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CREATING AMORPHOUS
T-Rex
Golorc
Amorphous
(short article)
This is how I made a creepy 1/6 scale piece I like to call Amorphous.
I start with a twelve-ounce box of Super Sculpey, a small block of regular Sculpey, sculpting tools, some cellophane and some rubber texture stamps. I combine the small block of colored Sculpey with the large box of Super Sculpey. It takes away the translucent surface that the Super Sculpey can have.
The armature is constructed on top of a sculpting base and made out of hangar wire and oval shapes of Super Sculpey. This is scored with a sharp sculpting tool and then fired. Now I have a rough base that fresh Super Sculpey can be placed on.
I block out the basic forms of the bust. These early forms appear very cartoon-like. I'm just looking for size and shape right now.
The rough blocking of the Amorphous bust continues on the back where wrinkles are worked into the head with the end of a loop tool.
Here, I smooth out the early detail on the 'brain' with a Number Two brush and some mineral oil. Don't use too much mineral oil when attempting this or you'll get a muddy mess.
Working on some of the connective tissue that stretches between two of the heads with a sharp tool. I also use a needle stuck in a pin-vise for intricate detailing. One way to make wrinkles is to use a loop tool with a layer of cellophane between it and the clay. I like the thicker plastic that comes on a toilet paper tissue package rather than regular kitchen cellophane. The cartoon look has begun to disappear.
I didn't like the way the hands were coming out so I cut them off, made new armatures out of thinner 28 guage wire and then re-sculpted them. Here, the re-sculpted hands are in front of the almost-finished bust.
The back of the bust shows the hands added. The three necks twist down from the heads toward a common center point. I will use rubber texture stamps taken from oranges to detail the backs of the neck and some of the connective tissue.
The skin is finished off with the fine texture from a torn piece of makeup sponge. Any little bits of sponge left on the piece can be swept away using a soft dry brush.
The completed sculpt before firing.
The bust with the base colors blocked in. Here, everything is garish but it will look better as I begin to lay in a series of thin glazes with a brush.
The three different heads have been given mottled coats and have had veins applied. The colors are still too strong here.
I have laid in base colors for the eyes and mouths and done more mottling with darker colors to go underneath the glazes.
Here is the more normal-looking head after several layers of glaze have been applied. The other two heads are still waiting for their glazes.
The bust has now had all of its glazes applied and recieved final detailing on the eyes and teeth and veins. The paint job is finished off with a coat of spray semi-gloss.
The final Amorphous bust after it has been mounted on its base. This is 1/6th scale so it is only seven inches tall from the bottom of the wooden base to the top of the left head's finger tips.
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Text and images copyright 2007 Michael Martin
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