Comments: 12
Sherval In reply to codencelestiallumens [2014-10-11 22:02:25 +0000 UTC]
Thank you :3! For the faves, comments and the devwatch, you certainly made my day!
Speaking of the anatomy, I can tell you that making this thing certainly wasn’t a cakewalk: at first I tried to use a picture from Spyro 2 manual as reference fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/201… (the picture I used is in the right upper corner), only to dismantle everything I'd made later on when I realized that the proportions weren't right and the body had become too long as result. I guess that failure was something we could refer as the "alpha version" of this sculpture. To prevent myself from making the same mistake twice, I figured that I'd have to get some proper sideview pictures of Spyro first, one way or another. I kept surfing through the internet but not a single picture of the official promo art featured him in such a pose (well, there's this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spy… but it's not a perfect sideview picture and that turned head complicates things way too much for my liking). So I decided to take things one step further; I turned on my PS2, started Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer and positioned Spyro properly in the very first stage so that I could take pictures of the game model with my digital camera. And what a difference did those proper sideview pictures make! Figuring proportions between limbs, torso, head etc. became a whole lot easier than what it had been with the previous model!
This incident proved - once again - that having proper reference material makes it both easier to work AND gives you much better results.
As for the nostrils, it seems that I made a slight mistake/omission with my description - they definitely ain't pipecleaners. They were either made with just a black marker or they were originally itty bitty pieces of black crafts felt that I glued onto Spyro's face. I've seen some other pipecleaner artists use pipecleaners for every possible minor detail with varying results - few of them can pull even the smallest, sharpest and the most intricate details with admirable accuracy (like this afiriti.deviantart.com/art/Pip… , my gawd am I jealous how they made those markings). But more often than not, the details have become just a bit too fuzzy and big in comparison to the rest of the work (which will sadly lower the overall quality of the sculpture ). The pipe cleaners aren't ideal material for very small details but as you can see from the previous link, the smaller ones with shorter hair CAN be used for such things. Personally, I prefer using crafts felt even though gluing it onto the sculpture can limit the sculpture's overall movement (especially if the area in question is large and located over a limb, torso etc.). If there’s one thing I’d still like to learn when it comes to using pipecleaners, it would be the techniques other people use for those miniature details.
However, the availability of different coloured pipe cleaners is fairly limited in Finland… and the packages tend to be rather expensive :/. For instance, I can’t make characters with petrol coloured bodies because the only way I could get petrol pipe cleaners is to buy a package that costs 2,5 € and has about four different shades of blue… and then only two or three pipe cleaners in the entire package are petrol coloured. And those ultra narrow pipe cleaners that I mentioned before? In here they’re pretty damn rare indeed T_T. So I’ll have to work with what little I can get my hands on.
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codencelestiallumens In reply to Sherval [2014-12-14 04:16:47 +0000 UTC]
You're welcome.
Agh, yeah, neither of those are very helpful, although the Wiki image is better than the ref. sheet. XP At least you were able to learn from your mistakes, but it is a PAIN to have to completely restart your work. >.<
Hmm, true, that is a good idea. I'm glad you had the game and could get refs. that way. In my opinion, those are the best kind of references - familiarize yourself with the original/official item/character/etc. and then try to recreate what you observe. Pictures of the original are best, unless you can interact with and spend lots of time with it (such as with a house pet).
Yes, but even so, you didn't accidentally make them crooked or lopsided. They are well spaced, well placed, and even.
(As you mention later on, the artist uses smaller, shorter-haired pipe cleaners to make those details.) It is usually done with weaving, needle-nosed pliers, scratched fingers and nails, and a lot of stubbornness. An artist may even "sew" the wire through the other wires with a special needle, though this is roughly equivalent to weaving. I have also used regular fabric sewing thread and embroidery floss for different effects (see: Model_Farphyni (close-up side view of face) &/or Model_Farphyni scale (front view) if you'd like an example - sorry I don't currently have any better photos up ). I guess it depends on what you're going for, what your style is, etc. Still, I hope this is at least, interesting to you, if not helpful.
Ah, true. Yes, availability is certainly a large factor when it comes to these things. I live in the U.S. so I can usually find what I need either in the store or online. I've become more aware of terms that say "only applicable to legal residents of the U.S. and Canada" or other similar things. I've begun to wonder how other people get items and services.
I guess you'd have to special order them (if you can ) and that would be quite expensive. X\
It sounds like it's difficult and expensive for you. Grrr.... I'm sorry it's that way. >P
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Sherval In reply to codencelestiallumens [2015-02-26 07:42:01 +0000 UTC]
Hmm... while it's true that I probably wouldn't use materials like fabric sewing thread or embroidery floss (or any type of thread in general) in my works, I must admit that the overall effect they have with your sculpture looks great (that chest area looks so fluffy I'd wanna pet it :3).
Truth to be told, back when I was a kid/teenager, I bought lots and lots of pipecleaners from a crafts/decor chain store called Tiimari (sadly they went bankrupt about one and half year ago and closed their doors for good). It was a good thing too, as the price for a bag of 10 pipecleaners gradually went from 80 cents to 1,5 euros within a few short years. As a result I have a cupboard that's FILLED with these things XD. But the problem is, while Tiimari had plenty of colours to choose from, they didn't have such vital and often needed colours like grey -in any shape or form- or more than one shade of brown. Because of that -and the aforementioned price problem with the bundle bags that do have these pipecleaners - I'm somewhat limited as to what sort of sculptures I can make. Of course, there's always ebay, but the problem is that you can't be 100 % sure that the stuff you order from there will be the exactly the right colour (due to screen differences, the type of camera the seller used etc.). That, and the fact that the price for a single package is often quite high thaks to postage fees, so you'd need to order to whole bunch of them in order to get them shipped together and lower the overall price for each pipe cleaner.
But overall, I'm more than well equipped for making these sculptures. The only thing I currently need is to have my drive back for making these things... or any art in general sans school stuff .
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Nyaasu [2013-09-02 21:14:36 +0000 UTC]
That is AWESOME. You did a great job on this! xD My best pipe-cleaner dragon was nothing compared to this adorable rendition of Spyro!
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Sherval In reply to Nyaasu [2013-09-03 16:05:01 +0000 UTC]
Thank you! You have no idea how much I regret selling him now, especially for a measly 15 € DX!! Guess I'll have to make another for myself...
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Suojelusprkl [2012-08-28 05:19:21 +0000 UTC]
öööh my gööd! siis toehan on niiiiin hiano! Itse on huonontunu vuosien saatossa kun ei jaksa/kerkee tekeen ns. hilpanpippaa tai muuta luovaa.
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Sherval In reply to Suojelusprkl [2012-08-29 10:56:12 +0000 UTC]
Kiitos :3! Nyt jälkikäteen hieman harmittaa tuon myyminen, kun siitä tuli niin hieno vaikka itse sanonkin (olisi siitä voinut keviästi sen 20 egeä vetää). Oh well, pitää tehdä joskus itelle samanlainen...
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engineerx [2012-07-08 18:16:32 +0000 UTC]
Nice, I make pipe cleaner sculptures too!!!
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