The Sum of all her Parts is a Whole

Here is our little science experiment from the last post. Notice she comes together quite nicely! Hopefully you can tell what breed she is now. :) She's looking *exactly* like my reference photo so I'm thrilled so far!

 The body comes together within a few hours usually. Mainly because I don't struggle with little intricate details as the body is a big mass with the exception of little wrinkles and rolls here and there. Getting those legs and head attached to the armature probably take the most time as that's where I do a lot of measuring. Once those things are on and secure, it's really hard to move them so it's best to make sure they're in the right spot to begin with. 

And while pushing those legs around they are easy to snap so you have to be gentle. You can see in this photo I managed to break off a little chunk of the weight-bearing leg while I was putting it on to the armature. Doh! It was repaired relatively well though I'll count on this being an area in the master resin to pay attention to and fix more. 

I *lurve* the way her neck came out!!!! Thin and long and delicate. The nice thing about this gal is she'll be getting a roached mane so I won't have to cover it all up! The real horse has neck "rolls" just like this gals, even though she's not cresty. She's still got her neck just about as far back as it can probably go and all that skin has to compact to do so, even on an ASB. The trick was to not go crazy with them, as I usually tend to want to do. 

The other side to this gal has not been touched. So, while this side looks good, the other is a horrible mess. Nothing smudging around clay doesn't fix! And I'll need a base for her. I just want a little something around the front weight-bearing leg. Debating on whether to attach that or make it detachable. Still thinking on it. And this young little filly has a name now too - Clementine. 

Works in Progress

So, since my website at this point is horribly out dated and I don't see any time to get to it in the near future, I'll post some WIP horses here. I'll actually be giving the website a nice facelift when I do get to it, so there'll be that to look forward too as much as the new photos that will be on it! 

These guys were the two I took photos of today for their owner to get a progress report on. That's the only reason they get their own post. There are many others in studio in various stages of progression. This first guy up is an Eberl Adonis resin getting a red chestnut tobiano paint job. I don't know why, but I tend to do things one side at a time. This side as you can see is nearly complete. The other is still only base-coated. X^D Things left to do on this side will be to smooth the body color a bit more and maybe touch up with some dry-brushed oils to bring out shadows slightly more. The chest, neck, head already have that on. The white is not completely finished either, nor have I shaded those areas or done all the mapping yet. I tried a new mapping color and am very happy with the way it came out!

The second is SMB's little Oliver. He and Mom are getting painted like Exmoor ponies. I'm experimenting with glazes on this guy rather than going with my normal full on wet-on-wet shading for the overall body tone. I think it will work out well in his case because of the extensive pangare. His legs, eyes, and nose still need the black shading. He's going to be done before momma as she's still sitting in primer waiting for these two to get complete before she gets her new clothes.

Cantering Warmblood progress

So I believe it was one or two posts back that you saw a peek at the Warmblood I'm working on. I've probably got about 42 hours, give or take one or two, into him at this point. Don't mind the cracking. I tend to seal a freshly completed section with a heat gun before moving on to the next so as to make sure I don't accidentally bump and smudge something I didn't want to. I should take the time to just bake him and then move on to fully get him cooked instead of hardening just the top layer but well, these little tiny cracks are easy to fill on the resin master.

This side of the tail is pretty much done. I'll come back with Apoxie, which is a stronger substance that adheres to hard surfaces much better, to smooth some unworked spots out when I get the resin master copy made.

You'll see that I just have this side of the tail, the chest, and 1.5 front legs to go! Male parts I'll put on the resin master as well. Same with shoes and veins.

<3 his face! The wrinkles will calm down during the master smoothing process.

These wrinkles are better. The blob there is a chest muscle waiting to be worked in. It won't poke out nearly so much later.

You'll also notice I went with the 40 tiny hunter braids. I really debated this as the look is not my particular cup of tea. However in the end they won out because one - he's correctly braided for pretty much every discipline requiring them, and two - they'll be *very* easy to sand off for mane resculpting of the production pieces. I'm also contemplating two versions - loose mane and the braided. I would love to hear people's thoughts on this!

Some photogenic studio updates

I'm due (long over due in fact) for a web update - not just the gallery but the in studio page as well. I don't have the time for that large of a project yet, so I'm taking the quick way out meantime with a little blurb of studio projects.

Remember several years back when I did this guy? Well, his owner and I had the most unfortunate luck of this being a rare case of a leaking resin that doesn't rear its ugly head until well after the paint has been applied. We traded the bad body back to Lynn for another and are having a second attempt at this guy. He's almost finished, just need to add more gold to the highlights and then add the dark to the other side.

Another one of my long time residents. This Lorenz is finally up on the assembly line and looking good in his dapple gray coat! Little fleabites are being added to the flank, shoulder, elbow and neck areas right now. His legs are blocked in but still need work on this side. The other side needs everything. :)

Two Reiners on commission are just about finished! The top needs his m/t and hoofies completed and I'm waiting on a Rio Rondo order of shoes to give him that finishing touch.  The bottom just needs to have his feet finished and he's ready to be sealed and sent home!

These next two are sales pieces that I'm squeezing in. Ikran, above, has been getting little hairs drawn on here and there for probably the last year. He's not very high on the priority list as I'm working more on commissions and resin orders. Since you last saw him in an earlier blog post, I've added more hairing work and then a layer of oils over top of that hairing detail to set everything in. I'm extremely pleased with the way he is coming out. I love this little sculpture, which certainly helps. It's probably my favorite foal resin out there today, though Morgen's Little Man Mango is right up there with him.

 This guy however, I should have done in the next couple of days. I <3 mini's. Freshly released, he's Sarah's Little Lonestar and I'm trying a new way of painting on him. I had an idea for a "short cut" of sorts but wanted to make sure the look would still be the same and just as nice. So far, on the two horses I've tried it out on it's working out great! This means faster production, which is always a huge benefit! Still need to add the shadows and blanket on the other side and add the white markings on the legs and face. So far he's sailing along though.

And I'm trying to integrate a plastic piece in now and then too. I like the change in medium to kind of spritz things up a little anyway. This gal is more performance oriented with her neck tucked and head on the bit. I've added braids and squared out her tail more. The braids need to be "dechunkified" and some smoothing needs to happen, but after that I think I'm ready for painting. Still no clues on color for her yet. I'm thinking a medium chestnut but I'm not nailed to it. Suggestions are always welcome. :D

Also in the studio is a new sculpture project. I'm almost finished with the little Welsh pony mare, but I had to start this guy before I exploded with pent up creativity. Another warmblood? Fraid so. Why? A few reasons. One, I had a friend comment on how odd it was that while I was an "English type" rider (dressage/eventing) I had a lot of western style resins. I thought it funny when I realized how right she was. So, I'm endeavoring to give Depeche a buddy. Another reason for the second dressage oriented piece is completed business related. When I can afford to and take the time away from work, I ride at a high-end dressage barn. Let's just say I believe there's the potential for some jobs there. I very much want to branch out into bronze work and start focusing on commissioned sculpture.  So, I need a portfolio piece that showcases the recent skill level I've reached that would appeal to the buyer I'm trying to attract. 

I have been wanting to do this pose for years now actually. It's a bit different from what you normally see in the model world. He is cantering, but he's only got one weight-bearing leg at this time in the gait. There are so many trotting ones I didn't want to go that direction, and I still wanted a versatile horse for other events besides dressage so I didn't want to sculpt a very specific movement like the half-pass or pirouette. And while we have a lot of horses in the canter with three weight-bearing legs like Depeche, there really aren't mane with just one. I believe that's because of the need for either a base or pegs. This guys will most likely have two. One in his right back leg, and then one in the left front.

So, yes the update was a bit long, but in that there were lots of photos to see, I'm sure you'll forgive me. ;) There are still many more horses in progress, but their paint was drying or they were at another otherwise impossible to photograph stage.

Another "Quick" Update

During my "lunch break" I sit in front of the TV, cuddle with my dog on the sofa, eat lunch, and do some sculpting. Yes. I am one of those people who can't just be idle. Anyway. QD is making some progress! Now, you've seen this side a lot:

So I thought I'd take share more so you could get a better idea of him. Like actually seeing what his other side looks like (now that he has one)!

And this next one is just comical to me for some reason. You can really see that his left side is quite a bit behind work-wise to his right side. That inner left leg needs work, from the hoof all the way up to where it would connect to the chest. You can also see how one sided his face is right now too.

And here's the straight down view after the reworking of that booty! Much better don't you think? Getting there anyway.

And did I mention how much I love Super Sculpey? I am cranking out legs with far more detail than before!

That's all the new shots of him for now. We'll see how many more lunch breaks it takes to finish him. ;)

Progress Peek - Johann

So, I *try* to leave myself time between commissions and resin casting to get out a sales piece now and then. I usually only end up with about 3-4 a year that actually make it to MH$P or an auction site. For sales piece number two for 2011, I am leaning towards Morgen Kilbourn's FABULOUS little small traditional resin "Johann". I wasn't all that wooed by the unpainted piece's photos, but I know Morgen wouldn't put out anything that wasn't spectacular so I asked her about getting one of these guys. I'm so glad I did! He is absolutely delightful in person! Morgen is a master at subtle detailing. I'm here to tell you if you have been on the fence about this guy, you need to jump off and just buy him before it's too late. You won't regret it. There is a joke among artists that we "Can't afford to keep our own work." The phrase can apply here as he'd probably be one I'd like to keep but I just can't afford to not sell him.

So, when you are looking at the photo please keep in mind that while he looks complete, he's still a work in progress. In fact, the Testors Dullcote hasn't even dried, as evidenced by the shiny creases in the face and ear cavities... I also need to map a little around the facial marking and do some more to the eye, etc. Like I said. Work in progress. But when he's done, he'll be an absolutely yummy dappled toasty liver chestnut with a "platinum blond" flaxen mane and tail and four white socks for lots of chrome.