Clay Figure Construction

Said last time I would post pictures of my clay figure if I could.

Step 0 -- Hamster test:  Made a simple clay model of my hamster icon to ensure all the techniques I planned on using would work out.  Fishing line can withstand temperatures around 275 degrees Fahrenheit without incident.  However, polymer clay cannot withstand the uneven heat of a toaster oven.  Hamster came out a little toasted.

Clay hamster with fishing-line whiskers.  Looks like the 8-year-old me painted it.

Step 1 -- Wire and Foil Armature:  Sculpey clay is not supposed to exceed a thickness of 1/2 inch for baking purposes, so the foil helps bulk out the body.  The wire also makes the character more durable.  If a limb were to break, the wire would keep the figure together.

Front view of armature

Side view of armature.

Step 2 -- Base and 1st Baking:  I wanted the legs to be solid clay so the character would have a heavier base than top.  I modeled the feet and put a skeleton of clay on the legs and hips.  This gets around the baking thickness issue because Sculpey can be re-baked.  This also meant the character could stand while I worked on the top features.

Tin foil critter wearing pants?

Step 3 -- Body, Face, and 2nd Baking: Bulked out the legs, layered on the torso, and sculpted the face and tail in their entirety.  I wasn't really happy with the facial expression, I haven't mastered faces in clay.  The body was done in white clay so the color could be painted on later.  Essential details like nose, teeth, and eyes were done in colored clay.  Whiskers were also added.

Side view of armless figure.

Closer look of face w/ fishing line whiskers.

Back view.  Spiky tail turned out really well.

Step 4 -- Arm Base, Mask, and 3rd Baking:  Finalized the pose for the character's arms (though I wonder now if having the arms down would've been more dynamic).  Added the mask. 

Spitfire is not amused.

Step 5 -- Tiny Ninja Weapons:  Modeled Spitfire's iconic throwing knives, a pair of kunai, and one star.  The star was the most fun to make, and the most difficult.  All of these are about 1/2 inch long.

Miniature shuriken not recommended for actual use.

Step 6 -- Arms, Clothing, and Final Bake:  Layered on jumpsuit and added various gear including the Light Grappling hook Lift System (L.G.L.S.).  Fun fact: Spifire wears his LGLS and weapon belt reverse of the other ninja characters because he is left-handed.

Side view of Spitfire. 

Front view of Spitfire.

Step 7 -- Painting:  In which I am still working on.

Earworm of the day: Mannheim Steamroller's rendition of "Deck The Halls"

Skip

I totally just went a week without posting.  Wow.  Shame on me.

I had a great Thanksgiving with my family, and I learned how to make pie crust (successful on first try!)  Pie crust isn't hard, but it's a consistency thing that doesn't translate well onto a notecard.  You really have to have to learn it from someone who knows what it's supposed to look like.

Can't say I got anything else noteworthy accomplished, but I plan on making a figurine of one of my characters tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes.  If I'm successful, I shall post the picture on Wednesday.

Earworm of the day: "76 Trombones" from The Music Man.  I only had to hear it once to memorize the tune as a kid.  It's that infectiously catchy.

Komodo

Four days until I get to go home.  Whee!!!!

Finals week hasn't been so much work as trying to convince myself to work.  However I am now down to putting the last tweaks onto "Catch of the Day" so that it'll be really good instead of just sort of good.  I meant to work on it today, but after the effort of creating a final draft for my Multiculturalism class, all I wanted to do was play with the computer.

So I made my first attempt at a realistic CG-Eyeball.

Which I forgot to save the render in .jpg format.

Darn.

Well, there's also this:

I was on a lizard kick, so sue me.

I very rarely come up with a truly inspired antagonist for my stories.  Komodo just kind of popped out of nowhere (likely from one of the alternate dimensions his companions originated from).  He's a tracker/bounty hunter person, and is very persistent in finding his targets.  I wouldn't call him evil, just amoral, and just happened to have take a job that puts him up against the ninja.  He's a nice enough guy when he's not out to kill you.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, he is a Basilisk lizard, not a Komodo dragon.  The two lizard-things with him are actually not "people animals" like my other characters, they're from alternate dimensions and behave more like animals in our world.  Komodo technically commands them, but still makes a point to be nice.  Jacobson is fond of riding around on his shoulder.

Earworm for the day: "Make a Move" by Royal Tailor

Misplaced Wildlife and Festive Banana Bread

"Catch of the Day" by myself:


I really must apologize to anyone glancing at my linked-in profile right now.  I know it'll be getting double videos in the blog-feed-link-thingy, but having video embedded looks so much better than simply providing a link and saying "go here".

The fall quarter is almost done with, and I'm really, really, incredibly excited to go home for winter break.

I made banana bread today.  The recipe was just a basic one pulled from a Better Homes and Gardens cook book.  Nothing special at all.  Well, ok.  I didn't have any plain cinnamon, so I used pumpkin pie spice.  All my baked goods have tasted of pumpkin pie as of late because buying more spices is not a necessary item on my to-do list.  I also don't own a loaf pan, so I did some quick math to make sure the 10 1/2 x 7 wouldn't overflow and shortened the cook time to 20 minutes instead of 50.  Turned out just fine.

Earworm of the Day: "Taken by the Storm" by Article One.  Yes, that's a violin.  Also, they're Canadian.  For more cool stuff from north of the boarder check out the NFB.

3D Modeling Standards

I've discovered the school library holds a subscription to 3D World.  I wish I had discovered this sooner.  I became a regular reader back at my community college, and I have missed it since moving to Chicago.  The October issue had a description of TurboSquid's new(ish) Checkmate program and included a short list of what it takes to make a computer model to their standards.  I quickly jotted these down for future reference.  I do not have the skill or the resources to make models for sale at this juncture, but if I establish high-quality habits now it will make things a lot easier further down the line.

Granted, most of the standards are sort of "duh" things.  Like no laminate faces, name everything, and orient your model so it's standing in the "up" direction.  Others standards do take more know-how.  Some I don't understand what they're talking about.  It's all part of the learning process.

In other news, drew this yesterday:

Ancient Kenlilian in his natural habitat

I was trying to figure out why my alien characters were crazy colors, could run fast, and had eyes and nose positioned so far up on their heads.  This was the best explanation I could figure.

Earworm for the day: (oh you're going to hate me for this...) Keyboard Cat.

Laconic

Tis best to not procrastinate on homework.

Failing that, tis best to keep the blog post short.

Earworm for the day: Crazy Love by Hawk Nelson (I am shocked I haven't done this one already.)

Catch of the Day

In other news... there is no news.

Earworm of the Day: "I Refuse" by Josh Wilson  Not on my list of favorites, but it's what I got stuck in my head right now.

Quick! Before the Router Dies Again!

So, it turns out that the school library, when it gets to closing time, forgoes any announcement that it's closing time in favor of simply turning out the lights and waiting for students to filter out the door.  It also turns out that the Loop campus closes at 6 pm on Saturdays.  Closes completely.  With red theater barrier across the door and everything.  What's up with that?

I must say that I have gotten none of my personal animation or modeling projects done on account of finals week is 14 days away.  Not to say I haven't been making up stories, because I'm always doing that. Have I introduced Kesikt yet?

Kesikt the Kenlilian.
Not shown: the fact that she's purple.

Normally I would take a moment to describe Kesikt and what makes her tick (trying to piece together her memory after a traumatic brain injury is a big part of what makes her tick these days), but I should really get back to my homework.

Speaking of which:

Eaglets rejoice.  It's raining fish.

That's part of my homework.  The animatic will come soon (at least it better.  It's due Monday).

Earworm of the day:  American Pie by Don McLean (I someday hope to memorize the order of the lyrics on this song.  But not yet.)

Webcomics and Pie

I've found another webcomic to obsess about.  It's called Slightly Damned, and it is hilarious.  My archive binge was on Friday, which means I'm just about out of the obsessing phase and into the "regular follower" phase.  A good thing, since I have lots of homework to do and I really need to focus.

Also on Friday I made that pumpkin pie.  I am thankful my roommates were here to help make it.  Never before have I seen a pumpkin split open with such swift efficiency... after the three of us got impatient of carving it the normal way that is.  Here were the results:

Mmmm...pie.... :)

Earworm of the day:  "Me Against the World" by Simple Plan (It was stuck in my head yesterday.  No explanation exists as to why.)