Coffee cup Pottery
The Singing Bone: sculpture notes
While I was working on illustrations for Grimms Märchen and The Singing Bones, I remembered to document a little of my process, so here it is. I don't think there's anything special about it and I imagine there are many other ways to create effective sculptural illustrations (some no doubt better than mine). In any case, below is a step-by-step example of how I approached this task, fairly consistently over 75 works. The Grimm story I am illustrating here is 'The Singing Bone', from which I drew my own collection title, about one brother murdering another in order to claim a reward for killing a wild boar.
Interestingly, I did not make the kind of preliminary drawings for this project that I normally would, and often started making the first thing that came to mind upon reading each story (also unusual for me). I guess I was very interested in capturing an immediate gut-reaction, and just getting my hands dirty without over-thinking things too much.
Here's my basic structure for one figure, made of papier mache and wire. I usually start by bending a strong wire into a rough shape, then squeezing pulp around it. I make the pulp by ripping a newspaper into strips, soaking it in a bucket of water until broken down, then straining it. I then mix it with a tapioca- or potato-flour glue (a little flour in a saucepan of water, gradually heated until viscous and clear). My dad used this technique a lot as a child in Malaysia and the resulting form, once dried in the sun, is extremely hard, durable and very light (I used to make a lot of masks with him as a kid). It can also be cut with a knife. The 'lumpiness' of these shapes are quite suggestive and this process typically introduces a lot of accidental forms, often a good thing.
Here I'm starting to add air-drying clay over the form, working quite quickly, not thinking too much about the result. I find it's important not to get bogged down in detail, and 'let nature take its course' to some extent. There are different kinds of air drying clay: I've used DAS, which is (I think) a kind of finely pulped paper, so also quite light when dry. It's not as subtle as real clay, but I've gotten used to its character and find it quite versatile (the terracotta-coloured kind seems easier to work with than the white one, having less elasticity). Why not just use real clay? I wanted to introduce objects and other materials into my figures, of a sort than kiln firing would not allow. I also like the immediacy of working with air-drying clay, and how easily you can later add to it, wet on dry if need be.
A little more modeling, but still pretty rough. As a shape takes form, I'm thinking of how the emotion or attitude of a character can be conveyed through very simple body language, especially as my figures don't usually have expressive faces (or any faces at all sometimes). Here, I was aiming for a sense of a man about to strike his brother with a club as they are walking home. In the story the violence is disturbingly casual, even psychopathic in its lack of empathy, so I wanted something cold in the attitude of my figure.
A little more refinement of surface, adding some unity of weight and curve to the back and limbs.
Once the form is dry, I carve into it with knives, files and sandpaper. The final style of the figure is largely defined by this carving. It's also easier to simplify and smooth surfaces this way, and again it discourages me from adding too much detail. I very much wanted these figures to have a bluntness about then, without too many distracting embellishments.
A few layers of acrylic paint later and the figure has a stony appearance. I often change my mind about colour, painting a sculpture multiple times, but that only adds to the complexity of the surface, as if the object has had some life of its own, some history. Rubbing back with a damp cloth before acrylic paint has cured, or with turps in the case of oils, produces a very nice, natural-looking surface.
With the hapless victim added, I tried out different compositions in front of the camera. Something seemed missing until I added rocks from a local gardening-supply store, lending a theatrical and elemental feeling to the scene. The hard overhead lighting with a cool lamp created the right atmosphere, a certain claustrophobia and starkness: a timeless pause before the critical moment of action. The narrow focus with fore-and background blur also isolates the figures and sustains their small scale: the act is tiny but terrible, happening far away from the the light of a larger world. The final image was edited slightly in Photoshop, mainly darkening the sky. I try to keep digital editing as minimal as possible, and get as much as possible right in the initial photography, just because 'real' solutions usually look much better than digital ones.
watch tyler perry's good deeds online free do more good deeds random good deeds spur one another to love and good deeds no good deeds movie review good deeds movie tyler perry good thoughts good words good deeds in farsi good thoughts good words, good deeds quote bible verse about good deeds quote on good deeds good deeds dress good deeds videos your good deeds are like filthy rags our good deeds are as filthy rags good deeds scripture when will good deeds be on dvd justin bieber good deeds small good deeds xenoblade 2 book of good deeds good deeds tyler perry on dvd watch no good deeds movie when does the movie good deeds come out examples of good deeds in school good thoughts good words good deeds the conductor zubin mehta everyman goes with good deeds and knowledge to the grave tvb daddy good deeds good deeds trailer tyler perry good deeds 2012 movie drunken irish soccer fans who rampaged all over france doing good deeds tyler perry good deeds free full ovie online good deeds trailer good thoughts good words good deeds in farsi good deeds manger good deeds chart good deeds netflix pablo escobar good deeds good thoughts good words good deeds meaning sims 4 good deeds bible verse about not boasting about good deeds small good deeds good deeds scripture 100 good deeds for eddie good deeds quote the good deeds man has done before trailer for no good deeds small good deeds xenoblade 2 good thoughts, good words, good deeds attempting to earn salvation through good deeds is offensive to god watch movie good deeds online no good deeds movie torrent good deeds movie rental 1000 good deeds good deeds are as filthy rags doing good deeds quotes xenoblade 2 perun good deeds stories of good deeds good deeds manger good deeds full movie online free good deeds movie online free zoroastrianism good thoughts good deeds bible verse about good deeds not getting you to heaven sims 4 good deeds 30 good deeds for ramadan do your good deeds in secret andrew jackson good deeds news good deeds movie good deeds soundtrack our good deeds are filthy rags madeas good deeds full movie good deeds tyler perry full movie good deeds tyler perry good deeds characters list of good deeds done by kids good deeds on demand good deeds to do everyday good deeds box office sales ramadan good deeds chart clifford's good deeds [book] not all good deeds are right bible verses about good deeds good deeds story taylor swift good deeds good deeds quotes bible what does the bible say about doing good deeds xenoblade chronicles 2 good deeds andrew jackson good deeds good deeds and tyler perry good deeds 2012 dvd cover good deeds tyler perry torrent good deeds dvd cover good deeds free movie download madea good deeds full movie 100 good deeds for eddie mcdowd final episode easy good deeds in islam tyler perry movie good deeds mr deeds looks good to me no good deeds online global good deeds day logo let us encourage one another to love and good deeds what day did good deeds come out good deeds lace up dress good deeds movie trailer no good deeds tyler perry bible verse about doing good deeds without recognition good deeds torrent what are some good deeds pictures of good deeds bragging about good deeds on facebook doing good deeds in the bible good deeds moving company good deeds trailer soundtrack tyler perry new movie good deeds dvd release date watch tyler perry's good deeds online free deeds good celebrity good deeds good deeds are as filthy rags types of good deeds tyler perry good deeds movie quotes good deeds people do madea good deeds good deeds project movie called good deeds good deeds soundtrack download do not do your good deeds christian monk good deeds without moral intent keanu reeves good deeds good deeds synonym what is good deeds good deeds in the news 2020 police officers doing good deeds 2020 good deeds full movie free 10 good deeds good deeds trailer soundtrack hebrews love and good deeds elf on the shelf good deeds a good deeds what are good deeds good deeds in the bible bdo necklace of good deeds good deeds bible good deeds articles abigail mac does good deeds good deeds belfast, maine good deeds lowell ma posting good deeds on social media good deeds don't go unpunished jesus good deeds good deeds thrift good deeds good thoughts no good deeds movie 2014 hadith on good deeds good deeds on demand comcast good deeds delivery good deeds for students 1000 good deeds angelina jolie good deeds good deeds bracelets good deeds in school what displays animals, displays the good deeds of a family, and represents the ancestors? good deeds by police officers watch good deeds full movie 100 good deeds bracelet today show good deeds movie review good deeds to do on christmas good deeds list for advent no good deeds movie poster be careful to engage in good deeds good deeds wall classroom the good deeds a man has done before defend him no good deeds putlocker bible verse about bragging about your good deeds lebron james good deeds mr good deeds cast henry's good deeds be rich in good deeds good deeds bracelet anonymous good deeds does god reward good deeds donald trump's good deeds good deeds done by donald trump good deeds you can do the words "good words, good thoughts, good deeds" were used to sum up the view of morality of the cops doing good deeds good deeds as filthy rags good deeds trailer addict police officer doing good deeds good deeds day 2018 deeds good calendar of good deeds good deeds soundtrack can you feel it good deeds at school dog 100 good deeds no good deeds movie do good deeds perun good deeds good deeds soundtracks good deeds netflix good deeds with tyler perry tyler perry good deeds trailer poem about doing good deeds 100 good deeds to do good deeds in the world tyler perry good deeds amazon what is the movie good deeds by tyler perry about elf on the shelf good deeds stimulate one another to love and good deeds good deeds a child can do good deeds trailer song quran good deeds good deeds online one hundred good deeds bracelet good deeds movie clips no good deeds movie download quran out do one another in good deeds tv show about teen turning into a dog and has to do 100 good deeds flaunting good deeds on facebook good deeds list no good deeds youtube christmas good deeds doing good deeds without recognition word good deeds thrift good deeds to do every day tyler perry in good deeds 100 good deeds to do good deeds movie part 1 watch good deeds for free no good deeds imdb doing good deeds good deeds nashua good deeds for christmas list of good deeds to do good deeds in the news 2020 good deeds nashua new hampshire what day did good deeds come out movie good deeds reviews clifford good deeds book no good deeds movie times are trust deeds a good idea no good deeds netflix bible verse about good deeds not getting you to heaven good deeds (2012) quote good deeds good deeds tyler perry dvd daddy good deeds stories on good deeds the cast of good deeds black desert ring of good deeds good deeds tyler perry full movie henry's good deeds good deeds full movie online easy good deeds good deeds ideas 100 good deeds for eddie mcdowd ending tyler perry good deeds ending song good deeds tyler perry rating idris elba no good deeds good deeds dvd release good deeds dvd amazon 30 days of good deeds good deeds music tyler perry soundtracks good deeds ver good deeds online good deeds synonyms christian good deeds good deeds examples for kids good deeds examples jewish good deeds xenoblade chronicles 2 perun good deeds what are some good deeds definition of good deeds pictures of people doing good deeds good deeds movie reviews all good deeds go unpunished meaning good deeds property management durango co good deeds cartoon tyler perry soundtrack good deeds good deeds movie watch online good thoughts good words good deeds good deeds stories good deeds tyler perry soundtrack good deeds online free good deeds news thomas and friends henry's good deeds let your good deeds shine good deeds day 2018 trailer for no good deeds good deeds free movie download 100 good deeds for eddie mcdowd final episode the good deeds of donald trump good deeds international heritage ball loukoumis good deeds good deeds day 2020 oprah winfrey good deeds good deeds release date watch good deeds online megavideo tyler perry good deeds movie download good deeds movie soundtrack list tyler perry good deeds dvd release date good deeds tyler perry redbox everyman good deeds good deeds real estate durango reddit good deeds children doing good deeds bible verse doing good deeds is good deeds a womman in everyman meaning of good deeds in english george michae good deeds clifford's good deeds spur one another on to love and good deeds good deeds in the bible good deeds day 2021 good deeds clipart sims 4 good deeds badge