Category
Juried Art - 3-D
Description
The proposal for this artwork was to take the fundamental principles taught in Sculpting I in terms of character sculpting, experiment, and taking it a step further. As the characters in class were based on ourselves as models, I wanted to take the information that I learned to bring a different character to life, as well as experiment with firing the sculpture and painting it. My initial vision remained very consistent with the sketches and ideas I had as this character was one I had been creating for a long time. This sculpture was extremely fun to work on as I got to see the birth of a character I had been writing scenes for a long time. The materials used for this sculpture include but are not limited to: super sculpey clay, wire, aluminum foil, worbla thermoplastic, acrylic paint, cardboard, and pieces of posterboard. The most difficult problem solving step in this sculpture was figuring out the best way to construct and attach the back of Dylan’s trench coat, as the material on it would be destroyed if heated at the same time the sculpey clay was. It was imperative that the back of the trench coat would be securely attached, and this was the area of the sculpture that I troubleshooted the most. The inspiration for Dylan’s character design derived from my love for steampunk storylines, the color scheme specifically being inspired by the film Treasure Planet. The monster sword that Dylan wields was inspired by a monster sword that a character Zabuza wields in a show called Naruto, with the rose theme and elements in the sword design being inspired by elements of my original story, but also my love for the film Beauty and the Beast. As I had previously created a character in Sculpting I, I was able to apply a lot of the principles I had already put into practice. Referencing figures to ensure the anatomy was correct was key in making Dylan’s character pose successful. Constructing the sword and trench coat however, as well as firing him and painting him were all problems I had not yet encountered. I spent much time researching the various methods of heating sculpey clay, as some people noted using the heat gun was an efficient method, but after much research I concluded that heating Dylan in the oven to get a more consistent and thorough firing was better. If sculpey clay isn’t heated completely through, it can result in future cracking, and this was an outcome I wanted to avoid at all costs. I also spend time experimenting with the worble that I was using in order to construct Dylan’s trench coat, and found that in order to bend it and mold it in a specific shape it would need a mold to rest on, which I decided to construct with mesh wire. I compared my work with a sword that Prof. Smith had constructed completely out of worble and realized that a stronger adhesive would have to be used in order to ensure that the worble would remain flesh with the surface I would want to adhere it to. This resulted in a large amount of gorilla glue being used, and the results were extremely successful. After heating Dylan successfully in the oven, I researched different methods used in order to paint sculptures and learned that painting sculptures gray is a method used to better bring out the colors’ vibrancy. This was very successful in making the acrylic colors pop on the sculpture, and studying color theory helped me make sure that the colors I painted maintained a sense of harmony.
Dylan Andrews - The Vigilante
Juried Art - 3-D
The proposal for this artwork was to take the fundamental principles taught in Sculpting I in terms of character sculpting, experiment, and taking it a step further. As the characters in class were based on ourselves as models, I wanted to take the information that I learned to bring a different character to life, as well as experiment with firing the sculpture and painting it. My initial vision remained very consistent with the sketches and ideas I had as this character was one I had been creating for a long time. This sculpture was extremely fun to work on as I got to see the birth of a character I had been writing scenes for a long time. The materials used for this sculpture include but are not limited to: super sculpey clay, wire, aluminum foil, worbla thermoplastic, acrylic paint, cardboard, and pieces of posterboard. The most difficult problem solving step in this sculpture was figuring out the best way to construct and attach the back of Dylan’s trench coat, as the material on it would be destroyed if heated at the same time the sculpey clay was. It was imperative that the back of the trench coat would be securely attached, and this was the area of the sculpture that I troubleshooted the most. The inspiration for Dylan’s character design derived from my love for steampunk storylines, the color scheme specifically being inspired by the film Treasure Planet. The monster sword that Dylan wields was inspired by a monster sword that a character Zabuza wields in a show called Naruto, with the rose theme and elements in the sword design being inspired by elements of my original story, but also my love for the film Beauty and the Beast. As I had previously created a character in Sculpting I, I was able to apply a lot of the principles I had already put into practice. Referencing figures to ensure the anatomy was correct was key in making Dylan’s character pose successful. Constructing the sword and trench coat however, as well as firing him and painting him were all problems I had not yet encountered. I spent much time researching the various methods of heating sculpey clay, as some people noted using the heat gun was an efficient method, but after much research I concluded that heating Dylan in the oven to get a more consistent and thorough firing was better. If sculpey clay isn’t heated completely through, it can result in future cracking, and this was an outcome I wanted to avoid at all costs. I also spend time experimenting with the worble that I was using in order to construct Dylan’s trench coat, and found that in order to bend it and mold it in a specific shape it would need a mold to rest on, which I decided to construct with mesh wire. I compared my work with a sword that Prof. Smith had constructed completely out of worble and realized that a stronger adhesive would have to be used in order to ensure that the worble would remain flesh with the surface I would want to adhere it to. This resulted in a large amount of gorilla glue being used, and the results were extremely successful. After heating Dylan successfully in the oven, I researched different methods used in order to paint sculptures and learned that painting sculptures gray is a method used to better bring out the colors’ vibrancy. This was very successful in making the acrylic colors pop on the sculpture, and studying color theory helped me make sure that the colors I painted maintained a sense of harmony.
Comments
Undergraduate - 3rd Place Award Winner