Morezmore Current WIP:
Fortuna, Goddess of Abundance,
Luck and Fortune (Part 3)
DONE! pictures are here:
http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Recap/_W0QQentrysyncidZ423827011QQidZ432194011

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Day 22 (March 31, 2008) - continued from Part 2 http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Part-2/_W0QQentrysyncidZ413405011QQidZ413405011

I put the hair on Fortuna and took pictures, it is drying at the moment, will style, take more pics and post them. Hardly a tutorial, as I do my hair differently every time and I don't have a "procedure" yet, but still something to give folks an idea of how to go about it.

I get a lot of questions about hair, some folks even ask whether one needs to cut it off the pelt or just put it on the doll with the skin. I thought there are quite a few tutorials on the web, but I guess there is room for one more "step-by-step-how-to" on making hair on OOAK fairy out of tibetan lamb fur. Now I  will have something to refer them to. Long overdue.

All right, here we go:

How to make OOAK hair out of Tibetan Lamb fur

1. Search out and put on the table: the doll, a tibetan lamb fur pelt, fabri-tac glue, toothpicks, sharp scissors.

2. With sharp scissors, shear the hair off the pelt, keeping scissors close to the roots. Carefully spread out the hair preserving the natural ringlets / locks of hair.

3. Pick one at a time by the MIDDLE of the lock. Holding it tight by the middle, straighten the hair out on both sides (that will remove occasional stray hairs). Make as many locks as you think you will need - you can make more later.

4. Snip the end (the root end) of the lock off. With a toothpick, apply Fabri-tac glue on all sides of the snipped end.

5. Starting from the back of the head, place the end with the glue on the head, press with a toothpick and spread it out into a thin layer. This is first "tier" - the lowest part of the back of the head. You can divide the surface of the head into sections with a pencil, just to keep you oriented.

The Fabri-tac glue is kept on a piece of paper throughout the whole process (a drop at a time, as it dries quickly).

Pick up a bit with a toothpick (in a scooping kind of motion), smudge over the end of the hair lock, plop the hair on the head, TURN THE TOOTHPICK AROUND AND PRESS WITH THE CLEAN END OF THE TOOTHPICK. Hold for a few seconds, slowly pull the toothpick away, holding the hair in place with your finger (just in case toothpick got stuck). REPLACE THE TOOTHPICK FROM TIME TO TIME AS IT GETS TOO MUCH GLUE ON IT.

One more thing - I have a spare bottle of Fabri-tac with just a bit of glue on the bottom. Before I start working with Fabri-tac, I add a bit of PURE acetone (hardware kind, not polish-remover kind) to the bottle and shake it up - that dilutes the Fabri-tac and makes it more workable.

6. Second "tier" of hair - same way:

7. Temples (cut the locks shorter - about half). When you cut the locks, cut the ROOT end, to preserve the naturally formed curly end of the lock.

8. Above the forehead - cut the locks even shorter if you want to form bangs.

9. Continue all around the head, applying hair in "tiers", IN THE DIRECTION of the hair growth, until you come all the way to the top.

10. Prepare 3 larger locks of hair for the crown. Put a drop of glue into the little bold spot on top of the head.

11. Pick up the FIRST larger lock of hair, put the glue on the end (just like you did on all of them) and apply it on the BACK of the little bold spot AGAINST THE DIRECTION of the growth of the hair (holding hair upward).

12. Pick up the SECOND larger lock of hair, put the glue on the end (just like you did on all of them) and apply it on the LEFT side of the little bold spot AGAINST THE DIRECTION of the growth of the hair (holding hair upward).

12. Pick up the THIRD larger lock of hair, put the glue on the end (just like you did on all of them) and apply it on the RIGHT side of the little bold spot AGAINST THE DIRECTION of the growth of the hair (holding hair upward).

13. With the BLUNT side of exacto knife (not the cutting side) press down on both sides to form the parting line. That drop of glue in the middle of the little bold spot was for that purpose.

14. Let it dry for at least an hour. Will be right back.

...

I am back with the last batch of pictures for today.

15. Pull the hair back and apply a thin ACCURATE LINE of glue to the hairline and sideburns. Flip the hair forward, some of it will stick to the glue, hopefully just the right amount. Allow this to dry well too.

16. Once the glue is dry, wet the entire head upside down. Pat some of the dripping wet out with a towel. Work in some human hair styling gel. Find the parting line with the needle and style!

I seriously need to run, I am going to put her down and let it dry, I am sure I will style more later, but for now - here is what I have - see the pics below. It is always fun to see for the first time - after the hair is on - what she really looks like - I think she is pretty!

I started at 4:30, it is 12:30 right now, total time - 8 hours, but that includes taking pictures and writing here, so your time will be a bit shorter.

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Day 23 (April 1, 2008) 

Sandals. I am going to make something resembling these:

...

I am back - sandals are done. They are easy to make, but just in case you are at a loss how to go about them, here we go:

How to make Sandals (Antique or not)

1. Locate a piece of thin soft leather or suede or felt. I happen to live in an All-You-Can-Eat OOAK supplies store and have an unfair advantage. Therefore, my choice is butterscotch lambskin in antique finish.

Also bring your doll, search the fabric bins for thin metallic cord or silk thread or anything of that nature, get your Fabri-tac glue, a large-eared needle, scissors, toothpicks, and whatever embellishments you can think of - in my case - 2 mm irisdescent microbeads.

2. Make a paper template of the dolls foot and cut out 4 pieces of leather, like on the picture below.

3. If there is hole in the bottom of the foot, like in my case, cut the hole. I happened to have a leather hole puncher which very conveniently did the job (the proof one can never have too many tools), but I would imagine scissors will do the job, although with more difficulty. Glue the top pieces of leather directly onto the sole.

4. Needle helps to thread the cord through the leather.

5. Stick the needle into the bottom of the foot so that it comes up between the toes - that is the starting point. Cut the needle off - you have two long ends of cord.

6. Lace up the cord making the sandal design - all the way to the knee and back down.

7. Put one end of the cord into the needle again, thread through the sole on one side, then do the same thing on another side.

8. Snip off the cord and glue the second part of the leather sole.

9. Trim the edge with scissors, glue a piece of cord all around the sole edge to give the sandals more finished look (and hide the glue)

10. Embellish!

It is 8:50, I am out of time. It is all very engaging, but I do need to start my working day. Here is what I have now:

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Day 23 (April 2, 2008) 

The toga day.
I will need 

- about a square foot of white silk gauze
- Fabri-tac glue
- Crystal lacquer
- about 2-3 feet of thin gold metallic cord
- toothpicks
- a brush
- scissors
- exacto knife
- glass surface (I am using glass shelves from an old curio cabinet)
- fast drying, ultra hold hairspray (I am using Pantene Texturize!)

Silk gauze is a marvelous fabric for OOAK as it is sheer, light, drapes beautifully and comes in delightful colors. The only problem is the edge and finishing it. Although you can leave it as it is, I prefer the clean cut finished edge, especially on this sculpt. So I need to finish the edges on the silk pieces before I make the costume.

1. Think about your costume structure. Take your time and do a bit of considering and cutting and trying and fitting on a doll with pieces of paper napkin - to save on silk gauze in case of a mistake.

1. Cut three panels of white silk gauze.

2. Put the piece of on the glass and paint the edge with crystal lacquer, trying to get the piece flat on the glass.



2. Put a piece of thin metallic cord - stretch it a little bit so it is straight and press it flat with a toothpick all around. Paint another layer of crystal lacquer over the cord. The objective is to make it stick evenly to the silk throughout the line. Let it dry - about 30 minutes or so. I have several of those glass shelves so I can make all three one after another.

3. After the crystal lacquer dries, spray the panels with hairspray - you will need it for draping.

4. After the hairspray dries - a few minutes - draw a line all around the piece with an exacto knife - to release it from the glass). It should peel right off with a bit of prompting with exacto knife. Peel slowly not to damage/pull the silk.

5. Trim the edge accurately, keeping close to the cord. Here it is, very lovable edge.

6. Here are three finished panels of silk gauze - ready for the costume. Put a drop of Fabri-tac glue on the shoulder and place the middle of the narrow panel on that drop. Drape right there on the spot.

7. Put a line of Fabri-tac around the waist (a bit at a time) and glue the lower edge of the bodice. Keep draping the silk so it looks good - that is your only chance to get it right.

8. Put another line of Fabri-tac around the waist (a bit at a time) and attach bottom panels, keep draping silk as you work.

9. More Fabri-tac glue and a belt around the waist.

10. Mist the whole dress with water and style and pull and drape it, while the water is drying. Carefully add some hairspray if needed, protecting the sculpt from the spray! 

I tried to create the effect of cloth in motion - the way it would hug the knees and billow and trail behind as Fortuna takes a step forward. It is drying at the moment, I might return to lower edge during the final stages of finishing up the doll. The headband is tentative, not final.

here is what I have so far:

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Day 24 (April 3, 2008) 

Busy with the store - shipping mostly - nothing was done with Fortuna

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Day 25 (April 4, 2008) 

I took a little bit of time this morning and made the name plaque and the Morezmore Key.

How to make an "engraved" name plaque

1. Very easy. Put a piece of clay through pasta machine, or roll it flat on a flat surface.

2. Mark the edges by pressing a ruler.

3. With the rubber tip tool write your name, year and the name of the doll. It says on this one:
Fortuna Morezmore #20
Natasha Landerer 2008



4. Cut it out with the exacto knife.

5. Attach to the base and fire it up. Make sure that nothing will melt on the base. If the base cannot go into the oven, mold the name plaque on the base, carefully remove and fire it separately, attach with glue later.



6. Paint with gold acrylic paint, allow to dry.

7. Paint with burnt umber OIL paint covering the surface completely. Immediately buff the paint off with a towel. The brown will stay inside the lettering grooves. This one is not painted yet, so here are the pictures of the name plaques on previous sculpts - to give you the idea:

I also made the Morezmore Key - every Morezmore sculpt must have the Morezmore Estate Key. This one is made out of brass filigree finding (metal-cutting scissors are needed - I have a pair of Clauss FSS6) and a couple of beautiful garnets I removed from vintage earrings.

I did a little bit this morning - a few details.

- Painted and finished the name plaque and glued the key

While I had that burnt umber oil paint on my brush,
- I brushed (almost dry brush) over the parts of globe to "antique" it,

- brushed over some parts of the cornucopia - to blend all parts together, hide the glue, etc

- brushed over the leather soles of the sandals - to make it look like the sandals have been walked in

- brushed over the edge of the felt on the bottom of the base - hides the glue and makes the felt edge look neat and finished

- brushed over the key - to "antique" and blend it together with the rest.



The wings got an edge of iridescent microbeads - to make them look more finished. I tried to take the picture in the natural light, still cannot quite get the irisdescence of the wings on the photo.

 

I am out of time for today, I still need to do the final hair styling, some kind of crown or headband rather, a forearm bracelet on her raised arm, flying coins on her gown and globe.

But all that for tomorrow morning, for now I brushed out all the kinks and all the dry glue out of her hair - the best comb I could find for tibetan lamb was a mustache comb - it is just right for the scale.



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Day 27 (April 6, 2008) 

This morning I made the crown and the bracelet:

Then styled the hair, put the crown...




One thing led to another, next thing I know she is finished!

Done! Recap with all the pictures in one page is here:

http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Recap/_W0QQentrysyncidZ432194011QQidZ432194011

Thank you!

Part 1: http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Part-1/_W0QQidZ398757011
Part 2: http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Part-2/_W0QQentrysyncidZ413405011QQidZ413405011
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Day 14 (March 23, 2008) - continued from Part 1 http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Part-1/_W0QQidZ398757011

The hands are baked, all three. Testing the victim hand. The fingers break, but I have to bend the finger quite a bit before it breaks (see the last finger which is about to snap). Overall, a rather satisfactory result. Perhaps, it can be even improved in the future.

And here is the Hand Widget at work, presenting them from all angles.

Well, it can be seen from the photos that the hands are far from perfect - odd bumps, tumors and mistakes all over. Well, the good news is I don't have to live with them. With the help of exacto knife (BRAND NEW blade please), working VERY carefully, one tiny cut at a time, I can carve out and remove everything I don't find pleasing to the eye. After that, I will ADD tiny bits of clay and coat it all with TLS and REBAKE.

That will be tomorrow, I have to stop at this point and return to my store work - questions, invoices and packing for tomorrow USPS pickup. Many thanks for shopping :)

Here is what I have as of now:


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Day 15 (March 24, 2008)
Good morning! First, I did some picking and cutting on the hands, coated with thin layer TLS and rebaked. While the hand modules were in the oven, I drilled the wings holes (if you are smart, you do the wing holes during the sculpting stage). 

Tiny pieces of 3/32 tube go into the holes, secured with a bit of Magic Smooth epoxy. My wings will be built on 1/16 brass tube (upper main vein) which fit into 3/32 tubes inside her back. If this is confusing, here are the pictures to show what I mean:



Meanwhile, the oven ring went off - the hands are ready. Here they are, piping hot:

Fortuna is ready for assembling. Magic Smooth epoxy goo is mixed and all modules slide on their appropriate locations. Making sure that the legs and forearms are the same length, that the neck is long enough, etc. It is fun to play with modules slightly rotating the tubes and slightly bending the wires, trying to find the best angle for the head, hands and feet. This is a good time to be really sure of the pose, because after Magic Smooth sets in, any corrections, although possible, are undesirable. She really needs to be left alone and cure just like that - on the globe and that will take about 12 hours. However, life is brief, I still have about an hour to sculpt, so I am going to expedite the epoxy curing process by putting her in the oven for 10 minutes at 230 degrees.

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Day 16 (March 25, 2008)

Big inventory day in the store - did not sculpt. Was hoping to do a bit in the afternoon, and now it is 8:12 in the evening and I am good for nothing, other than a plate of lasagna. Tomorrow is another day.

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Day 17 (March 26, 2008)

All connections are epoxied together and covered with a thin layer of clay and baked. Once this layer of clay is baked, there is no way to correct the pose without breaking the clay. So before baking, one more final check for the plumb line.

THE PLUMB LINE RULE
When a subject stands with the weight on one foot, the inside of the ankle supporting the weight is in a direct line straight down from the pit of the neck. This holds true whether the body is viewed from the front, back, or side. This very important line is called the PLUMB LINE.

I also made the wings. There are a lot of good tutorials on how to make wings using fusible film, one of my favorites is by artist Deb Wood. Just search on Google for "wings tutorial Deb Wood", you will see it.

My wings were made with Angelina Film in Crystal Mother of Pearl, clear copper fun wire, Fabritac glue (not the best choice for this - too stringy), 3D Crystal Lacquer.

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Day 18 (March 27, 2008)

Sculpting the legs. First - made two thick solid columns. Second - divided the distance between the pelvis and ground into four equal parts, like shown on the proportion diagram below. Then, with a pristine clean designated exacto knife, started carving away little by little from all sides to try to give Fortuna shapely legs. I am still working on it, will be back with more.

I found this proportions image on the internet. Unfortunately, it was not marked as far as what book it comes from. If you recognize it, kindly let me know - I would like to get the whole book. Thank you.

I came to the point where I cannot improve without ruining the parts that are good. So I am just going to fire what I have. After it is fired, I will use exacto knife to shave off bumps, etc. Then I will add clay where needed and rebake. I took 8 point pictures - these will help to see what is wrong when I return to it tomorrow.

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Day 19 (March 28, 2008)

The closer to the completion, the harder it is for me to put Fortuna down. Here it is 12:20 and I am still messing with her. Here is what has been done - all the connections are sculpted. Quite unexpectedly, she got more meat on her back - the arms dictated that - and her cranium (not sure what got into me). She was fired and her right leg and thigh was sanded.

Until now Fortuna was an easy-going happy sculpt. Now I ran into a problem. It is my second time with Fimo Puppen, and the first time I did not sand the sculpt as it was fully clothed. The problem that I am facing is the layer of TLS over the Puppen Fimo - they differ in color, TLS being a bit grayer, Puppen Fimo is more pink. When I started to sand, patches of pink started to appear. The difference is very subtle, but enough to make me want to strip the layer of TLS completely from the entire sculpt. So the conclusion is - if the sculpt going to be sanded - use Liquid Fimo to smoothen, not TLS.

In this particular case, I am going to try to recoat the scultp with TLS and bake again after all the sanding is done - that might solve the problem.

Here she is, covered in Prosculpt oil which highlights all the imperfections and keeps the sanding dust levels down - it is a messy job, though. I will continue to sand tomorrow and will keep you posted. The sanding is done with the roughest sanding paper I have - GatorGrit, Emery cloth 80 and steel wool (Coarse).

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Day 20 (March 29, 2008)

All baked, all sanded, coated with TLS and rebaked. Here is comes the part when I start NOT to like my doll. I see my own skill limitations and it frustrates me. But I have to push through the dissatisfaction and keep going. It happens with every doll, but I know I will fall in love with her again once she is done.

Anyway, to cheer both of us up, I took the pictures en plein air. She is a deity after all, so the backdrop of bright spring skies is rather appropriate.

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Day 21 (March 30, 2008)

Eyelashes, anyone?

Good morning! I feel better about Fortuna - she is going to be a delightful sculpt after all.

I made eyelashes this morning and took some pictures to show how this can be accomplished the painful way. I don't know any other way to make eyelashes - realistic enough to even bother about it.

I tried eyelashes a few times on my previous dolls, but that was hardly satisfactory. So I was muling it over and I think I figured out a workable method. This is my first time to make them this way, so I am sure I will think of improvements later, but for now it is what it is.

This way will work on glass eyes only (I think).

1. Figure out what color tibetan lamb fur I am going to use for hair. Eyelashes will be made out of the same fur.

2. Search out and lay out fur pelt, crystal lacquer, sharp scissors, toothpicks.

3. Cut a small strand of hair and shred into tiny pieces 1/8" long.

4. Apply very thin line of crystal lacquer to the upper eyelid (blue on diagram):

5. Wet a toothpick and holding it UPRIGHT VERTICALLY pick up a few "eyelashes", making a small "bouquet". 3-5 eyelashes at a time is good enough.

6. Press the "eyelash bouquet" (red on diagram) into the crystal lacquer line (blue on diagram), aligning the bottom of the bouquet with the line where the lid meets the eyeball (green on diagram). Keep going until you have a decent number of eyelashes all around the lid. Don't sigh in frustration as the eyelashes will fly away, you will have a mess and will have to start all over.

7. Wait a few minutes to allow the crystal lacquer to set, but not harden completely. With an exacto knife, working on a small area at a time, press in and upward into the line where the lid meets with eyeball (green on diagram). That will tuck the crystal lacquer and the roots of the eyelashes under the lid and re-align the eyelashes so that they extend more forward and even a little downwards at the corners.

8. All of this is easier said than done, but it is possible. With a bit more practice, I am sure I can make gorgeous eyelashes in the future.

I said that it will only work on glass eyes because you have to make scraping motion with that exacto knife to tuck the crystal lacquer in. It works great on glass eyes - crystal lacquer line just slides upward and stays there and the eyes get clean at the same time. I am not sure how this will work on painted eyes.

Now, looking at the picture, I think I will add more lashes at the corner, try to trim them and do the lower lid as well. Will be right back.

......

I am back with more eyelashes. I am going to live the face alone. It is very close to the dreamy-sexy and indulgingly-benevolent look I was going after. I hope you think so too. I am off to making hair. Will be right back - I hope today.

Well, BEFORE the hair I need to do one more thing - blushing. If you have any sense in you, you really need do it before hair, makeup or eyelashes. It is not my favorite part - I am not too good at it, but as I committed to show you everything, here it goes.

First mix Genesis Matte Varnish, Genesis red (a bit), Genesis burnt sienna (a bit). Genesis Matte Varnish has a thick petrolleum-jelly-like consistency. A drop of Prosculpt oil dilutes it nicely. You can see the mix on the saucer - the part with the paint brush sitting on it.

Now I painted her all over, then deepened pink/brown color in all the appropriate, in my opinion, areas - all folds, armpits, palms of the hands and soles of the feet, behind the knees, neck, forehead, cheeks and chin, breasts and tummy, buttocks, etc.

Put her in the oven, brought the temperature to 265 and turned it off to cool. That sets the genesis paint.

Well, here it is, she will have to consider herself blushed. I can see that I lost the nipples color in the process, that can be touched up with simple water-based oil later.

I am out of time - need to start my store work, so hair will have to wait for tomorrow.

One more thing - my white silk gauze has arrived, just in time for making her costume. I am looking forward to costuming - white and gold color scheme - what do you think...

...

12:29 - Can you believe it, I am still here. As I said, it is hard to put her down when we are on the finish line.

If you mess up with blushing (and I did), you can rub the excess of paint and smudges with alcohol and sort of blend it better.

I touched up the eyebrows, the nipples and lips, set the genesis paints in the oven (again) and I am putting her aside until tomorrow - for real this time. Here is what I have now:

The allowed post length came to the limit, starting Part 3
(Part 3 can be found here: http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Part-3/_W0QQidZ423827011)

 
Create your own visitor map!

Morezmore Current WIP:
Fortuna, Goddess of Abundance, Luck and Fortune (Part 1)
Part 2 can be found here:
http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Part-2/_W0QQentrysyncidZ413405011QQidZ413405011

Large pictures can be found here: http://www.morezmore.com/WIP.html

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Day 1 (March 10, 2008)

Here is what I have so far:

a lovely victorian image of Fortuna by Jean Bernard ("Fortuna", Bridgeman Art Library, London, England - thank you, Colleen, for doing the research and digging it out (!!!)

and a hope to win this small vintage old world globe that I am bidding on:

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Day 2 (March 11, 2008)

First thing would be to make an armature. Fortuna will have the Morezmore Modular Brickhouse Armature. I will take as many pictures as possible and outline the step by step process to show what it is all about. 

I will be using:

-- 8" tall skeleton image. If you don't have it, you can grab it in the link below - Compliments of Morezmore:  http://www.morezmore.com/links.html
-- 17 gauge and 24 gauge galvanized steel wire
-- brass tubing 3/32 + 1/16
-- long nose pliers, flat nose pliers, wire cutters, mini tubing cutter, awl (you can use ice pick)
-- Magic Sculpt and Magic Smooth epoxies

All right, first I bend the wire on this handy armature peg board (you can do by hand, following the skeleton bones). The objective is to have something like that:

These are the tools, by the way. I am starting to tie the wire pieces together, trying to make it tight and secure, so that nothing rotates, rocks, shifts, moves or wiggles in the hip area:

Same thing for shoulder/spine connection - tight and secure. Flat nose pliers help to straighten the wire and make defined bends.

Here it is, tied up together. I like my fantasy women long-legged and long-necked, so my armature does not exactly follow the skeleton proportions. Now bending the spine to give it the curves in the lower back, shoulder and neck area.

Now, with the tubing cutter, I am cutting 3/32 tube to make the head, hands and feet modules. Measure tube to the armature, make a little dent on the tube with wire cutters, insert into tubing cutter, tighten the knob, rotate a few times, tighten the knob again, rotate again a few times and so on. Gently try to bend the end sticking out of the cutter, when the it is ready, it will snap off. The tube opening will come out sort of smaller because the cutter will push the walls of the tube inwards, straighten it out with an awl or ice pick (insert awl into the opening, tap a few times and rotate and work it open).

Here are all the modules and armature. Notice that the leg wires are cut under the knees. Assemble all and pose.

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Day 3 (March 12, 2008)

Fortuna is 8" tall sculpt. The tube combination 3/32 + 1/16 will be too flimsy for her weight-bearing leg. So I am going to step up and go with 1/8 + 3/32. To keep the connection snug and tight, I am going to keep a little piece of 3/32 tube and put 1/8 tube over it. Here is what it looks like. I am using a temporary base while I am waiting for my globe.

Before applying the Magic Sculpt epoxy over the armature, I wrapped the main thick wire with thin wire - the little "teeth" will help Magic Sculpt to adhere better.

Now, removing all module tubes and covering the armature with magic sculpt - keeping the areas where tubes slide on clean. Adding bulk to rib cage and hip bones. Pushing Magic Sculpt into the wire so that there are as little air pockets left inside as possible.

Then wrapping a bit of thin wire over the head module tube and making something like a bit of a scull - flat on the face area with a bump on the back of the head.

It will need to be curing for at least 12 hours before I can continue. So this is what I have now - see below.

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Day 4 (March 13, 2008)

This morning was spent on trying to insert glass eyes into the sculpted head. Rather frustrating process - I would sculpt a beautiful face, try to insert the eyes and mess it up. Start again, same thing. Another option - sculpt the head around the eyes - did not work either, the eyes move and shift around and the goddess is either cross-eyed or has a lazy eye or something. So finally I came up with this idea. The eyes are set onto the scull and baked. Will try again - at least the eyes are looking straight, aligned and not going anywhere and I can sculpt around the eyes. I will let you know how this goes. Meanwhile, does not look like a classic beauty, does it.

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Day 5 (March 14, 2008)
Scratch that idea - did not work. Inserting the eyes the old-fashioned way.

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Day 6 (March 15, 2008)

The head is done and baked - my first time with glass eyes, first time with a smiling face, first time with (I guess I felt like I needed an extra challenge) a classical roman profile. Something like that:

Well, here is the result. I hope you recognize the winning smile of Fortuna, commonly known as Lady Luck

Oh, incidentally, I did win that globe! Great price, too!
Check it out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=360031123299&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=023

One more thing that I bought - 400 hundred miniature Gold Coins!
tiny shiny 3 mm brass disks (they are locksmith rekey pins, look at second bag on the picture). When they arrive, I will take a better photo:

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Day 7 (March 16, 2008)

Putting the bulk on Fortuna's torso. Will define and smooth and hopefully bake tomorrow.

My "coins" have arrived yesterday. Quick rinse in a tarnish remover restored the brass shine. Here they are drying on a paper towel:

Forgot to mention, for anatomy reference I am using this website - check it out http://www.female-anatomy-for-artist.com

The subscription is not cheap, but the photo references are very helpful.

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Day 8 (March 17, 2008)

Packing weekend purchases, did not sculpt. But I am not complaining. Thank you for shopping, dear fairymakers. Tomorrow is another day. :)

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Day 9 (March 18, 2008)

Good morning! It is 6:50 and I already put in a good couple of hours into sculpting, so I have something to show. The torso is shaped and smoothed with TLS. I also added more clay to the belly and pelvic area and shifted the belly button down, as the whole belly area was too high and looked wrong. I think it looks better now. I will probably see more mistakes AFTER it is baked, but this is just the way it goes. But, it is all right. Progress, not perfection.  

 A few people asked how to smooth a sculpt. You can do it with your fingers first, then with a brush and translucent liquid sculpey (TLS).

 Here she is, ready to be fired. It is Puppen Fimo (rose) straight out of the package, so the baking temperature is 230 degrees F. This is a thick chunk of clay, so it will stay in the oven for 60 minutes. The temperature will be fluctuating between 230 and 240, but as long as it does not go over 260, it is ok (according to the Fimo manufacturer). The termometer is mercury-filled commercial oven test thermometer. I was going to carry it in my ebay store, but mercury-filled thermometers are not allowed. It is available on my website - you can find the link on my "About Me" page. I will gladly combine it with your ebay purchases.

Somebody asked about eyes - Fortuna has 4 mm blue glass eyes and she is 8" tall.

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Day 10 (March 19, 2008)

I need to do more detailing on the toes and smoothen everything out. But I reached the point that I cannot go any further without destroying what I already accomplished. The clay is warm and wiggles under my tools. I need to set it aside and allow it to cool off and settle down. Actually it is in the freezer right now, I wonder if detailing might be easier to handle if the core of the feet is frozen. Here they are posed on the globe. Also you can see the book I am using - an excellent anatomy reference - "Dynamic Anatomy" by Burne Hogarth. 

Freezing helped! Not long though before it got warm again, but I managed to finish and fire them up, here they are:

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Day 14 (March 23, 2008)

The hands. Again, I cannot give a step by step instructions, as I am still learning, but I took a few pictures of different stages of hands, just for general idea.

I hope you remember the Feet Widget you met the other day. Well, here is his brother - the Hand Widget. He is taller and just as good-looking and helpful. Here is the family photo:

Final position check on the main sculpt and back it goes to the Hand Widget for baking.

Puppen Fimo Rose is used for the main sculpt, except the hands, which are 1 part of Fimo Quick Mix and 2 parts of Puppen Fimo Rose. Fimo Quick Mix adds flexibility to the clay (that is what Fimo manufacturer says). The mix ratio is a mystery which I would need to unveil myself. 

To test Fimo manufacturer's claim, and to test the experimental 2:1 ratio without putting my hard-earned hands at risk, I made one additional ugly test hand of the same size and I am planning to bake together with the other hands.

By the way I used the same mix ratio for hands in my last sculpture (Mistress) but did not dare bending and twisting fingers too much. So this time, I made a spare hand to torture.

I will keep you posted, how that worked out.

The allowed post length came to the limit, starting Part 2.

Part 2 can be found here:
http://blogs.ebay.com/morezmore/entry/MOREZMORE-WIP-20-Fortuna-Part-2/_W0QQentrysyncidZ413405011QQidZ413405011

 

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