Gryphon Progress
Hey all, just wanna say a BIG thank you to those of you who offered me some advice on my beak and jaw. I don't think this would be turning out anywhere near as good as it is without your invaluable tips!
This is my first head, it's for a partial of a gryphon I'll be wearing to Furry Fiesta in Dallas if all goes well. The beak has been the most time-consuming part by far, but it came out exactly how I wanted and was fun, so I can't complain. :)
The finished beak. For those of you who are curious, the process was this: Construct a basic 3 dimensional beak shape from foamies, then cover it in paperclay to the point where it takes the correct shape of the beak (and then some, because sanding will take it down just a bit). Allow to dry, which takes forever. Fix anything that looks funny, allow to dry again. Once it was dry, I got some coarse grit sandpaper and sanded it down into the correct beak shape, as smooth as I could. Granted, I couldn't get it flawlessly smooth but I was more than happy/satisfied with the result. I then spray painted it black, added the fleshy nose part which is just upholstery vinyl, then hand painted it dark purple 2 coats (couldn't find any dark purple spray paint), tipped the beak with metallic copper spray paint, and then 2 coats of glossy clear coat spray. Whew!
I then added an inner mouth/tongue so it didn't look funny when I open the beak. It's essentially painted fabric. The tongue is sewn with the seam on the underside, painted, has a thin bit of foam inside to give it thickness and a soldering wire to give it shape.
The good thing about using the paperclay is that the beak is really lightweight. This is helpful for the fact that I'm using plastic mesh, and that I have a moving jaw. I ended up scrapping my first attempt at the plastic canvas and redoing it, and it fits so much better and is so much sturdier that I'm extremely glad I did so.
Speaking of which, here is a video of the jaw moving (pre-foaming). No elastics, it moves with any chin movements. I'm not having the slipping problem I was having with the elastics and the beak movement is much more realistic imo.
Aaaand post-foaming. The eyes are homemade follow-me eyes, using a method I found in the memories. Unfortunately the pupils aren't showing up very well in these pics. I'm using blue chiffon on the "tear-duct" area to see out of (the fur on the face will be blue), but it goes behind the pupils as well which I left clear in case I needed the added visibility. I'm considering blacking the pupils out though, because I'm not convinced they add all that much visibility and I think the blue chiffon is giving the pupils a bluish tint. Here is a picture of the eye to give you a better idea.
Current progress: taping it for the fur pattern. Wish me luck!
Thanks again for all the help! I will post once the furring is done. The rest of the suit will include arms, feetpaws, a tail, and possibly wings.
This is my first head, it's for a partial of a gryphon I'll be wearing to Furry Fiesta in Dallas if all goes well. The beak has been the most time-consuming part by far, but it came out exactly how I wanted and was fun, so I can't complain. :)
The finished beak. For those of you who are curious, the process was this: Construct a basic 3 dimensional beak shape from foamies, then cover it in paperclay to the point where it takes the correct shape of the beak (and then some, because sanding will take it down just a bit). Allow to dry, which takes forever. Fix anything that looks funny, allow to dry again. Once it was dry, I got some coarse grit sandpaper and sanded it down into the correct beak shape, as smooth as I could. Granted, I couldn't get it flawlessly smooth but I was more than happy/satisfied with the result. I then spray painted it black, added the fleshy nose part which is just upholstery vinyl, then hand painted it dark purple 2 coats (couldn't find any dark purple spray paint), tipped the beak with metallic copper spray paint, and then 2 coats of glossy clear coat spray. Whew!
I then added an inner mouth/tongue so it didn't look funny when I open the beak. It's essentially painted fabric. The tongue is sewn with the seam on the underside, painted, has a thin bit of foam inside to give it thickness and a soldering wire to give it shape.
The good thing about using the paperclay is that the beak is really lightweight. This is helpful for the fact that I'm using plastic mesh, and that I have a moving jaw. I ended up scrapping my first attempt at the plastic canvas and redoing it, and it fits so much better and is so much sturdier that I'm extremely glad I did so.
Speaking of which, here is a video of the jaw moving (pre-foaming). No elastics, it moves with any chin movements. I'm not having the slipping problem I was having with the elastics and the beak movement is much more realistic imo.
Aaaand post-foaming. The eyes are homemade follow-me eyes, using a method I found in the memories. Unfortunately the pupils aren't showing up very well in these pics. I'm using blue chiffon on the "tear-duct" area to see out of (the fur on the face will be blue), but it goes behind the pupils as well which I left clear in case I needed the added visibility. I'm considering blacking the pupils out though, because I'm not convinced they add all that much visibility and I think the blue chiffon is giving the pupils a bluish tint. Here is a picture of the eye to give you a better idea.
Current progress: taping it for the fur pattern. Wish me luck!
Thanks again for all the help! I will post once the furring is done. The rest of the suit will include arms, feetpaws, a tail, and possibly wings.