Dinosaur Taxidermy: Velociraptor!

Here's the second in the series!

Audio is a little bit disjointed, as I used an online editor that had some issues exporting. After about ten export attempts, I got the narration to stop overlapping itself.

When I say that I hope to do a larger dromaeosaur, I mean it!

Dinosaur Taxidermy: Dilophosaurus!

 I've been wanting to make dinosaur busts for years now! Teaching a paper mache unit to 8th-Graders finally gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get started.

Here's a making-of video:

Also, here are the student projects!

Spinosaurus

 

Since the flat tail was discovered this year, I wanted to sculpt one of these

before someone else beat me to it!

The Beast from Twenty-thousand Fathoms watercolor

Concept art for a future project.

Etecoons and Dachoras

 

 

 

One of the cool things about Super Metroid is the number of hidden features you are left to find on your own without any hints. For instance, among the exotic fauna you meet in the planet's caves there are two which, rather than trying to kill you, simply want to help you out of their dens by teaching you new abilities.

This past month I discovered Kayakasaurus, a sculptor who uses similar methods to those I used to make Sophia, but on a whole 'nother level! His video on sculpting the Kelenken persuaded me to give feathers a try, though I have always been daunted by them.

"The Man in the Iron Pail Mask Watching the Bats"

Thanks to a birthday gift from my girlfriend, and the posthumous instruction of Bob Ross, I've taken up oil painting now! Consider this a piece of concept art for a future project.

Watercolors!

I've been playing with watercolors, and having a lot of fun! Here's my favorite woman in the world, and my favorite dinosaur.

Cadborosaurus

I'm getting back into colored pencils, and also cryptozoology.

Jell-O Chess Multiplies!

 I made three more sets over Christmas!

I made new molds using a newly-discovered material called Amazing Remelt. It's basically red Jello that you can melt and reuse over and over again!

Also, if the Jell-O company ever threatens legal action, I'm changing the name to Holo-Chess.

Or maybe Jellÿ Chess

Jell-O Chess!

About a week and a half ago, my fiancee said that she wanted to try chess again. 

  Unfortunately I had no chessboard,  so I decided to make one. 

     The pieces are made of epoxy resin dyed with alcohol ink, and the board is made from a picture frame, resin, and some tiles from Lowe's, as well as a string of lights from Hobby Lobby with some metallic tape and wax paper to diffuse the light.

 I still plan to add one more coat of resin to the top of the board and to modify the base. I am also considering giving the pieces a smoother finish with some spray-on Mod Podge, though I kind of like the foggy look they have now.

A Portfolio!

This blog is really meant to be a portfolio of my work, but here's the condensed two-minute version.

Pottery
0:04 - Wheel-thrown pieces, assorted glazes

Creature Sculpts
Steel Wire, Sculpey III, Acrylic Paints, Mod Podge
0:12 - Sophia the Tyrannosaurus
0:16 - Pfifltrigg, Out of the Silent Planet
0:19 - Hross, Out of the Silent Planet
0:23 - Sorn, Out of the Silent Planet

Stop-Motion Puppets
"Mold Builder" liquid latex, steel wire, yarn, craft foam, hot glue, sculpey III, Acrylic Paints, LEDs and watch batteries
0:30 - Jerome in "Be Careful, king Hrothgar"
0:47 - Chupacabra, Chupacabra: Just Desserts
0:50 - Dennis 2.0, Hunting for Dennis
0:53 - Master, The City of Gold and Lead
0:55 - Ridley, Super Metroid
0:58 - Metroid Larva WIP (Needs new outer membrane), Super Metroid

Costuming
Assorted Fabrics, Hand-sewing
1:03 - Medieval and Viking outifts
1:09 - Tusken Raider, Star Wars 
               Hand sewn fabrics, vinyl pleather, hot glue, copper pipe, PVC Pipe fittings, etc.
1:11 - Power Suit WIP, Super Metroid
               "Bondo" Autobody filler, assorted plastic containers, craft foam, foam board, wood glue, spraypaint, acrylic paints, mod podge, LEDs and watch batteries, child's bike helmet.
1:17 - Zebesian Space Pirate 1-2 day Halloween build, Super Metroid
               cardboard, duct tape, electronic lea-lights, fabric, staples

Etc.
1:28 - Stop-motion puppet, The Menace in the Mountain
1:36 - Znnoont (Crocheted)
1:37 - Elasmosaurus Skeleton, Jurassic Week (cardboard, masking tape)
1:39 - Hounds and Jackals board (woodburning)
1:40 - Faerie in a bottle, The Legend of Zelda (LEDs, watch battery, feathers, foam balls)
1:41 - Viking ship (Gingerbread)
1:42 - Cardboard fossils, Jurassic Week
1:43 - The Beast from 20,000 fathoms puppet WIP (as Bradbury described, not Harryhausen's Rhedosaurus)
1:45 - Dennis 2.0 WIP pictures

Mechanical Hounds

Here are various sketches of the Mechanical Hound from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

The Latter ones were inspired by this version.
Also, I've always thought that there should be a monster with a head modeled after a staple remover, so I incorporated an element of that.

Triops Study

A friend gave me some Triops Longicaudatus eggs and some oil pastels. This happened next!

On Fleek for Jurassic Week

 The Summer camp I work at is finally doing a dinosaur themed week! In my excitement, I started preparing about a month early. Here is the skull of an Elasmosaurus skeleton I plan to hang in a public area.

 Here is a Dilophosaurus. It was my first time using oil pastels, and I was very pleased to discover how versatile and forgiving a medium they are.

It might also be called my first honest-to-goodness life restoration, as I used a reference photo. I got to meet my favorite dinosaur in New York last July. I know an expert like Darren Naish could spend a few minutes picking apart my reconstruction on a few points (like the way I "shrinkwrapped" its skin to its skull), but I am very happy with how this one turned out.

Sophia the Tyrannosaurus

In Summer of 2014, I came across Akiane Kramarik's Website, which astounded me and made me want to take up painting. I decided to start with what I knew, and googled "painting dinosaurs." this led me to discover James Gurney's blog (The author of Dinotopia). I took note of his method of sculpting clay maquettes for reference in his paintings. I decided to make my own maquette, and ended up creating a self-contained work of art. This was my first time sculpting since my teenage years, and I was pleased to see that it turned out a lot better than my previous sculptures.

 And she works as a maquette!

How Dennis Was Made (Warning: Horrifying)

This was my first latex puppet. I decided to do a test puppet based on my original stop-motion puppet, Dennis. I used this video as a tutorial.

Basic Sculpt

Cutting it in half

Detail added, after the halves are separated.

Brushed with Plaster

Plaster Casts forming

Clay dug out, latex skin forming. It took me forever to do this part, with the eyestalks, fingers and mouth posing a challenge.

Wire Skeleton

Yarn Musculature

Renoining the halves.

The tongue.

Sides of mouth fused together.

Painting: stripes

Painting: Little blue dots

Mochi Ice Cream made by balls of clay covered in latex and flour.