However despite this fact I think I am coming to the realisation that in using foam and latex to create a moving head (brow and jaw) it is detracting from the look I am trying to achieve: angular and sharp. I need to explore other materials (but might give this another go in less rushed circumstance just to make sure)! |
After making my prototype head armature in the workshop, I thought I would have a quick go at making one that was in an attempted style of my Librarian. This was handy as I got to have a go at making a VERY small head armature that would be around the size I would need to use in the actual final puppet. I had to admit this was a very rushed trial so the aesthetic quality isn't as much of a success as I would have hoped to achieve.
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I have also attended another workshop to make a head with armature prototype. The design for this wasn't based on the Librarian, the idea was just to make a head in the time of the workshop so that we may apply it to our own character if we so wished. We were given a standard and basic lightweight head with a wire jaw and brow which we then built upon with foam and latex to create a face. Here's how:
The finishing touches: using a coctail stick I applied latex straight onto the head in areas that needed building up further.
Although the prototype workshop was helpful in many aspects, the prototype that I produced from it is not the direction I want to go in for my film. Here are the two main reasons:
Aesthetic quality - The puppet looks spongey and cartoon-like which is not what I want the Librarian to look like. One cause of this is the use of fabric and wadding, he doesn't have the angular textured look that I would like him to have. Another is the latex hands, by using acrylic mixed in it gives the skin a block cartoonised look so I would like to try using latex mixed with gouache to see if this achieves a more realistic skin look. The third cause is the white round eyeballs in the head, also giving a cartoonised appearance. Armature design - Although using the armature shape that I have experimented with in this prototype does give the puppet an elongated neck and unusual body shape, it won't lend itself well to movement. The sholders sit awkwardly hidden behind the collar so all camera work would have to be face on to the puppet. The neck itself is extremely weak as it is relatively unsupported holding the upper half of the puppets body weight. It may be best to try and make a prototype in a similar style that I did with the marquette - normal shoulders, better control of movement. However I do need to test animate this prototype still.
Armature: (below): soft layer is attached to armature and arm wire is trimed with makeshift K&S attached ready for hands as well as actual K&S attached on neck ready for head. All attached by araldite. Hands: A layer of very fine sporting injury foam is wrapped around the wrist to bulk it out to give hand a more realistic shape (the librarians hands are very elongated and exagerrated but you get what I mean). The hands are then dipped into skin coloured latex for a number a times, each time leaving that layer to dry first. Once an adequate amount of latex has been applied I then cut the excess off at the wrists to leave a neat seam for where the hand will join onto the arm. These were then ready to slot into the wrist K&S: Tie-downs:
The next part is quite difficult to explain, but the diagram and photo below is basically what I did: creating an ankle it the back, holding the screw and bolt in the centre, with wire for an animatable section at the tip.
Skinning:This was a case of stitching fabric (lightly coated in spray mount) tightly around the puppets limbs to give the impression that it is wearing clothes. The fabric I used was a mixture of leggins and tights which will allow the puppet good movement and not be restrictive. I have used a white thread so it's easier for everybody to see what I did. Finishing touches: Creating cuffs to hide where the hand joins to the arm - Creating the collar and coat tails of the jacket - Finished prototype -
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