Monday, December 14, 2009

Lifecast hands in Plaster

Fingers lost some detail b/c with cheap plaster the grit settles too much. But I was most interested in the wrists--planning to sculpt a custom watchband. Should work great.

Friday, December 11, 2009

AVM Mini

Don't know if I mentioned, but I now work for United Biologics as the Molding/Casting Supervisor. Two weeks ago we launched a project that had been my baby for months. Got rather attached to it during production, but could not go public with the project until now. So with much pride, I give you the AVM Mini:



Credit goes to all the people directly involved:
Craig (President) oversaw the project.
I designed it, sculpted the unit from scratch, molded, cast, and colored it.
Laura sculpted the vessel pattern I requested for the inside, and I integrated it.
Evan assisted me with running the molds once production was rolling, and he took care of getting laser-cut lids.

I love my job.

Friday, October 23, 2009

FX Glass Bottles



Made some sugar glass bottles for "Self Storage," a film Jared Norby's working on. Not hero bottles, just quick action shots. So I made a bunch real fast and left the so-so ones in with the good ones. Lots of 'splosions occurred.

Not too shabby, for next-to-no-budget.
Thanks for the pic, Jared!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Goggles Update # 391

I talk too much. So... picture!

Pretty much ready to mold, then cast in flex-urethane.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Progress on the goggles:
Lense rings! Grooved out the inside so that the lenses will sit snug without falling out.

Tryin' em on for size. Decent fit!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

All-Metal Business Card Holder

Had a boring evening and too much alginate sitting around, so I decided to experiment; molded my hand in the alginate and melted down some tin. Poured the molten tin in the wet mold with a loud hiss. I knew from the start that it wouldn't be a good lifecast...but I wasn't sure exactly what I would get. See for yourself:

Spats!

Using Threadbanger's DIY vid, I made a pair of spats for my halloween costume!
For a quick project I didn't want to commit any real time to, they turned out good enough. It'll do.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

I've been sculpting 2 neurosurgery products for CJDP Inc. Waiting to hear about a patent for them before I can post any pics, but they'll be awesome.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Goggles Update

So the clay I was using was far too soft, and wouldn't keep the nice sharp edges I was looking for. So I peeled off the details and molded the core in alginate. Smeared Bondo in the mold and Sanded it down. Spray paint helped me find the details that needed filling. So here's where we're up to:




Next, I'll add the rings around the lens holes and temple plates. Last, add the faux rivets and cut out the strap slots. Can't wait to mold and cast this puppy.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Church Doodles

Made this little guy while sitting in church. Trying to learn to draw at a good speed. Love reptiles and amphibians.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Bug

Trying to keep in practice. Feels good to draw. But now I'd like to sculpt this one...

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Doodles

"The Pocketwatch"
Just doodling.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

My new favorite place to buy stuff:

For all your molding and casting needs.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

5 minute self-portrait sketch. Took longer to upload than to draw. Go figure.

Trying to draw as much as possible lately to improve my chops. Planning to get crackin' on a graphic novel this summer. 

Best Buy's cut me down on hours due to the all-wrathful economy. But God is good--got another, more specialized job.  I get to sculpt and cast silicone models for medical exhibits shown at trade shows. Most people would probably find it boring, but I'm kind of a geek for that kind of stuff. That brings me up again to a total of 3 jobs. Didn't see that coming.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Fat Man's Requiem

I should have started with a picture for Fat Man.  Here's how he turned out before I scrapped him. Unfortunately, the textures and wrinkling did not show up in the cell phone photos I snapped.



Maybe most interesting is how different he is from the original armature head...




Learned some things...primarily: Use some bloody reference photos!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Progress:

Cleared out the eye holes and roughed out some grooves for the lenses to sit in.
Lenses sitting on top, to get a feel for the magnification.


The chavant is too soft for the precise look I am going for. Keeps squishing out of proportion. So the plan is to mold it in silicone leftovers from MEL and then buy some flexible urethane to cast it in.  Then we sand the urethane smooth, and paint it. Last, we widen the lens  groove and grind the lenses to fit it. 

I'll worry about the band later.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Johnathan Mastron's Comics

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/heresjohnny/adhominem/series.php?view=archive&chapter=36680

An up and coming web cartoonist, John currently draws cartoons for the Biola Campus Newspaper, The Chimes. His work has been guest featured on 'Through the Port Hole' http://dummcomics.com/index?sid=274 among other websites. 
He's working on 3 different comics, as well as developing a webisodic animated cartoon.
Check it out!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Steampunk Goggles

Started on a new project which required a lifecast of my face.
Oh look, I just happen to have made one of those.

Next, globbed it up with some Chavant clay and start sculpting.

A few hours and an untold number of The Simpsons episodes later...

Making good progress. Planning to cast it in flexible urethane, paint it and put coke-bottle lenses in.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Scary

This isn't my usual topic, but I made a startling discovery today...
Bill Nye the Science Guy=Honest Abe!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Rise 2

I reworked my 'Rise' sketch for Justin. Here's the finished one.


Started as a doodle in church.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Feast 3: The Happy Finish

I did a miniature for Feast 3: The sequence where the bus bursts out of the ground...



T'was my work, but sadly I was forgotten in the credits.  Producer Mike Leahy kindly apologized to me, 
   "Huge apology Will!!! ... I am a big fan of yours and somehow 
in the furious finish of the movie we dropped the ball...You came 
through big time for the movie."

So the credit will be on IMDB, but sadly not on the actual movie credits.

I actually doubled for the prophet for one shot in 'crawling through the sewer' sequence, but don't mind being uncredited for that one. It's such a minor shot, and I had fun doing it.

____________________________

In the mean time, MEL's great fun. I learn something every day there. Makeup expert Bob Romero's been personally teaching us about wig and hair work.  Took a field trip to the Fashion District in LA too. Bob showed us around the place--he's been so kind to us despite the fact we're lowly interns. I can say only the best things about Bob. =D

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Fat Man Update


Sorta fell to the wayside in favor of other projects at MEL, but Fat Man is still coming along nicely.

The "Michael Bay Gun"

Inspired by Gears of War 2, I've started a new project: A big nasty rifle.

  I want this sucker to be huge and unweildy, and something akin to a full-auto m203 launcher. 1-inch barrel, heavy as all getouts, detachable magazine, massive shotgun-style fore-end that moves the bolt and if i feel gutsy, ejects a big honking shell. Finish for it will be heavy on paint chips, scratches and grime.  If it doesn't dwarf you while holding it, you need to lay off the steroids.
  Plan is to carve/sculpt it up first, then cast it in high-impact plastic, with lots of metal for weight.  Starting with 2x4's, I carved out a spot for the fore-end and track for the barrel to sit in.


Attached the barrel, added more wood for the stock, clayed up the front and top, carved up grip.
Next up, attach the grip, slim down the stock and rough out a clip for this bad boy.

It will probably have iron sights, but i'm toying with the idea of three lasers wired together in a predator-esque fashion.