The Ambush project of 2003 was nothing short of a grand learning experience.
Taking into consideration the pros and cons of the finished product, it's safe to say
that Ambush performed its duties with dignity. It's also safe to say that Ambush has ceremoniously retired.
First things first - The Plan.
We need something that is identifiable as a body, even to those that don't (won't, can't)
take the time to actually look at the prop.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was an "easily" adaptable prop body? One that could be used
in many different scenes? One that could be made static? One that could be animated?
... in a perfect world, perhaps ...
In an attempt to produce a universal prop body, an executive decision was made to
go ahead with a component-type system. Essentially, we'll sculpt, mold, and cast
individual body parts, then fill if/as necessary.
Joints will be sculpted with every intention of minimizing harsh seams, but the "animation"
option will make a seamless transition between body parts nearly impossible.
Our dream should become reality with the completion of eleven sculptures and two-piece molds;
Hands and Forearms
Finished hand/forearm sculptures.
These are sculpted over a pipe and wire armature (nothin' fancy ...)
Aluminum flashing material is cut and installed to aid in the dividing wall making process.
The stone molds are made over the clay sculptures. Once set, the mold halves are opened,
the clay sculptures are removed, and the inside surfaces of the mold are carefully cleaned.
The mold halves are gently clamped back together and allowed to dry.
The mold is filled with liquid latex, which is allowed to dwell for an hour or so.
The excess latex is poured from the mold, and the remaining skin is allowed to dry.
Considering the length of the mold and the small diameter of the fingers, this process
takes a little longer than other molds.
How long? that might be a regional/seasonal question.
Here in sunny central Florida, it's usually humid. Humidity will slow the curing
process. I left the casts in the clamped molds for 48 hours, just to be certain
all of the latex had ample time to set. I also positioned a small fan to blow air across the
mold openings to improve air circulation. There's no need to hurry this process along,
it's as much fun as watching paint dry ... only slower.
... and here's a pair of hollow latex hand/forearm casts. The visible seams
can be removed with a razor blade and some light dremel work.
Pulling latex copies from their molds is somehow gratifying. It makes all the work seem worth while.
Torso
The first step? We need a sculpting armature.
An Anatomical Chart Company's Bucky ribcage, spine, and pelvis was a great place to start.
The hollow area (abdomen) was bridged with 1/2" galvanized
hardware cloth and skinned with duct tape. The entire armature was then
covered with plastic wrap - the "stretching" variety.
A layer of clay, roughly one-inch thick, was added to the armature
and the hacking commenced.
The torso sculpture is ready for finishing details and final smoothing.
Finding a compromise between bone, muscle, and flesh was more difficult
than anticipated.
This sculpture is an artistic guess with some anatomical goodness.
The proportions are close, but the textures and muscle features
are exaggerated. It's realistic enough to satisfy passive critics, and
(hopefully) fictional enough to entertain.
The neck, shoulder, and hip areas are designed
to accept corresponding body parts. The long neck will accommodate
"any" head position. The small shoulder joints will be covered by
upper arm castings. The hips are generic and bland, but should
work well with thigh castings in most natural positions.
A water clay wall was added to the sculpture for molding purposes.
This dividing wall creates a smooth barrier for the plaster when molding the first half of the sculpture.
Keys (marbles inserted slightly over half-way) and wedges (clay) were added to the dividing wall.
The first half (front half) was molded, the sculpture was flipped over,
and the clay wall was removed. The keys were also removed. The clay wedges remain in place
during the molding process of the second half.
After a thorough and careful cleaning of the dividing wall surface,
a very thin layer of petroleum jelly is applied to the plaster.
The second half of the torso sculpture is molded, and the
plaster is allowed to set.
Once the mold feels cool, the clay wedges are carefully "dug" from their sockets.
Removal of these wedges creates pry points. The mold halves are carefully
split by working the pry points one at a time.
Eventually, the sculpture is removed, and the mold halves are gently clamped together for curing.
After cleaning the mold and repairing any air bubbles we're ready for casting!
The first torso pull... borderline "joyous" occasion...
This is the biggest mold we've ever constructed. It required 100 pounds
of Ultracal 30, almost 40 yards of burlap, and almost eight hours of our lives.
The liquid volume of the mold is almost 10 gallons.
A two hour dwell consumes approximately 1 1/2 gallons of latex.
The size and weight of this mold makes the casting process ... fun.
Thankfully, the finished product is worth the effort.
Upper Arms
A simple 3/4" steel pipe armature is the base for the upper arm sculptures.
Having a multitude of fittings and prethreaded pipe diameters and lengths
makes this an easy to use, easy to modify armature system.
The armature is tightly wrapped in plastic and clay is added.
After the basic shape is bulked out, a combination large loop/rake tool is used
to begin the refining process. The loop makes removal of the clay fast and relatively easy.
The rake aids in blending the rough shapes into gradual contours.
After roughing-out the basic muscle, bone, and other textures and shapes,
fine skin textures, pores, and/or wrinkles are added to the sculpture.
Once satisfied with the small details, it's time to smooth things out.
A small paintbrush with a proper solvent does an excellent job softening intricate details
without washing everything away. It's certainly not a quick task, but I don't know of a more
efficient method. For smoothing, softening, and blending of larger areas, a soft, dense foam sponge
is an ideal tool.
The clay dividing wall is added to the arm sculptures.
The placement of this wall essentially determines where your mold halves will meet.
In light of that, it's a good idea to place the wall at the sculpture's widest point.
The wall should meet the sculpture at 90 degrees - doing so will produce the best possible plaster edges.
It's also important that the dividing wall is able to support the weight of the plaster.
Wall failure is a HUGE disappointment, even more so when it leads to sculpture failure. (yikes...)
Thigh
Like the upper arm sculptures, These thigh pieces are fairly basic.
The armature for these sculpts is a simple 3/4" black pipe frame wrapped in plastic.
Detail-wise, this isn't necessarily interesting work. However, these parts
require more planning than the extremities. There are two joints that have to work with
corresponding body parts ... in this case, the hip and the knee.
Making a "nice" joint that is easily concealed sounds like a simple task,
but we're still thinking about the animation option. Bending knees and raising legs at the hip
bring new requirements to the sculpting process. These requirements definitely include several test
fittings (with a little bit of imagination) and numerous measurements.
After planning the joints as thoroughly as possible, the next challenge is
referencing details like bone structure and muscle location. As with the other body parts for this
project, these anatomical accuracies will be twisted into a more visually appealing
piece of work. (hey ... something's got to give - might as well be anatomical correctness, right?)
Foot/Calf
As progress on this body project continues, it becomes increasingly obvious just how
difficult it will be to settle on one "pose" for each sculpture. There is no single ideal position for
any of these body parts. The intricate movements allowed by human bone, muscle, ligaments,
and tendons constantly alter the contours, making it literally impossible to capture more than
one motion at a time. Basically, we're trying to use a basic position that will work in many
situations.
These pieces were surprisingly tricky to sculpt and mold.
The reason might be the angle of the foot in relation to the lower portion of the leg.
No matter where you position the sculpture, something will be upside-down. This made for
some awkward sculpting angles, and even more challenging molding angles.
Initially, there were five keys molded into the dividing wall.
Two keys near the ankle were removed to prevent mold lock.
The shape of the dividing wall makes the separation process similar to
the motion of a hinge. (The mold halves "hinge" together starting at the toes.)
Head / Jaw
The armature for the head sculpture is a short length of 3/4" steel pipe with
a "tee" fitting secured to the top. The jaw armature is a length of twisted galvanized #9 wire.
The wire is then secured to a second length of pipe. The jaw sculpture can be positioned (temporarily)
for alignment, texturing, etc. while remaining a separate piece.
Above are photos of the head and jaw sculptures after texturing.
Skin details and fine wrinkles will be cut into the surface before final smoothing.
After final detailing, smoothing, and sealing the sculptures,
the dividing wall was added to the jaw sculpture along the top of the
"cheek" portion, around the sculpture to the inside of the (lower) lip.
Doing this places the seam in the best possible place for cast clean up.
Inside view of the jaw mold before the sculpture is freed from the second (mold) half.
The head sculpture is finished ... detailed, smoothed, and clear coated.
The clay dividing wall is added to the sculpture at its widest point.
The "ear areas" of the dividing wall are sometimes tricky to place. Ideally,
the mold should split around the outer ear. In this case, the temples are considerably
narrower than the portions of the head above and slightly behind the ear.
The compromise in our situation was to follow most of the outer ear.
Mold keys and pry points ... can't forget to mold them ...
Inside view of the mold halves before clean up and hole patching,
and a photo of the castings. The jaw is temporarily pinned in place.
The alignment is pretty good, but the seam/transition area will need a little work.
Corkus body part castings were used to flesh-out
our Animated Obelisk Prop's resident.