| Project Buster page 2 |
| This early armature is created with aluminum wire and brass K&S stock for the shoulders and hip area. It is coated with latex to prevent the metal from showing through once run in foam latex. Had a revelation this week. Discovered that even though I have been using aluminum wire for the armatures, it was not the right stuff. I was using aluminum wire from places like Home Depot and Lowes. Well I had ordered some from Burmans while ordering some other stuff and found it is SOOOO much more pliable. So word to the wise..Armature wire IS different then normal aluminum wire! |
| Buster in his shop |
The following photos are of a Buster puppet I have recently been working on(May 2006)
I found a source for his shirt then made the shorts myself. He is foam latex with an
aluminum wire armature. I flocked him and used a liquid latex and acrylic paint to color
his skin. The bedroom set was made using foam core board for the walls and scrap
booking paper for the wallpaper. I made the bed and night stand out of basswood
planks and the sheet is made with a foil inside of it to allow it to be animated if need
be. The pillows I made out of coushin foam and sewed the pillow cased from the
material originally planned for his shirt. The photos with clay over his eyes were to get
a preliminary look of how he would look sleeping or blinking. I have since pruchased
purple Fimo' clay to make the eyelids with. Your comments are always welcome
chris@cjandbuster.com
I found a source for his shirt then made the shorts myself. He is foam latex with an
aluminum wire armature. I flocked him and used a liquid latex and acrylic paint to color
his skin. The bedroom set was made using foam core board for the walls and scrap
booking paper for the wallpaper. I made the bed and night stand out of basswood
planks and the sheet is made with a foil inside of it to allow it to be animated if need
be. The pillows I made out of coushin foam and sewed the pillow cased from the
material originally planned for his shirt. The photos with clay over his eyes were to get
a preliminary look of how he would look sleeping or blinking. I have since pruchased
purple Fimo' clay to make the eyelids with. Your comments are always welcome
chris@cjandbuster.com
| Below are a few of the various Buster stop motion puppets I have made so far. Each has their own flaws and I have learned a lot about stop motion puppet making form these puppets. |
Here are group shots of the stages of Buster-dom
| Above: The original sculpture. He was sculpted with Super Sculpey. This was the first time I had ever sculpted with Super Sculpey and I learned NOT to use Crystal Clear as a sealer. It made the sculpt very sticky. The amazing thing is that the sculpt came out of the mold almost untouched. You can see some distortions from mold removal but remained intact. |
| Above: This is the first attempt at a Buster stop motion model. I unknowingly used the wrong aluminum wire and not proper Armature wire for the armature. Well once the foam latex is run and the character is painted, then I discovered why "normal" aluminum wire does not work. It breaks very easily. |
| Above: Here is Buster fully clothed. (he was thankful for that) The shirt I found online at a doll supplier and the shorts I made. I used needlepoint floss for the shoe laces. Here he is in "hammer mode" ..LOL. I was doing some building tests prior to grabbing him for this photo shoot. He moves quite well, the only problem I was struggling with on this one was the teeth. I attempted to use thin card stock but getting the right curve to fit the mouth with out it breaking was rough. The next one I think i will use Super sculpey and bake them. Also this version I used flocking for the fur. I think I like the flocked look better then the painted fur look. |
| February 2007 The following pictures are of the 2 most recent Buster models and the couch for his living room set. I decided after doing the test shot that instead of crawling into bed to watch television I wanted him to sit down on the couch. |
In the above photo, the two Busters
standing are the most recent. The one
on the left is still needing to have his
new shorts put on, eyes painted, boots
painted and laced , and mouth painted.
This Version is the best
puppet to date.(fall 2006) The
foam was nice and soft with
great cell structure. He was
painted like the others with
PAX paint and washes then
flocked. The clothes, pupils,
shoelaces and touch-ups will
be completed by mid
December.
puppet to date.(fall 2006) The
foam was nice and soft with
great cell structure. He was
painted like the others with
PAX paint and washes then
flocked. The clothes, pupils,
shoelaces and touch-ups will
be completed by mid
December.