Bob the Alien (Giger inspired Alien)

LOL @ first pic, Leigh. Gawd. Good old HRG, he wasn't allowed to transpose Necronom IV directly but nothing was gonno stop him from working a wang in there somewhere. :lol

As for support, heck, it'd be hard not to express enthusiasm for such an iconic piece being so well executed by a beginner. :)

Bloody amateurs! :lol


Simply fantastic! I love seeing the progress......:thumbsup

Same here, LOVE your last update !!!

:love

Fred

Your all very kind, thanks :)

Well this is more of a question but with a little update in it :)

The sides & underneath are pretty much done shape wise, so I've been smoothing & texturing on one side.
Theres also a bit of minor alterations to small areas going on.
I've been using my plastic tools to get the shape how I want it & then refining the shape & making it smooth with a brush & white spirit, then removing the brush lines with a sponge which leaves a fine textured finish.
My plan atm is to let the majority of the spirit evaporate as it does & then dry brush the surface with a big soft brush to take the coarseness of the texture down a bit.

Heres where I'm at so far:
268.jpg

267.jpg

269.jpg


I havent got to the dry brushing stage atm.
My questions are:
Q1: Is there a better way to do this texturing for a better finish, I'm not really sure what I'm doing TBH:$

Q2: What sort of texture would one expect to find on an Alien anyway????:confused

Looking at Gigers art work, his creatures seem to have a smooth semi gloss or gloss finnish or a mix of the two.

I was thinking of combining the two to have all the raised areas smoothish & all the recessed area's with a heavier texture, in a kind of an effort to accentuate the raised area's, if that makes sence :confused

What are peoples thoughts on this before I go too much further :)
 
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Is it filler?
If so I would just go over it with wet and dry and a fleece which is like a scouring pad made by 3M. They make different grades. You can get an almost shiny finish with a bit of time.......
 
Its clay, Newplast oil based clay. If it was filler it would be easy as you say.
I'm using the filler on the top of his head as its a large area with no detail but clay everywhere else.
 
Ah, ok. I dont work
With clay so you'll have to wait for someone else to chime in. Have you tried pming Cyberman (Phil) or Fettster (Rich) they are sculpters and might be able to help.
 
For the areas you want glossy, you can buff out oil-clay with water. I actually prefer water for knocking off the clay dust, versus a solvent. Light hits with a solvent via a pump spritzer from a beauty supply store works well, too. If you can get your hands on 99% isopropyl alcohol, give that a whirl. It works a LOT better than spirits, IMHO...
 
Ah, ok. I dont work
With clay so you'll have to wait for someone else to chime in. Have you tried pming Cyberman (Phil) or Fettster (Rich) they are sculpters and might be able to help.

Thanks for the help Mark :)
TBH I didn't want to bombard anybody with PM's & I was hoping to discuss this openly for the benefit of others aswell :)

For the areas you want glossy, you can buff out oil-clay with water. I actually prefer water for knocking off the clay dust, versus a solvent. Light hits with a solvent via a pump spritzer from a beauty supply store works well, too. If you can get your hands on 99% isopropyl alcohol, give that a whirl. It works a LOT better than spirits, IMHO...

Thanks for the help DP :)
I'm a little confused though, what do mean by clay dust?
As far as alcohol goes, theres a bottle of whisky knocking about here (cant stand the stuff :sick) will that be any good, seriously?
& whats the difference between alcohol & white spirit for use on clay?

I'm mainly interested in texturing him, recommended techniques, types of texture & what texture would suit a Giger Alien the best.

Thanks for the help so far guy's :)(y)thumbsup
 
Clay dust, as I have used it in conversations, is the clay that is left behind after you tool in texture. It's not really "dust" but the remnant clay that you want to knock off of the piece. As far as whiskey goes, I personally wouldn't try it (I really don't think the alcohol content would be high enough to do much. Using 99% or even 91% isopropyl alcohol from a drug store is just much better IMHO. The reason I prefer the alcohol over the spirits is that the alcohol evaporates A LOT faster. Spirits, even the "oderless" tend to give me a headache,too. If you were to whiskey, I'd suggest doing so on a small test piece not attached to the piece, so if you have poor results you can just toss the clay.

As for the texture, in my mind, it has always been smooth and shiny, like a beetle or, wait for it, Bug. The best profile shot I have ever found, you can see here, courtesy of Sabres from The Hunter's Lair:

ALIEN :: suitalien4.jpg picture by sabres21768 - Photobucket

Now, there is some texture, obviously, but I'm not sure how much of it you really see on-screen or was intentionally put down. You could do the stippled sponge technique you are already using, but personally, I think it should more or less smooth.

Hope that helps!
 
Thanks DP :)
Thats cleared things up & makes perfect sence :thumbsup
I have that same pic, I've been using it for reference as I've been building Bob. I also have a few nice close up shots of the neck used in the film & the finish on that has brush marks & little rough bits all over it, I dont think they payed too much attention to the surface texture on the original Alien probably because they knew they wouldn't need to.
On the later Aliens they have used a texture of sorts & with this being a bust that can be viewed close up I figured I'd need to use a surface texture as I think he needs to look good close up.

I'll stick with the technique I'm using for the time being then & I'll keep an eye out for some alcohol :)
Thanks again for the help :thumbsup
 
Heres what it looks like after a bit of dry brushing:
270.jpg


I still have some more detail work to do here but it gives an idea of what I'm doing :)
 
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On the later Aliens they have used a texture of sorts & with this being a bust that can be viewed close up I figured I'd need to use a surface texture as I think he needs to look good close up.

I would absolutely agree with your rationale. There is a huge difference between what guys can get away with, in terms of film, but if that mind-set is used with costumes, up-close and personal busts, etc., they tend to look flat to me. I have, thus, officially flip-flopped on my earlier statement and look forward to your continued addition of texture. Take a gander at Google images for "insect macro photography" for some inspiration. This piece is looking awesome, brother!
 
I would absolutely agree with your rationale. There is a huge difference between what guys can get away with, in terms of film, but if that mind-set is used with costumes, up-close and personal busts, etc., they tend to look flat to me. I have, thus, officially flip-flopped on my earlier statement and look forward to your continued addition of texture. Take a gander at Google images for "insect macro photography" for some inspiration. This piece is looking awesome, brother!

Aha Cool Pictures of Alien Insects - Insect Macro Photography | Cool Pictures | Cool Stuff

Thanks for the tip DP & the kind words :) Looking at these I reckon I could get away with a slight orange peel effect adding the odd dimple & a few subtle wrinkles.
Hmmm food for thought :)
 
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I think I remember seeing them oiling up the suit during filming which would also alter the "official" creature texture from what you'd see in studio-based photos.

Great work!

Nick
 
Methocel was the stuff they used as goo, IIRC. Leigh, I don't see any harm in texturing it up a bit as long as it is fairly fine. You could definitely work in some fine wrinkles or even some fine/flat extra corrugations in recessed areas maybe?

Under paint it will be hard to spot anyway and who's to say it wasn't there? Except owners of first-gen casts I guess. But it's your sculpt...have fun!
 
Looking excellent as always! I have a buggy/insect texture/look in mind though I can't quite place the source - thinking of a mainly smooth surface, soft ridges and pearlescent colouring, a beetle of some sort, maybe dung. I think that could give an interesting look whilst keeping the smooth, slimy feel of the original.

Just my two pence worth ^^
 
Thanks guy's :) I'll have a play & see what works & I'll post some pic's as I go along. If it doesn't look right I can easily undo the texture & make it smooth as it's only the surface I'm working on :)
 
I have to say Bob is looking AMAZING! Acceptional work, I'm so impressed. You have an awesome eye for detail and I can't wait to see him finished.
 
I have to say Bob is looking AMAZING! Acceptional work, I'm so impressed. You have an awesome eye for detail and I can't wait to see him finished.

Thank you :)

I've been experimenting with the texturing & I've come up with a finish I'm quite pleased with.

I've come up with what is basicly a skin texture. I'm happy with this, my reasoning being that the Alien has adopted a few human features so why not some skin texture.
My method is to put cling film over the work area & then I use a pointy tool to make the larger pores & a few small wrinkles. Then I use a cut down 1/2" brush to stipple smaller pores & finally I press a scotch brite pad on to the surface, all through the cling film.

I've left the cling film on as it has a glossy surface & shows up the detail better for the pic's:
271.jpg

272.jpg


It may seem as if the texture is a little corse atm but after a few coats of paint it should be fine :)

What do you think??
 
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I really like it! Even if it's a tad harsh, it can be softened with a solvent and soft brush. Either way, I dig it. The real question is, do you like it?
 

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