Stop Motion #2

While I continue to think this is interesting, at this point I'm no longer filming the process, because I'm finding it to be kind of disruptive, as I work on the final finish. Best to watch this one a couple of times, focusing on different areas. Next time I do something like this, I'll come up with some kind of registration system, so it's not so jumpy. My current system is pretty low tech.

Stop Motion As A Training Tool

So, this was interesting. Today I rigged up the tripod so it hung down from the ceiling, and then set frameograph (a great app) to take one shot every 5 minutes, set to beep in the last three seconds so that I would know to get out of the way.

The resulting video isn't perfect, but it does provide a sense of one of things I love most about modeling; watching the accumulation of a million tiny changes that slowly bring the object into "focus".  Having a consistent 5 minute timer also had the unexpected benefit of reminding me to keep moving around the sculpture as a whole (see yesterday's post), instead of getting bogged down in any particular problem areas, or tricky little details.

If you watch closely (it's much, much better to watch it on Vimeo), you can see that I started in the upper left, and then slowly worked my way across and back. I think everything got changed at least a little, so give it a couple of views to really track the changes (it's only 7 seconds). Watch it and be amazed that I considered this a really productive day.

Working With Castilene

The modeling on this project is being done in Castilene, which is fantastic medium and, happily, working just liked I hoped it would in combination with the urethane foam. The downside of Castilene is that it's slow,  like plasticene, and the surface is finicky. The problem is that, or me, a finicky surface is like the tar baby - I can get stuck to trying to perfect the surface, when I really need to be working the form.

With that in mind, I am very deliberately trying to keep away from working the surface. In this clip you can see I'm working with a wax pen and an alcohol torch, trying to keep the Castilene soft and the modeling light.

The deadlines on this project are tight enough that I'm actually thinking about my "touch rate" - trying make sure that I'm moving quickly and working the piece as a whole without getting stuck resolving individual elements or problem areas.

Another Process Day

Another Full Day from Jed Morfit on Vimeo.

The first day I was able to spend on the lady in quite some time. Too many other obligations. Very hot in the studio, very hot. Makes for a sweaty day, but it does mean that the plasticene stays nice and soft. I'll probably need to wait for some cool days work details into the surface, but it's good for roughing out forms, which, unfortunately, I am still doing.

At this point, I don't even pay much attention to how much progress I'm making, or how far I have left to go. I suppose that's good. It's not an experience I've ever had before. Mostly, I just move the bikes and the lawnmower out in the morning, and apply nose to grindstone.  

At the very end of the day, I got tired of pushing plasticine around, and impulsively decided to take the body away, and see how the connections between the two pieces was going to work. If you look closely in the video, you can seem me cut the face off the mock up - it was jammed up against the rafters, preventing the two pieces from coming apart. In retrospect, I'm not sure this was a great idea, but I can't actually see the downside, either. It's not like I need her for reference at this point.

A Full Day In Just Over A Minute

There's something weird about recording yourself in the studio. It's like having a supervisor sitting right over your shoulder. Turned out to be good for productivity - wanting to keep the camera in position meant I had to concentrate on a the visible area, which I wouldn't necessarily do. Still, I think this is an interesting record of the process. It's probably as close to the actual experience as you can get without actually spending the day in the studio - boring, but satisfying to watch the whole thing slowly come into focus.


Process from Jed Morfit on Vimeo.


Watch it on Vimeo to see it at a larger size.