Shiny Things Gallery | Search

Total matches for sculpture: 17

Heart of Dawn

Heart of Dawn

The heart and soul of a world cast in darkness, it beats with the essence of light; and indeed, perhaps, hope. That will be up to the one who will wield the light within.

Ever just have a dumb idea and then you stumble into bits and pieces of exactly the right things to accidentally make it much better than you ever imagined it could be? Yeah, this was weird. I'd played with the idea of making a tiny representation of the crystal from Final Fantasy XV, but I'd wanted to get to learning how to make an artificial druzy/geode first. I was a little surprised to come across the perfect, real geode for the project without meaning to, and it all... snowballed. As things will.

Once I had the geode in hand, I wanted to sculpt around the outside to more resemble the crystal in the game itself. Thanks in large part to this Tumblr post (and later to Episode Ignis), I'd made certain... observations about the crystal itself. It looked blown open, for one, exploded. And where it's pierced to secure it in place, it appears to be leaking or bleeding. That combined with the "tendrils" underneath made it both beautiful and unsettling, some odd mix of organic things, and obviously I kind of love some of that horrifying stuff, so I had to run with it. I'm also pretty proud of managing to make it look like stone. The wire emerging from the sculpture itself is iron (later coated in protective enamel), because that gave me the sturdiness I needed in such a relatively "thin" gauge of wire. While the stone plus all the outside sculpt itself added quite a bit of weight, underneath the molded epoxy is a wire harness to make sure everything is fully and completely secure. The fact that the chain is a very heavy gauge steel (along with the clasp) helps too.

Then it came time to work out the interior. I'd toyed with the idea that maybe I could make it glow pink or purple, but didn't really hold much faith in being able to do so because of how difficult and expensive it is to get those colors... but I stumbled across a place that sold very small quantities and I went for it. Boy am I glad I did. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO PHOTOGRAPH CORRECTLY, but with the aid of a few seconds of blacklight, the resulting glow is astonishingly bright in vibrant pink, fading out to purple, then blue. It does charge in full sun, as well, but won't glow quite as brightly afterward and be more purple than achingly neon pink. There's a range of color and glow possibilities and I love them all, is what I'm saying. So once I had the glow color down, it was a simple matter of layering blue and purple iridescent pigment to finish the rest of the interior while still showing off the actual natural crystal. No matter the lighting, it is awesome, shiny, and glowy. Success, level up.

...The result is also a little painful. You can tell what experience Final Fantasy XV fans had with the game by their reaction to this. Though I should hope the bulk of the reaction is somewhere on the spectrum of "Ooohh shiny!"/"Ooohh glowy!" I'm really happy to share the pain and passion in this manner. Clearly

This is, and is meant to be, a one of a kind piece. I will never do anything quite like this again. Which is... probably a blessing, though one of these days I might get back to playing with making artificial druzies. Just not anytime too soon, and certainly not this large.
(Sold.)

Date: 19 February 2018
Lucius and the DB10 Party Bus

Lucius and the DB10 Party Bus

So. It was near the end of Desert Bus 9 (of course) when I decided that I wanted to push further for something a little... more for DB10. I mean, the tenth Desert Bus for Hope! It's a party! A celebration! And then I thought, well, why not make something of a chocobo-drawn bus-coach thing? Because. Apparently that's how my brain works.

So let's talk about Lucius the chocobo first, yes? He’s my biggest poseable chocobo to date, all 1 pound, 5 ounces of heavy stainless steel wire armature, yarn and polyfil. I was inspired mainly by FFXV chocobos this time around, but I'm sure the other influences can be seen. Each feather of his tail and crest are individually wired. Along with his top and bottom jaw/beak, neck, wings, first four primary feathers on each wing, legs and toes (which I'd really wanted to make "traditional", hence huge claws). Fully extended, he has a wingspan of 15 inches, which also happens to be about how tall he is with a “relaxed crest”. He likes dancing, greens, and going maybe a little faster than he ought to when pulling the party bus. You didn't hear that from me, though.

And then matters got a little more complicated. This is kind of a concept piece, so hang with me here folks. What I'd actually wanted to do was make this with real working wheels and bike chains for tractor treads with optional flip-out "rockets". Yes, honestly. And I'd gone about testing how to get that to happen, but. Admittedly, a whole bunch of real life things got in the way. It just wasn't going to be possible to see through the way I really wanted, not in the time I'd allowed myself to devote entirely to the Craft-Along project. So, I gave myself another challenge. I'm an old. I remember the '80s. Specifically, I remember action figures and playsets from the '80s. And how we couldn't really afford them, so I made my own out of cardboard and paper.

This started out as cardboard and paper! Then foam, more cardboard, layers of things and fabric and finally a top coat of glossy acrylic medium to give it a plastic-y look. I, uh. Kind of went all out. I suppose. I've been working for years on combining lightweight materials and techniques to allow them to be flexible and sturdy while still being reasonably lightweight. Success! I even managed to experiment with texture so that it looks a little like the rough papery cardboard that some of the commercial playsets used to come with, long long ago. I'm... not sure who would ever actually pick up on that besides me, but that's not the point. While I was working on the initial base for this, right as I was cutting things and evening them out, I suddenly had this delightful image in my head of someone who found an old piece of junk bus abandoned in the desert and just decided to slap on a new coat of paint, re-upholster the interior, and let a chocobo pull it. The image clearly stuck with me, because uneven (but alarmingly strongly reinforced) surfaces abound.

As for the interior itself, it was partly inspired by real Arizona buses. But mostly I had the fabric laying around and I thought it was hilariously "party bus-like", hence. The seats are even cushioned, by the way. Only the best for the toys. Plenty of room for luggage too, I'll have you know.

Then of course I am me, so that couldn't be the end of it. I made real silk velvet curtains in dark blue, then decided what I really needed for the back wind was an assortment of Desert Bus shift flags! All hand-painted with a slight sparkly sheen, to be expected from me. Both the curtains and the shift flags all attach to the bus via magnets. I then added a little makeshift pine tree air freshener insignia to the front, with the tree obviously covered in glitter (sorry Tally!)... and then somewhat painstakingly made a harness for Lucius. I mean. This is my life now. I may as well embrace it.

Sold at Desert Bus 10 for $499! Thank you for your generosity Geisterkarle!

Date: 22 August 2016
Peaceful Bavi

Peaceful Bavi

What you see before you is a Peaceful Bavi, bringer of peaceful dreams and soft, slow awakenings. (Also lovers of tummy rubs, in case you'd like to know.) Bavi are dream spirits, more or less; entities from the Great Dreaming who pass into mortal dreams at their whim. In general, they're quite friendly, content with just a hello (though not saying hello after you've recognized one is considered rude, and you may wake up with a numb limb as a consequence), however if you choose to feed one, then they will continue to find you from time to time. They're playful entities, and a little mischievous; though if you are knowingly, directly harmful to one, the consequences will likely be severe. They do protect their own, much as they will protect those who are kind to them.

So I wanted to take a shot at further editing the pattern for the Daydream Bavi. The plan was definitely to come up with one that represented peaceful dreams, so a blue and slightly off-white color scheme seemed appropriate. Beyond that, I just kind of wandered. I knew I wanted something a little "incoherent", dream-like but soft, and I think I managed. The Bavi themself is soft and fuzzy fleece with cotton embroidery floss detailing (further sparkled-up with iridescent blue pigment and fabric paint afterward), the patch of "scales" on their rump smooth beads. The mask is a strengthened and reinforced papier mache-type base, horns left accented but bare, while the rest was coated with handmade paper and then accented with beads and chain.

(For Sale)

Sephiroth and Cloud Dragons

Sephiroth and Cloud Dragons

Well it made sense at the time, alright? And I'd wanted to try something different, so... Sephiroth and Cloud dragons!

Man, the things I went through for this. I'd wanted Cloud to look battle worn and fed up, but Sephiroth to look eager and cocky, and both of them to be separate sculptures in their own right, so... Well, I'm still happy with them. Even if the angles of that folded wing of Cloud's was the most maddening thing in the world to work around, because even then I pushed myself way too much without thinking of the consequences. A long tradition! I'm still so proud of how Sephiroth's wing came out. And, well, I'm happy with these two.

As a side note, dragon!Cloud did at one point have a Buster Sword. Of all the damn things to break during a move, that did. Along with wing parts of dragon!Vincent, which is why you don't see him here. (He is salvageable. The sword was not. Besides, Cloud can't really hold it, so I didn't see the point.) (For Sale: Dragon!Sephiroth, and Dragon!Cloud)

Date: 14 August 2014
Tolant

Tolant

He was a guardsman for a large clan made up of five families, including his own. Despite the somewhat obvious markings, he was also a master of stealth--successfully protecting the clan even after most of them had been forcefully broken apart. While even his friends might say he has his pride... he certainly understands the jester gods.

Another super ancient sculpture that's been "prettied up" a bit. He's one of the first that I did, really... strange that he's still one of my favorites. (Sold)

Date: 03 August 2014
Nitese

Nitese

Barter and trade is more or less a matter of survival, and Nitese has become an expert in it. He somewhat had to be an expert in something; his markings make him exceptionally unique. He can be found whether he wants to be or not, so better that he keeps an honest business and a decent flow of goods. Of course, it's your own fault if you don't ask the right questions before a handshake.

A little experiment with an attached base/stand. What is it? A discarded peanut butter jar lid. Skippy, I believe. As for the ring, it was part of a secondhand costume jewelry lot, so I'm pretty certain it's just lovely green glass and... well, "some metal".(For Sale)

Date: 20 July 2014
Project Omega: Test 1-3-7.1

Project Omega: Test 1-3-7.1

Test subject proved successful until the need arose to stop killing on command. It seemed to acknowledge the order with a turn of its head--then promptly ignored it. Eventually destroyed. New system needs to be implemented. Inorganic white blood mixed with organic blood proves to be toxic to anything except test subject.

Long, long ago, I was making monsters. This guy is old and shows it, in detail. I still really enjoy how he turned out, though. His helmet/mask is "some metal", a ring I'd picked up for cheap somewhere. The rest just kind of happened.(For Sale)

Date: 20 July 2014
Exy and Tecate

Exy and Tecate

"Exy" (green and gold), some nickname from a forgotten past. They call him a Storm Chaser because he's got a death wish: treasure hunter, pirate, lunatic. That pendant belongs to something bigger, and trying to find out what has already driven him mad. He's a gentleman, though, and he's glad to help out who he can along the way. Try to touch the gem, though... well. There aren't any left alive to tell what happens after.

Very few have ever met Tecate (blue and black), with good reason. Palisuade is one of many dead cities destroyed by wars, but Tecate knows the city was targeted because of the heirloom around his neck. One could call him rather forcefully fated to follow Exy--though exactly why is a mystery even to him. He's no pirate himself, preferring to move through night shadows and follow rumors of Exy's wanderings. Some day he'll either get the pirate to join him... or get the pirate's jewel by any means necessary.

Another pair of decade-old sculptures that I've decided to spruce up. Actually trying to photograph the sheer shine on these guys was nearly impossible.(For Sale)

Date: 16 July 2014