Do members here produce their *own* art? 0

[The Voord]

My latest OUTER LIMITS sculpture . . . the crab-parasite from the episode, 'The Invisibles'.  Bit of a clunky design, not exactly one of my favorites, but the episode itself is outstanding.  Measures about 22" long.  Some screen-captures from the filmed episode included for comparison.

 

[The Voord]

New sculpture for March . . . the Empyrian from the OUTER LIMITS episode, 'Second Chance'.  Stands at about 14" tall.  Been saving this one till last as I hate doing hair!  This pretty much completes my project of sculpting OL aliens that are do-able (or haven't been done before), though there are three early efforts (from when I first tried my hand at sculpting about three years ago) that I want to re-make now that my skills have steadily improved.  There's a screen-capture from the filmed episode for comparison . . . and a display cabinet showcasing various sculptures (others are on shelves).

 

[Will_K]

On 3/24/2022 at 4:11 AM, Qarlo Clobreggny said:

that I want to re-make now that my skills have steadily improved

Can you tell us what you've learned since you started on these creations ?

[The Voord]

On 3/24/2022 at 9:54 PM, Will_K said:

Can you tell us what you've learned since you started on these creations ?

In essence, how to run after I learned how to walk!  There are a whole range of skills involved, not just sculpting!

Key is getting the basic shape right (if the form is wrong in any way, no amount of detailing will make it look faithful to the original design).  Then there are techniques, such as skin folds and surface textures that only improve with practice.  When I started out, a sculpture would take weeks to do.  Now, with experience (and the confidence that comes with it), I can usually have something nailed in a matter of days.  I never rush my sculpts.  Nowadays, they just seem to quickly come together once the basic shape's up to scratch.

Reference is also of paramount importance.  I populate a picture folder on my PC with as many reference photos (seen from all angles) as I can group together (I even take photographs from my TV using freeze-frame on the DVD or Blu-ray).  I then sculpt directly in front of my computer's monitor . . . scrolling through reference shots to find something that corresponds to the parts I'm working on at any one time (this helps a lot).

Making two-part plaster molds for casting purposes is another skill-set that takes a while to master (an incorrectly performed plaster cast can very quickly ruin a clay sculpture).

Latex copies taken from the plaster mold require constant pouring and draining of liquid latex to build up a decent (workable) thickness of the impression.

Then there's the business of foam-filling the (hollow) latex copy taken from the plaster mold.  A latex copy needs several days to fully cure.  If you try foam-filling (with expanding polyurethane) before the latex is ready, moisture still in the latex will cause the foam to collapse in on itself.

When I started out sculpting my own stuff about three years ago, there's only so much you can glean from YouTube tutorials.  The real lessons to be learned come with hands-on experience/practice!  I also implement a few of my own ideas that you will never see on any YouTube video, as I like to experiment and try different ideas if I think there's merit there . . . don't have problems, have solutions!

Edited March 26, 2022 by Qarlo Clobreggny

[The Voord]

The gang's all here! These are all my sculptures I've produced over the last few years. Mostly OUTER LIMITS creatures, but also a DR WHO monster and the Cyclops from 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. Quite pleased with my output, bearing in mind I'd never sculpted a damned thing in my life until a friend suggested I give it a go three years ago.. Still pretty much a learning curve for me as there's always room for improvement . . .

 

[The Voord]

New sculpting project starting soon . . . a full-size bust of EC's Vault Keeper, which will very closely be based on Johnny Craig's drawings.  I want the end-result to be Johnny Craig's Vault Keeper . . . rather than Terry Doyle's re-interpretation of the Vault Keeper (if that makes sense?).

 

[Get Marwood & I]

On 3/26/2022 at 10:13 PM, Qarlo Clobreggny said:

The gang's all here! These are all my sculptures I've produced over the last few years. Mostly OUTER LIMITS creatures, but also a DR WHO monster and the Cyclops from 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. Quite pleased with my output, bearing in mind I'd never sculpted a damned thing in my life until a friend suggested I give it a go three years ago.. Still pretty much a learning curve for me as there's always room for improvement . . .

 

They look nice. I'm still waiting for Davros...

And bring back the Voord! 

[The Voord]

Day one work-in-progress of the Vault Keeper (from the early 1950s Horror comic book, THE VAULT OF HORROR), sculpted full-size. Day one, for me, is usually about getting the basic shape in place, but I managed to start getting in a lot of the key details. The face is there (minus teeth) and I've made a start on giving him his hood. Seems to be going okay. As I say, this is a work-in-progress, so still lots of work to do.. I'll finish off his hood tomorrow (need to work in a lot of folds and creases), with Wednesday ear-marked for fine-tuning the details and making corrections. Hope to move onto making a two part plaster mold by the weekend. Hair will be added to my first copy and I'll probably sculpt the three teeth separately to be added in post-production.

 

[JadeGiant]

On 3/26/2022 at 6:13 PM, The Voord said:

The gang's all here! These are all my sculptures I've produced over the last few years. Mostly OUTER LIMITS creatures, but also a DR WHO monster and the Cyclops from 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. Quite pleased with my output, bearing in mind I'd never sculpted a damned thing in my life until a friend suggested I give it a go three years ago.. Still pretty much a learning curve for me as there's always room for improvement . . .

 

Very impressive group shot - well done!

[The Voord]

Day two (evening time) sculpting session on the Vault Keeper. from the early 1950s Horror comic-book, THE VAULT OF HORROR. Will probably have this finished off tomorrow, ready for making a two-part plaster mold. Teeth and hair will be added in post-production (latex copies). Quite pleased with how this one's turning out.

 

[The Voord]

Day seven . . . and I've got my first full-size Vault Keeper bust finished-off (need to style the hair a bit once the cement has dried).

*  UPDATED PHOTO SELECTION! I usually come back to a first paint job a few days later with a fresh eye and perform a few tweaks. I've also fanned the hair out a bit more. You should also now notice the stippled textures I added to the hood to give give it a coarse fabric look.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by The Voord

[The Voord]

New sculpture completed this morning . . . The Old Witch, from EC's THE HAUNT OF FEAR.

 

 

[The Voord]

Not one of my sculptures, but my paint job!  This is a 17" tall resin bust produced by Killer Kits in the UK of a Mars Attacks alien.  

The owner of the company who produces this has offered me a free display table at his September 22 United Kingdom Garage Kits day to exhibit my own work 

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by The Voord

[Will_K]

That is a nice paint job.  Do you ever take progress pics (even if you don't want to post them) ??

[The Voord]

On 5/2/2022 at 7:55 PM, Will_K said:

That is a nice paint job.  Do you ever take progress pics (even if you don't want to post them) ??

Thanks.  While I do take work-in-progress pictures of my sculptures and production processes, a paint-job usually comes together fairly quickly over a period of a few hours.  I mostly use an air-brush with acrylic paints and usually have everything nailed in one session . . . though I'll often do touch-ups or corrections the following day once I come back to it with a fresh eye.

The hardest part, for me, in painting is coming up with the right color mixes (I often mix paints and don't solely rely on any particular shop-bought color).  Sometimes colors don't look quite right, so I'll go back and re-do.  Acrylic paint has good color adhesion but is actually quite thinly dispersed . . . so over-painting doesn't pose much of a problem for obscuring detail.

Edited May 2, 2022 by The Voord

[The Voord]

New project finished! My 20" tall re-do of Qarlo from the OUTER LIMITS episode, 'Soldier', written by the late great Harlan Ellison (and later plagiarized, in part, for the TERMINATOR movies). I sculpted this one in multiple parts, so it was pretty much put-together in kit form. I've still a few paint touch-ups to do on the visible face and neck, but to all intents and purposes otherwise finished. A screen-capture from the filmed episode is included for comparison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+11

 

 

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[Will_K]

On 6/2/2022 at 1:59 PM, The Voord said:

New project finished!

What's the story with the goggles ?  It looks like you cannibalized a pair but did you filling the holes ?  Or did you grind the edges ?

[The Voord]

On 6/3/2022 at 1:08 AM, Will_K said:

What's the story with the goggles ?  It looks like you cannibalized a pair but did you filling the holes ?  Or did you grind the edges ?

I bought the goggles from a Chinese seller on eBay.  They were actually about 25% bigger than I was hoping for (they were designed, I think, for a motorcycle helmet), so I removed the strap and leather edges, filled the holes and made a plaster cast - from which I made a copy in thick latex.  I then trimmed the latex copy down to a snug fit.  Don't have problems, have solutions!

 

 

[The Voord]

Currently working on a 16" tall sculpture of Talos from JASON & THE ARGONAUTS.  Some work-in-progress photos (along with a couple of screen-captures for comparison):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by The Voord

[The Voord]

Nearing the finishing line . . .