Digital sculptures

Here's two little sculptures on which I've been working lately. Most of the modeling work was done in Zbrush, and the rendering, lighting, and texturing was done with Maya and Photoshop.

Taxidermy: In preparation for the application of skin

This entry will be short. It is simply an update before I start the good ol' "corpsing" process, during which flesh and skin will be applied to the top part of the mermaid.

First of all, once the fish was completely dry, I applied a couple of thin layers of latex to the tail and fins, so that if chipping occurs, the chipped piece won't fall off the fin. After this, many layers of spray varnish or fixative (I used Tresemmé extra strong hairspray) are applied to the whole fish to protect it, since it is quite brittle, prevent the scales from falling, and seal it from humidity.



More after the jump!

Transi sculpture finished! yay!

I'm done sculpting my transi. There's still a little smoothing to be down here and there, but otherwise, it's done and ready for molding.

I'm still debating about the molding process... I'll probably do an alginate mold, from which I'll cast a resin copy, which I will use to create a reusable, stronger mold out of latex.

I could do a latex mold right ahead but i'm not sure if the oil from the clay would halt the curing process of the latex... I need to do a bit of research.

Here's some pictures of the finished sculpture and one taken besides my shoe to give you an idea of the size of the future candles.

Transi update

I've been working again on my transi sculpture. I added flesh to the face, made the ribs stick out more, and started making a shroud hanging from the character's hips.







Just a couple hours more and I'll be ready to mold it. I can't wait!

Transi - Work in progress

I was feeling the urge to sculpt, so guess what I did?


exactly! I satisfied this urge!

The project I'm currently working on right now is a small oil-based clay Transi. A transi is a type of funerary monument which were most popular during the XVth and XVIth centuries, however examples of this type of monument started to appear during the XIVth century.

Unlike the popular gisant, which is a life-sized statue of the deceased in a peaceful, sleeping position, the transi presents the deceased as it truly is; A horrible, decomposing corpse, its skin tightly stretched over dry bones, in an eternal skeletal grin.

I absolutely ADORE this type of funerary monument, for it presents the true horror of death, without romanticizing it as with the gisants.

Of course, I'm not yet ready to do a full scale transi; my idea was to make a smallish sculpture, mold it, and cast candles from it. The symbolism of the body slowly melting and burning away as the candle burns goes hand to hand with what the traditional transis symbolizes.

To begin, I needed clay; I used the same type of clay with which I made my tsantsa, a cheap oil-based clay sold for 2$/pound. This type of clay won't dry, is very firm when cold, and softens as it heats up, making it perfect for detailed sculptures.

I use very few tools during the sculpting process; A small "ribbon" tool (I don't know the english name, but it's called a mirette in french), a knife, a wooden modelling tool (called an ébauchoir in french, I don't have any idea what it's called in english), a brush with alcohol to smoothen the clay, and a few toothpicks and needles.

I also fashioned a stand out of thick scraps of wood so I don't have to bend down as much while working on the sculpture.



Reference when doing anatomical work is also very important; During the sculpting process, I refer to the fifth edition of Gray's Anatomy. My copy is from 1870, but new editions are easy to find on ebay and amazon. However, I don't recommend this book if you're not familiar with human proportions, as it does not contain full-body illustrations.



As you can see, I'm also using a skull replica as a guide; the fact that it is in 3D makes it more practical.


Here's an example of what kind of illustrations you can expect to find in gray's anatomy. Although very detailed, only smallish parts of the human body are represented.

Once you've got all your tools, pictures, anatomical models and whatnot, you're ready to start!

Sculpting is like drawing; it's easier if you do a sketch first. There's no hurry to work on the details.



Here's a view of the front and back of my "sketch". The goal is to simply map out the pose, shape and proportions of the body. As you can see, I've left the head out. I personally prefer to work on the body first. There is also no legs nor arms; I'm not planning to add any, I only want a torso and a head.

Once this is done, you'll want to start working on the musculature; filling up some parts and removing clay from others to make it actually look like something. Knowing what to add and what to remove is a matter of practice, actually; most beginner sculptors will be afraid to remove too much clay, and end up with blocky results.



This, however, is a bit too skeletal for my tastes. I added small pieces of clay using my anatomy book as a guide to plump up the sculpture a bit.





Here, you have a shot of the back. Another common mistake is to work damn hard on the front without caring about the back, which can cause distortion and other problems in the finished product.


I've worked a bit more on the general shape of the body, and added a lump of clay on the neck so I can begin the head. Since the lump of clay I used for the head is still soft and warm from being kneaded, I let it cool down and harden a bit before working on the skull.



Here, you can see the skull slowly taking shape.

I still have a lot of work to do, but this still can give you an idea of what the finished product will look like.

I'll keep you updated when I finish the sculpture, with info on sculpting the details.

Tsantsa; from clay to shrunken head

I love shrunken heads. I really do. These little guys are creepy, look great, and have that mysterious tribal vibe to them. And let's face it, they are damn cute. And after reading my 1925 copy of Up de Graff's Head Hunters of the Amazon, I decided I just HAD to have one.

Of course, buying a real shrunken head is out of my price range, but I wanted my own little tsantsa, and there is no better way to get something than to make it yourself.

Using sulfur-free oil based clay, I had a blast sculpting this little guy over a few hours. I won't go into details with the sculpting process; with a little bit of artistic talent, it's quite easy to do. The sculpture done, a mold must be made. It shalt be made out of plaster, said I!



I made a dividing wall with thin aluminum pieces (the bottom of a pie plate), and covered the head with plaster and strips of burlap. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of this process, so you'll have to imagine. I then sloshed some liquid latex inside the mold, following by the lengthy process of letting it cure, then removed and powdered the latex cast with baby powder.

I gave back a little color and tackiness to the skin using brown and orange grease makeup (applied thinly so that the wrinkles and pores aren't filled out), and following the information I had about the methods used to make shrunken heads, I blackened the head with charcoal.

I then applied a good layer of fixative. I personally like to use ultra-strong TRESemmé hairpsray. Following this, I sewed the lips and the back of the head shut with thin cotton rope, which I dyed a yellowish brown with coffee earlier.



I still have to decorate it a bit more and find a way to put hair on it (punching hair into slip latex is quite difficult; I'll have to find another solution)

However, I'm quite happy with how it looks like right now! It was quite a simple process, with plenty of info that can be found online, but if you want to try something similar and need any help, advice is just a comment or an email away!

Here is a great website about shrunken heads

and on here you'll find a friendly community willing to answer most of your questions about molding and casting latex props

Wax anatomical model making

Wax has been for a long time the most used material in the creation of anatomical models. At wellcomecollection.com, a video has been put online showing briefly how Eleanor Crook, a modern wax model maker, creates her beautiful works of art.

WATCH IT NOW!

This video gives us just a peek of what is to come at the wellcome collection's art show "Exquisite Bodies", showcasing antique and modern anatomical models. Definitively worth a visite; too bad I can't afford the trip!