Steampunk Cylon

I just wanted to share something I did almost a year ago. I am a huge fan of the Dvice blog. If you aren't familiar with that blog, check it out. It is a great place to see new technology, crazy (and mostly improbable) concepts, and some interesting and inspiring ideas.

Well, Dvice is affiliated with the SciFi (SyFy?) channel, and I also happen to love the new Battlestar Galacitca. One day, about a year ago, Dvice announced a challenge to create a Steampunk inspired Cylon. How awesome does that sound? Well I decided to join the competition, and try my hand at sculpting something out of clay. The end result got me runner up in the competition, and some great experience with sculpting. I like to look at the progress and see the definite improvement in my skill, while also noticing the places that I still need work.

So here he is, the Steampunk Cylon

So this guy was made using all sorts of things. Sculpey was used for the body, head, and main parts of the limbs. For all the other stuff on him I used printer parts, pieces of plastic pencils and markers, a belt from a plotter, Bristol paper, and other stuff that was just laying around the house. Paints were just Folk Art metallic paints that I had from years ago.

And go to this here website to check out all the amazing finalists!

Major Update-

Long delay. Sorry for that. Good excuse though. I started a new project. Being a Father.

Jace and his Dad

He was born February 12, 2010 at 6:48 PM. He is pretty awesome, and consumes a good amount of time, but it is well worth it.

But other than that, I have finally finished Ratchet. After the last post I base painted Ratched with some Gesso. It makes a clean surface for paint, and allows me to smooth out some rough spots.

Ratchet with Gesso

I like working with the gesso because you can actually sand it to get rid of brush strokes and imperfections. I also moved from my couch to a little art station I set up.

Ratchet at my desk

The light at the desk made it easier to paint, but it still was far from optimal. I could use a bit more light, but it works alright.

I also decided to customize the base a bit so it would have something nice to sit on.

The Poplar Board

A layer of Sculpey on the board

I pressed found objects into the clay to create the pattern

The Base Painted

You can see from the images I used some of the aluminum wire to keep the place of the armature wire coming out of the bottom of Ratchet's feet. For paint, I just used black and a burnt sienna after a layer of gesso. The black was put into the cracks to add depth, and the brown was applied with black with a paper towel. I actually think the base is my favorite part of the whole Ratchet build.

And now- The finished Product: 

Ratchet Finished

Image 2

Image 3

 

Image 4

 

The Final Image  

So that is Ratchet. I used a lot of different acrylic and metallic paints. Some gloss was added on the eyes and the medallions. I don't like the pictures too much, I guess I need a better camera, but it is what it is. And it is done, only a month late.

Some Sort of Update

I am currently riding the bus on the way home and thought I would give a brief update.  Ratchet is in paint, and I'm experimenting mixing metallic paints and acrylic to achieve some cool effects, but as I work more and more, I find more and more I am not happy with. So there are still a lot of things to do, but I have a deadline. This Sunday I will have already begun Cycle 2... So that means I need to have this project finished by then, or else.

So what have I been doing that is taking up my time and energy? I am currently working on an installation for an amazing Greening the Valley exhibit at the UMass Gallery.

Hanging Curved Panel Structure Thing

The exhibit is all about green architecture in the pioneer valley, and will consist of a large number of printed panels each featuring their own project. The panels are 6 feet tall, by 30 inches wide, and they are suspended from the lighting track. I worked with the designer and contractor to create a usable ground plan for the structure that was printed out in full scale and then cut out of MDF. In this picture you can see a large number of panels, but you only really see half of the work panels. 

My 26 Foot Long Table

This was my main solo project for the event, a multi-leveled table to feature the models displayed in the show. It is made out of MDF and pine, and probably weighs a half ton. I broke it into multiple parts and assembled it in the space. Then used three layers of joint compound, painted the thing white, joint compounded it again, and sanded.  Pretty good for three days work.

Some Models on the Table

When the artist/architect for the exhibit came, we had to put the models on the table to see how it looked. He loved it. Phew.
I will update soon with more info about Ratchet. Must... get... it... finished!

Something Useful- Smellybugs Maquette Tutorial

One of the most useful resources for me has been the ConceptArt.org forums. There is a ton of great information and very cool/inspiring ideas. The most interesting topic for me, however, is Smellybugs Maquette Tutorial. It takes a long time to wade through all the information he gives, but the incredible documentation of every step is worth it. After reading through it again, I am definitely re-examining the techniques I used to create Ratchet. Check out his before and after, and the amazing detail on all levels.

Before

The finished product

As for Ratchet- I'm late, I know. Bit off more than I could chew for this first one. But I have been working hard on him, and soon he will have all his parts, and we can move to paint.

Cycle 1: Ratchet- Part two

So, after some major technical difficulties (my laptop was out of commission, but I have since then taken it all apart, cleaned it, and re-assembled it with only one screw misplaced), I am able to update my progress on my first project.  When I last left you I had a wire frame, and that was pretty much it. Currently, Ratchet is sitting in an oven, baking for a second time (I will explain why later). So, onto the photographs.

Rough Shape

This image shows my rough shape of the model. I built up layers of sculpey until I had a good looking overall shape. At this point I moved the body around until I found a pose that I liked, and then tried to keep it. This was very difficult due to the thin nature of the wire. I think the toughest problem I had with the entire sculpt was dealing with the armature wire. It was often too soft in my opinion, so I will try to find something a little more firm next time. I found that twisting two wires together really helped stiffen it up, but it still needed some help.

More Rough Shaping

The right arm was probably the most difficult thing to pose. Ratchet's gigantic wrench was awkward to get into a pleasing position.

Focusing in on the Detail

At this point I started putting in some details. A enlarged Ratchet's head, and put in his facial features. Another interesting problem I had was dealing with the softness of the sculpey. I constantly found myself bumping another finished part of Ratchet, only to leave a dent or scrape and having to retouch it later. Dick Blick sells some firm sculpey, but I will talk about that in my next post

Almost Finished

So after a lot of time focusing on the detail of the sculpt, had it to a good place. You can see I got rid of the wrench, leaving a whole in the right hand to put it in later. I was having incredible difficulty working on such a small scale with the soft sculpey, so I decided to put my model making skills to use and do it a different way.

My Sculpting Studio

Yeah, so I did all of this on an end table while sitting on a couch. Not the most ideal conditions to do something this detailed, but it worked. I was able to pick up the model easily with the use of the wood block that it all attached to.

Finished Product, Just Before the Oven

Another View

Finally I finished this sculpt. I added some details to the boots, smoothed out some of the lines, and added jets from the feet which will help me mount this later. The model should be finished being baked now, and I can start to base it for painting.

Cycle 1: Ratchet

Cycle 1 is Ratchet, from Ratchet and Clank. I recently got a PS3, which came with the newest game, A Crack in Time. The game is beautiful to see, and awesome to play, and I knew I had to make a sculpture of the game's main character.

Ratchet, America's Favorite Lombax

I went and bought some sculpey and some armature wire from my favorite web source, and started sketching.

 Final Ratchet Sketch, Side View

After some sketches done in a 1:1 scale, I started the wire frame armature for the figure itself.

The Wire Frame

I really don't know what I'm doing here, but I have done a few sculptures like this and I know the importance of a strong armature. I have used thinner gauge wires and it is no fun when your sculputure is falling over from the weight of your medium. The wire I have now is a 9 gauge, and I like it, but you definitely need to entwine it to give it more strength. I cannot underestimate the importance of having  good pair of needle nose pliers to squeeze the wire and lock it into place, as well as cut the wire.
I have since this point, added a second set of wires coming from the base (that poplar block down there) that entwine and add some more support to the legs and back. The block of wood is excellent for giving me a workspace that can be moved without touching the sculpute. I have drilled small holes in the block that the wire passes through, securing the sculpture in place. The other thing of note is the aluminum foil that can be seen in the head. I use this just to add some filler to a large structure. This helps the sculpey bake more evenly, as well as uses less sculpey for the massive head. Sculpey isn't cheap, so it is a good option to save a little bit of the material.
Next step is to start sculpting! By this weekend, my goal is to have the figure mostly sculpted, ready to do the more intricate details.

Prologue

Every two weeks for the next 52 weeks, I am going to create something. It could be small or large, simple or complicated, useful or useless, but it will be new every cycle. I don't expect anything to come from it, except 26 new objects around the house, a lot of pictures on this website, and a chance to get better at a number of different skills. 

My goal is to document every project from concept sketches to the finished product. Along the way I will share some of my favorite artists, some interesting websites for cool products, and who knows what else.


The Rules:
I will post at least twice a week, and not every post will deal with what is going on in the current project.
Each cycle will last two weeks, and will consist of one project. This project is not restricted in it's scale, and can be either utilitarian or artistic.

And that is it for now. I'm sure there will be growing pains with this site, and I know it's appearance will change in the next week. 


The first project will start in 28 hours and 20 minutes.