This instructable is going to take you through the process for sculpting a figure named "Dirt", a video game character from the PC game Origin of the Species , developed by Nu Generation Games Ltd. in the UK.
Check out the official game site: www.dirtthegame.com
I hope you will find some insight into the long process that goes into the making of a prototype statue from start to finish.
When I first started on this project I didn't have a lot of reference art to go from as the game was still in development at the time. As you can see my figure was inspired by the concept art for the box art, which at the time, she was holding two handguns. Later on the art was changed with Dirt Holding the shot gun instead. In retrospect I think I would have preferred the shotgun but when the art was finalized the sculpture was pretty much done so there was no going back - oh well!
The story is about a teenage girl that gets kidnapped and experimented on, has to fight insect like creatures, rescue her friends, all the while gaining super human powers in the process:
"An innocent camping trip into the Nevada desert takes a deadly turn when military black operations test a new viral weapon designed to create battlefield infantry by mutating commonly found insects and parasites. When the test run goes horribly wrong, it's up to you to find and rescue your friends while discovering information and unlocking special abilities. To fight an array of mutated animals and black op marines, you'll have futuristic weapons, special combat moves, and the ability to mutate into a more powerful creature."
To me her fighting abilities were a very important aspect of the character to portray. Too often video game vixens are portrayed in a really cheesecake fashion and I didn't want to go down that road! I tried my best to make her cute and sexy, but at the same time strong and feminine without being cheesecake : I wanted the observer to believe she could kick some butt because it is an integral aspect of the game experience.
My idea was to capture an instant in time that could possibly occur in the game and that told a story or gave insight into a narrative aspect of the game. During game play she comes across huge monsters to fight against, so the art director and I chose to use the "Wherewolf" creature from the game as a victim for the base to compliment the figure and make it more interesting then a plain nameplate.
Obviously, due to lack of space, I couldn't afford to place the whole creature on the base since it was a large beast in the context of the game so I decided to decapitate its head as though it were the aftermath of an encounter with Dirt.
Also on the base I wanted to place several shell casings and other debris which I will discuss in detail later on...
Because of her small scale (1/8th so 8.5" tall roughly without the base) I decided I wanted to use toy wax as my finishing material to get all the details nice and crisp. At this scale I find it is the best solution for me as the hardness of the material allows me to hold small parts without too much worry about squishing something in the process.
Check out the official game site: www.dirtthegame.com
I hope you will find some insight into the long process that goes into the making of a prototype statue from start to finish.
When I first started on this project I didn't have a lot of reference art to go from as the game was still in development at the time. As you can see my figure was inspired by the concept art for the box art, which at the time, she was holding two handguns. Later on the art was changed with Dirt Holding the shot gun instead. In retrospect I think I would have preferred the shotgun but when the art was finalized the sculpture was pretty much done so there was no going back - oh well!
The story is about a teenage girl that gets kidnapped and experimented on, has to fight insect like creatures, rescue her friends, all the while gaining super human powers in the process:
"An innocent camping trip into the Nevada desert takes a deadly turn when military black operations test a new viral weapon designed to create battlefield infantry by mutating commonly found insects and parasites. When the test run goes horribly wrong, it's up to you to find and rescue your friends while discovering information and unlocking special abilities. To fight an array of mutated animals and black op marines, you'll have futuristic weapons, special combat moves, and the ability to mutate into a more powerful creature."
To me her fighting abilities were a very important aspect of the character to portray. Too often video game vixens are portrayed in a really cheesecake fashion and I didn't want to go down that road! I tried my best to make her cute and sexy, but at the same time strong and feminine without being cheesecake : I wanted the observer to believe she could kick some butt because it is an integral aspect of the game experience.
My idea was to capture an instant in time that could possibly occur in the game and that told a story or gave insight into a narrative aspect of the game. During game play she comes across huge monsters to fight against, so the art director and I chose to use the "Wherewolf" creature from the game as a victim for the base to compliment the figure and make it more interesting then a plain nameplate.
Obviously, due to lack of space, I couldn't afford to place the whole creature on the base since it was a large beast in the context of the game so I decided to decapitate its head as though it were the aftermath of an encounter with Dirt.
Also on the base I wanted to place several shell casings and other debris which I will discuss in detail later on...
Because of her small scale (1/8th so 8.5" tall roughly without the base) I decided I wanted to use toy wax as my finishing material to get all the details nice and crisp. At this scale I find it is the best solution for me as the hardness of the material allows me to hold small parts without too much worry about squishing something in the process.
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Signing UpStep 1: Roughing in the figure with Super Sculpy
You cannot sculpt with toy wax directly as you would with clay (it is a carving medium mostly and can't be pushed around, in fact, it is very similar to soap stone in that respect), so I had to make a "rough" out of a softer material, in this case Grey Super Sculpy, which would form my "blank", that I could mold, and subsequently cast in the wax for further refinement.
I used super sculpy which is readily available at most craft stores (usually in the pink colour) and works quite well because it is rather soft and easy to work with but then can be baked to a hard finish which can be beneficial during the molding process because it won't get smashed or easily distorted.
I start using the armature process as in the previous tutorial "Creating A Figure Armature For Sculpture" to create my armature. In this case I made the armature in 1/8th scale so roughly 8.5 tall or so. Once my armature was made and mounted on my wooden base I started to pose it according to the reference material provided.
Once I was fairly satisfied with the pose I started to add clay (using the bones out method) according to the major muscle masses and shapes. At this stage I'm just looking for general forms and basic shapes without any details and really paying attention to the dynamics and flow of the pose.
I like to look at the pose from all angles and determine if there are any views that don't work. As a general rule of thumb I think a sculpture is successful if at least 3 out of 4 views work. I strive to make all the views work but if one view isn't as strong as the others then it's not too bad.
Keep in mind that when you are working from reference, and are using a particular pose that is significant with respect to the character or considered the main focus of the work, make sure it is the strongest view because it will most likely be the position that will be displayed the most.
I have to make sure that my gesture is correct as it is very difficult to change later on in wax as the material won't allow major changes without having to make cuts with a hack saw. It can be done but it requires a lot of time and work so it is better to get the gesture down pat during the clay stage.
I used super sculpy which is readily available at most craft stores (usually in the pink colour) and works quite well because it is rather soft and easy to work with but then can be baked to a hard finish which can be beneficial during the molding process because it won't get smashed or easily distorted.
I start using the armature process as in the previous tutorial "Creating A Figure Armature For Sculpture" to create my armature. In this case I made the armature in 1/8th scale so roughly 8.5 tall or so. Once my armature was made and mounted on my wooden base I started to pose it according to the reference material provided.
Once I was fairly satisfied with the pose I started to add clay (using the bones out method) according to the major muscle masses and shapes. At this stage I'm just looking for general forms and basic shapes without any details and really paying attention to the dynamics and flow of the pose.
I like to look at the pose from all angles and determine if there are any views that don't work. As a general rule of thumb I think a sculpture is successful if at least 3 out of 4 views work. I strive to make all the views work but if one view isn't as strong as the others then it's not too bad.
Keep in mind that when you are working from reference, and are using a particular pose that is significant with respect to the character or considered the main focus of the work, make sure it is the strongest view because it will most likely be the position that will be displayed the most.
I have to make sure that my gesture is correct as it is very difficult to change later on in wax as the material won't allow major changes without having to make cuts with a hack saw. It can be done but it requires a lot of time and work so it is better to get the gesture down pat during the clay stage.
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Thats cool!
Yes- I plan on making a tutorial on mold making and the whole process from start to finish. This was more of an overview of the process really... it is what I had on hand.