Here's lookin' at ya

This evening I've been making eyes. I purchased 1-1/4" wood knobs. I drill a 7/64" hole clear through from the top to bottom to accommodate a brass screw for an axle. (The knob comes with a partial hole already drilled). Then I drill a partial 7/64" hole on the side to accommodate the spring. I paint the knob white with three or four coats of acrylic paint.

I print the irises on my computer printer and carefully cut them out. Then I glue them to the white ball opposite the hole for the spring. I'll finish them off with two coats of a clear glossy acrylic varnish. That will secure the iris to the wood and give the eyeball a wet shiny look.

New look at an old-timer

Here's the first look at the old guy made from a Charlie head. He just needs a little more touch-up here and there and he'll be ready to find a home... like a rest home.

Yep, it's almost like magic

I like to read the ventfigures Yahoo Group forum. One of the posts asks about making a head using Magic-Sculpt layered over a clay sculpture. Here are my suggestions:

"Regarding the amount needed, I'd recommend ordering the 5lb. size (Resin: 2.5lb, Hardener: 2.5lb). It's actually more than you'll need for a single head, but it's handy stuff for securing mechanics, fill, and making more heads. The 5lb. size costs under $30. Kneading a ball of Resin and Hardener together only takes 2 minutes. (I count to 120).

I'd also recommend that you make the head with two thin layers of Magic-Sculpt with a layer of fiberglass webbed tape (used in drywall taping) or gauze between the Magic-Sculpt layers for reinforcement. Otherwise the head will be brittle and subject to shattering if bumped hard or dropped. I've been told that the ideal time to apply the tape or gauze is when the first layer is still slightly wet and pliant. The tape or gauze can be pressed into the Magic-Sculpt without protrudung from the other side.

Working time is about 20-30 minutes before it starts to become uncooperative. It dries rock-hard overnight.

The Magic-Sculpt layers also need to be thin because weight can become an issue.

Magic-Sculpt requires lots of sanding to hide the seams. It's difficult to make the thickness of each side-by-side application even, so sanding is required. Be sure to wear a mask because the powder is fine and tends to adhere.

All this being said, I like Magic-Sculpt and I use it all the time. It's amazing stuff. By the way, Mike Brose's book "Figure Making Can Be Fun" covers the basics of the method you've described."

Getting a handle on it

As mentioned in my previous post, I dislike making levers. Nonethless, control posts need levers so I make them. Of course, naked pieces of brass aren't too friendly on the fingers, even after filing down some of the rough snag-ends. So the brass levers need handles. I use balls of Magic-Sculpt which I shape and smooth into finger-friendly handles. Then I stick them on the ends of the levers.

Upside? Seems to work pretty well. The texture is comfortable on the finger or thumb.

Downside? Kinda irregular-looking and ugly.

Better ideas anyone?

Levers

There are some tasks I enjoy in figure making. I love building, inserting and perfecting the mechanics in the head. I like painting the head. I get a kick out of making the eyeballs. But I don't like making levers.

I cut lengths of 1-1/4-inch long flat brass pieces, mark and drill holes for the axle and string, and twist the ends to a 90-degree angle from each other. For some reason, I don't find it fun. Fitting the levers in the control post slots is a hassle, too. I think it's because I haven't perfected my slot-routing and axle-drilling yet. I've acquired a few new tools and I've thought out a new method that I'll try out on the next control post.

Thought I'd whine a little bit today, though.

Getting old

While I could easily be referring to myself, I'm actually referring to aging a Charlie head. I've wanted to make an "old guy" conversion character for quite some time. In doing so, I've wanted to use as little Magic-Sculpt as possible to alter the face. Magic-Sculpt is a wonderful substance, but too much of it can add an objectionable amount of weight.

So I've been studying people's faces (including my own), and observing the work of other figure makers to identify the facial areas that could be slightly altered to age the face. Here's my checklist:

• Add small bags under the eyes that trail off to the outside corners of the eyes
• Create small "crows feet" at the corner of the eyes. The charlie heads already have a couple of wrinkles there.
• Use small rolls of Magic-Sculpt that span the width of the forehead. Stack them across the forehead one on top of another from the hairline to the eyebrows. The areas in between each roll become wrinkles.
• Add a small amount of Magic-Sculpt on the side of the jaw openings to create jowls.
• Add a small roll of Magic-Sculpt from the corners of the mouth to just below the cheeks to create another pair of small jowls.
• Add a small ball of Magic-Sculpt to the earlobes.
• Add an upside-down "V" on the neck to suggest a "turkey-neck".

The list may suggest a lot of Magic-Sculpt, but actually the amounts are very small. The head will be slightly heavier than a young Charlie head, but not to the point of discomfort.

Painting the wrinkle highlights has also been challenging. While my technique is still not perfect, I think the fellow I'm working on will turn out well. He'll also sport a white mustache, white "Andy Rooney" eyebrows, and a white wig with a receding hairline.

Going down under

"Sheldon" has found a friend in Australia. Thought you'd like to know he won't be an orphan.

Another blog to read

I like finding new ventriloquism blogs, especially those that share experiences in vent figure building. It's fun to hear about the twists and turns of the process as practiced by other figure makers. Ken Souza, Jr. has a blog titled "Adventures In Ventriloquist Figure Making". I really love the look of the figure he sculpted and is casting.

I also was amazed at how his early interest in and later return to ventriloquism paralleled my own experiences.

It's good to know I'm not alone.

Wine, a bathtub and Seattle

I'm posting from the 8th floor of a very nice hotel room in Seattle. The company I work for is having its annual management conference here, so no dummy buildin' tonight. The view is spectacular from my window. In the bathroom, there's even a sunken bathtub right next to the floor-to-ceiling window. So after the sun goes down, I may take a bath overlooking the Seattle nighttime skyline (with a glass of wine, of course).

I hope no one has binoculars in the neighboring buildings. If so, they'll be in for a real disappointment.

"Sheldon" wants to be someone's buddy

Soon Sheldon will be advertising for a friend. No, he won't be placing ads in the "Personals". He'll be on Ebay.

Threading tip

It only took 50,000 years of evolution for my personal pool of genetic composition to think up this trick. I'm sure many of my experienced dummy-makin' readers thought this up generations ago. But for those of you that are as challenged as I am, here's the tip:

When trying to thread nylon string (the kind made of three strands that tend to unravel) through a small hole, apply a little Elmers Glue from the end of the string to about half an inch up. Let it dry. Now the string has a firm end similar to the little plastic doohicky at the end of a shoestring. The nylon string can be easily threaded through a small hole without unraveling.

Now that I have discovered this little trick, far fewer bad words will fly from my lips as I attempt to thread string on my dummies.

High brow

This fellow is getting a pair of eyebrows. The brows are made of Magic-Sculpt atop curved brass rods. I use a sharp carving tool to make little indentations in the Magic-Sculpt to give the eyebrows a hair-like texture. After they dry and harden, I'll paint them dark brown.

The brass rods underneath the Magic-Sculpt are protruding from brass tubes on the side of the head. The brass rods rotate inside the brass tubes and the eyebrows raise.

No stamp collecting today

As you can see, my jaw molds came out perfectly. I'm always amazed. The mothermolds pried apart rather easily. The slit I cut with an Exacto-Knife in the silicone rubber mold to free the model was easier than I expected. And the silicone mold slipped back into the mothermold perfectly. Of course, I haven't done a casting yet. Another adventure awaits. Now I have to buck up the courage to attempt the molds and mothermolds of the two heads. That may take a couple of weeks, but my confidence is increasing.

It's a plastic world

Here's a blow-by-blow of my moldmaking work today. As mentioned before, I'm making two molds, both jaw pieces of the heads I've sculpted. I already showed you the application of silicone rubber over the models. Today, it's mothermold time.

First I trimmed the excess silicone rubber around the perimeter. Then I built a clay wall and covered it with tin foil. I applied Sonic-Wax, a toxic smelly wax, to the areas surrounding the trimmed silicone rubber. The Sonic-Wax will keep the Plasti-Paste from sticking to the wood platform. Then I mixed the 3-to-1 Plasti-Paste and applied it to one side of the silicone rubber.

After the first side dries in about 90 minutes, I'll peel away the clay wall and foil, then apply the Plasti-Paste to the other side. When that dries, I'll pull the whole thing apart, slice a seam along the ridge of the silicone mold and release the model. If I've done everything right, it should slip out easily and leave me with a hard-backed silicone mold in which I can cast more jaw pieces. If I've managed to commit any of the multitude of mistakes that can be made doing this, then I'll toss it all in the trash and find another hobby.

Maybe stamp collecting... or model trains. (Oh, wait a minute. I've already done model trains).