More photoshoot images

Tate Britain, Enslaved

This video is from 2007, when I was studying at the Brit School Of Performing Arts, Croydon. It features costume work designed and made by be during an evening course I took up whilst studying Art and Design.

www.arts.ac.uk/young-ar-art/52541.htm

Wing Re-make

Photoshoot final image

I have submitted three images I particularly like form my photo shoot on deadline day. I am happy with the outcome as it tells the story of the character and compliments the background well. For the final major show, I wish to present these pieces on a white mannequin, and I will subsequently be re-using these pieces in another photo shoot.

Fixing leather and steel with rivets

Once the leather belts had been secured with contact adhesive, I noticed that bolts were needed to clamp the two together securely. The workshop staff suggested using a rivet gun to clamp the two materials together. This workes but distorting the metal and puncturing a pin in place. To aid with the placements of the rivets, I firstly drilled holes through the leather before using the rivet gun to clamp the two.

Welding the wings in position

Each end if wire that runs through the wings has been spot welded onto the thicker, welding wire. This in turn was then spot welded onto the steel plate and further welded together for good measure.

Back plate

Rivets filed flat at the back

Steel plate at the back

Having cut a sqaure of aluminum, I have bent and folded the piece down it's centre line to fit the wearer's back more comfortably. For axtra hold, the aluminum will require a much stronger fixing than glue.

Using clear plastic, this image shows my test piece before I decided to vacuum form the shoulder extensions in white.

Further testing with the white pieces

As I was unhappy with the styrene cage I had trailed, I have also tested Varaform mesh with resin and fibreglass tissue. In the end I vacuum formed 1mm thick styrene over a rounded block and cut strips from the already curved plastic. These were then attached together with dyclo.

Making the backpack

Using two gold belts, the wings will sit on a plate at the back and be secured across the body. I have used contact adhesive to temporarily hold the leather belts together at the back.

Main elements ready

After folding the felt back on itself around the edges, and securing the iside with black tape, these pieces are ready to use in the photoshoot.

Sealing the rough edges- black electical tape ?

Another issue with my felt lining is the rough edges produced by the cut felt and the subsequent fibres getting stuck in the paint finish. As shown here, I tried to seal these edged with black electrical tape whilst using acrylic paint to touch up areas where the contact adhesive had seeped over the edges. Still unsatisfied with this finish, I have decided to add additional felt along the edges, roll these back and secure them back on themselves.

Lineing the headband

My first attempt at covering the inside of my headpiece incorporated a band of plastizote foam to pad out the inside. Once the felt was secured over this with contact adhesive I then realised that I has cut the foam too thickly and that it would no longer fit onto the head. Therefor all of this lining had to be removed and done again.

Headpiece paintjob

Detail added with acrylics

Compared with how glossy the white of my headpiece was, I feel that the colour has deteriorated as I have applied more coats of paint and added areas of detail. To try and counteract the mattifying of the paint, I have finished the whole piece with clear lacquer.

masking and cleaning up the shoulders

Paint finish shows slight residue from the masking tape and areas where the paint has seeped through

Gold spray paint applied to raised detail

Despite best efforts, the gold car paint has seeped through my masking on the shoulder pieces. This is probably due to the runny consistency of the paint when sprayed. To clean up the finish, I have used a fine brush and small pots of acrylic paint to help bring out the faded blues tones and cover any mistakes. Tape residue came of easily enough though I also had to use fine sandpaper where the paint had clotted. Once I was happy with the paint finish, I sprayed the whole piece with clear lacquer to preserve the colour and provide a glossy coat the the piece.

Fixing the wing pieces

Sanded, primed and assembled for painting

First coat of plaster and PVA

Removing the fabric proved difficult on the pieces that were covered with the textured fabric as much of the fibres were left stuck in the blue foam. Due to the sloppy consistency of the plaster and PVA mix, each foam piece then required several coatings and sanding back. Due to the delicate consistency of plaster, each section had to be sanded by hand as a power sander would have been far too vigorous. Each section was then primed twice to help provide a plastic, less porous surface for me to paint onto.

Back to the test pieces

Cellulose paint finish, PVA (top) and plaster (bottom)

Plaster, (left) and PVA (right)

After trialing these two coatings, I decided that plaster gives a generally more smooth finish when painted as the PVA shows all the imperfections in the foam's surface underneath.

Changing the fabrc pieces

Sections layn out in order of layering

Pieces fixed together with contact adhesive

Once I had reached the stage ready for assembly, my tutor suggested that I applied a different finish to the foam wings. He suggests mixing PVA with plaster for a smooth, hard finish which can be painted in metallic gold. I now need to remove all the fabric and salvage the foam and wire underneath.

Paint touching-up

Sanded back paint detail

Fine paint detailing requiring cleanup

These photos show areas that require attention due to smudging and rough edges. Whilst applying T-cut to the black paint, this also smudged onto the white. As a result, I decided to apply another coat of white paint, only for the spray can to start spluttering. I hope the areas where it has spluttered and run will be removable.

Touching up the headpiece

Despite my best efforts, the masking tape did leave some sticky residue on the white paint finish. Most of this was removable with Tcut and a cloth. As small areas of paint have run, I wish to apply one final coat of white to the main areas of the headpiece once the detailing has been fully painted.

Resulting shoulder finish

Once I was content with the green areas, I could then begin to mask off these large areas, leaving the raised detailing exposed for painting.

Masking the back detailing

Masking these lines proved tricky due to the design's intricate nature. Once sprayed, I found that these areas required touching up with a fine paintbrush as some of the paint bled through the tape.

Black is sprayed

The black cellulose paint is noticeably matt in contrast to the high gloss white on the rest of the model. I have decided to keep this texture to the front detail as it adds interest.

Masking the headpiece

This image shows the intricate masking off of the front detail, to be sprayed black. The masking tape is slightly de-tacked on my jeans before being applied to the model. The handle of the scalpel aids with pushing the tape in position before the cog detailing was cut out. Larger widths of tape were then added around this to help protect the rest of the headband.

Fabricating the wings

I have covered all the foam pieces as neatly as possible, using scrap material to cover gaps where the seam does not match up. As each piece has been covered, it is difficult to see the order in which they will need assembling.

Finishing the shoulders

The sprayed layer of blue paint has been repeatedly sanded back to reveal the texture of the green hammerite underneath. The resulting finish reminds me of weathered copper as it oxidises. The raised details have been carefully masks off so that I can later paint these gold.

fabric wing pieces

Testers of spray detail on two types of fabric finish These wing sections are coated in PVA before fabric sections are wrapped around them, joining at the back. Fixing the material to each section has it's difficulties as the fabric creases and some of the blue foam appears at the fabric's seams.

Painting the headpiece

White radiator paint over grey primer

Sanded surface with green hammerite detail

To give the best possible shine to the headpiece, I had to prepare the car body swills surface. I have worked through various grades of sandpaper to reach a glass-like surface onto which I will apply a light grey primer coat. I applied and sanded back two coats of primer to fill any small imperfections. Onto this I then applied two thin coats of white radiator paint. The plastic tenancy in this paint really brought out a shine to the piece in areas such as the side vents. Finally, two coats of metallic white car paint were used to achieve the shiny white plastic finish I desire.

Cleaned up casts alongside original sculpt

Once sanded back I am able to compare the new pieces with whats left of the original sculpts. The fibreglass lining inside is uneven though this will be padded with plastizote foam and lined with black felt.

Pieces fresh from the mold

Using a slightly thicker swill of car body filler and resin, these pieces were produced from the shoulder molds. There are a few cracks in the surface to clean up where the clay had dried out during the molding process.

De-mold

Silicone removed from plaster bust

Using a broad chisel, the fibreglass easily came away from the original silicone mold. These pieces required much less of a clean up than on the headpiece so that the silicone keys would fit back into the jacket.

Fibreglass jacket with drill holes

Once both sides of the shoulders had been fibre glassed, I trimmed off the excess with the osculating saw to later help with the removal of the fibreglass jacket. Holes were drilled along the flange so that the two halves could later be bolted back together.

Correcting the silicone piece and preparing for the fibreglass jacket

The silicone is cut back to reveal the keys. Clay is added to plug any gaps around the silicone where the fibreglass my fix onto the original clay sculpt. The blob of clay at the bottom is an attempt to rescue a key that was not fully formed under the bulk of silicone. I was advised that this was not worth keeping so I later cut it completely off as it would have hindered, rather than helped the molding process. The back of the plaster bust is coated in beeswax to prevent resin form sticking to it. The clay wall is added on one side and the back of the shoulder is covered in gel coat.

Whilst the layers of silicone were setting, I started work on securing wire through each piece of the wings. The welding rod not only supports the blue foam, but will allow them to join a metal back plate as a base later. As I could not simply poke the sire through the thin, delicate blue foam pieces, I have cut it in two and bent the wire to fit within this curve. The inside of both halves of blue foam is slitted to help the wire sit in place. Contact adhesive will melt the foam so I have simply used PVA glue to adhere the wire and two halves of the foam. Masking tape holds the piece together whilst this sets. The join line should not show through the covering fabric.

second, third and fouth coat

This photo is missing a crucial step. I realised in time to pull the layer of gel coat off and take a step back to cut out the desired shape of silicone. As the mixture naturally overflows the clay walls, I forgot to cut it back within these parameters and to remove the surrounding clay.

Thixatropic and accelerator can be added to the following coats of silicone. I have also cut keys from excess silicone and placed them along the shoulders, careful to not place these a long the centre line where the clay wall will be built for the fibreglass jacket. Washing up liquid smooths over the top coat of silicone.