Yet again more props!

Here are some more props that I've been sculpting this week, woop! One of the props that was needed to make the pasty child's bedroom a bit more homely was a teddy bear (to make her look more innocent and remind the audience that she isn't being held 'prisoner'!) Also, the pasty child has a dream to go and explore and travel the world, so Sasha suggested to make an explorer bear complete with special had and binoculars! So I initially sculpted the bear out of milliput and scraped a needle across the surface to create a fur-like texture. Once the milliput was dry, I added colour with acrylic paints. Here are some piccies of the bear:




Another prop that was needed for the bedroom was a sink on the wall and some toiletries in a bathroom cabinet, because the pasty child actually lives in this room. So, using milliput again, I sculpted a sink with taps and piping and also sculpted a tube and tub of moisturiser for 'flaky' skin (a must for all pastry-skinned folk)Once these were dried I painted them with acrylics, and the sink was fixed to a bedroom wall and the toiletries were placed on a shelf inside the bathroom cabinet that George made:







There are still a few more props needed for the pasty child's bedroom which I will get cracking on this weekend, but I spend part of this week getting started on some of the props needed for the pasty shop which is the largest set. Firstly, I began constructing a main counter where the till and pasties would be displayed, and I also got started on making a window display that would also display pasties. To do this, I got the measurements from the 3D model of the pasty shop that George put together, and then cut measured pieces of foam board using a scalpel knife to make up the sections of the counter and display.



I then cut blocks of balsa wood to go inside the two shapes to make them nice and sturdy when glued together.I initially tried to construct the pieces together using wood glue, but after about half an hour my fingers seemed to be more glued together than the sections which was frustrating. However by adding little screws to each corner that went through the foam board and into the balsa wood inside, the counters were finally nice and sturdy.








Once the construction was complete, I added a layer of poly-filler to cover up the screw holes and smooth over the gaps.



Whilst the counter and the window display were drying, I quickly sculpted a baking tray, a rolling pin, a mixing bowl and also a chopping board for the pasty shop out of fimo clay. Once these were baked in the oven I then covered them in a thin layer of poly-filler and then painted them with acrylics. I tried just painting straight onto the fimo, however the pain easily scratched off which would be a nightmare during animating. Also, the bedroom sets of draws that I painted previously showed too much of the grain of wood underneath, so I tried to add a painted 'wood' effect that was to scale.










Andy had previously given all of the sets a first coat of white primer paint, to cover over the textured layers of poly-filler and neaten the walls up. However some walls still needed some more filler on because there were still sections of wood and small screws that needed to be covered up. So I covered them with another layer of filler, them painted another final coat of primer over the top. The sets are now ready to be painted pretty! :D

More Props!

Now that the bed frame was finished, I could get cracking on some of the smaller props. We thought it would be a good idea to stagger the filming of Pasty Child, and the first scene that will be shot is located in the pasty child's bedroom, so this week I have been focusing on getting all the props made and ready for this particular room.
The props that I need to make for this room are:

-Bedside cabinet
-Mug
-Toiletries
-Bed + bedding
-Mop & bucket
-Potty
-Sink
-Plate and fork
-Books
-Teddy bear

The next prop that I began constructing was the bedside table. I used measured pieces of balsa wood glued together to make up the main structure, with thin strips of wood to make the draws and two small beads to make the handles. Once the construction was complete, I painted the cabinet with grey tones, keeping to the colour scheme of grey, green, red and black.




Whilst the cabinet was drying, I sculpted the rest of the props using milliput and water to smooth the lines out. Once these were set, I sanded each prop into shape and then began painting them with acrylics. Here are the props I've managed to complete so far

More filler... then onto props!

Last week I spent slathering the walls of each set with poly-filler to add a bit of texture, and to prevent the grain of the wood showing through the final coat of paint. Some walls look really nice, but some bits (including the steps) I was a bit heavy handed with the filler so they will need sanding down more then maybe adding another layer before painting all the walls with a special white primer will give them a nice finish.

Whilst the walls were drying, I could move on to the bit I've been most excited about... making props! :D I thought I would tackle making the bed frame first because it looked like it was going to be a tad bit fiddly and infuriating! (I was right... it was a nightmare!)Before I could start making the bed, I gathered some measurements based on the size of the bedroom in George's 3D bedroom model, and then drew out a really rough plan of how it was going to look. Once I knew the measurements, I could get cracking on the construction! To make the basic structure of the bed, I wound together three sections of aluminium wire to make a strong skeleton, and cut this wire into the different lengths measured from my plan. Once all the lengths were cut, I began glueing the pieces together following a basic bed frame structure. This was easier said than done, as every type of glue imaginable (even bloomin' araldite) refused to set leaving me with glued-together fingers and a falling apart bed frame.




Eventually after a lot of cursing and sore fingers I managed to meld the pieces together, and by adding wooden lolly sticks onto the base the basic bed frame was much more sturdy. To ensure that the bed was strong enough to hold a puppet's weight, I then added a thin layer of milliput over the frame, and during this time I also added sections of wire into the head board and base of the bed stuck straight into the drying milliput which gave the structure added support.







Once the milliput had fully dried I sanded down the rough sections to give the frame a smoother appearance, and then applied a base coat of first white paint then black over the frame. Once this layer had dried, I sanded paint away from certain sections to give the bed a scruffier look, and then dry-brushed reddish brown paint onto these sanded sections to create a 'rust' effect.




Now that the frame was complete, I could move on to making a mattress and pillow out of a large sponge. To do this I cut away the sponge piece by piece until it fitted into the bed frame, and then made a pillow that was to scale. The next step is to add bed sheets!