College Work #1

Now that I've got the feel for this blog thing (and managed to mend and take photos of what i'm about to show you), it's time to start posting proper modelmakey stuff up here.

Tis the reason I got the blog in the first place. Here's a breakdown of the project...

Aim: To photograph a building in Madrid (we were on a class trip there) in detail and make a accurate scale replica of the facade of the building.

Materials: AutoCad, Foamex (plastic sheeting), styrene strips and tubing, clear plastic, flock, scalpel and a lot of blades, metal mesh, wire and model paint. Mould and resin used for rectangular flower pots.

Skills learnt: Replicating to scale, paint finishes, molding and casting, major attention to detail, basic AutoCad, textures, super glue would prefer to stick you to stuff rather than stuff to other stuff.

Project Highlights: In 1st year we went to Spain, and while there we were tasked with picking a 3-4 storey building, photographing it in detail and taking scale measurements. Both of which were a little tricky as I have no Spanish to explain what I'm doing, and the building I chose was in a narrow street behind the hostel we were staying in. A full shot was out of the question but I could see the upper balconies from our hostel room, so i took a few shots from there too.

Back in Ireland, after a mild panic of the airport scanner destroying my camera, I did a little Photoshop work in order to be able to make a AutoCAD outline from the photographs I took. After the AutoCAD was complete, and after figuring out how to actually use the college printers to print from AutoCAD, I was ready to begin construction.

Because it was only a facade I didn't need to build back into the building, I only needed to start at the wall and build out. So the AutoCAD served as a template for cutting out size and the holes for windows and doors.

After cleaning off the spray mount I started making everything else. Doors were tricky because they needed to be cut so thin. I also got to make my first every silicone mold for my plant pots. After I painted them, I used a little bit of glue to flock the top of them. The smaller circular pots were made out of styrene tubing, some styrene striping for the ride, and a small bit of frayed copper wire that was flocked. They're probably the smallest thing I've ever made. And I'm still so proud of em!



Ain't they cute?

Also in that photo is one of the balconies with the door and shutter out of focus behind it. That particular balcony on the really builting had those flower pots and then a wind breaker around it. My wind breaker is a small patch of dishcloth painted green!

The balconies themselves were all hand made from sections of styrene rods and styrene sheeting. They took the longest to do. While we were told we could buy balconies at the Dolls Hospital in Dublin, I was determined to do mine by hand. Gave me a good lesson in time management... I was also slow at making things in 1st yr, but this module helped me understand the materials so i can work faster now. There was a lot of trial and error and fingers stuck together.

Here's another shot of a balcony. This one had an air-conditioning unit, and a washing line with a pair of black trousers on it.



I think my favourite part of the whole project were the front doors on ground level. They were nice and detailed, and there was a fair bit of graffiti on the shutter and the main door to the apartments that was a lot of fun to paint.






Notice the little intercom by the green door? that was fun to make!

And here's a shot I took at the end of 1st yr of the completed building. Sorry about the poor quality, it was taken with someone else's camera.



Notes: I really enjoyed this module, and I got a B for it, which I was really happy with.

George The Fish.

George our goldfish, well, really my sisters goldfish but he was kinda seen as a family pet, passed away a few days ago.

He was 23 years old.

....

No that's not a typo. George was a grand age of 23 years. He outlived every other fish that was put in that tank (save for the weather loach we still have). A few years ago he turned a grey/silver, lost an eye, and his spine even twisted a lil. But he could still swim happily around his tank as if this was normal, and nothing bothered him.

His swim bladder actually went a day or two before holidays, but when i went to euthanasie him, he was OK again. It was while we were on holidays that the people taking care of the house found George dead.

See, in our house pets aren't flushed. They're given a spot in the back garden, and possibly a rock as a marker. My dad was actually the one who suggested making a lil box for George. I thought it was a great idea. Rather than just placing him in the ground, we'd have a small coffin. Let him go in style.

Here's the mini coffin I made. Only Balsa wood and some ink to stain it. I then covered it in a gloss varnish and stuck on the cross. (not sure what the cross is in the fish world. But it looked rather plain without it.)




Rest in Peace ole chap. Enjoy that great big fishbowl in the sky.

Creativity...

...is equally proportional to the depth of the pile.

That being said, I think it's generally a good idea to have some space to put something down, or something to lean on when using a scalpel (knee is not recommended).

I thought this'd be a good time to introduce my work space, small and jam packed but I know people would kill for a room of their own. I'm also grateful I'm not in a wooden shed out the back either.

Anywho, this is what my studio looked like before the tidy-up. And prob would look like about 70% of the time during college anyway...



There's a futon under some junk on the left, and a desk somewhere on the right... (black thing in foreground is my TV, cos my PS3 had to go SOMEWHERE).

And this is the room now! You can see the futon! and the desk! and the floor (very rare)! The lynx on the desk is gonna be taken apart for sculpey salvage. He was part of a 2nd yr project (the costume one) and never got finished. Lynx proportions, and general furry things are hard to sculpt when you're not used to it.



Here's also a picture of my shelves that still need major sorting



I suppose if they made everything arty square and stackable it'd be boring, so instead I play Tetris with my materials every few months to see if i can find a better fit. It also means things get shoved into pokey slots and holes too easily.

It's clean now for another lil while. I have space to actually do stuff, yay!

Back and burnt...

...To a crisp. For those of you who don't know, I'm ginger, and very pale. So the current heatwave across Europe and me didn't mix well.

Anywho, I have this nice Picture I took in the Swarovski art museum. It's now the wallpaper on my dying laptop.



I've to save for a new laptop cos my screen and battery are screwed. And I have to do a fair bit of digital stuff next year in college so I might as well get a good powerful one. (It's great having a boyfriend doing computer science)
Anyone ever find, that, you know so much about computers in secondry school and everyone wows at you, but once you hit college you realise you know nothing. My Boyfriend talks about things that make me dizzy. I'm sure I do the same for him when I ramble on about modelmakey things!

Oh, there's also this cool photo of 3 crows on a cross I took on the Hintertux (reeeeally high mountain you can ski on in summer) and I promised Ben (Bennessy.blogspot.com) I'd get it to him, and I don't think gmail would like me to send a file that big anywho.





I got to talk loads of photos of birds of prey. And got to hold some of em. I needed a load of reference ones cos I want to do a bird related project =)

I should get some sleep. Have work and my studio to clean tomorrow

Ciao

Battle Scars...

Well, I told ya you'd hear about Tugger in this blog. I'm off on holidays for two weeks, but, timing it perfectly, Tugs got into a fight with a larger cat and got his leg bitten.

6 stitches! The cut was about an inch long and cut into the muscle too. The vet says he should be okay tho because he's so young. Lots of injections and a slow release antibiotic. He's going to a cattery for 2 weeks while we're away so he'll be indoors and resting. I'd rather not leave him =(

But he was up today chasing things...

see! not a bother on him!

Competitions and Cats...

Hi all,

Up late again (came back from Orlando a while ago and my sleeping clock doesn't wanna go back to normal. Plus its reeeally unusually hot in Ireland lately!) So I decided to update the blog. I'm just doing sketches at the mo in prep for entering the Imagineers comp Disney runs every year. Sadly I cant actually post pics of what we're doing for obvious reasons buuuuut...

I rooted and dug up a picture of the mask I made for my last module in 2nd year. The project was done in conjunction with the Natural History Museum here in Dublin.

Basically we went along to the "Dead Zoo" exhibition in Collins Barracks (some animals were there while the museum was being done up) and started sketching animals, doing different studies etc. We then choose an animal to do a realistic sculpt of, and one which we'd then turn into a puppet or costume for a show at the end of the year. We'd also wear our finished pieces to the reopening of the museum.



The mask is a lil tossed in this photo cos i hadn't brushed the ears. I was really pleased with how it turned out and I really liked working with the fur I'd chosen. The inner ears are pink latex painted onto the vacformed plastic mask. I used the same latex to make paw pads, which I'm now raging I don't have a good photo of. The college now owns the costume I made. Mind you, I'm still waiting to be paid back for the materials...

[EDIT: Just realised the photo doesn't have the long tufts of fur the final mask did, which'd make it much more difficult to realise it was a lynx! Shame cos they were my favourite part...]

Incase you can't tell from the mask (and a lot of people couldn't even with the full suit sadly), the animal I chose is the Lynx. Which is smallish wild cat. I do love cats, and I managed to earn myself the title "Crazy Cat Lady" in college. I guess it didn't help I just got a new kitten and was obsessing over him. You might hear about my kitten, Tugger, a bit on this blog. He follows me around a fair bit, which includes keeping me company in my mess of a studio!

Right, back to the sketchbook I guess.
Bennessy posted on his blog that it takes 10,000 hours of practice become awesome at something, guess I've a good few hours to go yet!

Ciao for now!

Kicking things off...

Well I suppose I should start putting stuff up here, now that I have this blog. So while I sort out images of modelmaking stuff, here's what I was up to today!

I've been painting my godsons room for a while now...too long a while. With work and college getting in the way, I've been doing bits here and there. But today I managed to get a good chunk done (with his mommys help ofc).



As you can probably tell the room is entirely Disney themed. His Mom absolutely LOVES Disney movies and everything Disney. So the request was a kinda Nursery/Playroom with loads of Characters. When I say loads, I mean loads. As the room progresses and I get more photos you'll be able to see more of the room. The list of characters stands at 27 squeezed into a small box room...but it actually works really well! And don't worry, the walls aren't THAT bright. I had to change the photo levels so you could see the characters better. Can't wait to start painting the characters, but now we've the sky finished, we've all the grass and the tree to do.

I'll be painting the characters in acrylic, but the sky, grass and parts of the ocean, are all being done in standard household paint. Now that I have the blog I'll keep you updated as the room progresses.



The Official Bit: I do not own or claim to own any of the characters by Disney. This wall is being painted as a type of fan art and as a favour which I will not profit from in anyway.