Friday, January 20, 2012

SCULPTURE - "Santa vs. The Yeti" FINAL

BEHOLD...The SMACK-DOWN in TOY-TOWN!

Santa didn't start this fight, but he sure as fruitcake is gonna end it! Ain't no giant Yeti gonna be munching on Kris Kringle's workforce and get away with it! Some heard him exclaim, as he drove the beast out of sight..."I know when you are sleeping...I know when you're awake..."

Okay...enough silliness. Here are photos of the last few stages of the sculpting process...pretty much the same techniques that I've shown all along. I added smaller pieces of sculpy to build the general shapes and flow of the Yeti's fur. Then I spent a good deal of time adding detail with various sculpting tools.

Once all the fur was done, I glazed the whole piece with oder-less solvent. Then I let it sit overnight, to set up after "melting" the sculpy to a smoother surface. I covered the bottom of a pie pan with a piece of aluminum foil, and placed the sculpture in the center of it. I baked the Yeti in the oven at about 250 degrees, for 30 minutes. After I turned off the heat, I opened the oven door, and just let it cool down slowly.

Next, I painted a gray-blue base-coat with acrylics, then several layers of glazes, building up from the darker values to the lightest...dry brushing and blending until I was satisfied with the results.

While waiting for the Yeti to bake, I started painting Santa...first a base coat of brown, then the colors I wanted. I then used very thin washes of tans, black, and various blues to add depth and variety to the paint job.

After all the painting was finished, I used super-glue GEL to fix Santa onto the back of the Yeti. I had left a hole in the Yeti's shoulder for the armature wire that protruded from Santa's foot. I had also sculpted a "foot hole" in the Yeti's back. Once the glue had set-up, I sculpted a little piece of "fur" out of plumbers epoxy to look like Santa's hand was holding on the the beard hair of the Yeti. A bit of touch-up paint to match the Yeti fur...and it's all finished!!

Here are various views of the final "Santa vs. The Yeti" sculpture. Hope you enjoyed watching the process!

13 comments:

The GunGrave said...

LOL, that is awesome!

Broeders said...

That is brilliant! Must get one for next Christmas!!

Warren Ludwig said...

Thanks, guys! Glad you're amused.

And Phil...if you are inclined towards getting a Yeti for Christmas, do not expect it to put the star on the top of your tree (like in the well-known animated reindeer tv show). Yetis are a bit moody.

Fitz-Badger said...

Excellent!
One of the things I really enjoy about your various projects is how you share the whole process, from concept art to decisions (and even missteps) along the way to the final piece(s) and shots with appropriate backgrounds.
Thank you!

The Lord of Excess said...

Wow!! That is amazing!! You should cast it ... I'd buy one!! Super cool!! From a hobby perspective ... I love kit bashing things, etc. and do some free sculpting here and there, never anything as impressive as this but I always love watching how people go through their sculpting process. Thanks for sharing sir

BP in NC said...

I may never think of Santa the same way again!

L Witha Z said...

Small world!

Love your work, btw. Really inspiring stuff.

I thought your band name looked familiar, and sure enough you live in OP! I live in Olathe, myself. Nice to see another Kansian in the blog-world!

Keep up the nice work!

Dice Plague said...

That´s a bad ass Santa! Awesome work!

BaronVonJ said...

I'd hang that on my Cmas tree.

skywatcher said...

Great idea and sculpt! I've never seen this side of Santa, he is one tough dude to take on the Yeti! Well done!

Yeti's Yell said...

Totally spectacular! 2 enormous, clawed thumbs up!

Dee said...

Wow...you left me wondering if Santa really won this battle...Looks like it could still go either way. That's a mighty big hand looming over the little fellow. Great work, Warren...Just the element of surprise that folks like...Yep, you've got some teacher genes in you too...
What's next?
Mom

J. said...

Sweet! I almost forgot to check back on this one! TOO AWESOME!! Wow...cant wait to see what you follow this UP WITH!!