Attempt at a mini pred bust (WIP)

[MasterAnubis]

So I picked up some firm clay and went and started a head and shoulders of something I wanted to do for while now.

I ended up thinking it was too small and started a new one...

After getting the shape about how I wanted I closed the mandible and decide to go with that.

I think I need to bring the crown forward and maybe beef up the jaw. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the way this has come out so far. This would be my first actual pred head too.

 

[BENSIN]

it looks good so far

 

[MasterAnubis]

Thanks.

I did a silicone adhesive mold and didn't let the first layer cure quite as long as I should have and ended up with more cleanup then I wanted.

 

[MasterAnubis]

So that one ended up coming out so well I started another one. I didn't say before but that one I cast up was made of Task 8. It's not all that great for slip style casting but it is a good stiff plastic that is heat resistant.

something a little more traditional I think. I originally wanted to cast the first one up then do some damage but if all works out, this one will get the battle damage.

 

[MasterAnubis]

No major updates here... more shaping the crown and getting the shape I want right. Kind of going with the flow on this one.

 

[zuckuss77]

Looks like your learning a ton.I can see the changes you have over the month.Very cool

 

[MasterAnubis]

Thanks, I am learning a ton on these sculpts and I'm adhering more to the reference pictures too. I've never sculpted any of these things before.


So, here I'm roughing out the shoulders and left arm. I don't plan on making a hand because I want it chopped off, we'll see. I sculpted a hand any way to see if I could do it.
The head is in the socket for mock up and I might have made the arms a little hulky. The pictures make me look at it different since Im not holding it and it also throws out some good hard light.

 

[MasterAnubis]

So this is pretty much what I'm looking for...

I threw on some moch up dreads to get the feel for it. I want to do major damage to his face but that will wait.
This was my pic from a couple of days ago

Edit: Dec 11

Edit: Dec 19

Edit: Dec 21:
Got a couple of prototype hands and blank gauntlets made so that I can sand them smooth and work with them in a way the clay cant do. I'd like to try apoxy sculpt people keep mentioning but I'm going with what I have for now. I have to figure out exactly how I'm going to do the fingers.

 

[MasterAnubis]

This is the hand and I'm just about done with it. I'm really happy how it's come out and it has seven pieces glued together. If I got the "bones" right I can add flesh to it if I felt I want a different effect. I also cast up some teeth but didn't take a pic of them.

Overall, this is about how I envisioned it in the beginning, minus facial damage. I want to get an undamaged head mold first. Then I will do the damage.

I'm not sold on exactly what gauntlet style I want and I am going to add a neckring so that I can part the head at the top of the neck ring.
.

 

[Ice1]

I like where you are going with this. Predator has a 70s look, thats just from what I see. Very star trekish.....

 

[Blade3327]

Looks great, so far! Love the pose too.

 

[MasterAnubis]

I like where you are going with this. Predator has a 70s look, thats just from what I see. Very star trekish.....

Thanks. The chest piece may have been influenced by me watching Nemesis when I was making it... though I really wanted to do a Predators concept armor but the part that you would see really didn't look as good as the whole thing. The shoulder gaurd just kind of went on, I didn't have a direction. I thought about spikes and skulls but I'm just not feeling it. Still, I might experiment with them.

Looks great, so far! Love the pose too.

Thanks, its a pose I think of a lot. Especially when I hurt my hand.

 

[MasterAnubis]

kind of a detail update on this one...
I cut the very tip of my thumb off working on a tooth. . You don't realize how much you need it 'til its gone.

I did a neck ring to see if I like how it fits... I don't know if this style is what I really want. I cast up the big teeth and worked on the mouth a bit. I don't have the lower teeth in. I think I'm going with separate teeth there but the top teeth will stay in the sculpt.

I tried to make a cheap mold of the hand and it turned out to be bad choice, so I'm going to have to make a good mold of the hand to get a one piece hand.

I'm feeling really good about this at this point.

 

[Predator380]

Are you casting in resin from your clay sculpts?

 

[MasterAnubis]

Are you casting in resin from your clay sculpts?

I make silicone adhesive molds off of the clay. Then make prototype parts out of them. That way I can cut up the pieces and glue them together in a different way if I need. I can even add clay to them. Then once I get the parts the way I like, I make a proper silicone mold for it using Polytek Platsil 71-20.

The hand is a good example of why I did it in stages. For the fingers I ended up with four different finger molds and then I cut and glued everything together so that I had the right proportions. The whole hand was just too delicate to work with as clay and wire hanger.

The white resin is Smooth Cast 321. It takes a while for it to set up so it gives me time to pour into multiple molds. Mixing very small amount is hard. The tan resin of the mandibles is Task 8. It's a lot quicker but has different characteristics when cured(heat resistant and more rigid).

I'll make a video tutorial of that cheap small parts molding process if you’re interested. It's pretty straight forward and cheep if your patient with it. I know people have made usable molds out of silicone calking for bigger items like bios but this method seems best for prototyping or small runs. It can be a pain casting small parts though. I have a vacuum for degassing but not a pressure chamber(yet). Still, if the mold isn't shaped right, little air bubble get caught. The last couple of molds I've made were set up like a sand casting mold for pouring metal. They had an exit vent and pour spout.

Does that awnser your question?

 

[nighthunter]

Love that!

I sculpt for my self a mini Pred bust over a Month ago !
I do this never before , and I must say it is very difficult to sculpt in that kind of size !
your´s looking more tiny as mine !

RESPECT!

 

[MasterAnubis]

Thanks for that.

Here is a scale comparison to a Hot Toys which would be 1/6th.

I tried to start that small but I wanted to get the feel for it fist, so I went a little bigger for my first ones. I'd like to work my way down to that scale.

Edit Jan 10th:
I took a video of the head only last night.
This was to try a new setup with my HD camera. I used the stool top to rotate the sculpt around with a drill that had a rubber drum sander bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy_BMTaNBqg

 

[MasterAnubis]

So I drew up another concept last night and thought it would be cool to explore the something other than a hand. I'm still going with a hand, I just didn't want to draw one.

So my battle damage is going well. This is pretty close to how I envisioned it in the beginning. Just on the opposite side. The pose made me put it on this side, so you can see it better.

On the left is my first of two casting of the undamaged head. I'm going to make sure it's the way I like then I might make a good mold for it. The second will get painted up.
I went off of the Arnold pics of how they had the flesh removed and the endoskeleton exposed. The lower mandible is missing at the moment so that I can detail the jaw. Overall I’m excited about today’s progress.

 

[georgieboy26]

pretty damn cool MA, CLASSY....

 

[MasterAnubis]

Thanks!

It's been slow going splitting free time up with the finishing touches of my suit and the creative block regarding the shoulders.

I've started a backpack for him and I'll texture up the skin a bit after that. I'm still not sold on the neck ring but I think I may end up with something similar, just different. I'll also change the lower jaw a little where the little ram is.