PTFX Werewolf

2011-02-08T01:49:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well I haven't posted on this blog for some time now. I figured seen as it was to follow the progress of the werewolf (which is finished now) I would start a new blog that will be a general blog. I will post more progress images of my work as well as profiles of artists that inspire me. If your interested in having a look then follow the link below:

Creatura

I have only just started the blog so at the moment there isn't much on there but please do follow it as I have lots of things coming up.

Thanks

Pete

Welcome to the werewolf blog

2011-01-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks for checking into this Blog. I have created this so you can see the whole process of building a 1:1 scale werewolf display bust. From concept to final piece I will try and show as much information as possible.

So why have I decided to go for a werewolf? You may be asking yourself. Well over the years there has been many werewolf designs, some have become Icon's Like Rick Baker's beautifully designed creature from John Landis's 1981 dark comedy, An American Werewolf in London. And others maybe didn't work as well like the creature from Brenton Spencer's 2008 Horror flick Never cry Werewolf.

The one thing that is consistent with these designs in my mind is the fact that all of them have similar design elements. The teeth are based on canine teeth, the ears are based on canine ears, and the eyes invariably are based on canine eyes and so on. I began to think to myself that seen as this is a human that has changed into a werewolf what’s to say there couldn't be more human traits in the design.

With this in mind I have begun to research into various areas such as hair colouration, skin colouration, Primate Physiology and of course breed of wolf. Hopefully my design will be at first glance quite traditional but at the same time subtly different.

Anyway enough of me talking about it...

Come back soon for more

Pete

Eyes

2011-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hi there,

Well I know I haven't started sculpting the character yet but I thought I would show you the eyes I will be using. I decided to use these eye as they seem to have elements of wolf eyes (colour) and Human eyes (size of iris and veining). They are in fact Baboon eyes and seen as humans are descendants of the apes to me they seem like the perfect choice for what I am planning. The eyes are hand blown glass eyes from Eyedentity products.

The next job to do is to produce a small silicone mould of the eyes then cast them in Urethane resin so as to produce the blanks that I will then use in the sculpt.

Next time I will talk about the teeth....

Teeth

2011-01-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

My friend Shani Sela a superb artist from Israel Wanted me to write the next section sooner than I was going to, so here I go...

Of course one of the main aspects of the werewolf is its teeth. Using the same design ethic, I began to research into Wolf jaws. I looked at many photographs of Wolf jaws and skulls but it soon became clear to me that the amount of teeth doesn’t match up with that of the human jaw. I started to scratch my head and wander what could I do. I had considered designing and sculpting them from the ground up, that was until I had an Epiphany!! I had decided on Baboon eyes "so what do baboon teeth look like?" I thought. After many hours of research I was very excited to see that baboon teeth would be perfect for what I want.

I found a source for these teeth made by Mohr Jaw sets. As you can see by the photo I have posted, these teeth have the same amount of teeth as a human jaw and also in the same configuration. Of course the jaw is a lot longer than that of a human jaw making them perfect for a werewolf.

Next time I will talk about the Hair...

sketch of werewolf

2011-01-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hi there, I did promise to write a little about the hair I have chosen to use but I thought I would write a little about the design I have chosen to go for instead. As mentioned previously I am trying to make the werewolf look traditional but with subtle differences. Now bare in mind I'm not good at drawing (most would say I'm not that good at sculpting either), so don't laugh at my sketch.

OK, I have sketched the creature without hair so you will have to use your imagination for a while. I will continue to sketch and develop my ideas as I progress and of course I will post them here...

Sketchy update

2011-01-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hi There, I thought I would do a quick update, I decided to take my crappy sketch and scan it into photoshop and have a play around. And here it is now, as you can see I have shaded him a little but I have also slightly changed the shape of the skull and neck. I have still left the hair off but I will put some hair on this image and post it again in the 'hair section I keep promising to post. Don't forget you can make comments about this blog at the bottom of each posting so don't be shy all comments re welcome (as long as they are clean)...

Hair

2011-01-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

Today I am going to talk a bit about the hair I have chosen and why I have chosen it. As with the teeth and eyes I have tried to approach the hair with a slightly different view. I could have easily chosen a standard grey or brown but I didn't really want this. First off I needed something that would suit the eye colour, not match the eye colour but suit it. Next I thought about were the werewolf was from so seen as I am from North Yorkshire. I carried out a bit of research into the wild animals from North Yorkshire and soon noticed that there were a lot of ginger animals, Fox's, red deer etc. I carried on a little longer with the research and was surprised to find that there is a species of wolf called the Manned Wolf that has red hair, Perfect!!!

I contacted National Fiber Technology and briefed them as to what I was after. After a few days I received a package from them containing ten small samples of hair. As always they came up with the goods. Although it is very expensive, it is by far the best available and worth every penny. Anyway I have chosen the hair I liked the best and will be ordering it in the next few days. OK, so that's it for now, I will be back soon with some maquette's of the final design.

I have uploaded my research folder as a kind of mood board. It contains images that I have collected while researching this project. I feel these images are all relevant to this project for one reason or another, they maybe have a good colour or texture or maybe they just inspire. If you are interested in seeing it them click here

2011-01-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Just a quicky, I thought I would have a go at adding hair on my Photoshop sketch, It kinda look OK-ish, I feel a maquette coming on...

Basic maquette

2011-01-19T03:18:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys sorry it has been a while since I last posted. Anyway as you can see I have put together a roughed out Maquette of my idea for the Werewolf. This is a working Maquette and will be refined when I feel happy with the primary form. As it is I feel the neck is a little to thick at the moment but apart from that I am reasonably happy. This Maquette will of course have hair and a paint job. Anyway keep checking in and I will update as soon as I have done some more work...

I'm back and look what I got!!

2011-01-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

A: Silicone Pigments Dark flesh, Red, White

B: Tinsil Gel 10

C: Silicone thixotropic

D: Poly-optic clear PU resin

E: Platsil gel 10

F: Tinsil gel 10 catalyst

G: Tinsil gel 10 accelerator

H: Mould foam M3 soft PU foam

Hi guys,

Well my parents have gone home so I'm ready to continue with the project. I just got back to work today and there was a large box on my desk from Mouldlife!! WOW! it was like my birthday.

Anyway I have posted some photo's above showing the materials I will be using to create the skin and teeth of the Werewolf. If you have any questions regarding the things just leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Update and eye blanks

2011-01-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

Silicone putty used for making eye moulds

Mix equal parts of A and B until they are an even colour

Embed eye into mixed silicone putty

Crimp the silicone up until it forms around the eye

The resin I am using is easy flow 120 from Mouldlife, it is a two part PU resin

Mix equal parts of A and B until fully mixed

Pour the mixed resin into the mould

Here you can see the resin in mid cure

Now the resin is fully cured t is time to de-mould be careful though as the silicone can rip easily.

And here you have two PU resin eye blanks. As these eyes are mouth blown it is important to make a mould of each eye as you can see the difference between them both. It is also important to mark both the eye and the blank so you know which side of the sculpt the eyes should fit in. I use two dots on one eye and one dot on the other.

Hi all,

Sorry its been a while but I have been lucky enough to have been working at Millennium FX for the last couple of weeks. Anyway I'm back now and I'm going to carry on with this project for a while. Before I carry on I just wanted to say that the maquette I posted will have quite a few changes made on it over the next few days. I noticed it wasn't looking that much like my earlier sketches so watch out for updates on that.

So, eye blanks! well the reason I always make eye blanks is so I can use them in my sculpts instead of the actual eyes. This is for a couple of reasons, one so as not to damage the actual eyes and two the eye blanks will be drilled and tapped so they can be bolted in the mould when the silicone skin is run. This will mean there is no silicone flashing to clean up around the eyes making the lids fit perfectly.

Tongue tide

2011-01-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

This is the tongue before surgery

The tongue cut in half

Here I have spaced the tongue parts apart with styrene rod

And here is the tongue ready to be moulded

Hi all

Well I came across a bit of a problem today. I had decided to mould the baboon jaws and make a set to fit into the sculpt of the werewolf. before I started I decided to measure them and make sure they were good for size and discovered that they were too small!!!!

I worked out that they needed to be one third bigger so what do I do? I have two options here. Option one, I sculpt a new set of teeth from from scratch and option two I perform major surgery. I decided to go for the second option. So far I have altered the tongue so it is ready to mould. the images above show some of the processes and the result. I will update with the teeth when they are ready.

Tongue up-date

2011-01-15T01:12:00.000-08:00

So I wasn't that happy with the original sculpt of the tongue (a) so I decided to re-sculpt the front and add a bit more detail (b).

I was then ready to mould the tongue. because it will be cast in Poly-optic I used Platsil gel 10 from mouldlife.

Here is the tongue suspended in a plastic yogurt pot ready for the silicone to be poured.

And finally here is the first casting. The first cast or cleaning cast is from Easy-flow 120 from Mouldlife.

Last time, I showed how I had performed a bit of surgery on the werewolf tongue to widen it. so I thought I would give you an update now I have finished the mould for the tongue.

come back soon and see whats going on with the teeth...

Dental work

2011-01-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a close up of the front of the roof of the mouth.

The whole of the roof of the mouth.

Here you can see the bottom jaw with and without the make shift tongue, the front teeth aren't finished at this point.

And the top and bottom jaws together.

So, I've been tinkering with the teeth for the last couple of days but they aren't finished quite yet. The top set is ready to be moulded and the bottom set still need a bit of work on the front teeth although I have got the saliva glands and a bit of the inside of the jaw ready. Anyway I have included a bunch of images of the jaws above. Any comments are welcome...

2011-01-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted for the last few days but I have been trying to get the tongue for this project just right. After many hours of experimentation and phone calls to Mouldlife I managed to nail it. The reason it has taken so long is because to get that natural translucent look I have decided to use Poly-optic PU resin from Mouldlife. This resin is superb, it is ultra clear and once cured it is rock hard!! the only thing is it is very technical and needs a lot of processing. but if done right it will produce a very good quality and natural look. Anyway here is a shot of the finished tongue.

2011-01-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back!

So after a few weeks of frantic packing my worldly belongings and moving up to London I am now in a position to be able to continue with the Werewolf project. So today I went up to Millennium FX (my current work place) and began to throw clay about. I managed to mass out the sculpt and after a bit of advice from Neill I an fairly happy with the results. Anyway after about 3 hours work I have most of the primary form and next week I will carry on with him. Thanks for looking and please comeback soon.

Still blocking out

2011-01-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to do a bit more to the sculpture of the wolf today. As you can see I have added ears and started to define the eyes. I have also rounded the top of the skull and started to work around the lips adding details. The next area to tackle will be the nose then its on to secondary form then detailing and texturing.

2011-01-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here are just a couple of shots of the creature. Here I have improved the shape of the head and started adding secondary form around the mouth. Still not sure about the nose though.

2011-01-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hey guys just another quick update. Here you can see an animated turntable of my progress so far. I have refined the nose a little more and built up the snarl. Any comment or Critiques are always welcome. I will post some more images over the weekend. Also I will be continuing with the teeth so I will be adding more updates on those.

2011-01-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

Oh and just one more thing, if you are interested in following the progress of this project you can simply scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on 'follow this blog', then you will be notified when ever I update.

Thanks Pete

2011-01-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

Hi There, I have finally finished the sculpt of the Werewolf and here he is. he is now ready for the next and most important stage and that is moulding him. I have started to design the mould and think it might be done in Five parts. As I progress with the mould I will be sure to post images and comments so please do pop back from time to time and check whats going on. And as always and comments or critiques are very welcome.

2011-01-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hey there,

seen as the last couple of posts have pretty poor quality images I have posted these larger more detailed images.

2011-01-06T05:31:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys and Girls,

Well its been a very busy few months and I'm sure you've noticed I haven't posted anything for a while. So here Iam to rectify that.

Last time I posted I was ready to mould the Werewolf so thats were I will carry on from. In this photograph you can see the mould has been done. I will start a new thread explaining the procces later on but for now here is a photo' of the mould partially dismantled to reveal the silicone Werewolf inside.

2011-01-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

There are quite a few subjest that I have glossed over in this Blog, the reason for this is because I plan on covering these subjects in my blog later on so please keep checking back.

2011-01-05T05:42:00.000-08:00

Once the Werewolf was de-moulded this is what I had. Its the silicone wolf still with the blank eyes and teeth inserted. You can also see the seam still needs trimming and blending off.

2011-01-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

Here I have seamed the silicone and test fitted the teeth and eyes. The Werewolf is ready to be painted.

2010-04-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm ready to Paint the Wolf. Because it is made from Tinsil gel 10 it needs a different approach. First off I take some A07 silicone adhesive and dissolve it with Heptane to a ratio of approximately 1 part adhesive to 3 parts Heptane. this is used as a primer and painted all over the surface of the silicone. Once this has set (about 10 minuets) you can then begin painting. I dissolved some standard Bathroom silicone sealer with white spirit and pigmented it with silicone pigment. These colours were then flicked over the surface using short brushes and tooth brushes. Once I was happy with the finish I painted another layer of A07 silicone adhesive to seal the colours. Here is a photo of the finished colour with and without the teeth and tongue. The Werewolf is starting to come together.

2010-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now the painting is complete it is now time for the long and boring task of hair punching. These hairs are each pushed into the silicone by using an adapted needle. The reason I decided to go for haring the Werewolf this way was because I wanted to have complete control over the colouration of the hair. I was lucky enough to have help with this task from Fiona Walshe and Robert Slover so thankfully it took about five evenings to complete. I have included a series of images showing the process.

2010-01-06T06:30:00.000-08:00

And here it is, The finished Werewolf. I am very happy with how it turned out but as always I could have done some extra things to help it look better but Thats how it goes. Anyway here are some images of the finished piece. I hope you like it and if you have any comments or critiques please don't hesitate to post at the bottom of this Post.