Ashlesan Warrior of the Southern Heart

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Hi, folks. This is my first sculpture project in years and years. I came here looking for some help on this stuff, and just watching folks and asking questions has been enormously helpful. Thanks.

So, here's this thing. It's an individual of a species colloquially called "warriors" by the explorers who found them on their home moon of Ashlesa 5.2.

Original sketch, from my blog (http://glyphpress.com/talk/2009/warriors-of-the-southern-heart/)

All of the Ashlesa posts. (http://glyphpress.com/talk/tag/ashlesa/)

I tried mixing black Sculpey with Super, but I didn't like the resultant color, plus it made it kind of mushy. I wound up using it underneath the carapace. I also rediscovered an obvious principle: it's easier to work from the inside, out. Ah, well. Next time.

Speaking of which, wrapping the armature in a layer of twisted wire has obvious benefits on limbs that twist whatever way they want.

(Is there a way to upload multiple images at once? I don't really want to go through that whole process for every pic in this series. In the meantime, here they are, belinked. There's also a slideshow on my blog (http://glyphpress.com/talk/2010/warrior-of-the-southern-heart-sculpture/#more-1175).)

http://glyphpress.com/talk/wp-content/uploads/IMG_4527.jpg

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http://http://glyphpress.com/talk/wp-content/uploads/IMG_4557.jpg

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http://http://glyphpress.com/talk/wp-content/uploads/IMG_4567.jpg

http://http://glyphpress.com/talk/wp-content/uploads/IMG_4573.jpg

[Smolder]

The character is really interesting. A turtle/slug/fairy; that's out there. How big would one of these be 'in real life?'

If your sculpey is too squishy you can try pressing it into flat sheets (pasta machine works wonders) and then placing it between two pieces of paper. The paper will soak up some of the oil from the clay and make it firmer.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Thanks!

They're about a meter tall. They think of themselves as really big, but really, a geological accident just keeps them in a tiny world.

[SavageGoldfish]

Neat critter! My first impression of it was that it was something huge.
Looking forward to seeing more of him finished.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Yeah, the size is supposed to be a surprise. For their narrow ecosystem, they're elephantine.

I think I have to trim down the feet, bake the dude, and then get to details. Working on details right now just wrecks other details in the process.

Another thing to remember for next time: give more surface area for the epoxy to hold the feet down to the board. The armature's pulled out of the ground on the back left foot.

[SavageGoldfish]

Another thing to remember for next time: give more surface area for the epoxy to hold the feet down to the board. The armature's pulled out of the ground on the back left foot.

One way to attach a sculpture to a board without it moving is to drill holes where the feet wire will go, then leave a couple inches excess wire on the feet, stick them through the holes (make sure the holes are just big enough to let the wire pass through) and bend them. Would be good to put a little bend in the wire on the top of the board too, to keep it from slipping down. Only drawback in doing that is it doesn't give you a lot of freedom to re-position the limbs.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Yeah, needing to position the guy is precisely why I didn't drill holes. I considered drilling two holes on opposite feet (front left, back right) to give a certain amount of repositionability, but the advantage didn't seem to be there.

I'm betting that a little loop of fine wire will give good attachment next time, unless it's a biped or something (monopod?) that needs serious support.

I just got some Firm to do the feet. I just can't get the detail in without smudging all previous detail right now. I have hot hands.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

I started off working the feet in Sculpey Firm, but it was too hard getting it to shape without crumbling. I took some advice from elsewhere on this forum and mixed it with some Super. The mix gives quite a range of textures. It's really exciting!

This is making me want to do some more basic anatomy stuff. I might reproduce a raccoon skull I found, just to learn the shapes. And maybe I'll make an elephant, too.

[Smolder]

Sweet. It's crazy but with just the feet texture filled out like that I can already imagine how its going to look. I mean, it just brings it to life you know. In particular, I think the little heel area above the back foot is really cool little detail.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Thank you very much! I've been looking at a lot of pictures of elephants over the last couple of weeks.

These guys' feet are so bulky because they're filled with the primary gut of their digestive system. You can see the raspy eatin' sphincter in the front, raised foot.

I meant to take a picture of my wrinklemaker tool. Next update, I'll do that.

[Polygoblin]

It eats through the feet? Wicked! Interesting character, and I can't wait to see how it comes out.

It's a little late now, but if you wrap a thin wire around the main wires in the armature, you can keep the clay from slipping on the wires (which is a pain, I know). Smellybug explains it well in his tutorial.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Thanks!

Yeah, I didn't have the armature wire for wrapping handy, and instead of twisting it, I just went ahead. It was a mistake.

Critter is in the oven at this very moment! I should have progress pics as soon as it's cool enough to handle.

Oh, and the "eating through the feet" thing is a total ripoff of Wayne Barlowe's Emperor Sea Striders from his book, Expedition:

http://www.waynebarlowe.com/expedition_images/sea_strider.jpg

[SavageGoldfish]

Looking good! Nice job on the texturing so far.

And so what if the eating through the feet thing is "ripping off" an aspect of another creature that someone else created? It's a totally new and different creature you've got. (And heck--look at butterflies. They don't eat through their feet, but they taste with them.) Everything always has its inspirations from other stuff...it's just how you pull that inspiration together and give it a new twist that makes the difference. This guy is definitely original. From what I can tell of it so far, he looks proud, and like he's got a bit of attitude.

Though I don't think it would be very pleasant to eat through your feet... 8D Imagine accidently stepping in something gross.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

I just like to give my sources. I only rip off the best!

Critter's cooled down! I'm gonna take some pictures. Back in a few.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Next step is to prime and figure out where the irregularities are. Looking this cosely, I can see a lot of sculpey crumbs that need removing.



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4702.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4704.jpg
That spike is for injecting genetic material under the skin of fellow combatants, like a sea slug. The best area to hit is between the halves of the carapace.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4706.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4707.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4710.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4712.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4714.jpg
The cloaca. Or "ovipooper", if you prefer. When laying an egg, the shell hinges open at the front to allow the space at the rear.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4715.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4716.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4717.jpg
The eatin' end of the foot. They graze on microfauna that cover the land.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4718.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%203/IMG_4720.jpg
Note the scars from previous sex/battles.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Having primed the guy, I sure to see why the darker, more even Sculpey is preferable. Man. I'm looking forward to doing my next guy with a Firm/Super mix. It'll be way easier to really see the texture of things and get them smoother when they need to be smooth.

Anyway, here are pics, primed.


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%204/IMG_4756.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%204/IMG_4757.jpg

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http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%204/IMG_4764.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Warrior%20phase%204/IMG_4765.jpg

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

http://glyphpress.com/talk/wp-content/uploads/header.jpg

http://glyphpress.com/talk/wp-content/uploads/IMG_4816-600x450.jpg

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Anatomical features are explained over at my blog (http://glyphpress.com/talk/2010/ashlesan-warrior-sculpture-painted/#more-1245), or ask anything in this thread!

I have to do the two banners and there's just a little bit more painting to do. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the ground yet.

I'd like to thank the excellent folks on this forum for their advice and descriptions in other threads. The "many washes of color" technique gives lots of control while giving lots of life and wabi sabi to the painting.

I'm using Tamiya acrylics, by the way. I'm having a great time with them. The quick drying time means that I can just keep painting if I want. Mixing with water instead of alcohol makes them dry more slowly, meaning that I can do light washes without washing off previous layers.

I do, however, wish I had an airbrush.

[SavageGoldfish]

Looking good with the paint job. Indeed getting colour variation is one of the #1 keys of realism. I don't have an airbrush either, so I've painted all my sculpture with a regular paintbrush. An airbrush would be nice especially for the first couple base coats.

I actually think this creature is really cute. Something about the long neck and those eyes on stalk-like things.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Yeah, I considered using smaller ball bearings, but that made it look shark-stupid, not koala stupid. I actually think it was kind of a mistake in the end.

The dorsal carapace actually faces to a purple around the edges. I'll have to take some outdoor pics to get the more subtle colors.

It also looks like I neglected one last alcohol brushing, which makes the wrinkles crumbly.

Well, that's why we practice, right?

[SavageGoldfish]

Natural lighting=amazing! (Unfortunately here it's cold, rainy, snowy and generally dismal outside most of the time right now. Blah.)

I actually find that, to get rid of the little clay crumbles from doing texture, Zippo fluid works great. Unfortunately it smells terrible, is toxic and extremely flammable....but it melts the little crumbles very nicely. (If you overdo it, though, it can almost liquify your clay and eat all the details.)

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

That doesn't sound too different than isopropyl to me. I think I just forgot the last round before baking. It doesn't smell too bad, disappears quickly, is cheap, and, if it catches fire, burns up completely almost instantly.

All the wrinkles that look good are that way because I brushed them with isopropyl. The ones that look artificial and scratchy, I didn't.

[Polygoblin]

Having primed the guy, I sure to see why the darker, more even Sculpey is preferable. Man. I'm looking forward to doing my next guy with a Firm/Super mix. It'll be way easier to really see the texture of things and get them smoother when they need to be smooth.

I thought the same thing when I primed mine. :)

Great work! This guy is really popping now.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

All done! I'll take some outdoor pics when it's not flooding outside, or stage some pics if I can get my light tent behaving decently.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4824.jpg
First, rolled out the polyclay. There are armature wires rolled in.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/IMG_4822.jpg
Then cut the shapes out.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/IMG_4823.jpg
Then accidentally overheat them because they're very thin.

Then start over.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4826.jpg
Painted.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4842.jpg
Installed. Notice the little crack in the right banner (on your left), near the bottom. The stuff's not very flexible, is it? I had the superglue it back together.

I drilled a little hole for each armature wire into the shell, then filled the holes with Flexi-Zap, then stuck them in. Flexi-Zap takes a long time to cure, so I've been very careful with it. Even using Zip Kicker only cures the outside.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4833.jpg
The banners in place, together

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4830.jpg
The whole guy, as now seen at the top of the thread.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4832.jpg
Finally got the bruisy look of the vascularized tissue to come out well. This is one of four eating orifices.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4837.jpg


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4838.jpg


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4839.jpg

Now, next project!

[Darkwulf's Talon]

He looks great! This is such on original not-seen-before-and-only-likely-will-if-someone-pays-joshua-a-lot-of-money concept that is a refreshing change from the normal SF/fantasy. Thank you.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

That's very kind! I just started another guy, and will post as I go. Had to start over due to terrible armature design.

I've got a huge backlog of critters that should really be built. There's only $12/lb between me and them!

[Thagomizer]

Looks great! Looks different!

You mentioned the Barlowe influence up thread. Did you ever see the production (Discovery Channel I believe) called "Alien Planet" (http://www.amazon.com/Alien-Planet-Wayne-D-Barlowe/dp/B002C39T2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1264454005&sr=8-1) based on his work? It's pretty cool, with interesting critters and good effects. Worth a look if you can find it.

Looking forward to your next project!

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

I've only seen part of it, and my attempts at purchasing it through Amazon have mysteriously all failed. But I've got several of his books and Expedition, the one Alien Planet is taken from, is far and away my favorite.

There was a retrospective of his called The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe that's filled with brilliant stuff from a variety of contexts. I recommend it highly.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Oh! I meant to show pictures of the tools I'd made.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4848.jpg

First one on the left of the three is the wrinklemaker. Most of the time, it's dragged round edge down. I drilled out a bunch of dowels, then stuck wire in as required. The rightmost one is filed flat on the inside so it scrapes away material instead of smoothing it. That's less on an issue with the middle one because I usually use it to dig in with the pointier corner.

That's a wire cutter, too. Made of heavy bamboo skewers and a high E string.

On the left are these:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4849.jpg

That's a pointy, angle-ground chopstick, another that's been sanded into a dull blade, a fine skewer with a rounded end (surprisingly handy —you can poke things without making a hole) and the boring end of another tool:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1392732/Ashlesan%20Warrior%2C%20finished/Finishing/IMG_4843.jpg

A big, flat angle, useful for tucking folds, the boring end of a chopstick, a chisel end of a heavy skewer (with silicone tape bulking up the handle) and the pointy end of a fine skewer.

Two packages of skewers and one of chopsticks were about $4.50, total. The dowel was about 65¢. The music wire was around, but the stuff's cheap.

It was really fun making my own tools. They're imperfect, but by experimenting, I'll find exactly what I need.

[SavageGoldfish]

Those wings are just great! It's a very charming little creature, and original.
Can't wait to see what your next creation will be!

[Corpsehand]

Very cool design, nice detail and paint job. Great work

~Corpsehand~

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Thanks, folks!

Next creation has its own thread, organized less irritatingly than this one.

[Smolder]

So I come here to check out the progress on this guy and notice that the wings aren't painted like wings. Confused, I went to the blog and read the description and I have to say, it is awesome!

For anyone that hasn't checked it out, you are missing out on some great concept drawings and descriptions, all composed like a field journal. The wings are not wings at all, they are chromatophore banners used to communicate with herds of these animals. The spikes on the legs are not as much for fighting as they are for reproducing.

This such a cool way to present stuff. I like the sculpture and the back-story and descriptions make it that much better! If you were ever to sculpt another I would love to see a warrior helping its offspring out of the egg sac and onto its back.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Thanks, Smolder!

Yeah, this guy's part of a whole ecosystem. I haven't figure out the other critters who live in immediate proximity to the Warriors yet, but I've got some ideas.

The aesthetic theme of the planet Ashelsa 5.2 is "Charming but revolting".

Here are all the Ashelsa posts (http://glyphpress.com/talk/tag/ashlesa/). Most of them have art!