TOTALLY UNIQUE IDEA!! Orc heads

hello! wait hold on I have my blog post setup wrong, one second.

ok, oops. I had it on html for some reason (it wasn't that notable to mention but, anyway)

I'll start this post first off by saying, the title is a lie. My hobby buddy (I hope we're buddies) 5header posted a video to his youtube about his silly polymer clay orc heads a few days ago (nearly a week) and I've just grabbed this concept and been running off with it since. Now, I think my execution pales just a little to his (self flagellation) I do want to share the process of making one, because that's the whole point of having a blog! Why else would I make a blog post! I have nothing else to talk about!

Current orc heads I got -1 which I mailed to Tanner cuz I don't want it

So, getting started is as simple as getting started. Bulking out a sculpt with aluminum foil is one of the surest ways to start so let's start there. I don't usually do this but it is much smarter than what I do (not this). With these heads I've been copying Joe's approach of leaving a lil holding nub, so I crinkle up that part first. I make it about an inch long, smaller than that it's hard to grip and bigger is just a waste. The rest of the foil I leave pretty loose, and I gentyl ease it into the rough shape I want. I love orcs with snouts so I'm going to be making one of those.

Once you've compressed it pretty much all the way you want, or you're having difficult compressing it more, you can take a metal tool and really push the foil where you want it (or smooth out rough bits you can't smooth by hand).

cool, good enough. You've drawn the circle, now add all the details. Polymer clay goes on. Pick where the features are gonna be. A face in it's simplest form is eyes, nose, and a mouth. Add the cheekbones to really define the features. For orcs, I do vertical creases all down the top lip because thats how Paul Bonner does it and he's right! I usually add the ears after I've roughed the face in a bit. A trick fo rears when you're trying to sculpt them: An ear is basically C shaped with a y in the middle. Where the tail of the y goes down, there's a lil nub opposite it and behind that is the ear hole. I hope that makes sense. I don't always sculpt all those details (usually I don't, lazy) but I know a lot of people struggle with ear anatomy. It's a y inside the ear. Keep that in mind, dear reader!

this is you

See, ears. 

he went from being squinty to buggin out fr

Now, you can sculpt teeth and eyes with fresh clay and you don't have to use different colored clay for it. For the last four heads I've sculpted I had premade eyes and teeth ready to go for them. I have some mixed feelings about this. For long teeth, it's great, no notes. You can stick 'em into the clay and don't have to worry about them bending. chef kiss, mwah. Short teeth and eyes, I think you can use fresh clay and it works out perfectly fine. An issue I have with premade eyes is, if you don't have enough clay over the foil it's hard to get them as recessed into the sculpt as you want. I mean, as I want. Also, if you only sculpted big eyes but you want some tiny lil squinty eyes it's like, dang I guess I can't do that! I think once I use the last lil eyes I premade I'll just use unbaked clay for eyes going forward. I do also think it's very charming to use different colored clay for eyes and teeth, especially this fimo. 

Ok well that's that. 

Bye!

I feel like blogging again, hope it's not boring...

 I know I know, I just made a big post. 

I never made a post about my smashbash last year. I don't think I'm gonna get around to making on this year so I wanna share some process and the thoughts behind what I was doing last year.

I hope this post isn't boring!

I don't necessarily love grimdark stuff, which shouldn't be a surprise. There should be an element of ridiculousness to it, otherwise you're reveling in misery and I generally have not had a nice time doing that. I kind of wanted to make something edgy though. I'd been thinking about hand tools and stone age surgery for a bit and the two things kind of coalesced in my design. I'd drawn up some sort of cultish guys a while back that I referred to as Trepanants (people who do trepanation) which were hooded creeps holding big dainty hand drills. I wanted to explore what they could be a little more. I'd been thinking about Mek28 a bit too I think. I also took a bit of inspiration from Trigun. 

So we got these sketches, big guy with holes all in his head with a hand drill. As well, a companion on his back. The theme for the year was Battle Royal, and who would be more likely to win than a guy with barely any weapon? I think there's some weird themes in this, I think it kind of has some layers to it. It's a bit perverse, it's a bit suggestive and pretty dark. The big guy sculpt also has a fig leaf over his bits which you can't really see unless you look for it. Why you looking for it???

Sculpting it was an inelegant process. I made the drill out of tank bits and some pen parts. The bit is twisted wire. I tried to do more kitbashing on it with some hands I'd bought but they just weren't right. I sculpt the arms seperately from the body and built the body out of a base of aluminum foil and just layered on blobs of greenstuff/milliput. I mean, it's sculpting. I glued the arms on once I had the body sculpted how I wanted it. I tried using tamiya putty to fill gaps in the epoxy but that stuff just kind of sucks to work with, for me. I ended up using greenputty instead. 

plasticard base for the feet is really a choice

I was originally sculpting a holey head for the rider but I went with a Gardens of Hecate headsculpt instead

I really feel a lot of anxiety about picking color schemes for miniatures. I think I'm getting over that a bit, but last year I really felt inadequate about it. So, to cheat I looked at my inspiration folder and picked an Alien illustration by Arthur Suydam and just ripped the colors from that completely.  I promise the pose similarity was just serendipity! Though I did already have the image saved so maybe it stuck in my mind idk.

cheatin'

Well, anyway. Like I said, I'm probably not going to pressure myself this year to do a smashbash entry. I'm kind of bummed about it but I just don't think I have the spoons. I got pretty burnt out after building this guy last year and I'm really trying to take it easy with the hobby (even though I just started a competition) so I'm going to do just that. I can't wait to see what everyone does this year!

(By the way, I've conned my friend Julian into scanning their Mischievous Man cast so there will be an stl to 3D print sometime soon!)

I hope wherever you are you're doing well!

First (and possibly last) Annual Dope-Off!

Greetings! I'D like to see more Mischievous Men painted and YOU'D like to win stuff, so let's make a deal.

You- Paint/kitbash 1 (one) Mischievous Man. Either the original resin cast if you've got one or a wretched handmade/kitbashed approximation if you don't own one(or if you just prefer to make your own. I won't take it personally!)

Winners will be determined by a panel of Merry Fellows who've put brush to model and filled my heart with admiration by giving life to one of my sculpts!

Judges will pick 3 winners based on DOPENESS, WHIMSY, and of course MISCHIEF.

Entries should include 1-4 pictures of your finished piece showing off the majestic hobbywork you have done. Email entries to dessicateddope@gmail.com by June 28th. Include the name you prefer and Instagram handle (if you have one/ want to be found) in your entry email!

DOPEST A full set of metal Dopes sculpted by yours truly (including Shnails and Squigs?)

MISCHIEVIEST Just the Dopes!


WHIMSIEST Just the Shnails and Squigs?!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Q/A

"What if I don't have my own mischievous man?"

I will have a few casts available for the cost of shipping, but once I'm out that's it! You can, of course, sculpt one yourself to enter (or kitbash one!)

"Can I just buy the Dopes when they're available?"

Yeah, of course... Sure...

"I preordered the Dopes and don't want more of them. By the way, I hate you!"

Ok... but please paint a Mischievous Man.

"I don't want to paint this guy..."

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

"Do I have to follow you?"

No! And don't! But please DO use the hashtag #FirstAndPossiblyLastAnnualDessicatedDopeOff for wips and ESPECIALLY don't forget to email your entries to dessicateddope@gmail.com with the title "Dope-Off Contest Entry!!!!!1!!"

"Shipping is too expensive!"

I KNOW! IT'S AWFUL!!! Please sculpt one! I'm so so so so so sorry!