International Flat Figure Society - British Flat Figure Society
Flat Figures Painters Forum => Techniques => Topic started by: Glen on February 17, 2013, 05:46:44 PM
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This is my latest attempt at sculpting a flat – a Steampunk Pinup. The idea was to take some Steampunk and Victorian elements and combine them into a 1940s – 1950s style pinup. Think Jules Verne meets Gil Elvgren… I wanted enough elements to convey the Steampunk genre, but not go over the top. This is my first torso (or extended bust), so the KISS principle prevailed. Baby steps y’know… I found a web pic that had a nice pinup pose (and fully-clothed no less) and redrew it from there. The top hat and obligatory goggles were added, the hair altered, the corset redesigned with metal and leather fittings, while a small ruffled skirt, short bloomers, garters, and stockings were added to round out the (or her) bottom. I resisted the temptation to make her topless. The drawing was scaled to be 90mm tall from the bottom of the legs to the top of the hat.
This one started out a bit differently in that I used a sheet of .030 white styrene plastic instead of sculpting on glass or waxed paper. The drawing was transferred to the plastic using a pencil and the outline was cut out using scissors and a hobby knife. Owing to the thickness of the plastic, the scissors were less effective than I thought they might be; especially in tighter areas and inside curves. The hobby knife proved to be a better choice, but a bit tedious owing to the need to score a line several times before the pieces would come away. Once cut out, the plastic needed a lot of dressing around the edges to get the shapes right and smooth things out. I used small files and sanding twigs for this task. In hindsight, I should be able to use thinner plastic in the future.
The next job was to refine the drawing and make it less prone to smearing. I used a small fine line marker, then started laying down Aves Apoxie Sculpt putty. As in other projects, I started at the top, then did a portion in the middle, then a portion at the bottom. The idea is keep me from dragging fingers or tools through fresh putty. Once the putty is cured – about 3-4 hours – I can work on other sections. The soft putty was worked with a variety of carved toothpicks, metal dental/sculpting tools, and small rubber-tipped clay shapers. Cured putty was worked with a variety of small hobby knife blades, scribers, and sandpaper. This is all pretty standard stuff. The goggles were made with thin rings of plastic tubing to depict the leather pads and metal bezels. Wine bottle foil, flat strip and half-round strip styrene were used for the corset fittings. Wine bottle foil was also used for the garters. The eyes, mouth, and corset stays were scribed.
Painting started with a base coat of Floquil Model Railroad Primer, cut with a lacquer thinner, brushed on and allowed to cure for 24 hours. All of the paints are Reaper acrylics and I stuck to the traditional (it seems) Steampunk colors of warm whites, yellow to light brown tans, leather browns, and yellow metals. I know that other colors are used, but these seemed to be most common. I also altered my painting style a bit. In the past, I painted rounds and my limited selection of flats the same way, but I found that what works for rounds doesn’t necessarily work for flats. Rounds have their own three-dimensionality and ambient light can work for you when it comes to defining areas of highlight and shade. I’m finding things are different with flats, so I’m trying to treat a flat as more like a painting on canvas. I’ve been looking at Gil Elvgren’s pinups. He painted in oils on canvas that was roughly 36x24 inches (some larger, some smaller). What looks like fine lace detail or strands of hair from a distance becomes little more than strokes (or smears) of paint ranging from opaque to transparent streaks. This was not new to me, but it did serve as a reminder and an inspiration to try something different. More experimentation is necessary…
As always, questions and comments are welcomed.
Cheers,
Glen
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Stunning work, this one is a lot of fun. I love the back story as well, one appreciates the choices you made and why.
I may follow your lead for my Buck Rogers figures I am planning based on the comics.
Mark :)
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hi Glen,
while looking at your new creation, I noticed that the fingers are in relation to small!
It's supposed to give the Dahmen such small pins on their hands. :o :o
During the longer fingers aesthetic weidlichen proportions (Sexy) 8), if you know what I mean?
Why do you waived your legs?
Good work ...... :-* ;D
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Thanks Mark. I'm glad you liked it. As for the backstory, it's a bit more than 'here it is', but less than an SBS... :)
Wolfgang, the hands and fingers are smaller because they are bent at the wrist back to the body. Viewed from the side, the forearm is projecting slightly forward from the elbow, then the hand is bent at the wrist where the fingertips can lightly touch the body.
As for the legs, I've noticed a number of busts - both round and flat - have gone beyond the traditional bust of a basic head and shoulders. Some have increased the torso to included the chest, which allows the breasts, heraldry, and upper torso mounted equipment to be shown. It seems to be getting streadily increased to include stomachs, hips, and upper thighs! If nothing else, it allowed me to depict bloomers, garters, and stocking tops and still keep the 90mm size where it will fit in a standard 4x6 inch frame. A 90mm full figure would be considerably smaller in scale.
Cheers,
Glen
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Thanks for your explanations.
Yes makes sense! ::)
Even the fingers. I have not detected.
It would be safe even when paint only noticed
No offense ... :-X
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No offense taken Wolfgang. ;D
Feedback is what I want. I can't get better without it because it's always better to have an extra set of eyes looking at the piece.
Cheers,
Glen
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OK Glen, I now we've had our differences about this kind of figure (putty pushing) but when are you going to join the ranks of great figures and make them available for us to buy ;)
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Well Brian, I have to admit it has crossed my mind. I've even investigated the possibility of casting them in metal using a local facility. They were very helpful, but the cost was going to be high. So, there are two main issues I face: one, I'm not there yet in terms of sculpting ability. I make lots of mistakes which I have to stop and correct. I find some of them during the painting process! Why I don't notice them beforehand is still a mystery to me... Some of the mistakes can be corrected via painting, while others require surgery and more puttywork. Under no circumstances would I ask a customer to fix my shape, proportion, perspective, or other sculpting errors. Wolfgang's comment about the small hands and fingers is a case in point. They do look small - until I explain why; the forearm is angled slightly away from the body, then the hand is bent back to the chest/shoulder. If I have to explain it, then I feel something's wrong - or not as good as it should be.
For the most part, I can render a variety of textures from cloth, to suede, to fur and I'm OK with clothing wrinkles, drapery, chain mail, and plate armor. My basic anatomy from the neck down is OK, but I still have those issues that I mentioned above. My depiction of hair can run hot or cold, but it's usually lukewarm... Faces are still an issue. I really want to properly render a face, but I've resorted to shallow depressions for eye sockets, slight bumps for noses and cheekbones, and engraved eyes and lips. Basically, I'm emulating Yvan Durand's technique on one of his Gil Elvgren based pinups (the one I used for my 'Santa's Helper' conversion).
The second issue has to do with my ability to commit to something I enjoy as a hobby, but may find that as job may get old fast. I used to be a very prolific aircraft and armor builder, then I got a post-military career job in the hobby industry and it very quickly killed my interest. After a 60+ hour week eyeball deep in kits, books, magazine, accessories and supplies, the last thing in the world I wanted to do when I came home was build a model. I'm very much afraid the same thing could happen if I started cranking out resin flats.
Still tempting, tho'.
Cheers,
Glen
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OK Glen, it's a shame as I know some one that would like to market this figure ::)
But keep going and maybe the next one will be the one, just a small run ;)
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OK, thanks for the pressure... ;)
Working on a 90mm Harlequin now. Topless so far, but I could add pasties...
Nah. What was I thinking!?
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Glen a great finish on this one , she looks really well. Congrats
Cheers Ken
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Thanks Ken. I appreciate it. Still plugging away on the Harlequin - which has its own share of issues...
Glen
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I saw it in Dallas and loved it ... great job
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Thanks! I plan on bringing it to the ReaperCon show in mid-April and up to Tulsa in June. After that, it gets retired.
Cheers,
Glen
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Love your work, Glen.
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Thanks! Working on two new ones for Tulsa. Hope they get done...
Glen