sculpting questions - life like sculptures and busts

[hydin]

i had a few questions to bounce off the gurus in the audience, and figured instead of pestering them via pm'd, i could just post up and anyone could help me out

basically, i have had an idea for a sculpture for a long time. i want to do a 3D sculpture of the invisible man (from sci fi) with "invisible" parts, meaning nothing there and only some parts visable. i.e. the hair, forehead, one eye would be sculpted, the opposite ear, mouth and cheeks/chin would be sculpted, but the rest would be "hollow". no clear resin, just space.

my real question is, since i lack a lot of talent for this type of work, what is my best bet to get the ball rolling on this? buy a lifecast of the guy (if i can find it) and try to modify it to work? just grab some clay and rough out the head? cheat and lifecast someones parts and cast those instead? also... hair. thats gonna be wierd since the guys hair is sort of spiky. tips are very much welcome on this.

also... this is a side project i have been doodling for a while. i always dug the symbiote spiderman. what i would like to do is put a modded mannequin head for a bust of peter parker with the symbiote wrapping around it. sort of like the midline of the mask (below nose) being the covered part, maybe one eye 90% covered, but a portion of his head uncovered as well. any ideas on how to get the symbiote parts to "float" in mid air? i wanted a few tendrils and a few flaps off the face to give the impression that its working its way up to being a costume.

i guess a mannequin head would be my best bet for parker, but the i-man stuff is totally out of my league and any advice is welcome on it. i may, one day, do the bust for parker as a head for a mannequin to show off the entire costume, but mainly right now im looking to do just the bust.


thanks in advance guys. i know these projects are going to be tough, but i figured before i get started with them, getting as many tips and tricks and as much good advice now would save me some heartache

chris

 

[trooperprop]

Hello,
Well I do not know how to sculpt your invisable man but
a few years back I did this one of HOLLOWMAN for my Paul Verhoeven collection.
I am still proud of it :rolleyes

It is 1:3 and hollow casted. The mould broke after casting one so it is a one of a kind.
When there is light in the back it gives a cool effect.

Just give sculpting a shot and who know what will come of it.

Greetings from the Netherlands,

BasD

 

[Buddydog]

Sarcasm.... :rolleyes

Your best bet would be to buy some invisible clay. I sell it by the truck load. Just paypal 4500.00 to...Nevermind.

To get started on the cheap, I'd just get a styrofoam wig head. You can find them online or party/costume stores locally. If you won't be sculpting but a few spots of detail, or even if you are doing the whole head, it's a cheap way to go. That way you aren't dropping a lot of money on a huge brick of clay.

So no filler? No clear resin? How will you support everything when you cast it? I was thinking you could do a side. You know, from the neck up to the top of the head or something.....Hmmmmm....

 

[weaselflinger]

If I were you, I would get a foam lifecast bust from monster makers for $50 or $60 bucks.

Get some bandages and soak them in a mixture of elmers glue and water.

Wrap those bandages around the bust leaving parts of the bust exposed.

Wait for the bandages to completely dry (which may take several days).

Carefully remove the bandages and reassemble them so they're hollow but bust shaped...

 

[hydin]

terrific ideas all (and one awesome hollow man bust.)

the sculpting idea i have for the i-man piece would have everything "connected" by a few areas. it wouldnt be just a forehead and then a chin, and an eye all there.

the inspiration for it came from an episode where he went a little bonkers, got hit with a paint gun, and then set on fire

the paint (purple i think) covered just sections of his face, and not the entire thing. part of his hair, the top of his head, the chin, partial nose. id say about 60% of his entire head was there, maybe 80% of his face. the side of his nose, one eye, ear, hair, part of the back of his head. all of it was connected as well.

the idea i had was when i was "assembling" the head, take wire (maybe coat hanger thickness) and just sort of bend it into the shape i need. once it was in place, do the plaster bandage thing and just glue the piece to the wire and paint it to match the rest (making it, in effect, invisible.). the finished piece would have a few interconnecting parts but overall would be a "hollow" effect to it. just parts of a bust and a wire armature inside of it.

i wish i could find my dvds of this thing. cant get em off netflix, stupid non american release :angry . a screencap is worth 1000 words.

ive been rethinking spidey, and i think what i will try first is a venom bust. if that works out, i will tackle spidey/peter parker. it just seems a lot easier to me to find a masculine head (peters not that buff looking) and sorta cover it with cheesecloth and latex, and maybe a little wire armature for the tendrils as well. the biggest PITA will be making the teeth for him. i might go the early larson route and just have the big huge grin instead of the mcfarlane slobbery look. the big giant grin creeped me out a lot more as a kid

i appreciate the feedback guys, and the suggestions are all top notch

thanks.
chris