Alita- A Song From Long Ago

[Arieanna]

<<edit- previous pictures unavailable at the moment>>

here is the inspiration image. :)

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/BattleAngel02.jpg

i've done a lot of work previously on Alita. this thread pics up in the middle.

i've decided to restart her shawl. it's just not going to work the way i was wanting it to without having to go through a lot of difficulty in the actually building process once she's cast. so for now i'm going to work on perfecting her body.

you can see where i've penciled in her body details so i can visualize what im working on. there's also a few gaps in the leg/torso joint as well as various other sanding and filling.

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture55.jpg

[Arieanna]

looking better and better all the time.

I resculpted Alita's head. her hair will be redone as well seeing as it broke into numerous pieces when i tried to sand it :wacko:

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture1.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture2.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture8.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture9.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture10.jpg

[Masa]

Don't worry about the shawl... if it comes down to it, you can always just do without ;) Otherwise, looking good so far!

[Arieanna]

ive been doing a lot of sanding of Alita's torso. been sanding her thighs some as well. long way to go yet. also started re-sculpting her hair. im using 2-part epoxy putty this time instead of sculpty. the sculpty was just too brittle when it came to actually sanding the stuff. it broke into more pieces than was worth trying to piece back together. :dry:

i'm not entirely happy with her lips though they do look kinda right. she's suposed to have big pouty "octopus" lips.

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture30.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture31.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture32.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture33.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture34.jpg

[Arieanna]

more done on her hair. can't do much else til the epoxy finishes hardening. tomorrow i should be sanding a bunch if i get the time.

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture1_788912.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture2_650238.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture3_253422.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture4.jpg

[Arieanna]

ton of sanding on her hair today to thin the edges out and such. its not as detailed as the last hair i did for her but with the materials i have that would be really hard to do. its on hold for the night though. its almost "GAME ON" time :)

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture5.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture6.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture7.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture8_170970.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture9_955919.jpg

[Willow]

Arie it's looking better and better with each new picture. Keep up the great work!

[Arieanna]

a little more work done. so slow going lol

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture11_983429.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture12_913210.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture13_36134.jpg

still a little fitting to do on the hair
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture14_301509.jpg

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture16_685392.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture15_342862.jpg

[secretasianman]

coming along slowly but surely :)

I like the curve of her back too :)

[Arieanna]

it took a lot to get her back to look natural. ive always had trouble getting shoulderblades to look right in my drawings lol

im very pleased with how her face turned out though. it looks pretty close to what its supposed to look like hehe :wub:

[Arieanna]

I was going to wait until tomorrow after I'd sanded down the bondo again but I couldn't wait to post more pictures. lol

the biggest thing I've been working on is her right leg and knee. Trying to get it to look right took quite a while but I'm pleased with it. Now i just need to adjust where the knee and thigh connect since i did quite a bit of modifying though you may not be able to tell.

I also did a lot of work on her hair. lots of sandind sanind sandind. slathered some more bondo on part of the hair since there are some stubborn seam lines. i'll be sandind that down tomorrow as well as the other bondo spots you'll see in the pictures.

i'm still debating if i want to do more detail on her arms or not. as you can see by this picture I could do a lot if i wanted to. i'm just not sure if i want to attempt it and risk ruining her arms.

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/LOujhyoushi.jpg

well here's the curretn WIP pics :)

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture1_794740.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture2_926859.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture4_986984.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture5_314781.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture3_331743.jpg

[Masa]

Hi Arie,
Wow, she looks REALLY smooth. I like the hair much better than the last attempt too :)

[Arieanna]

oy..... was sanding down the bondo today and just my luck one of her thighs cracks and breaks. there was a foil "bone" in it but that broke as well. yay for more drilling, pinning, and sanding :cry: :cry:

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture6_604227.jpg

[FilmMkr]

She looks wonderful, Ari! (BTW, I hate it when I break my foilbone, too!)

Heh.

[Arieanna]

small update-

you can see her leg bondo'd and more sanding done on her hips. beenw orking on the right leg knee joint as well. the gap in her hair isnt as bad as it looks in the pictures. they just dont want to fit tightly together taped. lol

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture7_123538.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture8_328703.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture10_639668.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture9_751455.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Picture11_799295.jpg

[redrage]

She looks great! I've been following your sculpt since day one and I really like where she's going! FWIW I like her without the shawl; it would be a pity to cover up all the detail work on her body. *besides it would also cover up her form which would be equally wrong IMO :D *

Can't wait to see more.

[Arieanna]

long over due update-

there isnt really a lot to report. I added 1.5cm to the lower portion of alita's legs. removed a bit from her upper right arm since it was too long, have added some detailing to her shoulder, cut her right arm to allow for creating her shawl as soon as her body is done (i got too eager and couldn't wait until i cast her arm to cut that apart lol), and have done some more work on her hair.

I'll get more pics later but I'm currently working on adding the little key-hole things for lining up the pieces and since i filled in my pin holes i need to wait to do the build up pics.

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/POTO0002.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/POTO0003.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/POTO0004.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/POTO0005.JPG

[Arieanna]

I'm too lazy to link a bunch of pics tonight. i'm off to bed soon. you can either check out the Alita WIP page on my site http://mlfmodels.tripod.com/id10.html or you can check out my GKJ gallery for the most recent pics http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/browseimages.php?c=13&userid= . :)

the update isn't terribly big but you'll get more info checking out my site than just checking out the gallery here.

[Arieanna]

well got quite a bit more done recently. her body is almost finished and im getting really eager. ^^ once her body is done i get to figure out the shawl then and hopefully by the time i get that done ill be able to get casting supplies. yay! ^^

mostly whats left is fixing a couple small divots here and there marring the surface, her left thigh and fixing her hair. otherwise she's pretty much done. im kind of shocked that im so close since it seemed like i didnt make much progress on her for ages it seemed no matter how much i worked on her. lol

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan14_062.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan14_063.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan14_064.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan14_065.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan14_066.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan14_067.JPG http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan14_068.JPG

[Arieanna]

And of course since things were going well something just HAD to go wrong and set me back quite a bit.

i was getting ready to fix the neck joint and add the alignment marks when the neck just popped off!

<insert lots of crying and ranting>

so my day will be spent reattaching her neck and sanding and puttying and sanding it smooth again :mad:

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan16_061.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan16_062.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan16_06.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/jan16_063.JPG

[Dr.H]

That really sucks!! She was going so well too.:sad: I wish I could help out with why it happened but I'm afraid I don't know much about the sculpting side of our hobby. I'm sure all of the pros have gone through this before so just think of it as sculpting boot camp;) .

[Arieanna]

Well aside from a small chip in her leg her body is DONE!!!

now all i have left to do is make her shawl and little puppy :happy:

the joints look a little worse than they actually are since she's stuck together with poster putty atm. my blue tape was being stubborn and not holding her together.

ill try to get some better pics tomorrow.

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/012906.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/0129063.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/0129064.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/0129065.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/0129066.JPG

[Arieanna]

i'll post more pics later but just wanted to post a quick update.

I started using Mr.Clay paper clay to try and make Alita's shawl. A big thanks to Nightengale for giving me some to try out. :)

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Mr.Clay.jpg

I was really excited to try this stuff out. Checking out what so many of the sculptors use, they use some variant on paper clays a lot.

I wasn't entirely sure how I liked it when i first started using it though. It's really soft, softer even than regular sculpy when its warm, which makes for trying anything detailed hard. Since Night says it sands and carves really well I just build a little bulkier so i can go back and fine tune the shapes once they're dry.

The caly also has a really quick dry time. Within 5 minutes the surface is almsot totally dry, though below that remains soft for a while, so keeping some water handy is a definate must. rewetting the surface i found helps the slightly drier material hold onto any newer clay better, though things get really slick. Keeping a towel nearby to wipe your hands on is a good idea as well. ;)

Anyway I went to bed last night with a basic rough out for alita's shawl with some buily "folds". Tosay I went back to her and the clay is totally dry. It seems nice and solid so should put up with some basic abuse pretty well. it's definately more sturdy than sculpey.

The best thing about this clay though--- Sanding is a dream! :wub: It's so easy to sand and carve out. you can easily just shave off layers. and my dremel sands it nice and smooth without the tendancy to jump over the surface like it does with the epoxy clay or sculpey.

Definately going to make this my sculpting material of choice! :D

[redrage]

Arie: how well does Mr. Clay paper do when submerged in liquid silicon? (i.e. mold making material) Does it need special surface preparation before you cast a mold from it?

Would it dissolve if it was submerged in liquid silicon for 3 or 4 hours? Just curious because I want to try some also ;)

BTW: Alita is coming along nicely!

Thanks

[Arieanna]

Arie: how well does Mr. Clay paper do when submerged in liquid silicon? (i.e. mold making material) Does it need special surface preparation before you cast a mold from it?

Would it dissolve if it was submerged in liquid silicon for 3 or 4 hours? Just curious because I want to try some also ;)

BTW: Alita is coming along nicely!

Thanks


According to Masa it should be fine and not need any additional prep-work, though a coat of surfacer would be good just to be safe.

I'm assuming not much will need to be done since so many of the pro's use paper clays of some sort for their sculpts.

[Arieanna]

well i was going to wait until i got the shawl done before posting more but its taking me longer than i had originally planned due to RL getting in the way. lol

so here's some in progress shots of it. bear in mind it is still very rough and needs lots of fine tuning.

yes the pics suck. i really need to invest in a better camera :sad:

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/0215062.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/0215061.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/021506.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/0215063.JPG

[nightengale5385]

The quality of the pics may not be the best, but you can definately see the folds and detail. Your doing and excellent job and I can't wait to see Alita completed :)

[ChairmanMeow]

I like the flow you have achieved with the shawl, very natural and well done.

[secretasianman]

:blink: WOW.

perseverance at its finest.

Don't stop!!!!!!

[Arieanna]

lol im not stopping ^^

ive actually picked her up the last couple days and have been working on her again. lots more sanding on the shawl and a coat of primer to see what i need to do still. that should hopefully be done soon.

i also found i disliked how her head and neck met so i chopped off half her neck and re-did it lol

ill get some pics soon. and luckily they'll be better with my new camera ^^

[Arieanna]

Yay, a lot better pics for your viewing enjoyment ^^

she's pretty much done now except for her shawl. and of course the puppy dog. ^^

unfortunately the primer is kinda gunky in places. my can was running out :mad:

and now that i look at the pics i may end up making her hair a bit longer in the back. <sigh> not so done i guess. lol

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0070.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0072.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0073.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0074.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0075.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0076.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0077.JPG

[Arieanna]

Sneak Peak! she's almost done. still sanding to do to get her super smooth. and some minor gaps to fill. still have to get some more bondo spot putty stuff since mine is out and my local hardware store doesnt carry it. :(

blurry pic but it was taken real quick with no special prep. but it is just a sneak peak :p

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0088.jpg

[Arieanna]

went to napa today. got myself a super mega $12 tube of their brand of the glazing putty. 1lb of the stuff. i should be set for a while :p

going to put a coat of it on the parts of alita that need it in just a moment here lol

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0099.JPG

[FilmMkr]

Ari, have you seen this?:

http://mysticalis.com/blog/viewtopic.php?t=11&sid=3b5d7e18d5707a8903cf4cb2d5eac4eb

[Dr.H]

Ari, have you seen this?:

http://mysticalis.com/blog/viewtopic.php?t=11&sid=3b5d7e18d5707a8903cf4cb2d5eac4eb

WOW! amazing build up.. the guys skills are great as it is but I can't belive he spent all that time taking photos of every little step. You can almost find no faults in a model of that level coming from a hobbiest.:) Colors were um interesting but sweet dragon design that I wouldn't mind having.

You want to see a great sculpturist M. Pena from Windstone Editions makes wonderful pieces. I have her whole Dragon collection in peacock http://www.windstoneeditions.com/dragonpg4.htm not to mention other things from them my wife has all over the house lol.

Looks like your girl is coming along nicely arie :D I'll bet she'll be done before you know it . I'm so eager to see you start painting her !!

[FilmMkr]

Um, that's a lady sculptor there, Doc. :dry:

[Dr.H]

Um, that's a lady sculptor there, Doc. :dry:

Lol guess thats what I get for not reading. I saw 5 pages and thought wow thats alot to read.. but the pictures are nice :lol: .
I just checked out her main site and she has a great collection of sculpts "shes" :P built.

[Arieanna]

i've only had a chance to skim through that thread. she probably took more time setting up and taking all those pics than actual time working on the dragon! o.O

definately amazing :)

and Doc, you can't imagine how eager i am to start slinging some paint other than primer at Alita! but must wait til I cast her >.<

<chants, must wait, must wait> :wacko:

[Arieanna]

Sorry no pics yet. Alita is confined tot he garage for the night while the primer dries on her. I should be able to finish fixing her hand in the morning and after a quick coat of primer I'll get new pics snapped.

I'm off to bed now. Nitey Nite!

[Arieanna]

well i was happy to sleep in today. not happy for what awaited me though

i went to get alita and it looks like someone stepped on a couple of the pieces. her other hand is broken off and the elbow from the other arm is almost cracked in half.

so thats more work left to pin, putty and resand!

[Dr.H]

I'm sorry to hear about your setbacks. I know you've put alot of time and effort into her.

[FilmMkr]

What happened, Arie? Did your son get her or someone accidently knock her down? I know you put a lot of work into that sculpt - do you have a safe place to keep her when you're not working on her?

[Arieanna]

i sprayed a coat of primer on her before i went to bed. she was sitting on a piece of board on the floor of the garage to dry over night. i got up this morning and went to get er and a couple pieces were obviously not in the same spot id left em. closer inspection revealed her left hand bent very wierd at the wrist and a crack all the way around her right elbow. took some interesting planning on how i was going to pin and fix the cracks >.<

i took some pics as i was in the process of inserting new pins. ill get them posted soon as i can.

unfortunately my finish date was going to be today before the setback, now it will take a couple days just to fix the breaks >.<

[Arieanna]

ok have some pics of the damage.

the first one i took my cutting disk and hacked out some extra around the elbow for the putty fill, and cut out some extra on both sides of the arm to add the pic and more putty to. hopefully it will create a stronger bond.

for the hand that snapped off, i tried puttying it first with the pin that had already been in it but that didnt work, so i tried the same method of cuttig out a line for a new pin and extra putty. hopefully the extra putty adds more strength to the break.

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0104.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0105.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0106.JPG

[Arieanna]

well been working on the couple breaks and got em almost ready for primer again.

i realized the cracked finger wasn't going to last so i had to do some minor surgery before i can finish sanding and priming her left arm.

here is where her finger cracked. the cracked doesnt go all the way around and there is a wire frame inside.
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0111.JPG

using my trusty dremel, i attached a cutting disk and cut a groove into her broken finger making sure to extend to both sides of the crack.
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0112.JPG

mixed up some trusty 2-part plumber's epoxy putty and packed it into the groove. this should help reinforce the wire enough that i dont have to worry about massive surgery to resculpt the finger and possibly more of her hand. its definately not something i would look forward to seeing as its such a small piece and i would have to worry about future breaks. once the putty is dry. i'll finish sanding this piece and with a coat of primer it should be noticable that the finger ever broke
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/IMG_0113.JPG

[Arieanna]

no new pics yet, just an update to let everyone know im now working on alita's puppy companion. Alita herself is actually done cept for touching up a couple spots where the primer globbed, i just want to wait to take pics til the puppy is done as well so i can get the whole set-up shown :)

[Arieanna]

i had told myself i was going to wait til the puppy was finished before posting pics but here's a sneak pic anyway since i have to wait for the paper clay to dry.

here's my little trick for getting it to dry faster. (the lamp is off for pics obviously)
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0114.jpg

[Saitou]

Nice!, your figure is almost complete, and the break in the arm is not a problem now (I learn how to fix a piece with the pictures ^_^ ), I can't wait see the work finish :p.

[Arieanna]

since masa asked so nicely today, here's an update on the puppy :happy:

sanding and refining front end detail first, then on to the back legs and tail, ect.

my worst critic (my son) easily recognized it as a puppy so i must be doing something right ^^

it looks messier than it actually is atm. the pencil lines ive been using as guides when ive been workign with it have a tendancy to discolor the clay and make it look cracked and such. its actually pretty smooth.

ive also decided to make the buppy's belly a little more roly-poly so it will look cuter (hopefully) :p

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0116.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0115.jpg

[Arieanna]

ok brief WIP shots of the back leg.

step 1- create a stump that actually stays on the rest of the body. lol

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0117.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0118.jpg

step 2- puppy bak again! gogo uber lightbulb! :p

step 3-whatever. finish leg, shape, sand, add more clay, bake, shape, sand. viola! we have a leg :happy:

http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0119.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0120.jpg
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/Img_0121.jpg

got a stump started for the last leg now. hopefully i can finish that and the tail tomorrow. do some more sanding and then get it primed.

keep your fingers crossed! ^^

[Arieanna]

Puppy done and primed.

all but 2 pieces of Alita sanded and reprimed. came across some problems on the head and neck that needed fixing (again). my son decided to get ahold of her and caused a few issues. if luck is with me i should finish the minor repairs tonight and get the last 2 pieces primed.

and there may even be pics! :blink:

Disclaimer: I in no way hold responsibility for anyone who may pass out from holding their breath waiting for the mentioned pictures.

[Arieanna]

just to link to finished images since this thread found its way to Yukito Kishiro's forums :hehe:

http://gkjapan.com/showthread.php?t=281