The hands are baked, all three. Testing the victim hand (reminder – that was the hand made of and . 1 part of and 2 parts of Rose. 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.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 (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 and REBAKE.
That will be tomorrow, I have to stop at this point and return to work – questions, invoices and packing for tomorrow USPS pickup. Many thanks for shopping
Good morning! First, I did some picking and cutting on the hands, coated with thin layer and rebaked. While the hand modules were in the , I drilled the wings holes (if you are smart, you do the wing holes during the sculpting stage).
Tiny pieces of 3/32 go into the holes, secured with a bit of epoxy. My wings will be built on 1/16 brass (upper main vein) which fit into 3/32 s inside her back. If this is confusing, here are the pictures to show what I mean:
Meanwhile, the ring went off – the hands are ready. Here they are, piping hot:
Fortuna is ready for assembling. 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 s 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 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 for 10 minutes at 230 degrees.
Big inventory day at – 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.
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 in Crystal Mother of Pearl, clear copper , (not the best choice for this – too stringy), 3D .
Sculpting the legs. First – made two thick solid columns. Second – with the help of the 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 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.
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 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.
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 , 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 – 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 – use AFTER ALL SANDING IS DONE.
Here she is, covered in 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 – 80 and steel wool (Coarse).
I got a few good questions from a fellow fairymaker and, with her permission, I posting the answers here:
Q: I’ve just seen your blog on fortuna…you have some very good ideas with perfecting the armature and your plumbline will help me so much THANK YOU!
A: Thank you for checking her out and happy to be of help, if any!!
Q: I saw that you baked her torso for 60 minutes……on the packet fimo says to bake for 30 mins……when is the clay too thick to bake only for the 30 mins?
A: Because does not shift colors as much as Prosculpt does, I bake for a longer time, just to be very sure that it is baked through. I am not sure it is necessary to bake for 60 minutes, but I fugured it wouldn’t hurt. After 60 minutes Fimo is really hard – I have hard time cutting it with knife. 60 minutes – that was for the torso. For the head it was 30 minutes and 20 minutes for hand and feet modules, and 45 minutes for legs. All those times are nothing but guesses. All parts did get baked through well, with minimum color difference in different parts. The feet got a tad darker than legs, so I will need to adjust time a bit in the future. I just started using , so I expect there will be some learning curve.
A: I noticed those tiny separations in clay on torso – and you just gave me the answer where they come from – that makes sense – it must be the hot air blast. The way I dealt with them is sanded it all down (heavy sanding), coated with and rebaked, they disappeared. The legs did not get them, not sure why.
Q: I have 2 thermometers, i would like to buy your precision one..do you use one in the oven?..could you send the link to buy it?
A: The that I use is designed for testing and calibrating temperature in commercial kitchen ovens. I got them from a wholesale restaurant equipment supplier. I think they are awesome and was so excited after I spoke with the representative about them. That is exactly what we need – to test and calibrate our ovens! I carry them in . Here it is –
All baked, all sanded, coated with 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.
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, , sharp scissors, toothpicks.
3. Cut a small strand of hair and shred into tiny pieces 1/8″ long.
4. Apply very thin line of 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 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 to set, but not harden completely. With an 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 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 knife to tuck the in. It works great on glass eyes – 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 leave 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 umber (a bit). Genesis Matte Varnish has a thick petrolleum-jelly-like consistency. A drop of 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 , 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 paint later.
I am out of time – need to start 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 (again) and I am putting her aside until tomorrow – for real this time. Here is what I have now:
This post first appeared on Ebay Blogs. As Ebay is not supporting blogs anymore, I am moving all archives here, including all the comments – Thank you!
wow this is getting exciting moving so very quickly..love the muduals what a great idea thank you so much for that info and how you attach the wings is very clear thanks again cute and practical the victim hand and the mixture for the hands this one sure has a lot of helpful info plus what a great sculpt she will be as well love this
Diana
I too am excited this sculpt has captured the look of the masters…her body is perfect…wow you sure are moving along she must want to come into existence quickly
just love how she is coming together and I get to see how she comes together thanks for this
Diana
OK my dear you don’t have really skill limitations your just a perfectionest..you have studied very hard and your just too hard on yourself but of course you will love her again ..I agree the background is much better on her she brightend right up didn’t she?
I am still loveing this piece this is very exciting
Diana
Hi! I just wanted to let you know: I recognize the image for your proportions!! You want to get the Andrew Loomis books. Unfortunately they are out of print, but fortunately they are readily available online in pdf form. I believe this drawing in particular is from his “Figure Drawing for All it’s Worth.” Just run a google search and you should find it easily enough.
She is lovely, Natasha. Thanks for sharing so many of your techniques with us. I can’t wait to make your little widgets. What a great idea!!.. Also, thanks for sharing your eyelash technique. I’ll be watching for the finish.
Hugs, Sharon
dufresnet9, thank you for watching!
thxprincess, that is right, that is where I saw it – I thought it looked familiar! I have the books by Andrew Loomis and read them (well, I guess, not well enough, lol). Great, thank you for reminding me!
omg, this reads like a fascinating novel, i really like all the details and I am sure all the clay sculptors appreciate it too, such details are hard to find. It is extermely interesting to read because it is so stimulating, I am sure makes everyone want to go make something amazing too. I think the doll is going to be gorgeous, I am looking forward to seeing her in all her glory. I think using actual amulet signs (in miniature) in her accessories may make her more than artwork. She might bring luck and properity to potential owner. I am not kidding. I will be watching, she is awesome.
Red she is amazing, you are so disciplined and pay attention to detail. And so very resourceful. This is why you are a success in your art as well as the store! I loved the genesis mix with the matte varnish. Is it a ‘colour’ so to speak? Does it actually come out as a colour or more like a highlighter? Wondering if it would work on dark clay (ethnic prosculpt).
Hey, Lindy, thank you for stopping by! It gives a bit of color if you add genesis paints, like I did. Or just matte finish if no genesis paints are mixed in. It is just a medium to apply genesis paint blushing evenly throughout the body. I would say it will work as well on ethnic brown, if you choose darker genesis paint than the clay itself, I don’t see why not
well I have missed some here but I am back and oh my how wonderful you are explaning how your doing everything man the eyelashes are so beautiful she is getting to be looking for the look you were going for yes indeed she is all those and more…
Diana
Thanks for that info Red, I do have the deeper flesh genesis paints, I will give them a ago So are you saying you sand WITH prosculpt smoothing oil on the sculpt? I am so bad at sanding but you have done it extremely well, and she looks absolutely smooth ‘en plein air’ Isn’t that very oily and messy on the fingertips?
WoW your really a good artist and I love your store. One of my favs. I love all your tutorials. Really informative. thank you for sharing all you know with all sculptors your a great asset to us all.
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