Sculpting (Body and Head)

Chavant NSP Clay was utilized to sculpt the body of the puppet. In this phase, the clay covered the entire armature and added volume to replicate the protagonist of the thesis film, Maya.

She has a semi-realistic body style with proportions similar to a typical female body. Initially, it was important to ensure that the entire armature is covered with clay. Once that was achieved, more clay was added to build upon it. During the sculpting process, I realized that it was easier to remove excess clay from different parts than to eyeball and continually add more. Clay sculpting tools were used to define the body.

I decided to go ahead with four fingers for the puppet so that it is less complicated during the animation. I looked up references of stylized animation characters to ensure anatomical accuracy in the puppet. I had difficulty in achieving even arms, shoulders and wrist on both sides. Consequently, I had to incorporate additional wire into the fingertips so they are proportional to the palms of the hands.

Furthermore, I trimmed the region under the buttocks to facilitate the ease of the puppet’s sitting and standing during animation. This alteration was suggested considering my intention to use silicone to cast the puppet. For smoothing the surface, a scotch bright scrub pad was used initially followed by dabbing Citrasolv, a concentrated cleaner and de-greaser using a soft sponge.