Fenris
Well-Known Member
I wanted to make a more accurate looking grail after seeing some of the home-made grails most members have been posting. My old grail was shaped wrong... VERY WRONG!
At first, I planned on reworking it instead of making a new one from scratch. After searching through the various threads in COW, I saw that my first grail was too short and small compared to the actual dimensions. This meant I needed to make a new one.
I printed out a 1:1 template on paper to use as a guide for my sculpt, but I had to scale the grail down because the actual dimensions were too big for my hand (small guy, small hands). Instead of a 6" tall grail, I made it slightly smaller (which still looks too big for my hand).
I found a bowl that was close to the shape of the cup and sculpted over it using epoxy putty. Added the stem using rolled up cardboard and paper mache and sculpted over it as well... when the epoxy putty dries, it will make the stem rock solid anyway.
Here's a pic of my first grail:
Here are pics of my WIP grail:
Haven't got the shape perfect, but I think it's pretty close enough compared to my first one.
After the putty cured, I hand-sanded it... Problem was, I got tired easily. I stopped sanding and just painted it even if the surface wasn't entirely smooth. I can always say the unevenness and dings are due to age and handling.......... :confused
No gold-leafing, just gold paint.
This is how my grail turned out:
And here it is compared to my first grail attempt:
See the differences between the two? Size and shape were totally off on my first one. I based the size of the first one on the size of my hands relative to the screencap of Indy taking the grail from the altar. Didn't take into account that caucasians are usually bigger than asians. Hehe.
Total Build Time: 2 days (putty dry times included)
-------
Maybe next weekend I could re-sculpt the bowl to get it more accurate (all I need to add is a small amount of putty anyway) and sand down the uneven surface and the flare on the stem.
...or...
I could just find a woodworker near my area and pay 'em to make the grail on a lathe based on the printed template. At least it would be more precise than hand sculpting it... all I'll need to do is paint it. Hehe.
At first, I planned on reworking it instead of making a new one from scratch. After searching through the various threads in COW, I saw that my first grail was too short and small compared to the actual dimensions. This meant I needed to make a new one.
I printed out a 1:1 template on paper to use as a guide for my sculpt, but I had to scale the grail down because the actual dimensions were too big for my hand (small guy, small hands). Instead of a 6" tall grail, I made it slightly smaller (which still looks too big for my hand).
I found a bowl that was close to the shape of the cup and sculpted over it using epoxy putty. Added the stem using rolled up cardboard and paper mache and sculpted over it as well... when the epoxy putty dries, it will make the stem rock solid anyway.
Here's a pic of my first grail:
Here are pics of my WIP grail:
Haven't got the shape perfect, but I think it's pretty close enough compared to my first one.
After the putty cured, I hand-sanded it... Problem was, I got tired easily. I stopped sanding and just painted it even if the surface wasn't entirely smooth. I can always say the unevenness and dings are due to age and handling.......... :confused
No gold-leafing, just gold paint.
This is how my grail turned out:
And here it is compared to my first grail attempt:
See the differences between the two? Size and shape were totally off on my first one. I based the size of the first one on the size of my hands relative to the screencap of Indy taking the grail from the altar. Didn't take into account that caucasians are usually bigger than asians. Hehe.
Total Build Time: 2 days (putty dry times included)
-------
Maybe next weekend I could re-sculpt the bowl to get it more accurate (all I need to add is a small amount of putty anyway) and sand down the uneven surface and the flare on the stem.
...or...
I could just find a woodworker near my area and pay 'em to make the grail on a lathe based on the printed template. At least it would be more precise than hand sculpting it... all I'll need to do is paint it. Hehe.
