WHAT’S THE BACK LOOK LIKE?!

That was my question! Although many of the answers were evident by following the contours of the front. The shadowing in the painting were also good roadmaps of the overall form. Subtlety was the key. The figure has such a delicate organic feel yet very specific anatomy. The next big step was to measure the thickness of the piece at various points to make sure it was accurate to the picture.



I used my cable rake to start removing and smoothing the rough form. As well as raking down bumps I’m also looking to fill in divots and depressions.





The accuracy of the anatomy will become very important when it comes time to place the eyes and ears. Through measuring the height and thickness the rest falls into place. At this stage the form still had to become more round and smooth.



Etching lines into the various points I have chosen will keep it accurate. For instance the highlight on the forehead is probably the thickest point, tapering down to the first eye as the thiner area. As always my ideas of how it will look are alway checked with Mark to keep me on the right track.



Now finding some areas the need clay added.



Adding, subtracting and more smoothing with the cable rake.



Now it’s really taking shape. My work table is alway cluttered with various projects. I see a Robot Pirate and the beginnings of the Gas Powered Dragon.



Eye positioning. Since it has to be manufactured I have to make sure a standard size acrylic half sphere can fit. Also I want them to look relaxed, not bulgy of to sunken in.
Also the delicate folds of the eyelids. It’s all about laying up the clay rough then working it down into the right shape. Also

As you can see I try to line up the eye with the relative horizontal and vertical marks on the art. It may not be exactly in the same spot, but sculpting isn’t like building a rocket ship. (Unless you are sculpting precision machine parts) This is just a teqnuqie for problem solving. If I were to get further along on the sculpt and the eye positions, or the form proportions looked all wrong I could always go back to my size sheet (The Art) and double check the measurements to help fix it. Also once everything is in the right place then it frees you up to be more artistic and work on character.




Next, what about the girl? And the ears?