If it doesn't exist, make it. Right?

Making progress, Erik! Looking forward to that final reveal...though I know there must be tons of work ahead, still.

Lee's work is amazing! What a creature! It's beautiful, CC
 
She is a very talented and creative person. Thanks mate! I will post more as the work progresses. Cheers!
 
Starting to bulk up the head, realign the lower jaw, add detail contours to the upper muzzle, and I am preparing to re apply the missing right eye which appears most often to the viewer's left.

For the fur my regular airbrushes wouldn't do. I need something capable of ultra fine detail.

For years I thought that this was the Iwata Custom Micron airbrush. Its a top of the line airbrush that can do pencil thin lines. It costs just under to just over a $1000US depending on what set you are getting.

But I discovered a better brush that was from the company that sold Iwata the specs to their brush when they were in a financial bind. That brush is the Olympos Micron MP 200C.

An airbrush almost identical except that it has far better action on it, more precision on the finger control, and a slightly larger paint cup.

Oh yeah... I got it for $152 US.

So that will allow me to do some superior affects with the fur. I'm very excited.

So here are some update photos.

KIMG0810.JPG


KIMG0811.JPG


KIMG0813.JPG


KIMG0817.JPG


More to come...

Cheers!
 
May I just say that I love your attention to detail? You're really going out of your way to make this seem like a real breathing creature. I mean, those tongue bumps...

And I really like the design for the creature itself. It makes me think of a cross between a canid and a mandril.
 
Thank you very much. I am planning on photographing it in a wild setting from different angles and using it for my book cover.

But it will also be a nice visual representation to keep me excited about the book series. I'm glad that you like it. Soon I'll have a day off and will use that time to get a lot more sculpting done. Going to have the other eye back in place and will build up the sculpt from there.

I have located some suppliers of artificial/synthetic fur that looks very real. I have my new airbrush as well to do pencil thin lines.

Got a new mini hot glue gun as well. And I'm going to experiment with 2lbs monofilament fishing line to create whiskers for the enithorox.

I will post more soon. Cheers!
 
KIMG0843.JPG
A large amount of material and planning goes into making a fictional creature come to life as if it were a taxidermed miniature version of the actual organism.

I needed a new air compressor for my airbrushes. So that's here. Even though I am not yet at the painting stage. Preparation is key.

Sculpturally the enithorox head is now better balanced and ready for a colour underlay. This is the base coat of colour which serves as a loose template for what will be mostly fur or flocking covered areas. A guide if you will.

Before furring can take place I must create a body form maquette and attach the head to it. I will have to work on the mouth and teeth soon as well since these would be difficult to paint and detail once the head is connected to the body.

So here are some of the materials as well as updated head sculpt images.

KIMG0851.JPG


KIMG0850.JPG


KIMG0845.JPG



KIMG0831.JPG




KIMG0840.JPG

KIMG0835.JPG


More to come!
 
So I've experimented a little with colour patterning even though the sculpt will be covered in a camel coloured faux fur material and trimmed to form.

Here is the experimental paint as well as the base fur before being attached and airbrushed. More to come! Cheers.

KIMG0860.JPG


61T0xTdYqIL._SY400_.jpg


The paint is just a partial paint job. I'm not working on the mouth and lips until the teeth and inner mouth are completed.
 
For a while something has been bothering me about the lower jaw of my enithorox sculpture. I've been checking my measures and the proportion was off.

The models for my jaw have come in part from various skull studies but primarily the Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). But the lower jaw is longer and the lower canines undershot to the upper.

My sculpt had too short a lower jaw. So I have added clay to lengthen it. I was going to sand it today having some free time. But I was struck yesterday by a car while bicycling by a driver that was on her phone texting when she drifted into the bike lane. I was going up an incline and did not see her before she sideswiped me hitting my left arm.

I'm resting the arm today but because of the car strike I have to take it easy and cannot sand or continue my project.

The next free day that my arm is out of the wraps and brace I will continue to smooth the jaw and start setting the teeth.

More to come. Cheers!
KIMG0866.JPG
 
Hope you have a speedy recovery, ErikB! Life will throw surprises at you...glad the injuries weren't any worse.
I like the longer lower jaw...amazing project! CC
 
Thanks mate! I'm doing much better. I like it better too. I usually sit outside and sand off the work. Today its raining but I'm finally out of the brace and bandages. Itching to work on it more but not to have the clay dust in the house. I suppose I can wait til morning...

More to come as soon as I am able. Cheers!
 
The tongue is now in. It will need to be shaped a little, smoothed, painted, and glossed. I have new teeth drying and once they are fully hardened I will take the dremel moto-tool and carve and shape them properly.

Here are a few views of the tongue and texture of it.

KIMG0888.JPG


KIMG0890.JPG


More to come! Cheers!
 
So my first set of teeth were too small. Today I got a bit of time to carve the upper inscissors and left canine. There are a few small air pocket pits on the canine but these will be filled in before I paint the teeth.

I inverted a picture to give an idea of what the new teeth look like. They are not yet painted or glued in place so I had to set the sculpt upside down to balance the teeth for a shot.

The images are not my best but they get the general impression across. ;) More to come. I am very driven to complete the teeth so that I can finish the mouth and then be able to start on the neck and body of the enithorox.

Cheers!

KIMG0899.JPG


KIMG0901.JPG


KIMG0907.JPG
 
Okay I have a number of the new teeth carvings completed. Upper and lower inscissors, and canines are now done. The upper and lower carnassials on one side are complete. I just need to sculpt the opposite side carnassials and the teeth will be ready to paint, seal, gloss, and mount.

Here are some progress pictures.

KIMG0915.JPG


KIMG0909.JPG



KIMG0918.JPG
KIMG0914.JPG
 
Just a footnote. The image in which teeth are in the mouth is just me loosely holding or balancing the teeth in place. They have not yet been attached/glued in place.

KIMG0909.JPG


More to come...
 
Last edited:
Okay here are the completed teeth. The next stage is to contour the edge of the teeth and /or bottoms. This makes fitting the teeth in and then gluing them much smoother. I will prepaint the teeth to make it easier before painting the inner mouth and jaws.

Unlike my pattern experiment on the head, the tooth painting will be permanent. I will gloss and seal the teeth after painting, then glue them in place and build up the gums around them.

So here are the finished teeth before paint.

KIMG0919.JPG


KIMG0924.JPG


More to come.
 
So I have carved and bedded the lower jaw. I'm painting the teeth. But once all of the teeth are painted and the upper jaw has been carved so that those teeth can be bedded I will glue them in place. Then once they are set I will build up a gum line in clay and wait for it to set before I paint the gums and tongue.

More to come...

KIMG0927.JPG


KIMG0928.JPG


KIMG0929.JPG
 
Looking good! Teeth look fantastic and I can't get over how good that tongue texture looks!
 
Thank you both!

The teeth are painted but not yet glossed. Since the tongue has a base coat but will need glossing after the next coat, I plan to do all of that at the same time. The mouth interior will also need to be glossed for a "wet" look.

But the teeth are glued in place. Soon I will start on a gum line around the teeth and do the roof of the mouth texture as well. This will be the second most difficult part of the facial sculpt. (Painting it evenly in the tiny crevasses and tight spaces I will have along the inner backside gums being THE most difficult challenge to face).

Fortunately I have a lot of tools and styluses to get the job done. (Or so I keep telling myself.)

Here are some progress shots. After the indents and pits in the tongue have been filled with a second coat of colour and completed it will look better. This is still a rough draft so to speak.

KIMG0941.JPG


KIMG0946.JPG


KIMG0938.JPG


KIMG0937.JPG


KIMG0935.JPG


KIMG0934.JPG


More to come...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
T Sci-fi far future book with super soldiers, space mechs, and a man with dragon tattoos. sorry that doesn't nearly sum this up Book Search 0
Mon0Zer0 XIOMARA - a soundtrack for a cyberpunk motion picture that doesn't exist Promotions 2
C Why doesn't sci fi have the mass appeal that fantasy has? SFF Lounge 28
Brian G Turner Armour doesn't exist! History 7
A pre-90s - Trip to star that doesn't exist Book Search 4

Similar threads


Back
Top