Statuary Gardens (Figurines)

[Glass Mouse]

Woo, Magicka! Swedish vampires are the best!

The Taskmaster one is really cool. I like the amount of detail, and weight and proportions are just... right. Thumbs up!

One thing I've noticed, but which may be just a practical problem: Your figurines tend to have very wide arms. Like, near-waist-size arms. Combined with the often short legs, it can make them a little heavy and clunky to look at.
Dunno if your material will allow you to do that differently?

(oh, and for that luck scene, I love the orc's casual attitude. He's all, "yeah, I got gud hand - whatcha gun do 'bout it?" )

[IncoherentEssay]

Magicka is quite fun, too bad it disagreed with my laptop too much and thus i never got past Fafnir due to dying because laaaaaaaaaaaaaaag (fireward ran out and recast failed or i got knocked into lava).

Width of arms is something of a safety measure: arms are the most reposed part of a Challenge figurine, which causes strain on the material. Width = less chance of breakage, especially necessary if holding something large and/or heavy. Re-using the material also accumulates seams and other structural weaknesses on the inside, which adds to the risk of breakage. And since they are close to impossible to reattach if they break off, if an arm falls off the figurine has to be remade entirely. Not a 'hard limit', but i tend to default to the side of caution.


And a full-figurine (freakin' finally ), Nitori Kawashiro:

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Loooooong neck is too long . Arm lenghts are a bit off as well. Boots are purposefully darker than in the reference for some diversity. The exression didn't turn out as intended (and i'm not even quite sure what it turned out as , it looks different from almost every angle). I think the eyes are too wide-open, causing it to look scared/uncertain in a "Errr... could be worse. Seen worse at least (...maybe). We can fix it .... i think."

[Domochevsky]

Could use a tad longer legs too, since the torso is pretty long as well.

[IncoherentEssay]

Challenge update (theme: [Hello, Goodbye] went unused):

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"Captains log: note to self, a no-questions-asked statement on the recruitment poster is not the best of ideas."


The makings of a successful hunter are #1 a reliable gun #2 a bigger stick and #3 being a fast runner .

Only 2 pics, but ten separate and distinct figurines (though maybe counting the two ex-cultists as one) plus Nitori makes this weeks quota.

Edit: and adding in the next batch of Challenge (theme: piracy):

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Since i pretty much did the theme last week, something a bit different was in order .


"Clowns. Why did it have to be clowns? Why not ... clouds or something. At least clouds don't stink."


I like scavenged/patchwork armor aesthetics. This one was supposed to look somewhat foreboding, but using the same technique for the helmet lenses as i do for aniimuu-eyes kinda blew it.


There are fights you watch and fights you run away from whilst the both fo them are occupied.

[IncoherentEssay]

So, Touhou 13 has been out for a while now, so this was obviously going to happen eventually. Presenting Seiga Kaku:

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Eyes ended up ~15% or so too large. Colours are maybe slightly brighter than would be ideal. Still overall quite satisfied with it. Altered the hairstyle a bit due to the nickname and the dresspatterns are flowering branches rather than patches of flowers.

Edit:and adding the Challenge update (theme: vehicles):

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Due to a technicality in the theme description this does not in fact qualify for it. Unfortunately, despite my best attempts a mech-on-a-unicycle didn't quite work out .


"Roll tanks, Roll!"




Round 1 ... Fight!

Edit:next on Challenge(theme given: sleep, unused):

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This weeks batch has a theme of sorts: Persona.
Arcanas associated with each (from top down):

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The Chariot, Strenght*, The Magician, The Hanged Man, The Hierophant, The Moon

*bit of a strech, the Sumo-Froggy was more of a why-the-hell-not idea .

[IncoherentEssay]

And now for something different :

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(Disclaimer: not my idea, but this was simply too glorious not to make)

I kinda like this eye-style, i will most likely use it for future animoo-style figurines.
Speaking of which, whilst the next figurine is already decided (not spoiling what, though), i'm thinking of taking a slight break from touhou for now. So i need ideas for the next 3 or so figurines.

Edit: Challenge (theme:aberrations) update goes here since i'm not all that happy about the overall quality of it. Schedule went blargh(entirely my own damn fault though) and the stuff keeps breaking apart (had to skip the obligatory mindflayer due to that). Anyways, here:

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Choker & Dolgaunt


A moment of silence for all the characters that got stopped cold.


An armoury.


"What the hell do these things even eat down here?"

Edit2: after some thought, even if this would pass it'd bug me in the future and generally 'cheapen' the sense of achievement. Though i was aiming for 52 weeks, 46 is plenty enough. I'm opting out of the Challenge. Was a good run.

[Domochevsky]

That is a cute as it is creepy. Can't quite decide which overlaps.


(Good eyes, color and facial shape, that.)

[Glass Mouse]

Edit2: after some thought, even if this would pass it'd bug me in the future and generally 'cheapen' the sense of achievement. Though i was aiming for 52 weeks, 46 is plenty enough. I'm opting out of the Challenge. Was a good run.

What, no! You can't do that! Those are enough to pass

I'm not even going to comment on the cute mini-sandworms now....


(for the mature and respectful answer, go to the CHALLENGE thread. )

[IncoherentEssay]

In theory, working on multiple figurines at a time let's me minimize the time spent waiting for stuff to dry and make more progress in total. In practice i tend to lose focus and make less progress .
So reviving the ancient tradition of posting unpainted figurines, here's Kaname Madoka:

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[Domochevsky]

The shape is pretty good, actually.
(The light material is nice too :D )

[Prime32]

So reviving the ancient tradition of posting unpainted figurines, here's Kaname Madoka

Looks good so far. Planning on doing the rest of the cast?

[IncoherentEssay]

Looks good so far. Planning on doing the rest of the cast?

Eventually, yes. Specifically, one 'chibi' and one 'normal' (sorta). Madoka is the odd one out on both themes so she goes first. Speaking of which, painted now:

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The next two figurines are already decided (Taokaka and another (unassociated) one i won't spoil). The Puella Magi Project will most likely proceed after that.

[Prime32]

Needs some cream paint on the middle part of the dress, between the vertical frills. Apart from that, awesome.

[IncoherentEssay]

Thanks.

And now for something different:

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Cybear Cavalry, created for this LP.
Elite Planetary Invasion Corps, Artic Warfare Experts, 7th Cybear Cavalry.
Took waaaay longer to make than anticipated, mostly due to the fur. Has to be a better and faster way than making it bit by bit.

Edit: unpainted Taokaka go:

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Reference used. Going to use a non-standard colour-scheme, a bit more elaborate than the official one. The pose is her idle standing animation.

[IncoherentEssay]

Aaaand painted:

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If you saw this coming, raise your hand . So yeah, Taokaka from Blazblue in her standing idle pose, with Orin's colour scheme. This is IMO the best figurine i've made and stands a solid chance of remaining so for quite a while. It's even balanced enough to stand unsupported (assuming a smooth & level surface), just slightly leaning onto the cardboard to make sure.
Also features actual braids. They are a bit bulky and have some empty space inbetween the loops, but it's braided clay. Didn't think it possible, really.
The blue runes are random, but they all have four lines in them. Also put some effort into the shape and flow of the hoodie(or whatever it ought to be called?), though the black conceals most of that. Still visible in the 5th pic.

[Domochevsky]

Yeah, i think this is the best you've done so far too.
(The only think looking weird is the ball mask on her face. Probably could have stood to be flatter if it's depicting darkness.)

[Prime32]

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i'm thinking of taking a slight break from touhou for now.

Thoughts are a wonderful thing.

(The only think looking weird is the ball mask on her face. Probably could have stood to be flatter if it's depicting darkness.)

It's like that in the original.

[IncoherentEssay]

Colour schemes totally don't count. If it was an actual character fusion (say, Yuugi/Tager) then you'd have a point .

So, just for the pun:

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Another 3 figurines sit on my desk waiting for a few finishing touches, some polish and paint. Yay for attention span i suppose. Should get at least one of them finished tomorrow.

[Prime32]

Nice boots.

[IncoherentEssay]

Then it's only appropriate to follow up with greaves:

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Another generic character, figured i'd give armour a try. Sensible armour even, though the style is a bit all over the place. Originally went for a reddish metal for the armor but the mixture came up as a nice bronze so went with that. Bronze goes nicely with green IMO.

Also unpainted mecha, haven't come up with a good colour scheme for it yet:

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A bit too large for 40k, but shouldn't be too difficult to downsize in future works. Could also use more fine detail overall, a bit too plain to look convincing (unless going for the sleek-futuristic look).

This leaves just Homura-bobblehead (with a head that doesn't bob), probably some time tomorrow.

Edit: and now i feel slow . That pun is unintended. See filename for the one made on purpose.

***
And BobbleHomu:

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Since it is based on this i thought a simplified smiley-esque expression would be the best fit, and that it would be best done just painted. I'd say i was mistaken. So the Madoka-bobblehead idea is shelved until i figure out how to make it work.

Edit2:
Bulked up the mech a bit. Still needs some cleanup and plating detail:

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Also back to touhou:

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That's a ridiculous amount of fiddly detail for any character. But that is also why it's better to make figurines of existing characters than originals, since given the choice between extra details and simple design, i'm a lazy git who goes for simplicity . No good from a practice point-of-view.

[IncoherentEssay]

And done:

Presenting Mystia Lorelei:

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Turned out quite well, though it's very fragile (mostly the ribbon-thingies).

[IncoherentEssay]

I live? C:\ decided to corrupt itself and made me spend most of last week fixing that . Anyways, since Homura did not turn out as well as id've liked i decided to tackle the chibi-thing more traditionally:

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Another figurine will be done soon-ish. Only needs some last details, polish and painting.

Edit:and here we go:

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[IncoherentEssay]

"Yours is the smoke that will reach the moon!":

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Took way longer than intended, i greatly underestimated the time that the hair would take. It did turn out pretty nicely, but it is somewhat fragile. Seven strands with wire cores, one for each cluster, around which the rest of it was added.
The head is detachable to make painting easier. Useful, but makes it harder to coordinate the pose between the head/body. Pants aren't quite as poofy as they ought to be, but fully puffed out they would have used up way too much clay.

[IncoherentEssay]

Presenting Himekaidou Hatate

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Wanted to try a more complex pose, so i borrowed Aya's crouching pose from SWR/UNL. Base is unpainted since it's temporary due to not being stable enough.

Little Red Ridinghood, now Darker and Edgier :

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Originally inspired by the demon masked rank 6 ninjas in Shogun, the hood colour was just chosen on whim. Though a lycanthrope-hunting ninja clan would be interesting .

And a Warshrine of Tzeench:

An autonomyous altar, sort of like an eldritch hermit crab.

[Domochevsky]

Mhm, Hatate looks pretty good (the face is improving), but could stand to have a shorter torso around the waist.

[IncoherentEssay]

Something did feel odd about the pose, though i assumed i had made the arm a bit too short.
Not sure what to improve on in faces, feels like it is at a "almost there" point where any adjustments have a 50/50 odds of making it worse.

Nazrin:

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[URL=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/864/nazu3.jpg/][/URL

And a fighter "inspired" by the golf bag o'weapons syndrome caused by the myriad highly specific DR-typed of 3.5 , mostly an excuse for a variety of weapons:

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[Fri]

Woah man. Your latest works, the poses and the details, are amazing. I dare to say that they're almost commercial/professional level already, seriously, except for the things that you said, yea, the face (I really don't know how to make 3d anime face anyway) and how it looks somewhat unpolished (and I also don't know what to do with this, maybe smaller number sandpaper or laquer or something?) but seriously, except for those two things, I can easily see them being sold in cons and such (well, youcan sell them in cons already, and I'm pretty sure that some people would definitely buy them, but you know what I mean).

But the last one, man, it's amazing. And the texture works for the better for that one :D

[IncoherentEssay]

Thank you. Finishing touches and general polish are more or less my nemesis, since at that point the interesting parts of the process are over and its all "pixel hunting" for tiny mistakes from then on. Might be a bad habit but at some point it just has to be declared [good enough] for the sake of my sanity .

Selling my stuff at conventions is something i've though of, but transportation/attendance/table reservation/etc expenses are a bit steep unless i'd sell 20+ figurines or so. Might be doable, but hardly ideal, since selling "blind" would mean sticking to more widely appealing ideas.
So currently i plan to set up commission-shop on dArt once all the small flaws have been ironed out.
That would also be part of why i'm diversifying my work a bit, initial impressions matter and i do make non-Touhou stuff as well, even if there's two blue moons/piece . So up-to-date representation is needed.

Speaking of which:

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Inspired by browsing through various 'grand scale' pictures (ruined cities, giant monsters and so on). Something of a chinese dragon - sea serpent hybrid. The fins still need to be cleaned up a bit and some additional detail on the head might be nice, but otherwise ready to be painted.
Also served as a test of sorts on how well the material works in larger projects. Being unable to support it's own weight tends to be the downfall of clay, but this worked out fine. The 2nd test will most likely be a larger and more detailed version of the fortress-turtle.

[Prime32]

I'm going to second Fri's post, and add "cool dragon". (those teeth!)

[IncoherentEssay]

Komeiji Koishi

I noticed that i had a routine for how i paint the eyes and decided to change that a bit. Previously it was always [base colour] -> [black] -> [white dots], and the iris was always "anchored" to the lower end of the eye. Changing those made them a lot livelier IMO*. The "flowers" on the skirt are just rough approximations, don't have the skill to paint line art roses, especially with no way to correct mistakes (the green gradient took about 8 coats to get right, so can't just paint over individual mistakes, but would have to start over entirely. Yeah, no.)

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Tomoe Mami:

Originally planned to be a chibi, but ended up as a ordinary mini-Mami. Detachable head.

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And a size comparison:


Have started painting the dragon, will take a while though.

*Edit: not really that visible from these pictures, will add a closeup later.

Edit2:

Step-by-step: green-black-silver base -> green-silver for 2/3 area -> green-silver-white for 1/3 -> black -> white dots, light green dots (meant to be lines, shoddy brushwork). Also added eyebrows, tend to omit them for lighter hair colours since it rarely stands out from the skin for them.
Decided against sculpting eyebrows waaay back due to the resulting Dredmor-esque bulk , should be doable now so will try on the next one.