19 November, 2009

Spine in Clay

Hi,

Here's the rough spine. No skin, no organs, and certainly no blood. So ... bones are the only way to go.



This is in it's (basic) final size and shape, but will receive texture and refining prior to molding.

This new character is based on a sketch done by me shortly before the 2006 haunt. He will be longer and leaner than anything I've done to date, which is exactly what I'm going for this time around. I mapped the proportions of the original sketch and applied those dimensions here. If I get this right, everything else will follow smoothly and the finished product will look "right."

Top to bottom, this spinal sculpt is 36" long. The finished character will stand around 6 1/2 feet tall (with perfect posture ...)



Yep, it's flat-backed. I'll need access to the spinal column for animation purposes, or at least access to an armature for a static version. It's not truly accurate in 3-D as the board introduces some limitations ... but it's close.



In case you're a vertebrae counter, the numbers are indeed off. 5 Lumbar, 10 thoracic, and 8 cervical. The reason is as simple as the bone count - He needs a longer neck and less ribs. Trust me, it'll all work out in the end!

8 comments:

  1. Sounding great, can't wait to see it!

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  2. Thats a nice looking set of vertebrae...damn, how long did that take you?

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  3. That is just a thing of beauty... I can't imagine anyone looking at it and realized that the numbers are off! Thanks so much for showing us!

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  4. I've been hacking away on this thing for about a week, maybe a couple of hours between work and bedtime. As mentioned before - I'm dreadfully slow at this sculpting business.

    I'm inclined to agree that most folks wouldn't notice the numbers. However, when you're intentionally tweaking the body proportions, It's important to carry that exaggeration over the entire piece. By stretching the neck area and compressing the rib cage, I should be able to produce a unique character usable in realistic or playful scenarios (hopefully.)

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  5. Beautiful work, man. As usual.
    Very intrigued by this design. I like the sound of it being long and lean.

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  6. I'm really curious about this. I remember reading through every page of your old site in awe...I'm very excited to experience Vile Things again. Though I don't think I copied any of your projects directly, your work has long been an inspiration to me. Welcome back to Halloween!

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  7. Wake up Eric! Winter is over! :P Whats's new fine friend?!?!?

    ps: this is Pat and Steve from Omaha. We copied yer winged skeleton from your other site years ago. BTW someone has posted the video of your skelley on youtube. Was it your posting?

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  8. Looks good Eric. Glad to see your back at it. Your props are inspirational to lots of other haunters.

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