

Whilst checking my shell for my latex mold on my ouroboros whilst it was drying it occurred to me i may have been a little over ambitious with the plaster, making it a little too heavy to handle. As i have six nineteen inch mirrors to work with so far & plan to purchase another six (if they are available in store) on tomorrows monthly art supply run. It is going to be handled quite a lot!. Because of part of my disabilities (week left arm due to shoulder damage) i run a higher risk of dropping it!.

As i am using a high grade sculpting plaster not basic gypsum plaster it will dry to a near ceramic hard finish & will be difficult if not time consuming to alter. So whilst the plaster was still semi-wet i decided to reduce the amount of plaster shell around the latex mold. Whilst this IS a risky thing to do with soft plaster it can be achieved if care is taken, & a sharp craft knife of course. Below is the 'new' design for the plaster outer shell.

Not perfectly round but then this is just a support for the latex mold in the end. What you are looking at here is what 'was' the back side of the support shell, which now becomes the front, or new working surface. Whilst i do not need to add any releasing agent to the latex when using plaster i will need to do so to the visible plaster surface before i can add new boxing & pour the next half of the outer support shell. As always i will be using bees wax as a releasing agent.

Normally you should wait until the first section of the plaster mold was fully dried before creating the second half. As i want 'both' halves to dry as close as possible however i am going to carry on creating this outer support shell now.

With the exception of the 'hole' in the middle i created the boxing around the first outer support shell just as before using pizza card stock & masking tape. Once again i have since poured the plaster into the boxing mold after this picture was taken. I will show the separation & demolding of the plasticine covered paper mache ouroboros in the next post.

For all this is very tough plaster when fully dried it IS after all plaster & subject to damage relatively easily especially now since i reduce the size & strength factor of the shell radically. I have had on occasion  plaster molds become damaged, my fault these times not hapless family members for a change. Ordinarily so that they were unusable. However with some brief experimentation i have found that should a plaster mold be damaged in one such case split in two complete halves. You can glue the two halves together using undiluted PVA glue (Elmer's etc) the layer the reverse (back) of the plaster mold with four to six layers of telephone directory pages torn into manageable strips. If need be a small amount of plaster can be mixed up to fill in the cracks or gaps in the working surface of the repaired mold too. Or even ready made poly filler which is a paste like plaster filler if you don't want to mess with mixing small amounts of plaster for the repair(s).

I tried this using news paper but it becomes too hard & brittle. For some reason telephone directory paper & PVA glue dries to a very tough skin that is much harder to split as with new paper.

More soon.

SOMETHING FOR MY ESTY STORE - PART 4

So now i have the liquid latex mold on the ouroboros six layers in all. Liquid latex varies from manufacturer to manufacturer & also can have special colours added to them during the mixing process of course. The type i am using is a simple low cost run of the mill none branded type without any added colours. The best way to judge when 'enough' is 'enough' when creating such a mold such as with this liquid molding latex when using for the first time is very simple. The first four coats (brushed on) will be virtually totally transparent. As you add further layers the colour will deepen to an off yellow. I always add a small amount of latex thickener too of course so the final colour may vary if the thickener is not used. Around eight to ten layers is more than sufficient for most molded forms but by then the latex will have taken on a more 'solid' off yellow look to it. Of course when using 'any' liquid molding mediums trial & error will be required from form to form. What i have written here 'must' only be taken as a 'rough' guide when using such mediums yourself.

Below is my ouroboros inside the six layers of liquid latex which has had several days to dry thoroughly. Always allow twenty four to thirty six hours drying time especially when building up thick layers or when brushing into eye cavities etc where the liquid latex is going to be much thicker than the rest of the mold your creating. Once the outer layers are touch dry the inner layers need more time to dry thoroughly as they are trapped underneath. Again a little bit of trial & error is involved here for the first time users.

Don't worry too much about what look like clotted areas, lumps or bumps as can be seen on 'my' mold above. These are both superficial & on the outside anyway. These will not be reflected inside the mold nor will they effect the copy your making in anyway shape or form. They just look very unprofessional, but then who's going to see it in the end?

Here you can see where i have marked where i will be cutting the actual mold open later. If you use enough latex to make a 'self supporting' mold then ignore the next stages i am about to show you. I only buy this in small amounts of one litre bottles along with a small one hundred millilitre bottle of thickener solution. I marked mine 'now' to show you the best way to cut open 'your' molds if you attempt this.

Now as i have said i am using less than the optimum amount of latex to form my mold here (I wanted some for other projects) so now i need to make a support for this mold. For this i am going to create a plaster shell around this 'un-cut' mold. I will make the plaster shell in two halves as if i were making a mold of the mold so to speak. This way the plaster support shell can be removed & the latex mold can be released allowing the de-molding of the subject inside as normal for a latex mold. Below is the card stock frame or boxing i created to hold & shape my plaster.

Ah pizza card stock i can't state just how versatile this stuff is lol. Here you can see i created a 'solid' disc in the center of the ouroboros & a walled ring around the outside too. All this requires to hold it in place at this stage is a little masking tape. Of course any kind of tape will suffice even glue but tape will allow me to remove the boxing much cleaner later.

Here it is on the reverse or back side view.

As you can see the boxing only comes up one half of the latex molded form. Since taking this picture i have filled the first side/half of the boxing with plaster. Once this is fully dry i will remove ALL the boxing shown here then create a new wall around the edge of the first plaster form. I will show this being done in the next posting. You can see this being carried out in an old post 'plaster casting a dolphine' if you can't wait. You can also see the video on YouTube too. My links to my videos can be found by scrolling down the page, they are on the right hand side of the screen as you go near the bottom.

More soon.

SOMETHING FOR MY ETSY STORE - UPDATE

My ouroboros project has just gone under the 'last' layers of liquid latex today of which i decided to go with six in all. Now normally this whilst producing a perfect molded copy of all the details will not be sufficient to handle any real casting of any real worth. I created my early plaster pulp mixes with the intention of using the mix in such molds as the ouroboros project of course but i still have something else to do to the latex mold before i can begin to use it efficiently.

As the current mold is too thin to use (intentionally so) i need to give it some more support. To do this i am going to create a plaster 'shell' around the latex for that very purpose. I will show you the latex covered ouroboros soon then with the plaster shell in place. I will include the step by step creation to removal pictures as well of course. My finished ouroboros will come in three forms: A full free standing nineteen inch mirror form, A half body nineteen inch mirror wall hanging form & a full bodied none mirror form which can be hung or just placed as an ornament on a shelf etc

This update however is more intended to mention another special project that i am hoping to have finished 'alongside' my ouroboros project for inclusion in my Etsy store too. I am not going to give too many details away at this stage on this project but i will say that it or rather the three versions of it are going to appeal to those of you with a dark sense of humour. They as the unfinished logo shows below are something you can hang up. In fact they can be hung up virtually anywhere you'd like to display them. In the front of your car windscreen (though they'd suit a large car better), your truck or well anywhere you like.

They will be combined of a light weight mix of my plaster pulp & paper strips in construction & as i said before they like my ouroboros will come in three 'styles' to begin with but i hope to make other versions soon after. To make the creation process possible & allow me to carry on with 'other' projects both for my Etsy store & basic how too's for my blog here etc i have or will be employing one of my elder sons to do the actual casting & painting side of things. He will receive payment on a 'as sold' commission which he is happy with. The work he will do will of course be of a high grade as like myself he is adept at many art skills which include drawing, painting, sculpting as well as many others of his own he has learnt. Whilst they aren't important here they include qualifications in body piercing & tattooing amongst others.

So for now here is a sneak peek at the master logo (which will be displayed & updated as required later) in my right hand column. Which will 'later' have full details of these creations when they are for sale in my Etsy store.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 'COMING SOON' text will of course be replaced with images of the three finished creations when er!, finished. Whilst the name of these creations IS as shown the 'hoody' part may not be what many might think it is right now, but all of this will become clear when you see them lol.

 

The final stages of the ouroboros project build soon.

SOMETHING FOR MY ETSY STORE - PART 3

Sorry for the delay in this folks as normal for me (most of us too I suppose) much going on offline. This part of the ouroboros project is more of an update but I can show you what I have done so far as I changed how I was going to do the scales.

I was initially going to use a scale like mesh cloth to ‘imprint’ as scale effect onto the upper body of the snake & the effect worked but for one small detail. It turned out that the scales the cloth imprinted were too small for this size of snake sadly. So I abandoned that plan & came up with a more radical time consuming method. Seeing as I was sculpting the head scales individually I decided the best option in the long run was to carry on sculpting the scales in this fashion. All 1396 of them!.

51 scales on the stomach

104 scales on the head (upper & lower combined)

1241 scales on the upper body

As I say very time consuming & not I might also add not finished in a single day. Cutting individual scales then sculpting them onto the body is hard on tired eyes trust me on this lol. Below you can see the finished result:

 

To create the scales I used two sizes of plastic straws. I started at the snake’s mouth with the smaller of the scales working back over the body towards the top & back of the snakes head. Below you can see the two sized straws & a few of the scales I created.

 

The next stage will be to cover the entire project in around 4/6 layers of liquid molding latex. Now normally this would not be near enough for support of the finished mould when dry. Whilst all the details would be copied into the liquid latex when dry, the final mould would simply be too flexible to work with as I want to use one of my plaster pulp mixes to create the final ouroboros to attach to the mirror. In previous liquid latex molds (mini skull trophy project) I added support to the final latex mould by adding a layer of fine cotton mesh material in-between the final layers of latex as I created the final layers. At this time I no longer have any such material at hand so I will instead be creating a pure plaster shell ‘over’ the dried latex mould. More on this in the next post.

The final molded snake will of course be as hollow as I can create it even with using the plaster pulp mix instead of my more traditional & much preferred strips. Also the plaster pulp mix I will be using is of course almost as half as light in weight as it would be if I created it in pure sculpting plaster. I will begin the next stage of this project tomorrow & should have the pictures to show you in the next day or two.

AS THE WHITE RABBIT WOULD SAY "I'M LATE, I'M LATE"

Okay i need to take a little time out here & play catch up on the blogs i follow. I have barely had time to think never mind finish projects. I have been trying to spread myself over several projects at once (nothing new there) mostly things to hopefully put in my Etsy store soon. The problem there is whilst this means nothings getting finished quick enough i simply haven't had time to visit & leave any comments on the blogs & websites i am following.

I am going to rectify that right after i post this little er!, post. So standby everyone posts & comments on your sites coming shortly lol.

Whilst i am here i will just like to mention the latest posts here on projects grunge skulls, realistic skulls, Mr Jingles skull, my ouroboros etc 'are' well underway & i will be posting updates on those soon.

Right i am off to spend some time amongst the blogs & websites i am following. I will be back to posting here soon.

SOMETHING FOR MY ETSY STORE - PART 2

Well i was hoping to have the skin completed on my ouroboros to show you today but sadly i barely had an hour or so to do anything today. I did get the upper body skin on however & can show you that at least. It still requires a little work smoothing it out, adding the face features & of course the scales as yet. Here it is so far.

I will get some more done with it tomorrow. I was going to make it a specific breed of snake at first but then thought, no. If this turns out good enough to put in my Etsy store i could harm sales by making it a particular breed of snake. After all we all have our favourite breed of dog, cat, horse etc. So in the end i am simply going with a random snake design, no particular breed in mind. Saying that hopefully different people may see some familiar snake similarities in the design who can say.

I have also decided not to go with the way i was going copy the final design too. The ideal method for creating the skin would of course have been to use real air drying modelling clay or sculpting clay. Not only would that be a little expensive it would also go against the point of this blog ie: You 'don't' have to use what the experts say you do nor do you have to buy the most expensive tools either. More on the tools i am actually using in a second. I was going to cut the final design in two then copy it in plaster but then decided to leave it whole as the soft clay i am using would get damaged too easily whilst cutting into the harder PM armature underneath. As i know that this type of clay won't adhere to liquid latex i am going to use that method instead. Also if i give the liquid latex a supporting shell of plaster i won't have to use a huge amount of liquid latex either. Thus saving even more on the projects already minimal costs.

Modelling clay wise i am using my tried & trusted 'cheap' favourite child's plasticine, or as it is being called now modelling clay. The last time i purchased this it was a great bargain at 70p (UK Pound) but now i can get it at a much lower 40p. Here it is for those who have not yet read my earlier custom mask making posts.

You don't get a whopping load of it but a few packets for the current price still works out cheap, I purchased the stores entire stock of thirteen packets for £5.20p. More than enough for this project & one or two more i have underway lol.

Now to my inexpensive tools that mostly would be found around any home especially any crafters or sculptors home anyway.

In no particular order:

1: A section of bamboo skewer.

2: A craft knife.

3: A simple household knife.

4: A small section of plastic straw.

5: A small wooden rolling pin (The handles run free from the main roller).

6: A small section of webbed cloth (from one of my sons 'half mask' projects).

The use of each of these items i think is self evident? The bamboo skewer for poking small holes etc. The kitchen knife for smoothing etc. The cloth mesh for making the scales in the clay (more on that technique later), the plastic straw for cutting out the eyes etc. The rest i know need no explanation lol.

So that's how things look so far. Hopefully tomorrow i can get a lot more done. So until then have fun. More soon.

SOMETHING FOR MY ETSY STORE

Whilst i have many many projects on the go at any given time i don't always show all of them during the project(s) initial build or the end results even.  This project is turning out (so far) as planned & well i am quite proud of it (or will be when done) so have decided to show it to you as a simple tutorial. The project i am about to show you how ever is a project i have wanted to do for quite some time. Until last Tuesdays art supply run (last week) i simply had not found the right sized/shaped mirrors i wanted for the project. They being 19 inch circular type. Yes i know i could more than likely found them online however seeing something physically in your hands is not the same as looking at a 3 inch image whilst reading the dimensions of said object, I don't (or rarely) work from sketches or scale drawings. I much prefer to design in my mind, holding a real object whilst doing so helps me see (mentally) & plan out a project much easier even faster on some occasions. Odd i know but some of us just prefer to do things this way.

Ouroboros the ancient Greek symbol often represents self-reflexivity, or the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return. Or as i & i am sure many others see/say it as the symbol of eternity, or never ending re-birth. An actual drawing or sculpture of oroboros can be either a snake or a dragon. Whilst i personally like the concept of both these forms i do prefer the snake version. Why? That i am not sure to be honest. Anyway my (one of) 'pet' project(s) is a classic style 'snake' oroboros on a mirror if you had not guessed already lol.

I plan to make this project into two versions but they will initially be of matching designs. One will be a wall mountable version & the other a free standing version. The wall mountable version so that it can hang fully flat against the wall will only have a front (flat back), whilst the free standing version will be a full (two sided) complete snake. Both versions will (if i do it right) be fully detailed. By that i mean they will have fully detailed snake skins. As to colours this i have not decided as yet. I am torn between simply making them a basic metallic single colour, gold, silver or even aged bronze effect or paint them in true snake colours.

To make both versions i am making a single free standing version (minus the stand of course) that can be cast in plaster then mass copied later. The wall version would then simply be the front of the full free standing version with built in/on wall attachments that come already on the mirrors.

So to the actual project build then. Below is the start of this project giving you the step by step method i used. Most more regular readers/visitors to my blog should have mastered most if not all of the basic methods i will be using. I am going to add a 'new' element to this project for adding the finer scale details to the master copy. More on that as i go though. Here are the first stages for now:

To gauge the right size for snake that wraps around the 19 inch mirror i simply drew around one of the actual mirrors i will be using in each build on some pizza card stock. This was cut out then a length of rolled foil was then wrapped around the newly cut out card stock disc. The foil ring was then fixed in shape by adding about three layers of PM strips.

A simple snake head was then constructed from again pizza card stock by using the simple template below.

The red dotted lines show where the eye cavities were cut out 'after' construction. To make the bottom section of the head an identical copy was cut out of the upper head section (minus the eyes) then the edges were trimmed down so it fit 'inside & under' the already constructed upper head sections shown here.

In the pictures above you can see the eyes are actually plastic ruby's. these were added now so that when the mold is made they will also be formed. Of course i will have to cut out the then paper eyes & replace them with new ruby's but more on that later.

Once this first 'armature' stage was completely dried i then cut the inner card stock disc out using a craft knife. I then finished off shaping the snake with more PM strips as shown below.

Now the next stage is to add the detailed scales to the snake as well as finish creating the head shape too. That is for another post though which will be posted in the next few days.

JUST A QUICK POST - WHILST I WAIT FOR SOMETHING TO DRY

Amongst the many (too many) projects i have going on right now. Some of the key projects i am trying to concentrate on are skull related. The skulls range from what i am calling my grunge skulls, skulls that are a step short of cartoony in design. To not quite grunge skulls, skulls that are a step up from the grunge skulls but still not quite realistic skulls. Then there (i hope) comes my realistic skulls. These last versions are to be around 80% realistic in design.

Obviously the more realistic i make them the more time they are going to take to make, but then i can make (as i want to soon) higher end projects from. Below is the first attempt at a more realistic skull. Of course this first skulls lacks the detailed features at this stage & does not even have any teeth as yet. I apologise for the poor image bad light here right now. Better images will be posted later when i have more to show on these creations.

More soon.

PLASTER PULP EXPERIMENTS CONTINUES - BUT NOT BY ME

I am often told by visitors/friends etc that they are going to or have or are trying out some of the projects 'methods' or my experiments i post here in my blog. Which IS of course 'why' i post them here lol. Sadly i rarely get to see the results or better still any on-going improvements anyone might be attempting to what i post.

Fortunately one of the top PM artists on the scene today who's own work required a fast cheap molding method that produced good high end results took up the experimenting reigns recently & tried out one of my test batches. With some slight adjustments to one of the batches i listed she managed to come up with a good working result that almost suits her needs. The artist in question of course being the renowned Jonni Good. You can find a link to Jonni's blog in my right hand column or you can jump there from here: http://ultimatepapermache.com/

Like myself (though with much better pictures) Jonni documents her work step by step making a great read & supremely easy to follow should you wish to attempt anything she does yourself. As i mentioned in my own 'original' plaster pulp experiment post. I will be going back to experimenting on the perfect batch as soon as possible. Of course whilst not yet getting back to it however i HAVE been thinking it over - The missing magic ingredient that is. Looking more closely at the commercial purchased pulp i used as a comparison mixture to my own two types of pulp. I have come to the conclusion that since the commercial pulp only requires water to be activated & dries to a true hard finish for this, then they HAVE to have included a bonding agent within the pre-mixed pulp. Well it only stands to reason does it not lol.

So as i say examining the pre-made commercial pulp more closely i have come to the conclusion that the manufacturer must be using a form of dried 'starch' more than likely a natural root or bulb (potato etc) form of starch at that. Again i feel this to be the case as a natural starch would not only better comply with health & safety being sold as part of a multi content mixture for public usage it more than likely bonds better to the fine cotton & paper pulp they use.

So when i get to experimenting again i will 'definately' be seeking out one or two starch's to use. When i made up my first early test batches using the commercial pulp the results were 'extremely promising' indeed. But that is for later for now i have too much going on. I thought you might like to know what was going on as regards to my own work & how others were trying it out. Call it encouraging the masses or calming the doubters lol.

More soon on my own experiments i promise lol.

GOING CRAZY IN A CRAFTY WAY

Not being one for giving huge successful commercial companies a free meal ticket I don’t tend to add commercial business links or indeed any kind of advertising anywhere I hang out such as any websites I create or my blog here for instance. I won’t even wear any branded clothing or footwear that openly displays a company’s slogan or logo if I can help it. If I paid they’re outlandish high purchase fee’s then why the hell should I then walk around as a living human bill board & advertise for them for free? Not going to happen if I can help it!.

I DO however like to give a helping hand to any close friends or local small businesses. The reasons simply being that not only do they benefit me but they benefit the community at large too especially in a manor that could have sections of a community working together such as in creative art. One such small local business & as it happens one of the places I like to stop by once a month (or when I can) when I do my monthly art supply run.

I freely admit I don’t call in as often as I’d like but for reasons that are not relevant here I won’t go into them. Also when I do I unfortunately don’t spend very much in the small shop but that’s only because whilst it currently caters for many, many hobbies & arts & craft forms I am restricting MY paper mache to as close to a none mixed media as I possibly can. So obviously this restricts my choices of the wealth of available goods on are on sale. Having said that I am always delighted to find a new range of paint brushes, paints, papers, sealers & other ever growing additions that I can use in my art that ensure I’ll be back next art run.

Not only is this little arts & crafts shop a true little Aladdin’s cave the ever cheerful owner (Sue) always has time for a quick friendly chat be it art materials related or something neighbourly & friendly. If there is something you can’t find in the shop there & then Sue can more than likely arrange to have it in the store for you then next time you drop in.

Having said all that following my recent art supply run I discovered that Sue puts out a news letter both as printed free to pick up ‘in shop’ & by Email if you choose to receive them that way instead. So with kind permission from Sue I will be featuring each new news letter I receive right here on my blog. The first of which you can find below:

                         
                          Also known as (The stuff shop)!!!

JANUARY 2011

NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 10

Hi Again,

Happy New Year!

What a December that was! Let’s hope the snow has gone for good, and we can all get on as usual without the problems the snow brought.

Hope you all had a good Christmas, and didn’t over indulge too much, and hopefully you’ll all have and absolutely great New Year.

As with all businesses, Crazy Crafters suffered due to the weather problems, but it’s 2011 and things can only get better, so it’s business as usual and looking forward to seeing you all very soon.

Here’s some dates for your diaries…

Harrogate craft show – 7^th to 11^th January,

Rainton Meadows Arena show (Houghton le Spring)

Sunday 23^rd January 10am – 3pm.

Stitch and Creative Crafts (Surrey) 3^rd – 5^th February.

Valentines day 14^th February

Mothers Day 3^rd April

Easter 24^th April,

Papercrafts (Edinburgh) Saturday 30^th April.

Papercrafts (Newcastle) Sunday May 1^st.

Father’s Day 19^th June.

So…What’s New?

I have designed and packaged some aperture cards packs which are now available.  They are £1.99 for a pack of 5,

Get some in, ready for Easter and Mother’s Day.

We have coloured acetate available to buy as single sheets at only £1.25 in blue, red, green and yellow.

Card packs printed with Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Fathers Day also available @ £1.60 for a pack of 4.

Toy stuffing and wadding also available in 250g and 70g packs.

Artist carry packs to transport or keep work safe from £3.99 to £6.99

Carry all craft bags, large, at £21.00.

PLUS…

All the usual items needed for your crafts,

Loyalty Cards

The loyalty card system proved to be very popular last year, so we will continue with this throughout 2011.  So remember, for every £10.00 purchase, we sign your card, then money off your purchases when the card is full.

Gift Vouchers

The gift vouchers were again very popular at Christmas time, but they are also a good idea for Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, or any other occasion, or simply to say thank you.  Available in £5 and £10.

Due to the expense of postage, I will be unable to post out any further Newsletters, so please, please, let me have your email addresses so I can keep you updated.  However, Newsletters are available in the shop.  Email  crazy.crafters@hotmail.co.uk.

Wishing you all a very happy and crafty New Year.

See you soon,

Happy Crafting,

Sue @ Crazy Crafters

WHAT TO DO WITH THE LEFT OVERS?

Whilst starting work on some old skull projects today (adding the faces), it occurred to me that I don’t recall the last time I stood by my blogs name sake & actually ‘sculpted’ something start to finish, I mean completely. Paper mache after all does refer to ‘pulp’ does it not?

Do you remember a while back I started mass foil copying of blank skulls up to fourty of which I said I wanted for a single project alone? No, here is a reminder picture of the first wave of those very first skulls:

Click on image to enlarge

Since I have a good pile of pulp from my recent (pre-Christmas) plaster pulp experiments at hand (both first stage ‘nuggets’ as I call them & second stage the ‘fluff’ stage) I figured why not actually sculpt something with it? Well amongst the projects those mass copied skull blanks were destined for three of them are destined for new wall mounted reapers. Grabbing three at random I then chose again at random one of the three to work on with pulp & sculpt a skull face. I will of course only be sculpting the one skull then copying that finished ‘face’ for not only the other two reapers faces but all the other ‘blank skulls’ too. Whilst throughout this blog I have shown you how to copy simple forms using three main methods they being: foil, plaster & latex moulding fluid. Which of these methods I will finally use for the three reapers project I am not certain as yet. Each will work perfectly for what I want of them & of course the foil is the fasted of the three. At this point in time that is not relevant yet so I will leave that for now. I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures it's winter & combined with these stupid low wattage light bulbs we can only buy in the UK now, well as you can see below.

THE FIRST OF THE THREE REAPERS SKULL STAGE 1: THE BLANK SKULL

Click on image to enlarge

As you can see the blank skulls are literally that, blank, devoid of any real (or grunge like) features to speak of. This seems like a backward time wasting way to do this the mass copying I mean but for the large fourty skull project I have planned only around ten at most will have the full face or even full or partial profiles of the faces showing to any real degree. I can’t explain this fully in any real kind of details without giving the project away ahead of the completed build. Once I finish that project you will understand clearly ‘why’ these blank skulls were copied as they were much more clearly, well instantly.

THE FIRST OF THE THREE REAPER SKULLS STAGE 2: SCULPTING THE SKULL

Click on image to enlarge

If you have never sculpted using pulp you will quickly discover that if you have sculpted with any clay then pulp IS a totally different medium entirely. Whilst you can use it ‘like’ clay it will not & does not follow the same rules as clay. The main rule being with clay you CAN add & add & add clay & sculpt all day long if you wish. Pulp however no matter how well you mix it or even if you mixed paper clay (Pulp & clay combined) you HAVE to go slowly & in stages then between stages allowing each stage to fully dry out before adding more pulp to your sculpt. Unlike natural clay no matter what type of glue or how well you mix it in large pulp sculpture WILL get very wet & during the construction very heavy. Once you reach a certain point the weight of the pulp will literally sag & in a lot of cases pull itself apart under its own weight.

Not counting a single ten minute break to let my reaper skull air dry out a little as I worked what you see above so far only took me around thirty minutes. Of course owing to the size of this sculpt & the speed at which I personally could have sculpted the whole thing (not adding the final finer details at this point) it would have taken me an hour to finish completely. In the end I held to the rules as dictated by the nature of the pulp. This being a pure pulp (nothing but paper & PVA glue) I thought it best to let the pulp dictate the rules above everything.

As I said I have not & am not going to add the final ‘finer details’ to this skull yet for two reasons:

1: The pulp being too wet & not quite refined to give me the final smooth finish I’d require it will make sculpting the finer details tricky at best since I have to smooth the final skull out using my dragon skin later & because of the way I work a little pointless at this stage.

2: Not yet having chosen a copying method for the face of this skull to use on the other ‘blank’ skulls due to the fact the majority of them wont require such finesse anyway.

So that’s the new reapers skull for now. I have placed it above a radiator to dry over night. With luck no one will knock it & it will be nicely dried ready to add the rest of the back of the head & start on remaining facial features (cheek regions temples etc) prior to adding the dragon skin to smooth out the skull for final copying etc.

More soon.