My toy sculpting portfolio and more... <Predator Hound update>

[GojulasPrime23]

Greetings!

This is actually my first post here though I've viewed the board many times. There seems to be a great community of artists here and I'm looking forward to learning from you all.

Just a quick rundown of who I am- my name is David Silva, I've been working in the toy industry for the past six years first as a designer and, for the past four an half years, as a sculptor. I fell into a niche of sculpting animal- like creatures and characters such as dragons and such. There are other more human figures that I've worked on, but I really enjoy anything having to do with animals/ dinosaurs.
Instead of posting a few threads individually, I figured I'd pass along my whole sculpting portfolios (what I can show anyway). You can check out my professional work here:

http://creative-beast.com/?page_id=106

And my personal sculpting work here:

http://creative-beast.com/?page_id=115


Feel free to browse the rest of the site- there's plenty there.:)

[Evilivo]

Man, your work is amazing - I own some of these toys and they inspire me for my own sculpts :) Too bad the Leo from the Zodiac warriors got canceled, and Hasbro opted to drop the headgear from the dewback... Love your concepts too, especially the dinosaurs and other animals!

[dark_wraith]

Welcome to the forum. Fantastic work.

I have some of your work on my book shelf, very nice stuff.

hope to see more of your work.

[lilalex]

Holy Hell!! Digging your Personal Work; and did you execute the Dilophosaurus painting? Awesome! ... and I'm really digging the anthromopo' stuff! So creative!!

I'd also enjoy seeing any real early wips/armatures or step-by-steps you might have "laying around" - or any elaboration on the toy work process; are you provided with joints info? Armatures? Material to work in? etc. I saw in your Personal Concept page where you have several figs broken down and sprue'd; and on others you have construction instructions such as gear designs, points of pivot, etc - is that also something a toy sculptor normally has to consider?

Great stuff - Thanks for sharing!
la

[GojulasPrime23]

I do have some WIP pics on my webshots portfolio for the Dilophosaurus:

http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/566893709PcjRwc

If you go back to page 3, you'll see how I started with the armature and then moved forward with soft castilene then to the hard castilene. I had to build the armature so that it broke apart for molding so I used a combination of wire, square styrene rods, and epoxy putty to hold it all together. Once the rough was completed, the piece was separated then molded and cast into hard castilene. The final piece I did paint myself. I did every step of the final model from sculpt to mold, resin cast, assembly and then paint. I actually reused the armature for the in-progress Acrocanthosaurus. I had to make some modifications, but it worked out well. Obviously the scale will be different, but the proportions were similar.

As far as the design drawings go- what's required just depends on the job. For instance McFarlane hardly ever noted articulation on their design drawings- it was all about the pose and concept. Hasbro however is very adamant about articulation (as you'd expect) but the sculpting details are left mostly to picture reference. Their design drawings usually have different colored parts so that it's easy to see where the parts separate. As far as joints go, McFarlane made their own fittings and joints. Hasbro has their own as well, but plenty of other companies like DC Direct or NECA may expect the sculptor to make (or find) the appropriate parts to use. It's different for each company.

[Dan FS]

I really dig in your work, very inspiring, thanks for sharing!!! :yayca:

[Greyguy]

Awesome sculpting!

[One Eyed Terror]

Nice work. Very impressive.

Love the Styracoaurus, especially.

[VulgarDragon]

I love them all. I personally own some of the McFarlane dragons and they serve as inspiration to me. Welcome to the forums here and I'm glad to see someone who have worked on those amazing sculpture on here. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

[GojulasPrime23]

I'm glad to see some here actually have some of these toys! I definitely see the action figure industry as an important resource for creative inspiration not just for sculpting, but for conceptual design in general. I have a huge collection of 'inspiration' all around my workspace (and everywhere else). I think it's been helpful. ;)

[Camara]

Your dinosaurs are fantastic!!!The Dilophosaurus is great!!How do you create the skin???

[Camara]

Your dinosaurs are fantastic!!!The Dilophosaurus is great!!How do you create the skin???

[GojulasPrime23]

Sculpting techniques for sculpting reptile scales very depending on the material. I use castilene, but I know super sculpy and oil based clays are more common.
I think the most important part of creating realistic scales (like anything else) is good reference. This book here (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?ISBSRC=Y&ISBN=0760747369) is the best I've seen for this and I HIGHLY suggest it to anyone who likes to draw or sculpt reptilian creatures. Once you have the reference pay attention to scale progressions and variations. I try to keep my scales looking interesting by varying size, but maintaining a consistent shape and flow. Size progression is important since an abrupt change in the look of the scales from one type next to another can look strange. Not to say you can't go crazy- but if it's grounded in natural science it's always more convincing. Also make note that areas of articulation such as joints and eye lids, usually have smaller scales. You will normally find the largest scales on areas that don't need much flexibility such as areas of head, spine, pelvic region, and torso.
Not sure if that's too much info, but perhaps it will be of use to someone. If I had been told those things when I first started sculpting dragons I would have advanced much faster. ;)

[Breath of Life]

That's a lot of fantastic work there! Can you tell us about the "fur" on the lion and reindeer? It looks like you are actually embedding real furry stuff in there. Is that something that castilene allows you to do? Could it also be done with wax?

[georgedesio]

un freakin ballievable, you rock man rrooooooooock :mod:

[troyboy]

You don't need me to tell you this, but you do absolutely stunning
work GojulasPrime23. Really amazing and inspiring stuff. :)

[GojulasPrime23]

That's a lot of fantastic work there! Can you tell us about the "fur" on the lion and reindeer? It looks like you are actually embedding real furry stuff in there. Is that something that castilene allows you to do? Could it also be done with wax?


Yes, castilene is great for embedding foreign materials such as fabrics, mesh, and hair in this case. The 'hair' I used on the lion and reindeer was from a rope that I unraveled and cut into very small clumps. Using my electric waxer, I embedded the hair clumps into the castilene in rows- going from lower to upper to get an overlapping look. Also, using animal reference, I had to make note of the hair patterns of the specific animals since hair grows in specific directions in most mammals. Once that was done, I painted over the rope/hair with a watered down acrylic to give the piece a consistent color for photography purposes.

And thanks for the positive comments- I'm glad to know my work inspires others. Inspiration is essential to growth. ;)

[darkwolf29a]

Amazing stuff. Thanks for posting those. Very inspirational.

My one question is about castilene. Is that anything like plasticene? I have been playing around with that, myself. I like it much better than sculpey, since it's stiffer.

[GojulasPrime23]

Amazing stuff. Thanks for posting those. Very inspirational.

My one question is about castilene. Is that anything like plasticene? I have been playing around with that, myself. I like it much better than sculpey, since it's stiffer.


I am not familiar with plasticene, but Castilene is a wax based mixture if that helps. It is lightweight and the 'Hard castilene' is very hard. Great for fine detail.

[danlucas]

Thats one wild looking toy, awesome work!

[darkwolf29a]

I am not familiar with plasticene, but Castilene is a wax based mixture if that helps. It is lightweight and the 'Hard castilene' is very hard. Great for fine detail.


Thanks very much for that information.

Plasticene is an oil based clay, won't harden, etc. Sounds like it's a bit softer than castilene. I may have to give castilene a try, if I can find some.

Edit: I did misspell it. It's plasticine, not plsticene. Sorry. I also did some further research into what it is made of and it does have wax in it, as well as some oil.

[jarrodshiflett]

David

This wolf thing is cool as hell! check out our boards sometime



http://www.shiflettbrothers.com/forum/index.cfm?page=home

jarrod

[Camara]

Could you explain me the proccess of working with castilene?Looks interesting!
Did I say that I have your mcfarlane dragon and just found out that the sculpt is yours!!

[GojulasPrime23]

David

This wolf thing is cool as hell! check out our boards sometime



http://www.shiflettbrothers.com/forum/index.cfm?page=home

jarrod


Hey Jarrod,
Just bookmarked your forum- I'll be joining soon. (wolf?)



And Camara,
Castilene is great. It holds great detail and also allows you to easily embed foreign textures. You will need heat to move this material and dental waxers are commonly used for this as well as alcohol torches for heating your tools. You can purchase castilene here: http://completesculptor.com/ under 'Wax Index'. I think they also carry waxers and torches as well.

BTW, which dragon do you have?

[Camara]

Mine is the eternal clan dragon that is in the top of a tower.I think it belongs to the first series!Is a sculpt of yours??????
I´ll give castilene a try!I´ll try to find some good tutorials first!

BTW, staring at your AMAZING art,I can see that your room walls are full of pictures from different dinosaur reconstructions and details of dinosaur sculptures.I am trying to find refernces for dinosaur sculpture,skeletal reconstructions and these things.Do you know some good webpage or source of other kind for good reference pictures?
Thanks!!

[Gaffanon]

I have a question for you where did you get that plexi armature stand of yours

[baard]

Amasing portfolio!
Applause!
Im sure youre tired of this question, but what kind of clay do you use? Milliput?
Baard

[GojulasPrime23]

Mine is the eternal clan dragon that is in the top of a tower.I think it belongs to the first series!Is a sculpt of yours??????
I´ll give castilene a try!I´ll try to find some good tutorials first!

BTW, staring at your AMAZING art,I can see that your room walls are full of pictures from different dinosaur reconstructions and details of dinosaur sculptures.I am trying to find refernces for dinosaur sculpture,skeletal reconstructions and these things.Do you know some good webpage or source of other kind for good reference pictures?
Thanks!!

That would be the series 1 Eternal Clan dragon. Unfortunately I can't take any credit for that one- but it is a great piece. :)

And as for dino reference- I know I've already answered this for Camara- but for everyone else here's a short list of what I use most:

Dinosaurs: A Concise Natural History

Dinosaurs Past and Present Volume 2

Thunder Lizards!: How to Draw Fantastic Dinosaurs

And of course there is always good ol' google image search.

[GojulasPrime23]

I have a question for you where did you get that plexi armature stand of yours

That was made at McFarlane toys in the model shop. Don't ask why I have one...

[GojulasPrime23]

Amasing portfolio!
Applause!
Im sure youre tired of this question, but what kind of clay do you use? Milliput?
Baard

I use different grades of castilene- wax based clay. For roughing out I use either soft or medium castilene. I finish in the hard castilene. It's a great medium- if you can afford an electric waxer that is.

[baard]

Thanks, whats an electric waxer?

[GojulasPrime23]

Thanks, whats an electric waxer?


Since you have to keep castilene hot to move it around, you need heated tools as well as a way to keep the material warm (I just use a clip-on lamp). Anyway, an electric waxer is commonly used with castilene as it is always hot (adjustable heat) and has interchangeable tips. These are often synonymous with dental waxers or wax pens.
Here are the a few popular basic models used in the toy industry:

http://www.contenti.com/products/casting/170-269.html

http://www.contenti.com/products/casting/170-267.html


And if you're feeling fancy, here's the Mercedes of wax pens:

Kerr digital waxer (http://www.riogrande.com/MemberArea/ProductPage.aspx?assetname=700479&page=GRID&category|category_root|122=Casting+Equipment+and+S upplies&category|cat_1546|3286=Kerr+Ultra-Waxer)


This one isn't necessary, but it is nice. ;)


To find better deals, check ebay- there's usually a few on there.

[hauke3000]

That is great work. I love toys and action figures particulary have been a great inspiration to me for all my life. I always love to see some of the original sculpts behind the toys. I especially like your take on the Marvel Rhino as well as the Calhoun Burns figure.

Thanks for sharing those pictures here.

Hauke

[hauke3000]

That is great work. I love toys and action figures particulary have been a great inspiration to me for all my life. I always love to see some of the original sculpts behind the toys. I especially like your take on the Marvel Rhino as well as the Calhoun Burns figure.

Thanks for sharing those pictures here.

Hauke

[GojulasPrime23]

Thanks.
Actually, the Rhino I did for Hasbro was designed by Joe Dodd- I just followed his excellent drawings.
The Calhoun Burns is all mine however. ;)

[baard]

Could you tell us a little about how it is like working proffessional as an sculptor. Do you have this as a full time job, or on short projects? Is it something that you could make a living of or do you have to have a part time job beside..

Is casteline something like waxbased plastilina, made from beewax? I have mixed my own plastiline from a soft that was based on beewax and mixed it with hard beewaxplates that are commonly used as candles. It melts down real nice when you expose it to fire. (and great smell:-))


Bård

[GojulasPrime23]

Could you tell us a little about how it is like working proffessional as an sculptor. Do you have this as a full time job, or on short projects? Is it something that you could make a living of or do you have to have a part time job beside..

Is casteline something like waxbased plastilina, made from beewax? I have mixed my own plastiline from a soft that was based on beewax and mixed it with hard beewaxplates that are commonly used as candles. It melts down real nice when you expose it to fire. (and great smell:-))


Bård


I just sculpt, sculpt, sculpt. I work from home and it's payed the bills just fine so far. Not a bad deal. ;)



Castilene is wax based so I imagine what you made is similar. Most if not all wax based clays have similar properties.

[abyssopus]

Awesome work. Thanks for the insights.

[GojulasPrime23]

Yeah right.. Your works were awesome.. Can you please post all your work pictures here?..

Thanks!


Since I've joined the forum, I'll be posting all of my new works here. Everything else will be on my website (http://creative-beast.com/).

Here's an in-progress pic of what I'm working on right now:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/DSC00242.jpg


And here's something I did a while back, but have just recently put up a gallery for:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/xDSC02786.jpg

You can view the full gallery here (http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/575652767RCyJMp).


:D

[Jimmi_B]

That is some awe inspiring work :D
i was jsut wondering how you did the texture on the dragon wings, especially the scavenger clan. any help would be most appreciated :D
and i hope to see some more work soon :D

[GojulasPrime23]

That is some awe inspiring work :D
i was jsut wondering how you did the texture on the dragon wings, especially the scavenger clan. any help would be most appreciated :D
and i hope to see some more work soon :D

Thanks. ;)

The scavenger dragon wings were done starting with a wire armature covered in 2-part epoxy putty (for strength). I had to make sure the putty wasn't too thick because I had to sculpt the anatomy and details over that. So then I cut out the wing membrane sections from sheet wax- probably about 1/16th" thick- and then using my electric wax pen, covered the entire surface with a thin coat of castilene, welding the sheet wax to the armature. Then the castilene coat had to be smoothed out using 3M styrofoam sanding pads, which can be heated over an alcohol torch to more easily manipulate the castilene. Once the surface was relatively smoothed out, I applied textured saran wrap to all of the membrane areas of the wings, creating wrinkles with that as I applied it with the heated sand pads (I usually use two layers of saran wrap). For this one I added some holes by simply burning through the wing in a few places with my wax pen. Green paint was added for photography,but isn't really necessary. From there I just had to finish sculpting the arms and fingers.
I'm sure there are plenty of different ways to do dragon wings- but this is my preferred way.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/xDSC01570.jpg

[Jimmi_B]

[QUOTE=GojulasPrime23;2546296]Thanks. ;)

The scavenger dragon wings were done starting with a wire armature covered in 2-part epoxy putty (for strength). I had to make sure the putty wasn't too thick because I had to sculpt the anatomy and details over that. So then I cut out the wing membrane sections from sheet wax- probably about 1/16th" thick- and then using my electric wax pen, covered the entire surface with a thin coat of castilene, welding the sheet wax to the armature. Then the castilene coat had to be smoothed out using 3M styrofoam sanding pads, which can be heated over an alcohol torch to more easily manipulate the castilene. Once the surface was relatively smoothed out, I applied textured saran wrap to all of the membrane areas of the wings, creating wrinkles with that as I applied it with the heated sand pads (I usually use two layers of saran wrap). For this one I added some holes by simply burning through the wing in a few places with my wax pen. Green paint was added for photography,but isn't really necessary. From there I just had to finish sculpting the arms and fingers.
I'm sure there are plenty of different ways to do dragon wings- but this is my preferred way.

Thanks for the insight, it has been and will be of great help for me :D
Thanks again for your time :D

[scarto1]

Incredible work. Keep it up.

[jhagen22]

Hey David,

Excellent work as always! I remember when you were just starting out back at SCAD. All I can say is, holy crap you've improved by leaps and bounds! I also remember all the transformers you had surrounding your dorm walls. lol

Great stuff!

[vichar]

great work bro ;)

[GojulasPrime23]

Hey David,

Excellent work as always! I remember when you were just starting out back at SCAD. All I can say is, holy crap you've improved by leaps and bounds! I also remember all the transformers you had surrounding your dorm walls. lol

Great stuff!


Good to hear from you Josh. ;)

Yes since college both my skills and my toy collection have grown dramatically. I had such a modest collection back then....

[GojulasPrime23]

It's been a while, but I finally have something new I can show. This past year has been full of toy projects that I've had to keep private, but now I can show this- Hasbro's Jabba the Hutt . This was just unveiled at SDCC and is apparently hitting Wal-Marts on the west coast.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/wDSC04956.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/wDSC04946.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/wDSC04947.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/wDSC04949.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/wDSC04943.jpg

Check out the complete gallery here.
http://creative-beast.com/?page_id=106&album=5&gallery=39

And be sure to check out the update page for all of the latest updates.
http://creative-beast.com/?page_id=206

:)

[Evilivo]

Wow, so YOU made the new Hasbro Jabba :) You did an incredibly good sculpt! And fortunately made him with the correct number of fingers, the tattoo and even the scar on the tail. Saw the figure on the ComicCon coverage - Hasbro messed up the paintjob IMO - looks too flat and doesn't do justice to your wonderful job :) Hope they give you the tauntaun next!

[sinnersaint007]

i have always loved a good lookin dragon, and wondered how in the cosmos does one make the wings light weight yet durable. and you have show that to us. nice. now i have not sculpted in years, and long to make it my career. but i am really really out of practice. and i been leaning towards the out there genres . and i see what your sayin, and damn it looks good. is the material expensive? i mean i now live in a new country, and left all my gear in the states, sooooooo i am havin to rebuild my studio from scratch. is there other methods for makin wings? how about feathered wings, how would you make them?

[Mordus]

As the man who created the Crocodile King I am forever indebted to you, you splendid sculptor.

[Bongsplat]

Truly Awesome and Inspirational thread, incredible work on jabba.

I've always wanted to try wax but the stuff seems a bit daunting, maybe one day I'll get the courage!

again, just amazing work

[hauke3000]

That Jabba is truly awesome!

[GojulasPrime23]

Here is the Predator Hound I sculpted for NECA, from this summer's 'Predators' movie. This was first shown at SDCC a few months back. It should be available sometime in early 2011.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog12.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog11.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog9.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/preddog1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v34/hsilva20/wSDCCpreddog1.jpg


The full gallery can be viewed on my website, here: http://creative-beast.com/?page_id=106&album=5&gallery=41

[troyboy]

Oh man, that's just fantastic dude! Tons of articulation on this guy, huh?
Congrats on another beautiful sculpt. :D

[Evilivo]

Yep, saw the original sculpt at Schell Sculpture Studio, your work represents it fairy well and with all that articulation, as Troy mentioned :) The jaw is hinged too, right? And the neck, is it ball joint? All in all - beautifull piece!

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Wow! This is some damn professional work here. That predatorhound is sweet.

[aadi]

goood man http://zakirkhaan.blogspot.com

[OutOfCommissionToys]

Oh...wow.
I'm a fan, love your work.
I'm no sculptor, just a painter so I'm drooling over your work...love to get my hands on something !
My gf has the whole McF. Dragon series on display so she's a fan to !
Thanks for posting !

[Collin Smiley]

tentacles looks great thats my fav soo far keep it up !