Ready not to be silent

I finally completed my "Dead Silence"-inspired figure. I started with a Braylu Standard head, altered the nose and gave him molded hair.

Friends

Here's a heartwarming story. 

Workshop

Happy

My friend's Bozo conversion continues to delight. It's fun and he looks so darn happy, he makes me smile, too. There wasn't a lot of room inside his little head, so I decided against squeezing in moving eyebrow mechanics. Instead I sculpted a pair of molded eyebrows. He's been covered with his first coat of primer. 

Kinda cornball

Besides building these funny lookin' fellas, I also play music. I've wanted to compose a little ditty to accompany the videos I make of my goofy characters. Here's what I came up with. (Oh... and I gave you something to look at while the music plays). 

Four eyes

Why is Uncle Earl wearing glasses? The better to see you! I think he looks a bit goofier with specs. They're a consolation prize since he didn't get blinkers after all. Again, I haven't given up. I'm just... well... regrouping. Still, Uncle Earl is going to be a fun companion for some ventriloquist somewhere.

Thin is in

Taking a closer look at my little freaky guy, I decided to lose the "uni-brow" and make his eyebrows much thinner. I also changed the eye color to green. I thought he looked spookier with amber eyes, but my client wants green. So green it is.

I have to re-sync the eyes and then proceed to final gizmo installation to complete his mechanics.

Also in the works... my Bozo conversion, a 2T Uncle Earl and 42" Uncle Earl. All three will be looking for co-comedic conspirators. (Just thought I'd mention it).

Dark shadows

The jaw was installed today. It will dry overnight, get some nippin' and tuckin, and be readied for its cord. Tomorrow the eye control guides go in, the eyebrow cords will be installed, and I may drill a few holes in the control stick for triggers.

I tried a new approach to shadowing around the eyes. I think I made a breakthrough. I painted a thin gray line outside the black eyeliner. Then I wet my finger and rubbed it all around the eyes, far beyond where you see the shadows here. Then I painted flesh color around the eyes, covering the rubbed gray paint until it's where you see it now.

He may be ready to freak people out by next week. 

Lady of the night

A customer has asked for a female character. She's supposed to be a floosie. I Photoshop-ed a crude mock-up using a Braylu Standard head. I'm not sure she's "floosie" enough, but I figure we can always exaggerate a bit more.

There's a lot that could be done with costume... like a feather boa and a shiny dress. Oh...and maybe glitter under the eyes.

Now that's better

I remolded the hair and did some more painting on my "Billy"-inspired figure. The hair will also get at least one coat of glossy varnish. It's a very flat black right now. I still have to install the eyebrows and do some soft shadowing around the eyes. Then the mechanics will be permanently installed. He's comin' along.

He just didn't look right

After sculpting the hair on my "Billy" clone, I decided he just didn't look right... even after I painted a draft coat of black. So I added more "hair". He definitely looks better. I also worked with Free Foam Air again and learned two more things.

1. After mixing the A&B compounds and setting it aside for 30 minutes, don't set the lump under a lamp. The light was about a foot and a half above the lump. When I picked it up to work with it, it was very warm and the center had hardened. Had to toss it.
2. Keep paper towels handy. It's easier to work with it if you wipe the residue off your gloved hands fairly often. Clean up as you go. 

Chin up

I continue to work on my friend's Bozo conversion. Though I've never seen a Bozo vent doll, it appeared that the mouth never really closes. So I installed the tube and axle in the jaw and placed it in the head. After I was assured that it swung freely as it opened/closed, I decided to add Magic-Sculpt to the chin so the bottom lip met the top. I left a small space in the middle so I can add two small buck teeth.

I've also enlarged the eye sockets and added nostrils on the side of the nose. He's almost ready for sanding.

Black top

I was going to wait until the head was sealed before I painted the molded hair. But after applying the first coat of flesh tone, I was concerned his facial color might be too dark. So I decided to paint a coat of black paint on the hair to check the contrast.  Though the flesh color appears too dark in this photo, it's actually a bit lighter and okay for this character. I need to add more coats and detail the hairline, but I think this evil dummy is coming together. 

Primed

After lots of sanding (and even some grinding), my "Dead Silence"-inspired figure has been painted with its first coat of primer. The Free Foam Air sanded very easily.  I also added more hair texture with my Dremel's grinder bit. Worked pretty well.  

My next step will be to apply the first coat of flesh tone. The really fun part will be adding the dark shadows around the eyes and painting the lips. I won't paint the hair until the mechanics are in and the head is sealed.