Silent Hill Nurse WIP

[moonmin82]

Here's a WIP pic' of a Nurse from the Silent Hill video games:

I'm using this as a concept model to explore the potential pit falls in sculpting the character. When I sculpt the next one I'll have a better idea of the proportions and construction as I'm not 100% happy with this one.

Remaining work:
- Hat;
- Left hand;
- Right hand thumb;
- Base work.

 

[moonmin82]

Just a brief update:

As you can see, I struggled sculpting the details of the hand whilst maintaining the correct proportions.

Remaining work:
- Right hand;
- Left elbow;
- Base work.

 

[supervike]

Creepy!

I like it alot, are you planning on getting it cast?

 

[moonmin82]

Casting is something I would love to explore but currently don't have the space or time. When I get a good enough idea I really want to create a multi-part figure and have a short run cast. I just need to find somebody who is up to the job!

 

[moonmin82]

Ok, so not much of an update as, if anything, this mini has gone backwards!

The head and hand were deemed much too big so have had the chop. The calves have been trimmed too.

I've done a lot of research regarding the head and may do a practice piece in polymer clay first...

 

[moonmin82]

Happier with the head, hopefully will be able to say the same about the hand tomorrow...

 

[supervike]

Yep, that does look like and improvement. Kudos for you staying with it, I lose interest much too.....look a squirrel!!

 

[Master of fact]

cant look, that game terrified me as a kid and couldnt play it. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[moonmin82]

Yep, that does look like and improvement. Kudos for you staying with it, I lose interest much too.....look a squirrel!!

Glad you think so, I'm happy with the direction this sculpt is finally going. I've spent too long stagnating in my abilities by simply making do. I'm trying to be braver by cutting away anything I'm unhappy with and starting again. I have so many unfinished minis where I've got 'stuck' or lost interest and the only way for me to improve is to get stuck in and finish what I started

 

[moonmin82]

A long rambling thread for you tonight!

A brief update on the Nurse - I've started the left hand (once again)...

Tricky to photograph, but what the hell. A thumb and palm to sculpt in the next sitting.

One area in which I need to improve (well, ok, two areas) is proportion and posture. I've been studying anatomy and life drawing in a bit more depth and beginning to put a bit more planning and care into my armatures. I've started working with home made 'dollies' such as this one:

This one in particular is to become a second Bubble Head Nurse. I also made the armature for my Resident Evil 2 zombie cop in this manner (http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/showthread.php?45003-Polymer-clay-sculpts). This style of armature is easy to pose while keeping the rough proportions set by the green stuff.

I spent much of the weekend researching the female form in great depth (more to come another time, lol!) and made three pages of studies for reference. The Silent Hill Nurses are sexy and feminine in form yet terrifying in appearance. If I manage to capture a graceful figure in this sculpt I will deem it a success which will stand me in good stead for future projects, such as my planned Sucker Punch minis.

This 'dolly' was prepared last night and I started playing with poses tonight:

Using my reference sketches I have tried to focus on the arch of the back and sway of the hips to suggest a sensual motion. I will try to emphasise and (subtly) exaggerate the curves to make it more feminine. The armature will be posed and fleshed out before fixing to a cork base. The heels of the stilettos will mean I will have to plan the fixing of the armature very carefully (i.e. the wire will be used as the heel).

 

[TrystanGST]

As I, too, have struggled with proportion I found the following info/advice to be very helpful - foot to knee is the same as knee to hip. foot to crotch is the same as crotch to top of head. hands should end mid-thigh.

And calipers are awesome. Second only to a cooker.

 

[QuietiManes]

It might help to pose the armature over your concept sketches or reference material. As I'm sure you've seen in some online tutorials. You can either print out pictures, line drawings, etc or just resize an image on you computer until it is displaying on your screen in the right size then hold the armature up to it. Just be careful not to scratch your monitor! I do wire sculptures and when you cut wire the ends are very sharp...I've wrecked a screen or two in my day. Either way, you choose, you can sketch in the bone structure before you do the armature...this can help greatly in certain areas, you might not always just want the wire in the middle of the mass. The good thing with game and movie characters is you can find reference from every angle so your armature and model requires no guesswork.

 

[moonmin82]

It might help to pose the armature over your concept sketches or reference material.

I'm one step ahead of the game here! ;-) Good advice all the same though. My problems in the past have been down to lack of forward planning - poor armature, no reference material, no preparatory work, no direction. I've done a little more work on this armature tonight (photos to follow) and found my abundance of reference skecthes to be a great help. I'm quite positive about this sculpt so far, despite the early stage.

Not much work remains to be done on the original and I hope to paint it next time I visit my family (alas, my paints currently live in the parents attic...).

 

[moonmin82]

A belated update of my new armature:

I've started making another three of these, photos to follow. Each will be posed differently.

In the mean time, here is one of my many reference sketches (again, more to follow):

These thumbnails are on scraps of paper - apologies for the folds etc!

 

[moonmin82]

The right hand was very poorly planned and the way in which the arm joins to the pipe has caused me no end of problems. Silly boy. For now, I've removed the original hand using a knife and laid some ground work over which to construct a new hand.

 

[TrystanGST]

You've been busy! Wow.

 

[khavor]

I like this sculpt! Good job staying with her until you get something you like. Armature is looking very good as well. It's definitely time well spent, will pay off in the end.

 

[moonmin82]

I'm hoping that in two weeks time this mini will be complete, based and painted. I've learned a lot from this project so far and encountered a lot of pit falls. When I revisit this with a new armature I hope to do it real justice.

 

[moonmin82]

I spent an hour or so o armatures today - it's too hot for any 'serious' sculpting today! Refer to my above post (10th April) for Female armature 1.

Female armature 2:

Armatures 1 and two will likely become female characters (e.g. Escher Gangers from GW's Necromunda or characters from the movie Sucker Punch).

Female armature 3:

This pose is loosely based on a Pussy Cat Dolls photo taken from a newspaper and will likely become another Silent Hill nurse.

Female armature 4:

I currently have no proposals for this armature. Time will tell!

 

[TrystanGST]

Sucker Punch characters!? Count me in!