Totem Love (part 2)
Apr. 26th, 2012 08:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nakedbeeMaking the Inception sculpture, from 2D concept art to 3D object:
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First, the concept art. My love affair with vector art continues.
I printed out a set of paper temples for the Eames poker chip and started kneading the polymer clay.
I made up a few different styles of arms and legs. I also made a T-shape stamp since I knew it would come in handy later for making the indented border shapes. Here are the clay shapes baking in the oven.
Woo hoo! Just like the template!
The chip itself was a lot harder to make, especially the lettering in the center. I ended up making 4 separate models until I got one I liked enough. #1, 2, & 3 are shown here.
Making the first mold. I use non-hardening clay to make a temporary mold box (to hold the silicone contained). I also used a dab of clay to stick the hardened clay models down so they didn't float around. I used the arms and the heart from this pour, but ended up using different models for both the chip and the legs (pictures of those later).
Pouring the silicone over the models. I don't have a vacuum pump, so I use the "pour from a great height" method of eliminating air bubbles from the silicone.
The mold!
I cast the first chip in the green mold, but didn't like the way it looked. I did a little more clean-up on the #3 model (sanding the surface flatter and trying to clean up the lettering) and started a new mold in black. Meanwhile I started making the arms in the green mold.
The arms are pretty fancy; made in three layers.
1) fill mold halfway with black silicone
2) lay down wire running the length of the arms (so arms will be posable) and put magnets into the palms of the hands (so the two figures will automagically hold hands when you put them near each other)
3) cover with more black silicone
Seeing how the arms and legs look next to the chip. It quickly becomes clear that the original feet are way too tiny to support the tall, heavy chip. Also, the legs and feet don't bend like I want when it's all one flat piece.
New chip - model #4; also new two-part legs and new feet. The feet turned out pretty well, but I ended up doing the legs a different way later on.
Making the molds for the feet, chip, and unused legs. Used less pigment in the molds this time around. I add pigment to part A and leave part B clear. Then when I mix the silicone it's easier to see any spots where I need to mix more. Using little enough pigment that the mold's transparent makes it easier to monitor for air bubbles and remove them before the silicone cures.
Woo hoo! The final chip casting. I did this one a couple of times as well … it took a few tries to figure out how much pigment to use. I was mixing a transparent red with an opaque white. The first try was too much red (too dark, almost black), the second try was too much white (too light, sort of a hot pink), and the third came out well enough.
The first mold of the feet was upside down from the way I should have done it; I flipped the model feet over and made a new mold.
The final leg design. I wasn't having any luck making the legs like I had the arms … the wires kept poking out one side or another. So I stuck straws in the mixing cup of silicone. It was a really inefficient use of material, but it worked!
I made wire armatures for the feet & legs. These were inserted first into the mold and then the silicone poured around them. I used the non-hardening clay as a base … the leg wires stuck into the clay and held the mold upright.
Some finished legs and feet waiting to be assembled. The armature wire was threaded through the leg silicone.
Switching now to the Arthur die. I started with a 2" clear acrylic cube from Tap Plastics. I considered casting my own in red plastic, but figured it'd be easier to paint a perfect clear cube than to make a bubble-free transparent casting of my own. I used a regular die as a reference when planning out the dots.
Dots formed by drilling really shallow holes in each face.
A little polishing and the die is ready to go!
I was lucky enough to find this great transparent red spray paint. I think the die here looks like Baba Yaga's house with it's long skinny legs.
It's now only a couple of days before Escapade, so I stopped taking photos as frequently. Here the holes have been drilled for the arms and legs and the die spots and the chip lettering have been painted on.
The big feet help the guys stand up, but they're still a little tippy. I cut a rectangle out of some fake-wood board and drilled holes for the twist-ties that will hold the feet in place.
I painted up the fake wood to look more like real wood. At this point I'm in a big hurry. I think I used wood stain, brown acrylic point, and ball-point pen in a bunch of layers … I also stunk up the whole house by putting it in the oven in between coats of paint to speed up the dry time.
Gluing in the feet. I don't know why I thought regular craft glue would work to bond smooth metal to smoother plastic, but that's what I tried first.
Gluing in the arms. I also decided to turn the heart into a balloon and glued in a metal "string". Even though the heart had been in the original drawing, I didn't figure out how I was going to incorporate it until the last minute. I think the heart balloon is pretty cute, though, so I'm glad it worked out!
The craft-glued feet pulled out with very little force, so I cleaned out the craft glue and tried again with some cyanoacrylate (super-glue). This seemed much better!
The finished sculpture. Ta da!
--> First, the concept art. My love affair with vector art continues.
I printed out a set of paper temples for the Eames poker chip and started kneading the polymer clay.
I made up a few different styles of arms and legs. I also made a T-shape stamp since I knew it would come in handy later for making the indented border shapes. Here are the clay shapes baking in the oven.
Woo hoo! Just like the template!
The chip itself was a lot harder to make, especially the lettering in the center. I ended up making 4 separate models until I got one I liked enough. #1, 2, & 3 are shown here.
Making the first mold. I use non-hardening clay to make a temporary mold box (to hold the silicone contained). I also used a dab of clay to stick the hardened clay models down so they didn't float around. I used the arms and the heart from this pour, but ended up using different models for both the chip and the legs (pictures of those later).
Pouring the silicone over the models. I don't have a vacuum pump, so I use the "pour from a great height" method of eliminating air bubbles from the silicone.
The mold!
I cast the first chip in the green mold, but didn't like the way it looked. I did a little more clean-up on the #3 model (sanding the surface flatter and trying to clean up the lettering) and started a new mold in black. Meanwhile I started making the arms in the green mold.
The arms are pretty fancy; made in three layers.
1) fill mold halfway with black silicone
2) lay down wire running the length of the arms (so arms will be posable) and put magnets into the palms of the hands (so the two figures will automagically hold hands when you put them near each other)
3) cover with more black silicone
Seeing how the arms and legs look next to the chip. It quickly becomes clear that the original feet are way too tiny to support the tall, heavy chip. Also, the legs and feet don't bend like I want when it's all one flat piece.
New chip - model #4; also new two-part legs and new feet. The feet turned out pretty well, but I ended up doing the legs a different way later on.
Making the molds for the feet, chip, and unused legs. Used less pigment in the molds this time around. I add pigment to part A and leave part B clear. Then when I mix the silicone it's easier to see any spots where I need to mix more. Using little enough pigment that the mold's transparent makes it easier to monitor for air bubbles and remove them before the silicone cures.
Woo hoo! The final chip casting. I did this one a couple of times as well … it took a few tries to figure out how much pigment to use. I was mixing a transparent red with an opaque white. The first try was too much red (too dark, almost black), the second try was too much white (too light, sort of a hot pink), and the third came out well enough.
The first mold of the feet was upside down from the way I should have done it; I flipped the model feet over and made a new mold.
The final leg design. I wasn't having any luck making the legs like I had the arms … the wires kept poking out one side or another. So I stuck straws in the mixing cup of silicone. It was a really inefficient use of material, but it worked!
I made wire armatures for the feet & legs. These were inserted first into the mold and then the silicone poured around them. I used the non-hardening clay as a base … the leg wires stuck into the clay and held the mold upright.
Some finished legs and feet waiting to be assembled. The armature wire was threaded through the leg silicone.
Switching now to the Arthur die. I started with a 2" clear acrylic cube from Tap Plastics. I considered casting my own in red plastic, but figured it'd be easier to paint a perfect clear cube than to make a bubble-free transparent casting of my own. I used a regular die as a reference when planning out the dots.
Dots formed by drilling really shallow holes in each face.
A little polishing and the die is ready to go!
I was lucky enough to find this great transparent red spray paint. I think the die here looks like Baba Yaga's house with it's long skinny legs.
It's now only a couple of days before Escapade, so I stopped taking photos as frequently. Here the holes have been drilled for the arms and legs and the die spots and the chip lettering have been painted on.
The big feet help the guys stand up, but they're still a little tippy. I cut a rectangle out of some fake-wood board and drilled holes for the twist-ties that will hold the feet in place.
I painted up the fake wood to look more like real wood. At this point I'm in a big hurry. I think I used wood stain, brown acrylic point, and ball-point pen in a bunch of layers … I also stunk up the whole house by putting it in the oven in between coats of paint to speed up the dry time.
Gluing in the feet. I don't know why I thought regular craft glue would work to bond smooth metal to smoother plastic, but that's what I tried first.
Gluing in the arms. I also decided to turn the heart into a balloon and glued in a metal "string". Even though the heart had been in the original drawing, I didn't figure out how I was going to incorporate it until the last minute. I think the heart balloon is pretty cute, though, so I'm glad it worked out!
The craft-glued feet pulled out with very little force, so I cleaned out the craft glue and tried again with some cyanoacrylate (super-glue). This seemed much better!
The finished sculpture. Ta da!
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Date: 2012-04-28 12:17 am (UTC)Brava!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-05 05:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-04-28 01:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-05 05:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-13 05:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-14 02:46 am (UTC)I always appreciate your process posts; seeing you do it is what inspired me to start documenting my projects. :)