EMP Vinyl Toy - Trollhunter - Jotnar

The third film I've chosen to create an illustrated poster/vinyl toy/other stuff combo for is Trollhunter. For those who haven't seen it, it's a Norwegian dark fantasy about a group of student who go to make a documentary about a bear poacher, but instead get tangled up chasing trolls around with the Trollhunter. It is a superb film. Here's a time-lapse of me making the toy.

The character I chose to depict from this film (sticking with the theme of the 'bad guys') was a Jotnar. A troll over 200 feet tall that the group encounter at the end of the movie. I used a 4inch white 'Kracka' DIY vinyl toy as the base & then applied a huge amount of Sculpey to the head to make it look entirely different. I spent a lot more time on this one with the Sculpey than I did on the BTILC toy & it shows. I sculpted the basic shape of the head and then applied extra features such as lips & ears from smaller sections, also applying extra layers to create contours on the cheek areas & forehead. I then used a pencil & a knife to push impressions into the Sculpey as there was a lot of wrinkles to depict.

I baked it, as before (10 minutes, 95degrees C) only this time I used a ceramic tray with a little bit of water in the bottom instead of a metal tray, this stopped the vinyl from melting but meant that the section of Sculpey touching the water didn't cook properly, so I tipped the water out & re-baked it for a couple of minutes to make it totally solid. After it had cooled I went straight in with a base coat of mid-grey. Once that had dried I mixed up a fairly dark, muddy green wash to overlay & get into all the creases of the face. I followed that up with a dark grey wash & once that had dried I added a mix of light grey & white dry brushing to really pick out some highlights on the face. Spray varnish was applied & left a couple of days to dry. 

I applied grey paint to a polishing...thing. I don't know what it's called. It's all fluffy & your meant to use it to polish cars with. I also added what can only be described as week-old paint pot water to give it a horrible green/grey/yellowy colour. Waited for that to dry, cut it up & used PVA to apply it to the figure, then I singed it with a lighter to make it matted & add a nice brown colour to some pieces.

EMP Vinyl Toy - Big Trouble In Little China - James Hong

Shape It, Bake It, Paint It.

Here's a timelapse (with some significant sections missing) of me creating my first customised vinyl toy. 

Music: Crystal Effigy by Our Time Down Here.

http://www.facebook.com/Ourtimedownhere 

The subject is James Hong's character from Big Trouble In Little China. I used a 4inch Trexi model as a base and sculpey to add extra details. Also used a couple of screws as I felt that'd be preferably as a visual compared to trying to create a similar effect with the sculpey. Turns out this is actually really, really difficult & very time consuming but a lot of fun. Sculpting the right shapes without leaving marks is really awkward but it's a very versatile tool and holds a lot of strength in a thin sheet. I left the model in the oven for about 30 seconds too long and some sections of the vinyl started to melt which had to be rectified with a knife. Something to look out for if you make one yourself. Painting it was a delicate procedure which I completed in one colour at a time, luckily the model separates at various points which makes it considerably easier. Finished him up with some black ink details. One the paint is fully set (tomorrow) I shall be spray varnishing him for a nice shiny finish. I've already started my next one. Stay tuned.

It's all in the reflexes.

August 25th 2010: Gorgon Model

Haggard face, crazy whipsy hair, soy sauce skin.