I wanted to bake Kane in the oven as I went along, so I wouldn't have to wait overnight to continue, so I made his armature purely out of foil. I wanted to make it out of clay and wrap it, so it would have been smoother, but alas, this is a low budget operation and I did not have enough clay. On a side note, Lizzette was originally sculpted all together, then cut apart. I decided to make his pieces separately. It did end up turning out rather well.
First layer of clay. I added the bulk to the upper thighs later.
Ready for the oven. All of his pieces went into the oven multiple times for adding layers and details. I didn't really know what I was doing and I didn't want the clay to burn so I only put it in at 250 degrees. I would leave it 10-25 minutes at a time, depending on how thick the clay I needed dry was.
I had seen other people making wire armatures for hands, but I found it too frustrating with Lizzette to bother with. However, I decided to take Dollykim's advice and make the armature for Kane's hands because Lizzette's fingers have broken off so many times. It made a HUGE difference. His hands are very strong.
Hands, feet, and the sculpted joints. After they were dry I just drilled holes through them.
Hands after baking.
Initial string test.
More pose and joint testing. He stands!
Aggressive pose, Kane. I'm supporting him a bit to hold this.
Kane being silly while we test his re-done shoulder joints.
Pose testing with re-done hip joints. I left his knees a bit more open than Lizzette's are. He is a little wobbly as a result, but his range of motion is much better.
Taken apart before final stringing. See those gold hooks from the feet? Those are screwed straight into the feet. I do the same with the headcap, then reinforce the headcap hook with clay and seal him up. Both he and Lizzette are permanently sealed with clay. (Although if need be I could open their heads with a razor knife.)
Kane's beautiful blue-gray eyes. <3
Finished! I'm holding him for scale, he's a little more than a foot tall I think. (This was right after I finished the wig, so I hadn't painted his eyebrows yet.)
Close-up. Again before eyebrows. It's hard to see, since he's painted with acrylic and shiny, but he has freckles.
So far they're getting on well. ^.^
Kane being silly while showcasing his superior posability.
He looks like he's trying to surf... or... bowl. :{
They do seem to like each other.
Quite a bit! <3
I'm very proud of the way Kane turned out, I hope you all like him!
