Progress in Process

I made much progress yesterday. I started building hands, installed the eyes and jaw, and added a feature to an ear.

Hands

Why build hands when there are stock hands readily available? These are for Uncle Sweeter. His hands aren't stock. He has elderly rawboned hands with all the care-worn features of an old man who was a laborer all his life.

Here are pictures of the hand progress so far. First I made wire frame armatures.


Next, I fleshed one of the armatures with aluminum foil and masking tape.


Then, I sculpted layer one over the armature with MagicSculp.


There's more to be done—sanding, filling, feature sculpting. Then I have to do the other hand.

Making Headway

Uncle Sweeter's eyelids, eyes, and jaw are now installed. He's starting to take on character. This is the point when you start talking to your figure, the point when people walk into the workshop and reinforce their notion that we're all nuts.

Ear Adornment

I was looking at Uncle Sweeter's ears yesterday and thinking how boring they are. Then it hit me. A guy his age would have a hearing aid, probably an old fashioned one like the one my Uncle Harry wore when I was a boy. It had a prominent button receiver that fit in his ear and a wire that went down to a unit strapped to his belt. Old people were always tapping that unit when they didn't hear something. I always thought it funny when I'd see a flesh-toned receiver. As if that big button stuck in your ear would be imperceptible. I went online and found pictures of antique hearing aids. I sculpted the receiver from MagicSculp. Here it is unpainted.