Mask Fabrication: Blocking out

I began shaping out the mask by blocking out the overall form using rough balls of clay. This allowed me to begin to figure out and understand the initial form that the mask would take. Once I had the shapes blocked out, I smoothed out the separate blocks so I could start roughly adding details and refining the base shapes.

Mask Fabrication: Preparing the cast

I was lucky enough to have a plaster-cast bust to work on, so I wanted to preserve it the best I could in order to use for further projects later on.
Firstly I sat it up at an angle for the comfiest sculpting position. I then wrapped it in cling film to protect it from getting too messy, as well as to allow complete removal of the mask sculpt, if and when necessary. Finally I drew in the eye shapes using a simple board marker, to make sure I didn't sculpt over the essential areas that needed to be left alone.

Bird mask: Painting and sealing

After priming the mask with a dark brown, I painted it using acrylics. I wanted to re-enforce the fact that this was a mask a bird was wearing as opposed to the face and head of the animal itself, so went for a leathery kind of appearance, with faded marks around the eyes, highlights around the different panels and small white dots showing where the seams are. Overall I'm relatively pleased with the paint job, but feel I should've used a lighter primer, as the colours wouldn't really lift after a dark backing tone was put down.
Once this was dry I used a clear lacquer gloss to seal it and provide a slight shine.

Bird mask: Moulding and casting

1) Seeing as the little bird mask sculpt didn't have a flat back to it, I had to cast it by means of a two part mould. I began this by finding a container that would fit the sculpt whilst still accommodating enough room on every side so the silicone wouldn't be too weak. I then filled half the container, in this case a small ramekin glass, with air dry clay and buried half the sculpt in this making sure it was air tight. Silicone was then poured over the remaining half of the sculpt that was left exposed, and left to set.

2) On taking out this half of the set silicone after the going off time, I accidentally pushed the tool I was using for leverage in getting the mould out of the container, into the sculpt itself. Because of this a little repair work was needed between casting. I also took this opportunity to trim down the silicone to fit back into the same container; it had a rim to it, so needed to be cut back down to size.

3) The second half of the mould after it had been cast: Quite a bad mould really, with a lot of airbubbles, but in no place they couldn't be simply sanded quickly away once the mask piece was cast so I saw no reason to completely re-cast this half. This half of the mould is also a slightly darker green; I put more catalyst in so it would go off a little faster this time.

4) The resin cast straight out of the mould pieces! It worked! My next step will be sanding down the edges that were left where the two mould pieces met.

Complete bird prototype

Images above show the completed bird prototype! I'm so happy with how this came out; I was able to experiment with different materials and methods to see what worked best. I feel like I'll be able to go on and make replicas of these, (or at least different breeds of birds using similar processes) a lot more confidently now. Understanding even small details such as 'which kind of wire is appropriate for which parts' was integral in figuring out how to carry this forward and make something successful from it.

This prototype could either go forward and be painted and detailed, or I could leave it as a demonstration of the progressive creative processes that have occurred during this project. Depending on time restrains I'll either paint it and finish it, or leave it as it is to demonstrate an example of prototyping.

Bird Mask: Resin casting

1) This first image shows the mould after the silicone was poured in and allowed to set. This is how it looked when I came in to de-mould the following morning.

2) The mould after the plastic wall was stripped off.

3) After peeling off the silicone mould from the base board, the chanvant 'neck' base and air dry clay plugging could be seen. The clay simply crumbled away from the silicone, but I had to cut the mould slightly and dig out the chavant. This was okay though, as the silicone mould would have had to be cut in order to get out the resin casts later on. I then cleaned out the mould, ready for resin.

4) After mixing up the correct ratios of resin, I poured the mixture into the mask cast mould, as well as a little prototype maquette mask I'd been working on previously. This would then dry solidly in the next half hour, ready to be popped out and painted or experimented with.

Bird mask: Mould preparations

1) I began by collecting up the materials I would need to assemble a mould in order to cast the bird mask sculpt. This included a flat piece of MDF, a flexible strip of plastic to form the walls, and a hot glue gun.

2) The next step was securing the sculpt to the MDF surface. The chavant clay stuck to the board itself, but I wanted to be extra careful the sculpt wouldn't come loose while being cast; it could float up through the silicone mid-set and ruin the cast. To secure it I simply smoothed out the 'neck' with some air dry clay. Creating this sloped shape also meant that once the mask was cast it would have a plug-like, spread out base which I could use to stop the head slipping out of the neck hole of the rest of the puppet.

3) Next I created a circular frame for the sculpt, making sure I had at least half a centimetre on every side to ensure a good thickness of mould; if the mould was too thin then there was the potential risk of the silicone breaking. The plastic was taped into place then hot glued to the base, sealing the bottom so no silicone would escape.

4) The last stage of preparation was collecting all equipment needed to begin mould making. This included the two-part silicone, disposable gloves, a set of scales, the sculpt, a mixing pot, a mixing stick and newspaper to protect the surfaces.

Prototype bird mask details

After blocking out and refining the shapes for this mask, I smoothed it out and added details such as the eye loops.
In image 1), half of the face had been smoothed out using a brush and lighter fluid; this dissolves a small amount of the chavant, leaving it smooth. This picture also shows the difference between the circular eye loop before and after being blended into the rest of the mask.
Image 2) shows the finished thing, ready to be smoothed over once more before being cast.

Seeing as the body is quite delicate and light I will have to consider the weight of the mask when casting, and because of this I feel that solid resin would be inappropriate. Currently I'm considering biscuit foam or slush cast resin to be more suitable.

Bird Mask: Final fitted sculpt

Looking back at my previous sculpts, I realised that these masks would be too small for the 1:1 scale I created the prototype bird body in. I also realised that by simply sculpting out the mask alone, without a head there would be nothing to stick it too. I can solve this problem one of two ways; Either sew and stuff a small, featureless ball to act as a head shape that the mask could then rest on, or simply include the head in the mask sculpt. For this prototype I decided to sculpt the head into the mask, to save on time and to experiment with whether this looks good or not.

1) Blocking out the base shape for the bird mask. For this prototype I was looking at jay birds for reference; the American blue variation sporting a small peak of feathers at the back of the head, which I felt was a key characteristic in distinguishing the features of this bird. The blocking out was simply done with my hands; no tools where needed at this point.

2) Begin using tools; smoothing out the shape to begin figuring out features and seeing what kind of shapes I'm working with.

3) Using references to refine shapes.

4) Adding in a neck piece to connect the body with the head. To make sure the final thing will fit, I held this against the opening of the neck and made sure to regularly check that it could still connect.

Tail construction

After figuring out the sizing, I cut two simple pieces from calico and stitched one side together. A piece of folded wire was slotted inside creating a rectangular shaped skeleton; this was so it could be bent and posed with the rest of the puppet. I also decided to put a small amount of wadding inside the tail as well, to fill it out a little bit rather than have it look too flat or thin next to the rest of the puppet. I then stitched the other sides together and attached it to a seam at the back of the bird. I put some simple lines down the tail to give a little more definition too. The images show what it looks like from above and below.

Bird body prototype progress

These photos show two different poses and ways the bird can sit. The feet feel delicate and like real little toes! I'm so happy with how this has turned out so far! The visual differences between folded, angled wings and outstretched, flying wings can also be seen. I'm also pleased with the scale of the bird; it's 1:1 and fits nicely in my hand, which is what I wanted to achieve. 

My next step will be to sculpt a head to fit this, and begin figuring a way to affix this. 

I would also like to create a tail to balance out the body and have a base to  potentially sew longer tail feathers too. 

Wing progress and assembly

At this point both of the wings have been finished; poseable, with a wire skeleton armature and hand sewn plush exterior. They're symmetrical and would be ready to have feathers sewn into them, or perhaps other conventional materials?

The next step was to sew them into the body section, This was done after affixing the legs onto the body piece. I wanted to make sure there was enough room for the legs as they take up more space than the wigs do. I pinned them in place at first to check the positioning of them, then sewed in several anchors to attach them without compromising mobility. 

Second leg and assembly and wire experimentation

For the second leg I decided to experiment with a different kind of wire to see how it would affect the mobility of the piece. This wire was a lot thinner, so I assumed it would be more flexible but with less strength behind it. It was, however, a lot easier to twist together; the metal is so soft it makes it extremely to connect and intertwine.

After finishing this leg, I discovered it was indeed quite a bit weaker than the thicker wire I used for the main length of the first leg. The joint between the stuffed thigh piece and the red leg piece is especially weak, which is one of the essential joints and places that needs support. This is especially vital is posing the model for stop motion; it needs to be able to support the rest of the puppet without fear of movement or slippage. Because of this, I feel that the wire materials used for the first leg were more suitable. 

Once the leg was complete, I hand sewed both onto the body piece, finishing off with a jot of glue. I would ideally like these legs to be rotatable at the joint between the thigh and the body, but for this project I'm going to focus more on the mobility of the wings, secure in the knowledge that most of the legs have the flexibility of the wire. 

Leg and foot construction

1) I cut a simple back leg/ bird thigh shape, from a small and basic paper pattern which I measured next to the body. These calico pieces were then pinned together to keep them in place.

2) These were then hand sewn together, with a gap at the front to allow the wire armature inside later. Two of these thigh pieces were made, then put to the side for now.

3) I formed a foot shape from the wire, then covered in two layers of masking tape. This was done quite precisely, as I didn't want to make the same mistake of making them too bulky. I cut the masking tape up into very small rectangles in order to place them accurately.

4) Red cotton was then wrapped tightly around the skeleton, so the whole leg, foot and toes are now completely poseable!

I'm really pleased with how this has turned out! I'm glad I've achieved the mobility I wanted, whilst maintaining the desired shape and strength!

Bird Maquette body pattern.

To begin figuring out the pattern for the body, I first created a paper mock-up to look at sizing and overall shape; I didn't want it to look too boxy.

At first the pattern came out too small, then too long. Finally I achieved a shape I was happy with, and matched the kind of bird I was basing the design on.

Material experiment 2: Masking tape

The wire was twisted together in order to form the claw shape I wanted; no use of adhesives was necessary here. I then layered up masking tape to the desired thickness. 

Once the masking tape was layered up enough, I wrapped some cotton around for texture then painted red with acrylic paint.
I feel like this design was too bulky though, so although it had the desired effect I'll probably use a lot less tape next time. 

Material experimentation: Wire and thread

To begin experimenting with the feet of the maquette, I decided to make some scaled up prototypes to see what kind of materials worked well together.
For the first one, I simply wrapped red cotton around wire that had been twisted into the desired claw shape. The cotton was wrapped tightly until the whole foot was covered, then the thread was secured with PVA glue.

I like how this prototype worked out, but feel that it looks a little thin? So would like to experiment with layering and making it thicker, or a use of thicker materials.