Another WIP, Centauress

This is another project I started at or around the same time I started the green dragon. It too, is currently wrapped up in saran wrap, and stored carefully away.

I will warn you, the pictures do contain some semblance of human nudity, so if you are offended, don't read.

I am a member of a message board (ooakguild.com) devoted to artists that work in clay, but create OOAK. OOAK is an industry term for One-Of-A-Kind. I started this for a contest they were holding on the board, but due to the lack of space to work, ability to work without 5 pairs of smaller hands that just HAD to work in the clay at the same time, and the constant distractions of 5 kids all trying to see what you are doing at the same time - not the most conductive situation to getting stuff done.

Ad to that situation the necessity to sculpting female body parts - with pre-tween aged boys around - not the *best* thing to have going on in front of them.

So, again, just like Mr. Green Dragon below, Miss. Centaur got put away too.

The inspiration from this piece was a contest on ooakguild, something to do with taking a character out of a story and turning it into 3-D. I've always just loved the original Fantasia, (Disney), and being a wings and horse nut, the centaur scene has always been my hands down favorite song from the movie. I decided to take one of the adult females and see if I couldn't make her 3-D.

I didn't get pictures of her armature, in progress (except for these) or any of the steps. I wasn't ever planning on putting her up here on the blog, but since I'm bored and looking for things to keep this blog alive, here she is. 

She's my first time sculpting in straight Super Sculpey III, and I'm not so sure I enjoy it. The clay gets super tacky when warm, and after a lot of handling, that tackiness gets really annoying. 


I like the flesh color of the clay though, which is why I kept using it. 


The dragon I baked the head in its own step to keep it from being destroyed while working on the body. Her though... She is still in unbaked form. This may or may not prove to be a major mistake when I go to bake her if I ever finish her. 

For those that aren't familiar with the way Polymer clay works, its a plastic based clay that is pliable, easily kept for long periods of time in its original state, doesn't harden on its own, and when ready to 'cure', can be fired in a regular oven. Temps to cure the clay vary between 250 and 275, so this clay is a very good choice for people like myself who a) can't afford a real kiln; b) don't sculpt full time/as their bread and butter; c) have a lot of smaller projects such as beads, kids projects, and just overall messing around. The clay comes in hundreds of colors, and can be mixed to any color you can possibly think of under the rainbow. Its also very cost effective, with a one pound rectangle of the Super Sculpey III above costing between $10 and $15, depending on retailer. 


Her armature was easy to figure out, but a pain to reinforce. She's got a triple twisted wire spine, with the same twisted wire for the legs and torso. Over that wire she has wrapped aluminum foil to bulk out the shape of the horse and human body. Then over the foil is masking tape. If you look closely at her tail, you can see its not white clay, but rather tape.  


I had planned on her tail being in mid-swish, not touching her body at all. That will need another skeleton of smaller wires that will eventually be stuck into and glued into that foil taped mass of tail bone. 

Her legs might end up being a major problem. First off, I can see now, after months of not laying eyes on her, that they are a touch too long. This might be good because I'll need more wire coming down to help anchor her to a base, plus support for hooves. The upraised front leg needs a major bone adjustment, and its too far out to the side. 






I also see now her back is WAY too long. That will need to be fixed too.


Keep in mind though, she's wrapped up in plastic wrap, and has been laying on her side since November 09 - and its now May 10. I'm pretty sure some major damage has been done by now, and when I get ready to take her out, I'll have to do some damage control.