Dreamwalker's "I Did This Too" Photoshoot

 

This guy came out totally awesome! He's more of an artistic piece and totally looks like a Lion from behind. He's going to be for the Breyerfest Fantasy Customs Contest and then be for sale afterward as an original piece. I had actually never completed a NaMoPaiMo "I Did This Too" model prior to Dreamwalker in the past four years I had been participating in the event.

I am so happy with how he turned out!

Dreamwalker: Color

 Here's the Color Installment of Dreamwalker.

I had decided to try a colored Primer for a richer undertone and absolutely love it!!

First coats of paint...

Notice the color change? This happened each time I mixed a new batch of paint. I literally could not tell under any lighting that the previous batch is significantly lighter than the current. It got to the point that I Dreamwalker was completely covered and Now-U-See-It was no longer the color I wanted her to be. That's when I broke off to finish Dreamwalker, while brainstorming on how I could fix the color palette problem Now-U-See-It was causing.

Had to clean out his nostril since it got filled up with paint.

The removeable horn's first coat of pastels....or is this the Earth Pigments? I don't remember.

And the last.

(thought this looked more artsy than holding it in my hand).

First few layers.

Contrast between a finished horn and an unfinished Unicorn.

This was the picture I used as a guess-who-this-is post on the NaMoPaiMo Facebook page. It was fun reading all the people's guesses. I did give hints along the way. Eventually someone guessed Big Ben.

On the drying rack of....shoes?

Yes, this is where they get to dry whenever there's wind, snow, or rain outside - on the shelf of hiking boots in the garage with the side door open for ventilation.

Of course, when he's just about ready for the final sealing - his tail decided to stick to the paper plate! No worries! Can easily be fixed with colored pencil!

Stay tuned for his finished photoshoot!

Dreamwalker: Construction

This guy was supposed to be for the MEPSA Extreme Makeover Custom Contest....but I decided that he'd be better for the Breyerfest Fantasy Customs contest (after my family convinced me to either cast him or sell him as an original art piece - he'd probably be a sales piece). I had been passively contemplating entering the contest, and in true form, decided at last minute. I actually got the body over Christmas/New Year's, but I didn't work on him until the first week of January. No offense to anyone who likes this mold, but the longer he was standing there on my desk - the more I realized why I was never attracted to the mold. It's a combination of how he stands, the pose he's in, and the way his mouth is formed. Interestingly enough, is the fact that he's sculpted by one of my favorite Breyer sculptors, Kathleen Moody (who's known for her crazy hair molds).

Who is the model?

Yeah, you're not going to believe this one!

He's Molokai, the 1999 Breyerfest Celebration model.

And he's weird!

I mean, how in the world did this guy get past quality control?

Not even the lady who I got him from even knew. She had two models on the same mold and suggested that Molokai would be a better choice to customize due to....

Wait for it!

His weird eyes!

Check out his picture here 

(I honestly have no idea just HOW I forgot to take some close-up pictures of his eyes!)

He literally has cat eyes!

But of course, before I grinded off the eyes - I decided to save the ears and whopp off the tail!

I Grind

You Grind [your teeth]

And the Creepy Eyes

Go Bye Bye!

(Don't know my reference? Watch the movie Spiderwick).

My plan was to have him laying down, sleeping.

Here's my original sketch. Keep this image in mind as you watch how he morphs into something I didn't plan on.

I didn't put spray foam inside him since it is not designed to be used only a little bit at a time and then stored. I was going to try the aluminum foil method, but decided that it would take too much foil. So, he's hollow all in there with the sticky side of the tape open to catch any loose stuff inside. After I completed sculpting him, I drilled a small hole in an inconspicuous spot.

I quadrupled twisted the wire for his lion-like tail...

I also covered that with the painter's tape so that the Apoxie would actually adhere to it.

When I was sculpting his "under" side, I used a piece of glass with a protective layer of wax paper so that I could get this side to be as flat as possible.

The body's ready for the hair embellishments.

This is what would be the mane - which is actually sculpted on apiece of painter's tape. The underside was sculpted first, then formed to the model's neck and left to dry before working on the other side.

I made the horn completely from scratch. It's not bad, could use some practice. However, I found that sculpting any size smaller that's magnetic like this one would have to be bought from someone who makes them from a mold or 3D printing.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Dreamwalker's progress!

Color!!

And just in time for NaMoPaiMo, too!!!

Not in the Mood

 My mind has been occupied with NaMoPaiMo.

It is not in the mood to write.

Not in the mood to edit my entry for the MEPSA Writing Contest.

Not in the mood to update the blog.

Not in the mood to write the Mustangs Breed Studies Series.

Not even in the mood to put together a chart for studying the patterns of inheritance across multiple different domesticated animal species in color genetics.

It is overcast and we've been getting a mix of snow and rain - which might be part of my problem.

I guess first thing's first would be getting my entry done for the Writing Contest since it's due next week on the 15th.

Gonna do that after I check my NOT NaMoPaiMo horses who are in their last stages before completion (my NaMoPaiMo horse needs repainting since the shade isn't right).