We know these posts may seem a bit out of order, but this build was a fast one for us and we'd still like to share some of the steps we took along the way...even though the official reading is over. We've also been saving the better quality pictures of the final products so that you have a little something to look forward to.
I'll HEAD things up with DR. CORTEX!
I built this foam head two summers ago when we were really getting into using this kind of foam. I know it was one of the first I built, not only using reticulated foam, but with a PROJECT PUPPET pattern. Unfortunately I can't remember for the life of me which pattern of theirs I started with. I'm about 89% sure Cortex (as I often refer to him because Dr. is just soooo hard to say/type) stemmed from the Roly Puppet Pattern.
Check them out. Really. You'll learn a lot, even if you know a lot to begin with. If you need to, go in on it with a buddy like we had to. I know times are tight, but if you're still aching to build and eventually sell puppets, you really can't go wrong with learning from Project Puppet. It's only going to help make your own designs more solid and visually pleasing.
So as I was saying before that brief commercial break...
I started the head two summers ago with no idea what it would ever turn into. It began as a way to modify the Project Puppet pattern and learn a little more about shaping foam. So after moving around the country with me and sitting on many a shelf in many apartments across the Greater Chicago area, the unused head found a purpose . I needed to create Cortex pretty quickly, so I proposed the character sketch including the preexisting shape and everything took off from there.
I decided that while I liked the shape, he needed a little more modification. With a bit more foam and contact cement, I ended up with this...
It's still pretty much the same shape I started with, but with the addition of a little more foam, I was able to make it more skull-like. You can't tell from the picture, but the original shape left the bottom jaw completely separate form the top of the head. I was looking for more of a connected head since I have more experience covering them when I get to the fleece.
The marker lines make things look more intricate than they really were. Some mean absolutely nothing and are just there as indications that make sense only in my head (at least they did at one time anyway).
Kyle's up next with the beginnings of Wally. We're going to switch back and forth for the next week or so and see how that goes over.
My next post?...Quit your BELLY aching, you'll find out!
