^^my reaction to every picture Leigh posts.
^^my reaction to every picture Leigh posts.
Thanks guy's
Started putting the clay on this morning:
I've got to go & get some more clayI've run out
I'll hopefully have this all shaped up today
it's really starting to find its way now. Much better!
And we are back to strong again. I didn't expect it to be able to look like that, but you certainly pulled it off.
The shapes on the back just look....RIGHT!!!!
Utterly tremendous!
Rich
At this rate,you'll never be done before the Mayan calender runs out:do!Beautiful as always,I still say you won't be satisfied until you've built an entire suit.
Told ya...you went crazy and delivered pure gold. Just beautiful, much stronger and addressed areas I wasn't even imagining could benefit.
Absolutely brilliant Leigh... For a novice sculptor, you did an amazing job sir! You gotz yerself one hell of a natural talent! I can't wait to see more updates!
Cheers!
I don't think Leigh can call himself a novice sculptor after this! The back now perfectly compliments the front. Can't wait to see this all painted up!
Have you got any ideas for the finished look yet, as in paint scheme and other effects?
Probably just taking it one step at a time though right?
Thank you guy's for the Awesome Feedback
I'm still definitley a novice
If I could sculpt a good likeness of a familier person with all the fine detail etc & if I am able to produce an original peice, then I would consider myself a good sculpter.
Thats my goal atm. As well as wanting to make other Alien peices like the Derelict & the Space Jockey, I also want to have a go at a full size bust of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter & I'd like to do some original art.
I have lots of idea's for the future but for now I'm focusing on young Bobert & heres where I'm at so far:
& I decided to redo the throat:
It seems to be like this in some shots of the filming from what I can see, I still have some fettling to do in this area though.
That thing should be made into a bronze and displayed publicly somewhere.
What a Masterpiece! Amazing work Leigh.
it looks too heavy on top? will it break?
Leigh said:
& I decided to redo the throat:
I really like the new neck/throat area. Nice interpretation.
In some of those reference pics, it was looking like a longer flap was hanging down from the mask to connect to the chest area just like what you have here. I'm glad you are going for that look.
Nick
Last edited by nick daring; Jul 13, 2012 at 10:49 PM.
Thanks for the kind words
guilty gear said:
it looks too heavy on top? will it break?You'd think so & TBH I am carefull but its actually very sturdy. This is quite heavy ATM with all the clay, once its cast it'll be alot lighter
Thats what I was looking at. The pics of the suit fresh from the mould show two more vertebrae but there are a couple of ref pics & a pic in the book that show this look. As you say it looks as though they remade the neck with a flap that comes down a few inches between the pauldrons. At what stage they changed the neck I dont know? I've tried a compromise by replacing one of the vertebrae:nick daring said:
I really like the new neck/throat area. Nice interpretation.
In some of those reference pics, it was looking like a longer flap was hanging down from the mask to connect to the chest area just like what you have here. I'm glad you are going for that look.
Nick
What do you think? with or without that top vertebrae?
I dig the top addition. Integrates the chest/pauldron/neck areas together nicely and pays homage to the two different version seen in the reference material.
Smart move yet again.
Nick
Definitly with the top one. Adds that bit of extra detail to blend the look together.
Thanks Guy's
He's getting close to being ready for moulding
I thought I'd take a pic to try & give some idea of his size, since I havent got any cans of pop I used a regular CD case as a guide:
At the moment he's 29.5" high but I'm thinking the base needs to be thicker just as it looks a little flat compared to the rest of him. I'm thinking about adding an inch to the bottom of the base & detailing the visible sides, that'll push him up to 30.5" plus maybe a quarter of an inch with the dome.
Also I'm thinking to texture the underside of his body maybe a hammered metal finish rather than just a rough worked finish
What do you think?
Thickening the base a bit is a good idea.
What's the length and width of the beast?
Nick
Assembled He's:nick daring said:
29.5" High.
36.25" Long.
18.0" wide.
With the dome he'll get a bit longer & a bit taller but not by much
looks very good so far, i really like it.
I hate to be the only negative voice here, but personally I prefered the more organic look to this version:
I think it was visually much more appealing.
I'm not a fan of the sharp 'edges' of the revision in this picture...
...where it appears that the spine has been sliced from the torso. For me, it doesn't tie in with the rest of the sculpture where the body has been morphed and adapted to to blend into the base. Having said that, it may just be the low angle of the photo, because it seems to look better in most of the other angles.
Everytime I visit this excellent thread, I worry about the moulding and casting of this piece. I'm not a moulding expert by any means, but I've a little experience in the art, and the challenges and cost of casting this monster frighten meFollowing on from Guilty Gear's comment about the top heaviness of the piece, I was also thinking about the weight in resin after it has been cast. The thin stem and the fact that it leans forward make it a very weak spot to support all that weight (hollow cast or not) and is going to need some reinforcment. The normal way would be to add one or more rigid steel rods to the resin as it cures. If it's done that way, I would also suggest thickening the base beyond the inch you are planning so that the rod can sink at least 2 or 3 inches into it or the weak spot will be where the stem joins the base.
Those are my main worries at the moment (I always worry about moulding and casting while I'm sculpting
Leigh, when you show pictures of the full bust, words fail with me to describe how awesome a job you've done in both scale and design. To think this is your first attempt at anything like this is mind boggling.
Last edited by Alaneye; Jul 15, 2012 at 9:06 AM.
Thanks guy's
Alaneye, the points you've highlighted are very valid & do deserve an explanation.
I have put alot of thought into the design of Bob as a sculpture.
Regarding the weight distribution concern... at present Bob weigh's 36lbs or just over 16kg inc the base. Hes mostly made of a very fragile foam mostly held together with PVA glue & a few wooden sticks, all that weight is transmitted to the base via 2 lengths of ABS waste pipe slipped inside one another & filled with urethane plastic. The majority of the weight is in the clay & the polyester filler I've used.
The head on its own weighs 14lbs or 6.3kg, the weight of the head slightly biases rearward & with the jaw attached is pretty much bang on in the middle.
A little while ago I did a test to confirm my thoughts, I placed the whole thing complete on a wooden rod to find the balance point & the weight is tranfered right through the middle into the base like this:
Since then A bit more weight has been added towards the rear only.
By its design it does give the impression that if its going to go it'll go forward when in fact its more likely to go backwards.
At this point your probably thinking whats the point of this, its all going to change when he's cast
My current plan is to rotocast him in urethane I'll be aiming for 5-6mm or 1/4" wall thickness. Then I want to make a GRP tube with about the same wall thickness, insert it into the stand inside the casting & pour urethane around it to bond it in.
Where it inserts into the base, my plan is to cast the base a similar thickness as the rest, make a thick 6-8mm or 5/16" GRP plate with a hole in it to surround the location hole & then add more urethane to the inside of the base bonding the plate in place & thickening the base at the same time.
I've used some of this urethane on the jaw & on his face & it is alot lighter than I expected. I can guarantee he will weight a fair bit less as a casting than he does now.
I believe I can get the support from a GRP tube that I need for this. GRP in the thickness I've suggested is very strong & much lighter than mild steel even in tube form.
The moulding & casting is something I am concerned about. I have read quite a few threads on the subject, seen a few vids & asked alot questions via pm. I feel nearly confident enough to tackle this but I expect I will seek some more advise as I get to that stage. I'll be taking it a stage at a time ie I'll be focusing all my attention on the moulding stage first & once I have the moulds I'll then move onto the casting.
whilst making the jackets for the moulds I will be considering the casting as in how to mount them to the roto caster. The roto caster is something I'll also have to make, working with steel is something I'm familiar & confident with.
I hope this lot makes sense
& thanks for the kind words Alan
Reply with Quote
