Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Finishing the Ceratosaurus Sculpture

Today I detailed the back of the predatory dinosaur with a striped pattern using pastel chalks.







After top coating the sculpture with clear lacquer to fix the chalk it was time to finish off the piece with a coat of clear gloss on the eyes and tongue.







The piece is being offered for sale at my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/46316425/dinosaur-clay-sculpture?ref=shop_home_active_1  








Thursday, April 27, 2017

Painting a Dinosaur Sculpture



 





Recently I decided to re-paint a sculpture I created of a ceratosaur taking down a stegosaur in a shallow creek bed.







While waiting for the air brushed section to dry I began working on the base.







A mixture of white glue and chopped moss was brushed on the base with an occasional section of longer moss added here and there.

I'll post more photos as work progresses. 

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Creating a Miniature Stop Motion Set

Recently a client commissioned me to create a miniature cavern set for his stop motion project.

He wanted it to be in two sections. I began by constructing a wood frame over which galvanized wire mesh was stapled.


I use a food processor for mixing my paper mache . It's fast and the mix is free of lumps. 


 
Before applying the mache I clamped down the wood base to prevent warpage. 


Using a brush the mache is applied to the sets framework. 


A plywood strip was cut to mask the lip of the sets base. Chunks of Styrofoam were hot glued on.



Apoxie clay was applied over the Styrofoam.


 
The finished strip clamped down as it is drying.















  Styrofoam chunks were glued onto the framework to create a rocky look.
















   Paper mache being applied over the foam.
















Here I'm applying a veneer of Apoxie clay to the set floor. The floor was given a rocky volcanic look by texturing the clay with silicone pads I created for this project.















 When the floor of the set had cured I began applying Apoxie clay to the sides.

















  Some stalagmite formations for the floor of the set.

















  The completed set before priming and painting.

















The set painted with the stalagmites added.































In the future I'll be posting about a somewhat larger set piece I created for this film project.














Friday, April 22, 2016

Miniature Diorama Work for The Cult of Doll Almanac


 Sculpting a Bull shark for the Cult of Doll project.


 The Bull sharks primed with the dory I built in the background.



The sharks airbrushed. Putting the final touches to the eyes.




 The poseable armature for the character I'm creating for The Cult of Doll project.



 Building up the miniature sea around one of the shark sculptures.




 Detailing the water around the shark.





Be sure to join us April 24th 2016 on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/cultofdoll/?hc_location=ufi for the premiere of the first Biannual Cult of Doll Almanac April 24th 2016






Saturday, April 9, 2016

Miniature Skull Island Trees

My snail themed project got temporarily derailed. For the last week I've been finishing up work on four tree as set pieces for a stop motion Kong project.




 When working with the moss it just gets everywhere. My work space is going to need a good going over before I get my clay back out.






Thursday, March 31, 2016

Clay Art Challenge Day 25

Today's snail for day 25 of the clay challenge. As I'm closing in on my goal of completing 30 small sculptures I've come up with a good concept for my last snail. Stay tuned.



Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Clay Art Challenge Day 24

For today's clay challenge I went with a conical shaped shell for my snail. This little guy is sculpted using three colored types of Super Sculpey.