Building: The Captain

Today I'll go into the step-by-step process used to create The Captain, the figure seen in the blog logo and also in the previous post. There are many photos, but I neglected to shoot some of the steps along the way (though not very many important ones are missing). I'm not going into specific sculpting techniques and methodology just yet; that will come along later one, probably when I've started an entirely new figure. The current piece (not shown) was much too far along for that when I began the blog. Now let's jump right into the briny sea and swim until we've found some glittery treasure (or until our arms fall off)!

1.  Here we have the basic armature, coated with basic heavy-duty tinfoil shapes. I have left some wire curling around at the feet - this allows me to readjust the character's height if needed, and also doubles as a makeshift temporary base. The head is fairly overlarge and round at this stage, and eventually got hammered down into a more useful shape. The small hammer can be your best friend when fleshing out your armature. You don't want to pile your Super Sculpey onto bare wire; the stuff is costly and you certainly don't want to run out when you could have saved a lot of it by using the right amount of foil.

 2. My initial pose was, of course, completely temporary (as it always is). The first layer of Super Sculpey has been added over the foil in most areas, and the legs have been lengthened a bit. The layer of Sculpey is very thin; I usually want to add more foil to flesh things out, so I'll lay down just enough Sculpey to give me ideas and then I can strip it off with little trouble or effort and try again with more foil. This test pose was from an idea that didn't really go anywhere; you'll see a bit more of it before The Captain shows up.

3. After removing Sculpey where necessary and adding more weighty foil, I began to do some light detail work and fool around with the pose some more. This piece, unlike many others I've done, was created totally by the seat of my pants at first. I did not have a character design in mind and was trying to come up with something new (which was eventually dropped). 

4. More pose fiddling, along with some detail work to begin mapping out the face. She has a somewhat mischievous look and a wider stance at this point. Perhaps I was thinking of a mystical gal?

5. Another change in posture, along with more foil definition added into the body. Small details like the facial features are usually removed at this point, mostly to keep them from getting squashed (or getting in the way) as I work on refining the figure. The hair is no more than a few small pieces set in place to get ideas from; it can be mashed or cut off at any time, so I usually don't worry about damage at this point.

The excess wire has been clipped now that I've decided on the proper height and added feet. The wire is then straightened out and, using a drill to put two holes into a simple piece of wood from the cellar, I've got a sturdy base that is sure to keep her standing as I work on her. I used to create freestanding figures, which honestly looks nice and all, but you won't think so highly of the practice once you've knocked a figure off a shelf with a small bump. Nowadays, everything I sculpt is anchored with a base no matter what.

6. This is fuller than the last shot (and yet another pose), but not so different that we should dwell on it for long.

7. The ninja arrives! Yes, at first this lady was going to be skulking about with daggers/kunai in hand, but that occupational choice would not last very long. There's a new face and some semblance of an outfit, though the clothing is nothing more than rough "sketch Sculpey" thrown on to get a look at how things could shape up to be eventually. It's an easy way for you to get an ideal position for garments, seams, and accessories before you've made final parts to use. Simply slice some strips of Sculpey in the general size you think you'll want to use, then gently place them onto the body.

8.The ninja leaves! This piece sat for months gathering dust due to unforeseen circumstances, but when I'd finally gotten back to her, I couldn't stand the ninja idea and decided to go with someone much more familiar to me instead. Practically every ounce of ninja was stripped away, and I got much farther in a much shorter time since I was using a design I was quite familiar with drawing. The costume is far more complex than my ninja attempt, but I was able to block out the basic outfit much more quickly overall. The right foot was raised and she would now stand on a small barrel. The left foot still gives enough support, thanks to the base.

9. Now that things had gotten well under way again, I began to tackle the hair after (yet again) refining the pose. That barrel was simply too small, so I stripped off the Sculpey, wadded up some more foil, and soon had the beginnings of a full-grown barrel. Well, a larger small barrel, anyhow. The pose holding the sword was switched to something pirates love even more than cutlery: flashing a few golden coins. I had some spare coins left over from a previous project (they had gone unused for nearly a decade), and this would be a perfect place to finally get some use out of that dollar fifty I'd wasted on them long ago.

10. The barrel is taking shape now, as is the Captain's hair. I probably spent too much time on the head at this stage; I kept having to remove it to work on the body, all to avoid damaging it too much. But this isn't really so much a problem as it is a solution; I've created several figures with removable heads to aid in painting them later. The body and legs have been sculpted past their previous state, and so are the feet.

11. This is definitely when I began to focus on the head. Here's a close-up mugshot of the face and hair. The pipe is removable; there's a small wire running through its middle which slips into a hole at the corner of the mouth. This makes it removable for later after it has been baked, and makes it much easier to paint. The hair has its first layer of curls, but will soon get some more to add thickness. The foremost bangs have thin coils of foil in their centers to keep them from drooping during baking. I sometimes use wire for pieces like this, but I always test it with foil first, and it if works, then hey, it works.

12. Another head shot, this time with a lot more detail work finished up. You can see where I made a terrible mistake, too! This head is not currently connected to a neck! I stupidly left the neck on the body instead of attaching it to the head; I advise not to do that. If you've got an outfit that will hide the seam between the neck and body with some sort of collar, you can easily get away with it. This, however, was baked without the neck, so there is an unfortunate seam visible between the neck and head. You have to be looking at her from the right angle to catch it, but it's there, and I can't believe I messed this step up so badly.

13. The head has been baked. In this shot you can see the simple gold hoop earring in her left ear; it's nothing more than a small ring of wire with a small portion cut out. I baked the head long before the body was finished because I did not want anything to happen to it during the meantime. If I'd waited, I probably would have caught my idiotic mistake and baked the head with the neck attached, but what's done is done, moving on.

14. After baking the head I refocused on the body and began some detail work. The ruffles on the top were created by simply folding a strip of Sculpey back and forth until a uniform pattern was achieved. Well, more or less uniform; ruffles generally aren't precise. Below that are some fasteners and the outlines for the rest of the top. Below, the dress has been fitted by smoothing out some very thing pieces of Sculpey, though if I'd had one, I'd have simply used a pasta machine/Sculpey Clay Conditioning Machine to get nice, uniform pieces.

15. The top has gotten several folds and some additional detailing. Both gloves have also been worked on, and now she's wearing both boots. The collar, too, is better off than it had been, and is now anchored properly instead of simply sitting atop the figure loosely.

16. Egad! I seem to have neglected to take some photos here, she's already been baked! At the top left is the sword in its sheath; I (very carefully) snapped it off to sand and paint it. It would have broken off anyway, so I planned on it ahead of time and made two cuts in the straps where they were attached to the belt. This left them weak enough to be gently broken away, to be later reattached with super glue.

Middle left is the barrel, quite battered-looking and bumpy. It is an ugly old barrel, but it doesn't let that get it down, no.

Bottom left are two accessory bags that attach to the back of the belt with wires. You can see one in the bag furthest from the camera. The other one had its wire get lodged in the belt, which was unforeseen but not troublesome; it still slips onto the wire and holds fast.

Finally, the figure with all of her stuff. The gold coins are not attached to the hand, they simply rest in a slot between her middle and index fingers.

17. Sanding has gotten into full swing. The Sculpey becomes much lighter when it has been sanded, which can be helpful to you, showing you at a glance what has and hasn't been sanded. This required a lot of small tool work to sand, wrapping fine sand paper around short lengths of wire and carefully filing away at the less accessible bits. The back flap of the dress was also carefully broken away for sanding and painting purposes, but it was unfortunately not an even break. Nothing disastrous, but not as planned.

18. After sanding, it is time to paint. Here I've laid out base coats in most major areas. This is where having a detachable head really comes in handy; so many areas would be almost completely inaccessible if I couldn't take the noggin off the body. 

19. More painting. Gold accents have been added. Flashy pirates love their gold, don't they?

20. At this point, painting is more or less finished, or at least so close that there's little else to say.

21. A closer view of the Captain's face (and her coins), and a back view of her hair. You can see the skull logo (not yet finished) on her hip, as well as the accessory bags on the belt.

22. Here's the skull logo again, now with a purple outline running throughout it. The barrel has been aged slightly to give its bands some rust and defects. It only says "this end up" so I know which way it should be facing; it baked slightly crookedly and only sits beneath her foot at one angle. A reminder was helpful. The left boot needed a heel added in after the fact to give her more stability. It is a bit thick, but I had no choice; the wire connecting her to the base couldn't be thinner, but you can't always get what you want.

23. It's a repeat of the previous photo from the last post, but it is from last week and far more recent than the others, so here it is again. Well, that's the entire ride from start to finish, though I regret not having a shot of the initial armature at the start. Oh well, there will definitely be one documented in another project post coming up soon. I am currently painting that figure, and I've taken many shots along the way. See you there!