A little pet project that I've been wanting to do for a while since I didn't like the Unicron head that's out there now. I'm still in the roughout phase right now, but when I'm done I will be molding and casting in plastic with acrylic lenses for the shattered eyes.
Wow, nice! Based on your profile name & function, did you sculpt this from clay? "There is nothing to fear, Unicron is dead."
Yes I did. For mechanical pieces like this I like to use a super hard industrial clay that is commonly used in prototyping car bodies.
Thanks, but actually this is a rather small piece that I'm doing for fun. Planning on doing the planet version next with full LEDs and wall mount. This is what I do for my day job. It's life-size at 6'3" and will have full lighting for display. The entire thing was originally sculpted in the same clay I'm using for Unicron. This is the resin cast that is getting cleaned up and prepped for paint.
Oh I get it! So Unicron created: -Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, Sweeps, Armada -Starscream (re-bodied) -Hook, Line, & Sinker (Marvel) -And now Iron Man! p.s. that is so cool!
That is amazing work! Both Unicron and the Iron Man you showed. I've always wondered, how to you maintain straight edges, proper curves, and symmetry when sculpting mechanical things? I do a little sculpting but I've never tried anything like a robot simply because I have no idea how I'd pull off the clean industrial look. Organic is easier because it's supposed to be more well, lumpy, and asymmetrical.
Mechanical sculpting is definitely a step up in complexity from organic sculpting, which is the reason I enjoy it, but it's still fundamentally the same discipline. The key is simply to establish a center line on the sculpt and measure constantly to double check your work and correct where necessary. All the lines on the face that you see now will eventually get erased and exist solely to aid me in establishing and maintaining symmetry. You establish a vertical center line and a horizontal center line that serve as the primary guideposts to measure from and the rest is basic geometry. To get the smooth surfaces I use a series of rakes to plane the clay down until all the waviness and lumps are gone. The final step is to literally wet sand the clay to a polished surface. The clay is very hard at room temperature but pliable when heated. Even with all the digital tools and machines available nowadays, this is still the way that car bodies are prototyped.
pretty awesome! Much like your prime gun. I still need to pick one of those up if you are still making them after I move in a few months.
I got the forms roughed in and ready to start detailing, but I'm going to have to set this aside for a month while I finish up a job for Disney.
Had to take a break for a bit to finish up some large orders but finally got the base sculpt done and am moving on to fine detailing with the panel lines.
