Upside down

Securing a headstick in my figures has always been a source of anxiety. As a result, I tend to overdue the Magic Sculpt.

This time a got a tip from Buzz at Braylu on how to install a headstick. He suggested drilling four 1/4" holes in the top of the PVC opposite of each other. Measure the inside of the figure's neck with calipers. Then cut 1/4" dowels to the lengths and plug them into the holes. I also added a small eyehook to attach a jaw spring down the line.

I wrapped Magic Sculpt around the dowels and inserted the PVC pipe from inside the head. I lowered it until the dowels lodged in the neck, After that, I used a probe to mash the Magic Sculpt against the neck walls.

Final step was to loop some Magic Sculpt around the exterior of the PVC. Now the cheeky boy is standing on his head until tomorrow.

The last thing to show-and-tell today is the first step to making a cheeky jaw. I cut away the chin from the head casting. Buzz (Braylu) sent along a B-stock jaw from an earlier character to use as an armature. I reduced the size of that armature and made the first side of the jaw with paper clay. I tried attaching styrene plastic sides, but I couldn't get any of the glues to attach. Finally, I decided to go with paper clay, especially given the fact I'll probably cover the chin with paper clay, too.

First get a nice casting... and then you WRECK it

Yesterday this was a nice clean casting of my original sculpture (above left). Now after taking an electric saw, hand saw, power drill, and various Dremel bits to it, it's an official wreck (above right).

No panic here because after cutting off the back of the head, poking out the eye sockets, cutting out the jaw cavity, roughing up the interior, and smoothing the edges all around, I'm usually left with some patching. Sometimes the hand slips or the plastic gives way unexpectedly. Nothing a little paper clay or Magic-Sculpt can't fix.

The first step is always a little nasty.

Look what I got!

As I've mentioned before, I sculpted a new 2T cheeky boy just before I took a five-year hiatus from ventriloquism. It sat on my workbench the entire time. Now that I'm building again, I had a mold and castings made. And today I received the very first casting.

This little guy will be the first of its kind. He'll measure in at about 32"-tall. The 28mm doll eyes will fit perfectly in this fella's sockets. Throw in some rosy cheeks, a sprinkling of freckles, a head of hair, and he'll be ready to annoy someone.

As always, body by Braylu.

Debut

I'm pleased to introduce "Mr. Winkle", my newest full-size figure fresh out of the shop. I enjoy making the figures, but I also like photographing them. And yes, talking to them. As you will see in the video, Mr. Winkle talks back.

He is being offered for sale on DummyStore.net. Someone who likes arguing might like to argue with him. Mr. Winkle is perfect for that.

Drop me an email if you're interested.

See what you made me do

I'm getting tired of this subject, but this sculpture is turning out to be a marathon. After today's powwow, it was decided that I need to remove the fat roll under his ears and to make the lower part of the fat-roll appear to be hanging down. I agreed. So, I took out my handy-dandy Dremel tool and started hacking away. I had to remove a fair amount of material; both under the ears and behind the ears. It's hard to tell in the whole-head photo on the left, but he does look better, hack marks aside. Now I need to get out my sponge sandpaper and start the smoothing process around those areas. I might have to patch a spot or two as well.

I also removed the three-dimpled chin material and returned to the dumb- chin look. He'll retain more of that pitiful cartoony look.

Before or after fat

After Fat

Before Fat

Just when I thought I was ready to go.

I've gotten feedback that my sculpture looked much better before I added the roll of fat on his cheeks and under his chin. The photo on the left is "before". The photo on the right is "after". My wife and I have been eyeing the head trying to figure out why it doesn't look quite right. I can actually envision the character painted up with the roll of fat, but I might be miscalculating.

So I'm contemplating sanding off the roll. I might return to the original dumb chin, too.

DARN!

Awwww-struck

There are only a few steps left before I'm ready to have a mold and castings made of my overweight oddball. I've accomplished the first step. I covered the jaw opening with a cover. That cover will be removed from the plastic castings by cutting or drilling along the dotted line. With a little sanding or filing, the jaw piece should slip right in.

The last thing I need to deal with is the transition. Currently, the neck comes down to a flat bottom similar to a McElroy figure. I'll add a rounded Braylu "ball n socket"-style transition to this sculpture.

I'm already thinking about my next character sculpture. The next one will be a skinny guy.

The last to know

From my "last to know" file comes a new discovery thanks to Buzz at Braylu Creations. I have been sanding my paper clay sculptures with regular sandpaper. It's usually hard on my hands, but I have persevered. Buzz and I Skype from time to time to show-and-tell recent projects, ideas, and innovations. If you follow this blog, you know I've been preparing my fat guy sculpture for eventual mold making. It needs to be as smooth as I can possibly make it. During our most recent Skype, he showed me sponge sandpaper. It's available in a variety of grits. The HUGE advantages are they are easy on the hands and they conform to the shape of what you're sanding. I immediately visited my local hardware store and bought some. I LOVE IT! I was able to quickly and easily do the fine sanding on my fat guy sculpture. I'm always the last person in the universe to learn about these common tools.

Finally, the fat guy jaw is completed.

Shuttin' him up?

Why is there wadded-up paper towel in his mouth? To quiet his complaining? To silence his haranguing? To muffle his whining? To shush his grumbling?

No.

In preparation for the mold, I'm going to build a paper clay cover for the mouth. The paper towel is used to fill up space so I won't need to fill the entire cavity with paper clay. I'll use a sharp poking tool to indicate cut-lines around the perimeter of the cover. That's so I (and other vent figure builders) will know where to cut away the cover on the castings of the head. When the cover is... well... uncovered, a casting of the jaw you see pictured here will fit inside the opening with (hopefully) minimal gap adjustment.

Speaking of the jaw, it's almost done. I want to even out the spaces between the teeth, fill a couple of sanded areas, then do a final sanding.

Showin' off

Step by step

Here's a collection of photos as I sculpted this character. Starting at the top-left (finished) to the bottom-right (a stack of foam I used as the armature), I progressed slowly to complete this new figure's model. I actually have one more task. I'll add teeth and tongue to the jaw. Then he'll be sent to Braylu Creations to have a mold and castings made.

Hard way

I decided to go with hard brows. I sculpted the eyebrows over the brass rod frames. I scored the Magic Sculpt with a sharp sculpting tool to give the brows a hair-look.

I'm in the home stretch of this project. I installed the eyehooks for the side-to-side self-centering eyes, the pully system for the jaw, and the pully system for the raising eyebrows. I'll add the cords next and prepare the headstick for the triggers. I'll use a rocker system for the eyes.

Sweat of the brow

I hold my breath when I'm bending and installing the eyebrow frames in the head. I bend the "hooks" for the springs first. That's not too tough. After inserting the rods into the head, I have to bend the rods again on the head exterior. That's the tricky part. If I bend the eyebrow frame too close to the tube opening, the eyebrow won't move up and down in the tube. I tape a popsicle stick to the forehead next to the tube opening and bend the eyebrow over the stick. That seems to provide enough clearance for the eyebrow to move freely in the tube. I do it this way because I don't solder.

Inside the head, I attach the spring to the "hooks". The next step will be to install a spool above the hooks so a cord will lift the eyebrows.

I typically sculpt Magic Sculpt over the frames to create the actual eyebrows. Sometimes I make the Magic Sculpt as flat as possible so I can attach furry fabric to make bushy eyebrows. I'm undecided which way I'll go with this old grump.

As you can see from the interior photo, I've also synched the eyes and installed eyehooks to attach cords. I'll install eyehooks on each side of the head to thread the cord.

Overnight weight gain

Mr. Winkle now has his eyes in, though they have not been synched. I'm also working on gap adjustment, thus the discoloration around his jaw. That's paper clay that needs to be finely sanded and painted. I attached the steel spring to the jaw and base. 

My obese brooder has gained even more weight overnight. I put more fat below his ears and brought the roll of chubbiness higher on his cheeks. I was able to remove the jaw and pop it back in. I might be finished with the head sculpting. Now comes the serious sanding and patching. The last thing I'll do is sculpt the teeth and tongue on the jaw piece.