| After my tutorial, it was suggested that I try adding very fine sporting injury foam dipped in latex and applied with spray mount ontop of a sculpey head. Once layered it can look like paper.
Firstly I wound some wadding around the eyebrow armature. I then sprayed a light layer of spray mount over the head and applied the foam with almost dried latex onto this. I used a coctail stick to tease it into the ridges on the face.
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Once I covered the whole head I added bith of ripped up book page onto the surface.
I was surprised at the end result that it did have a papery quality to it. However it was also quite shiney due to the application of the latex so I would like to test this head under camera to see if it does look too shiney.
After my meeting with the stop motion technician I tried out her different suggestions for eyes in my balsa wood head:
Dowling balls
I quite liked these but they are too round in terms of what I want the aesthetic to look like.
Black pins - raised out of head
I really liked the suggestion of using pins and in particular thought the black pins raised out of the head worked particularly well.
Black pins - set in head
White pins - raised out of head
White pins - set in head
| Staining test.
| Staining
I wanted to try and stain the wood so as to give a bit more definition around specific features. After a coffee break I saved a bit of coffee at the bottom of my cup so as the use this to paint onto the wood. It worked ok but as the wood is very absorbent it tended to expand over the area I wanted it to be so I had to cut more of the wood back afterwards.
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I've started to carve a head out of balsa wood, it was a material suggested to me that might work well in a previous feedback session.
Here's how I got on:
| | I really liked working with the wood, the only problem I came across which I didn't realise when I had started was that I was carving the wrong way into the wood. I had positioned the grain at the front where his face is so would do this again with it on top so as not so affect the carving. I'm not sure if this will be the material I will use yet, I still want to test other methods. The two main concerns I have for the balsa wood are whether the detail of the face will show up well under camera and what I will do about the eyes. I shall test these both!
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I have started making protypes following the last scale drawings that I posted up here. I have decided to make two, each out of different thickness wire so I can see which better suits my puppet.
Here are some images of the making of the armatures:
| | Above: twisting the wire
Left: applying milliput to the chest and pelvis
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| | Left: measuring out the ploymorph bones
Above: measuring out the K&S in two different sizes
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| | Left: the wire hand armature
Above: applying milliput to the palms
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| Attaching the bones to the wire
Lightweight head core and eyebrow armature
Above: making the tie-downs in the feet
Right: the finished product
| Attaching K&S to the wrists Attaching wrist bones which contain slot for hands to attach
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Left armature is made out of 1.2 mm wire, the right is 0.9mm.
It was suggested to me in a feedback session on my work in progress that I look at making the puppets head out of something like balsa wood or paper mache which will give it a more tactile and angular feel (and will also be extremely lightwight!). I am going to try those particular methods but this got me thinking about other lightweight materials that may work well.
| | I have never used mod roc before but have seen it used in a previous production that I worked on so thought I'd give it a go. Seeming as I had made a sculpt I thought I would apply the mod roc straight onto this (cling film wrapped around the sculpt to protect it), let it set and then cut it open to take the sculpt out then reseal.
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| | Although not great at intricate detail this was an extremely quick process (if you already have a sculpt made) and is extremely lightweight. I am going to build on top of this to make it look like a character so this might solve the problem of lack of detail to begin with so there will be a post again soon of how that goes...
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I wanted to be able to visualise the Librarians head shape in 3D as I have currently been working from the 2D image I had created of him. I have therefore made a 3D version out of sculpting clay. It was quite hard to translate from 2D and I'm not sure it works as well or is as visually appealing in 3D form, I definitely don't think it works too well from a straight forward point of view but at least I have a 3D form to work from now. Time to start experimenting with materials!
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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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)!
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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:
| Using fine foam dipped in latex, cover the armature and lightweight core with a single layer, including a whole piece of foam that covers the gap between the wire jaw and the 'skull' to create the 'flesh'.
Add foam in bulk where needed, for example the cheeks, using fine scissors you can cut them into shape once the latex has set.
Adding more layers to create facial shape.
Using fine bits of foam rolled into strips I have created detailing on each side of the head to look like the ears.
Basic facial shape in place.
| Once everything has been covered, including the eyes and the teeth, using a thicker piece of foam glue this to the top flat area of the head in a square block. Once the glue has set you can then shape the foam to look like a skull.
Cut a slit where the mouth should be to reveal the teeeth and then shape in a mouth.
Cut away the foam covering the eyes.
Ear detail.
Layer of fine foam onto of ear detail to create the appearance of the ear jutting out of the side of the head.
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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.
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