#i nitpick small errors a lot and fix them so if you want a fully 'updated' one you can find it in original high quality on my website like

[sadlittledib]

attack for slashersilly on artfight

[michaelchapmanba1b]

Wild Rex Evaluation

After a month and a half of solid work, Wild Rex is complete, the scourge of the west is born. it’s been quite a journey, some elements worked, some didn’t and over the course of the next few paragraphs I’m going to be talk my choices

It’s quite hard to believe that only a month and a half ago, Wild Rex started out as a skeleton. 

(Picture above was taken 13/03/17)

Originally Barry said it would have been fine to now include the milliput on the biceps and the forearm, and whilst Barry said it wouldn’t be necessary however upon reflection I think I might have needed this. To try and bend it where the elbow was tricky and if not done right would look bendy and just unnaturally curved. The legs having no milliput on turned out fine as it turns out for the bend to reach the box would have been more difficult to do it with the milliput in place. The shoulders where placed perfectly and resembles where the shoulders might be.

(Picture above was taken 17/03/17)

This picture was 4 days later from the skeleton when the foam started to go on. I’m happy with this step. I put quite a lot of detail into the body, the detail that sadly didn’t carry over when putting the clothes on the model, the details include crafting out the back curvature and the bum shape. I did shape this character to have a little bit of a belly on him which did carry over. I’m happy with the crafting I did on the legs, they are just the right level of thin enough. The hands themselves are a mixed bag. Wild Rex’s right arm, the arm that would hold the gun had a flat palm, which would make sense, however his other arm has a curved palm which strangely at the time I didn’t spot but it didn’t matter as that hand wouldn’t be used to hold the gun either.

Gun Construction 22/03/17

This is when I started construction on the gun, I’m pleased with how this went. I somewhat sculpted this around Wild Rex’s finger. The base was originally constructed out of wooden lolly pop sticks trimmed up, this gave me the base to build on and it did help. I did make a trigger for this but it fell off just by testing it. I eventually made a new trigger. I got this in the right scale which is great news. This wouldn’t be the last time I touch the gun. 

(Picture above was taken 23/03/17)

This update saw the entire body covered in foam, including both hands and feet. At the time I thought this was fine, upon reflection I may have needed to put more foam on the feet as when I put the pins in the feet so the character can walk, there didn’t seem to be enough foam, therefor meaning the character would fall to one side. One achievement I am proud of is I shaped the legs to resemble calves muscles which yet again sadly don’t show when the clothes are laid over them.

(Picture above was taken 27/03/17)

This was the day the box began construction. It was a pain to get right but I’m glad I did, I think if Thornes didn’t do small hinges then it wouldn’t have been made, or it would have had a fixed open chest. The only thing I could say is I wish I made it a bit higher. It was a really stretch (literally) to make the character bend down as far as he needed to. Apart from that at this stage, no issues with the design or concept. I think it was quite brave to do this style of box where as others did just plain boxes.

 (Picture above taken 30/03/17)

This was a day where I stayed in uni for about 8 hours and I got a lot of work done. First off I need to say that I am extremely chuffed with me nailing down a lot of his clothes in one day, but with that pride also comes frustration, I somehow managed to get glue on his legs when trying to get them attached. I would later fix this but at the time it was quite frustrating, I made sure to be extra careful when handling the jacket, as it could be excuseable on the trousers as he is from the West where dirt and sand if rife. However I feel it isn’t on the jacket. i was extremely lucky with the type of material I found and was able to use, The gaiters came out better then I had hoped, although maybe making them in black wasn’t the greatest idea as if I was to put some detail on the shoes, they would be lost although realistically I don’t think I could have used another brown as it wouldn’t look right. But my problem was I needed something to break up that black shoe and gaiter combo which is why later you will see I made the spur strap to be brown. I somewhat wished I had time to maybe sew on some pockets or perhaps stick on some buttons but saying that it doesn’t ruin the design.

(Pictures above taken 20/03/17)

The same day as my puppet, that day saw the construction of the both the head and the hat. Let’s start with the head, I think the head is well done, I don’t have much to comment here as of yet as there’s no detail but I’m pleased with the body shape where as on my previous super-sculpy test, there seemed to be no detail on the face, I made sure to include check bones, sucken in eye sockets as well as a chin, the original details that was lacking on my super sculpy design. If anything I could say is that I don’t like how I did the ears, they look the same of that of a monkey, it’s to round. However it doesn’t take away any of the design

The hat also came out very well, this is where Barry helped in the design but let me did the designing. I am very pleased to see how this turned out. I was sceptical as to how it would turn out with the curved sides but it turned out really well, my only gripe and it’s mainly nitpicking is that I think the main bulk of the hat, ie the blue foam may be just an inch to big, however I say that but from other views it looks perfectly fine.

(Picture above taken 07/04/17)

This is when the chest went into it’s final stage of development. I previously had a design I wanted to follow which is the design of the chest I have in home. I soon realised it wasn’t feasible and to be honest I wasn’t sure it would look good in a small scale in a western setting seeing as the descriptions on it seem Japanese. So I just mocked up a design of lines which is what you see and the version I stuck with. I would like to note that whilst the lock is stuck on here, that did not make it through the final version. I either made the lock either to big or to small and when it was fully finished I thought it looked good without it. Obviously ignoring the white primer paint, I quite like the style of the box, it’s simple but effective. It’s a simple design that puts it apart from other boxes in this mystery box assessment and I couldn’t be more prouder of it. to critique the design, I would say maybe it could have been nice to take chips out of the lollypop sticks stuck on the side to give the feel that it’s old and battered but that doesn’t phase me or the design.

(Picture above taken 11/04/17)

This saw the completion of the gun i had made for Wild Rex and I have a couple of comments to make around the paint job. First thing to point out is that is has a place where the trigger would sit but it was incredibly hard to get anything to stick underneath there and fit Wild Rex’s finger in, so I had to loose the trigger, whilst not a big loss as it was virtually unnoticeable I thought it was worth pointing out.  I think the silver could of perhaps been more shiney, as it stands its just a dull silver. I guess I was worried that it might dry out and become a problem when filming with the lights above it but I have seen other people with shiney puppets so that was an error on my part. Another error was that wooden detailing. When researching I knew some revolvers had wooden detailing and this is what I tried replicating. However it appears the detailing isn’t all round the revolver, so that was just an error that I realised after the date. However what is the biggest problem is also the greatest strength, I like how I did the wooden detailing which was a combination of multiple brown felt tips I had lying round in my house, it is very effective. if I was to re-colour this revolver it would be shiny silver and a brown panel where the handle is and not all over.

(Picture above taken 13/04/17)

Whilst a small update, an update non the less. This was the day the dagger was built, officially made from an old toy that had a dagger, I decided to re-purpose the handle and add my own blade, making sure both sides end in an edge. Not a lot to say on this particular update apart from the design works well and the handle fits right in.

(Picture taken above on 14/03/17)

The next update comes from a finished box. I made it look weathered and old on perpouse to give it a rough ascetic. Both light brown with a hint of green and black and on the strips it was dark brown. I think this works very well. It’s the ascetic I was going for and it works very nicely. I even used some of the brown felt tips to given a wooden texture. The only thing I could say about the paint is that it seems to bit a bit more green then I had expected. I think if I were to have mixed more black, or even just used the black to bring out the grooves in the wood could have been a better use.

Picture above taken on 18/04/17

This update was quite a landmark, the sleeves went on. The finishing line was in sight, and I even painted the dagger. This was the stage where I knew it was possible to finish this. At this stage the only thing I really needed to do was to paint the hat, do the expressions for the face and make the spurs. As far as the sleeves go they where quite a tight fit, it’s only now I look at the model and see the wear and tear this puppet has had from posing the arms differently each time, I suppose if I was to change this again i would give more room for the sleeves to fit in and to be sewed on by the jacket. As you can imagine it was quite fiddly and as a result I might have missed a few areas. If I was to do this again I would have sewed the sleeves on the same time I did the jacket which could have saved time and effort.

(Pictures above taken on 20/04/17)

This update, while minor needs to be talked about as whilst its a small element there are a few things I need to discuss. Obviously the holster is finished, I did this by looping a black belt made of card around one of the belt holes, Whilst it seemed like a good idea at the time, its only upon reflection that I look at the black gun holster belt and the cardboard has almost been ripped where It’s been bent from under the jacket and from me and other people handling him. I think if I was to do this again then I would not only put it through the loop of the belt but also glue it down, I feared if I glues it then it wouldn’t have much mover-ability but I would rather this option then for the holster to just collapse. Luckily the holster fits the gun which is a plus, I made it easier for Wild Rex to grab.

(Pictures above taken on 24/04/17)

This was one of the last jigsaw pieces that needed to be solved, The spurs. I had no idea of how to do them until I eventually got some golden sheet of paper, wrapped it into a pancake shape, cut straws and placed them at each angle, glued it all together, painted it gold then attached the spur strap around the boot. A bit of a long and complicated way and there might have been an easier way around this issue but none that was jumping out at me. If there’s one thing I’m disappointed in is that there’s not as many spikes on the spur as I had hoped. Although it soon became a realisation that wasn’t going to be done in the timescale I had and in the scale I had. I’m happy with it however, it gives the illusion of a spur and it’s something someone can look at and no what it is so it’s not a great loss.

(Picture above taken on 24/04/17)

This is the second to last update, The main things we need to cover, the hat, the head with hair and the hands. The hat for starters looks better then I had hoped for, When I said that I think the main bulk of the hat might have been a bit to tall, in some cases I can see it, in others I can’t. I think it’s the really close up shots that make it look to big however the stuff far away look fine. My only gripe is that in my original design I had a red band going round his hat, the only reason I didn’t do this is it detracted from both the hat and the head. It seemed like there was to much going on which is why I didn’t include it. However I am very happy it fits him well. If I where to make the hat again i would design a type of plug at the bottom of the hat which is what I intended to do in the first place. but due to it being hollow I thought the head might be able to hold the hat in place, I was partially right. I think the two pronged plug would have been more secure (Which is why Wild Rex’s head had to lines on his forehead)

As for the head itself, I’m glad it fits and provides enough wait for Wild Rex to stand freely. We still have the eyes and the mouths to cover although the hair is the main addition, it was made from a cut up flannel which was just painted. I saw a lot of people use different materials like cotton wool or just sculpting the hair on, I wanted something that looked like short hair which is why I choose the flannel, apart from being incredibility difficult to paint, and the paint flaking away when cutting the material to reveal whit patches, I’m pleased this worked. I do eventually go over and paint the hair, I’m happy with how I cut it and the hairstyle I gave him which is a short hairstyle I imagine a cowboy might have. One problem is however I was curious to paint brown hair seeing as the colour brown has been used a lot in this characters clothing so I oppted for a mix of grey and brown which gives of this weird colour. I think it could have been better if I just went for black, however the hair isn’t a take away from the puppet. We can still see his hairstyle and his sideburns which is what I wanted.

And finally we have the painted hands, the hands that where foam covered up. When painting this I mixed this perfectly with the head however when applying it to the foam hands it changed into a darker skin colour then I previously hoped. I think this is a result of just the texture of his hand, and infact if I was to do this differently I would have found a way to get a different texture on his hands as he looks like he is covered in spots and bumps.

Pictures above taken on 26/05/17

This is it, Wild Rex is finished, the final details being his eyes, eyebrows and mouth. as well as touching up painting his hair. I’m quite happy with the eys, they are the design I had for them originally but I didn’t know how they would play out in the model but they actually work. The eyes, eyebrows and mouths are fully movable, held together by blue tack underneath it. I knew I wanted the eyes black as a sort of cartooned look where everything else is somewhat realistic. I’m quite happy with the eyes, if anything the eyebrows are a tad bit basic, and maybe his eyes could have used colour but everything else is fine.

And that’s it, Wild Rex evaluated. It was a journey creating him, I learnt some things along the way and generally made something I can be pleased off. I think down to his design tells you the story better then I could ever do, I’m happy with the colours, I’m happy with the design choices. Are there times where I wish I picked a different character? Yeah. I look around the class room and I see child friendly puppets or puppets that could work on channels such as Adult Swim, I will have to be honest, I’m not sure where I could see my character if he had a TV show or movie. It would have to be aimed for Teenagers and up due to the dark story but equally he is a cool cowboy who wanted peace and trys to be good but does it in the wrong way much like most anti heroes. Anti Heroes are on the rise currently in mainstream media. Character like Rick from Rick and Morty, or to look at other example outside of animation, Deadpool from the Marvel universe or Walter White from Breaking Bad, these character make interesting viewing as ultimately they are good but achieve it in a different way as opposed to you or I, Their moral compass is broken and it’s somewhat of a reflection that this is who we could become so as to remind that we shouldn’t take the stuff for granted. This is Wild Rex’s story, someone who had a Wife and kids before taken away and due to the grief he jsut snapped, he is a realisation that he could be us any day from now and that’s why I like this character more then any other I have created.