Face Sculpt
The intention of making the facial prosthetic was to include the major changes to the face by changing my model into a faun. The main focus was going to be on face, so I wanted to make sure that the sculpt has every aspect covered.
I wanted the nose area to be changed the most, as I know goats have a broad/wide nose and I knew this was something that needed to be built up.
I also wanted to add the feminine look to the prosthetic by adding risen cheek bones to add that feminine face shape.
I wanted to create craters for horns to fit into, so I had to make sure the craters were deep enough so the horn's didn't fall out.
In terms of texture, I wanted to give the mask a skin textured surface, where you could see pore marks and natural wrinkle lines all over the prosthetic.
I also wanted the prosthetic to mean soemthing to the character, I associated my project around fairytale characters, and after researching into the Goat of Mendes, I loved the symbol and what it represented " The Goat god" or "Horned Goad:" , which I thought was a great representation of my character.
This is a picture taken of all the sculpts I have created so far within the project, including experimental sculpts.
I was quite happy with all the made pieces in clay form, and I was quite excited at this point to see how the prosthetics would look.
The Face - The main focal point, nose, forehead, cheek bones and craters are all added to bring the character to life. The nose was the main change to the face.
The ears - Needed to appear lamb/goat like, droopy and quite big to show the characteristics of the faun.
The horns - The horns needed to be feminine, after research massive horns are usually grown on male goats for dominance. So small horns were more suitable.
Hand - Hand needed to still look half human, but 2 finger and a thumb would be covered by the prosthetic and 2 fingers exposed.
Monster clay was used to create the face prosthetic, was it was easy to work with. I started with the bridge of the nose, adding small bits of a clay at a time, so I knew exactly where I was putting it.
Side view of the position of the first application of clay.
I then started applying rolls of clay upwards, heading toward the middle of eyebrows and the start of the forehead.
Front view of the clay being built up toward the forehead area, ensuring I got in all the grooves of the face.
I then started applying little blobs of clay onto the nose, adding it up slowly to try and form the shape I wanted.
I then added more to the forehead, smoothing it out and building up more until I got the desired height I needed. I then started building up on the nose, as i wanted it to appear almost flat.
I then had to imagine where I wanted the nostrils to lie, so I made a basic form of the shape of the nostrils, and then started building up the clay around the mouth area.
The clay is smoothed out more here around the bridge of the nose, and mostly now is the focus on the nostrils, I started working out where the tip of the nostrils would be, and where the deepness of the nostrils would lie, so the space in between each part would be fiilled.
The nostrils here are now starting to take shape, and are looking more animal like, which is what I wanted. As I go along, I have made sure the clay has been smoothed out, so it is then easier for me to work with.
Front view of what it looks like so far, it is always important to see it from all angles to ensure it looks accurate.
The nostrils are now starting to look effective, and are becoming more like what I wanted it to demonstrate.
Side profile of the nostrils so far.
I then decided to give the nostrils a break, and started forming the clay on the cheek bones.
I then started adding it up on the opposite side, I feel it is always best to do each side at the same time rather than one side first and then the other, you then get an uneven look.
The left side was then also built up further, making sure there was space around the eyes left for flashing. The clay was joined up with the nose and mouth area, and blended.
The other side was then built up to the same standard as the opposite side, and then smoothed out so it was completely flattened.
The entire face as a whole so far, all smoothed out, nostrils are also widened and deepened. The craters are then added to the top of the forehead.
Small round flat balls were added to the top of the forehead to begin the craters for the horns.
Side shot of the sculpt so far, this helped with an overview to see what else needed to be done to the sculpt.
Craters were then sculpted out , using sculpting tools, the inside was scooped out to create deep craters, and the outer surface was blended out and molded to shape.
The finished crater of the left side, adding a few slits around the craters for extra effect.
I then decided to add a symbol to symbolise my chracter " The Goat god " a long sausage-like shape was made, and formed into an ideal circle shape to start off with.
I then turned the mold upside down, so it was easier for me to work with. I was able to accurately make the shape of the star, having the centre of the nose as the focal point. Again I used the method of rolling out sausage shapes and placing them inside the circle, and where the shapes met, I cut the unecessary clay where it was not needed.
I then turned my sculpt baxk around ( as you can see on the wooden board, there is all the loose clay that was cut off ) , the upside star is now complete but needs touching up and forming.
I then got a wooden block and flattened the symbol so it wasn't risen up as much as it was, and so that it all formed into one shape.
This was the outcome of the sculpt after I had flattened the symbol, as you can see , there is still a lot of touching up to do to ensure part of the symbol didnt look collapsed in places. I needed to use my sculpting tools to accurately cut straight lines, and to make the shape all even.
After all the necessary requirements were touched up and made for the sculpt, I then needed to texture the piece to ensure it looked as realistic as possible, without it looking fake and mask-like. I applied cling film over the clay, and carefully dapped pore marks ( using wooden skewers) , the cling film prevented the pores from appearing too prominent.
I then did the same on the forehead, trying to ensure it looked realistic as possible, I wanted the prosthetic to appear realistic, by adding loads of pore marks all over the face, allows the reader to understand what the skin may look like under fur.
A close up of the nose, this was very daunting for me as I have a massive phobia of holes. But it did appear effective, especially the nose area. I was incredibly happy with the outcome of this.
An overlook of the entire clay sculpt itself, and to top it off, I added some white powder to the clay to prevent any sticking, and to also remove any loose clay balls that may of been lying about on the sculpt. This brought the pore marks out even more prominent. I was incredibly happy with the outcome of this, and I couldn't wait to see what it looked like in the next stage.
I always love the designing and making part of the process, and I really wanted my face prosthetic to look as realistic and animal like as possible.
The use of unusual tools became effective for creating textures and pores.
I didn't like the long process of when I started applying the clay, I always like the mid way point of when the sculpt is looking more realistic and effective
My improvement would be to invest in some more sculpting tools to practice some more textures, and learn how to create finer looking wrinkle lines and natural skin textures. I always find the texturing to be the most difficult as I always tend to create the lines too deep, and it doesnt look natural enough. I would also give myself enough space next time so I have enough room for a clay wall to create a thin flashing.