Sarah Roberson: Independent Study Part 2

In further investigating material choices, I decided on making the armature portion of the first two figures first and then begin to sculpt the individual pieces that are to be exposed (Not under fabric) out of clay. I don't have any pieces sculpted yet, but a I will post something about that when I get it finished.

For my clay choice, I went with a brand called Plastalina by Van Aken. This is a clay that doesn't harden when exposed to air, but when it is exposed, it firm to the touch but not too firm that it isn't pliable. And when you mess with it, it reacts to the heat from your hands and softens to allow the sculptor the ability to be able to mold it like regular clay would.

                                                

For the skeleton of each model, I went with a 1/16th inch (16 gage) armature wire. The size was to give me the easiest to bend, while remaining strong under the stress of me moving the individual parts and twisting them. The twist is there to ensure strength and to make it able to stand up more on its own rather than having to hold it up constantly

The idea behind the armatures was to create two different sizes to represent females and males. The other concept and idea was to use clay or something like that to create the shape of the hips and the shoulders and then using other means to create the other parts of the body. The picture on the left is of a first attempt of mine in making an armature. Since up to that point I hadn't made one, I didn't know what I was doing, but it ended up giving me some pointers and tips on how to make others. 

The picture above and to the right and the ones below is the one that I ended up making it like. I had a friend who helped me make the taller of the two of the pictures. And then I made the majority of the shorter one on my own with help when needed. I really like this design the best because it allows for a greater range of motion as well as the ability to build on top of it if needed.