Marionettes and models

[PoO-kiE]

Hello everyone, I wanted to post some process of a model I just finished, I
have been working on models of some of my favorite fairy-tale characters and this will be my take on Humpty Dumpty

When I began I didn't really do any sketches and just began playing with clay



After getting to this stage I wasn't happy, I wanted him to be less egg like than most of the Humpty reference I looked at although still maintain the cliche. As said, I really didn't like this face and punched him in the face and started again....



and I came up with this shape which I was happier with, the grumpy frown is something I was after, although I wanted him to look somewhat sad to.



Next up I began sculpting the hands and feet here are some in-progress shots, During this time I started thinking more about the back story of the character, the original rhyme was apparently inspired a Siege engine used unsuccessfully to approach the walls of the Parliamentary held city of Gloucester in 1643 during the Siege of Gloucester in the English Civil War.





I decided he was going to be a lonely boy, one who ran away to the circus and was fired out of a canon and was broken forever hence the clown feet.



I began painting Humpty and at this time I found an antique box and thought about making a coffin like resting place for his body (unfortunately I have no pictures of the box unpainted)



I turn his head would have a removable sections where I could place other objects

I love drawing typography, and wanted the box to be covered in hand drawn lettering some would painted on directly other type would be drawn on paper and other materials and added later...

I also decided to cut a hole in the front of the box and add a portrait of Humpty Dumptys Father,

[PoO-kiE]

Here is the Portrait



Either side of the hole would be two eyes, one would represent birth and be an eye wide open while another would be closed representing death...





And a piece done for the side..



Next I would move onto the inside of the box, I wanted it to be lined with red velvet and studded, however I didn't want the whole box to be lined as I wanted more room to draw and paint...

Here you can see pictures of the studded material and it sitting inside the bigger box with humpty.

[PoO-kiE]

Here is the progress of the drawing I was going to place in the lid



And that is pretty much it, here is some pictures of the final box and Humpty...













Inside is head are a bundle of letters he wrote as a child and drawings he made, as well as diary entries from his dad and a miniature pop-up of the circus he worked at.







And that is it, Thanks for looking!
Mark

[Klydezilla]

Love this!

[JoshS]

This is great, I really like the Humpty sculpt but i think I'm even more impressed with the box, especially the circus posters in the lid and the front panel.

[Beeston]

That's fucking Beautiful.

I love you.

[AliceCat]

Such awesome work, I love all the intricate details =)

[sloopster]

you got some crazy mad skills there. very cool

[Corpsehand]

Wow, absolutely amazing work. I'm extremely impressed with the sculpture and paint job on it's own, the extra effort into the box that it sits in just makes it an unbelievable piece. Great work.

Eric

[egerie]

Attention to detail and finish is amaaaaazing! BTW dude, change your thread thumbnail to some of the more finished work for more views!

[PoO-kiE]

Thank you for all the replies and kind words! I hope to upload pictures from my next model very soon!

Ps. Cheers for the advice egerie, I tried uploading a picture to the original post but it hasn't changed the thumbnail, am I missing something? anyone who can explain how to change the thumb would be a great help!

[Wiretoys]

I like very much !!!
Are you etudiant of art?

[Wiretoys]

For your photo:Tu have to change the resolution/the size of your photo in a software: Photoshop or gimp ( free ).

Which one have you?

[freakinacage]

Mental. Dark, disturbed and mental. Love it

[Kosuta]

Amazing work. I love the sculpture and the graphic details in the display box.

[Greyguy]

You are one awesome designer!

[PoO-kiE]

Hello everyone, Thank you for the replies! I am glad so many enjoyed Humpty Dumpty

I wanted to make a Marionette of Cheshire cat and decided to base it on a couple of things, first of all this old drawing of mine



So I made the head from Papier-mâché in order to keep weight down, and this time I brought some Glass eyes and false Human teeth for his grin. here are some pictures.







After this I began making the paws and legs, I added a a pivot to the wrist area for more flex.



the white fabric behaves much like an undercoat when painting, giving me an overall picture of how things might look when complete.





I choose a light fur, I did consider covering him in a material for a while but was really going for that 'old worn teddy you left in the attic for 50 years' look. I was hoping the The light fur would enable easier dyeing than A darker one. one of my inspirations for this was the old Bagpuss character.



I made a small nose



And began covering him in fur, they look like chicken drumsticks now :/



And I have started covering the body and face in fur, which will be cut and dyed later, here he looks like he had a bad time at the vets.



I will post more pictures later, I am waiting for morning so I can take him outside and put him in trees

Best
Mark

[Samulaan]

Humpty is awe inspiring, amazing work good man

[frankenswine]

Very Cool!

[MephistoLV]

Very twisted, very cool, very beautiful work.
Definitely 5 star territory.

[Mah ' Crub]

I absolutely love Humpty and his box is totally over the top...Well done. Love it.
It looks like the Cheshire will be every bit as good. Keep up the good work.


Mah ' Crub

[shrunkendesigner]

Wow. That is really, really impressive. The sheer amount of effort and detail in the Dumpty piece and its box is really astounding. I am very, very impressed. Love the style and the colours used and think that it really is the mark of a good designer and artist.

Well done. Going to save this thread to refer back to later.

[CottoN]

Epic.

I love it.

[PoO-kiE]

Thank you guys!

Here are some pictures of Cheshire cat

[PoO-kiE]

Hello everyone!

I am working on a new marionette.

once again based on I drawing a did. Her name is Mary...



starting in the usual way and sculpting the head





after I made this I made the hands but they came out way to big... so I decided on using the head to make a template in order to keep the proportions in check.....



the body is made from a mix of materials, a card core with old pennies for extra weight and papeir mache finish.. I did consider and entire body of clay but do love using papeir mache for its roots in traditional puppet building.



here is a close up of an eye... I used to just paint the highlight on but have since discovered painting them with clear coat gives them a far more realistic 'glassy' look.



The next stage was to start working on the costume.... I wanted to make shoes for her and decided to make the socks first followed by very very thin Sculpy shoes... these were extremely delicate...





I covered her body and made these little bloomers for her...



And then finally began work on her dress... I have never really used a sewing machine before so thought this would be a great place to start





Next to attach the head and make the controls!

Cya soon!!

[philofmars]

Have you tried magic sculp? it's a two part epoxy clay and has a short working time, but those shoes would be a lot more durable in epoxy!

[sloopster]

magic sculpt isn't that easy to find in the uk but would be better that sculpy you could always use milliput or mix milliput with green stuff to give it a bit of flex .. i would love to see how you weather your models down!
great work as always

[philofmars]

magic sculpt isn't that easy to find in the uk but would be better that sculpy you could always use milliput or mix milliput with green stuff to give it a bit of flex .. i would love to see how you weather your models down!
great work as always

Apoxie I believe is the same sort of thing. Also, in a pinch, I have used 2 part epoxy putty from a hardware store. it's not as nice to work with, but it'll work. It's in the plumbing section and cost isn't much for two skinny rolls of it in yellow and blue. you mix to get green. It's worth a try for as cheap as it is... because those sculpy shoes are NOT going to hold up forever.

[sloopster]

hello phil, yep thats essentially what milliput is though you can get it in different colours its not as fine as magic sculpt, but i pick up magic sculpt every time i go to la.

[Pavel Sokov]

Wow, I haven't seen a thread like this on Ca in a long time. You are an absolute murderer at sculpting and a true artist.

as I was looking at your humpty dumpty I knew right away it was going to turn out well, but little did I know you were going to make a gorgeous as hell box for it, and then you have me completely shocked when you filled his head with letters and the pop-up circus. The story telling aspect is through the roof. You really had me at a loss of breathe.

The other puppets look amazing as well.

I have a question: How did you attach your pencil drawings to the box? How did you protect the pencil from smudging? and finally, how did you stain the paper to look so worn?

Absolutely amazing thread, you make me want to pick up sculpting again!