Headband sculpt

After discussing my design with Pete Tindall, I have decided to cast the headpiece. With my headstand back in the studio, I have built up the basic shape of the headband in lumps of clay placed directly onto the plaster. I later learnt that as I am using WED clay, the plaster will absorb moisture out of the clay as I did not seal it with primer to create a barrier between the plaster and clay. However, as long as I keep the clay moist by spraying it with water and wrapping it up with cling film overnight, I should have a reasonable working time with the piece.

Beginnings of headpiece

To fit my model, my current stand is short of my model's head measurements by 40 mm. In order to be able to sculpt a good fitting headpiece onto the model I have added extra plaster to bulk the cast out. This will be sanded back once set. In order for the fresh plaster to stick to the primed surface of my existing bust, I had to firstly score lines into the surface with a sculpting tool. The plaster was mixed more thickly than usual so that I could apply it to certain areas without it running off the head. The main reason I am not making a fresh life cast is out of consideration for my model as she has only agreed to take part in the ending photo shoot.

model shots

My model is a third year fashion student at the University. Here I have photographed her front and side profile as reference to consider the differences between her face shape and that of my plaster bust. Considering the extra bulk of her hair, I have recorded her head measurements required for hat making and as reference to bulk out my plaster head.

shoulder piece mock-ups

shoulder piece resting on plaster bust

vacuum formed piece

detailed and sanded milliput piece

markings show where the pattern will be added

Using yellow foam and milliput, I created a test shoulder piece of my more organic design idea. The foam acts as support while I rolled out a layer of milliput in my desired shape. As milliput sets rigid, I felt this to be a suitable material to vacuum form ontop of without the detail becomming destroyed in the process. Before sanding the surface of the basic shape shown above, I punctured small holes into the soft milliput with a toothpick to mark out where the detail will be added. Using wire templates of the pattern, I have matched the detail at the front and back to join along the centre of the shoulder piece. To create clean edges at either end of the shoulder panel, I flattened and removed the excess foam and milliput at either end with the disk sander. Once the milliput had set, I vacuum formed clear styrene over the piece after attaching it to a piece of scrap wood to give a base which would aid with removal of the vacuum formed plastic from the milliput mold.

wing pieces

tiered pieces

segments layed flat

card guide for scale and positioning

In preparation for fabricating my backpiece, I have created a rough blue foam version to give me an impression of how large they should be in proportion to the body. From arranging each segment both flat alongside each other and layered up, I can see how the piece looks from all angles. An important thing to consider from this test is to make each piece of the wing fit better against each other if the wing is to lie flat as one piece. I can later use this tester to see how best to attach it to my model's back.

Final design rendering

Using the graphics tablet in Photoshop, I have started to render my final design. The colours have been sourced from art deco buildings, the Archandroid CD cover and the Metropolis, the chase suite CD artwork. Each segment of the overall design has been rendered on a separate layer to keep within the parmeters of the drawing. Whilst the shoulders and wing piece are highly influenced by art deco style and tones, the additional pieces over the shoulders and the headband reference modern interpretations of robots such as those seen in i robot and the Bjork music video, "All is for Love". I have tied these two styles together by using black graphics and gold bordering onto the headpiece detail. The finished costume will require different surface finishes for the shoulders and wing pieces. The headband and shoulder extensions should appear smooth and polished, reflecting the white shell of the Janelle Monae robot artwork. The shoulder pads will be finished in a more cracked and aged paintwork, appearing more dated in contrast. For the wings, I plan to cover these in metallic gold fabric for a more handmade appearance.

Life cast practice

mould ready for pouring the plaster into

front and back are secured together with bicycle tires, any gaps are filled with clay

plaster bandage over alginate and netting, the nose has been left clear to allow the model to breathe

alginate is applied to the face

model is sat upright to help support the weight of the modrock backing

After applying vaseline and a skull cap, the mod rock bandages are applied straight onto the skin of the model at the back

Today I assisted Amy with a head and shoulder life-cast to practice the processes behind making a plaster cast bust such as the one I have on my desk. Though my model does not wish to have a lifecast herself, I feel it is good practice to show how I would have reached this stage of a bust to work ontop of. If my fashion piece was more specifically fitted to my model then a lifecast would have deemed far more necessary, though it is more commonly used as a basis for makeup based projects.

sketch models, shoulders and headband

narrowed with chosen paneling

different styles of paneling

wide headband

rounded patterns marked in

initial shape

Using wire mesh and clay, I was able to rough out some shoulder pads to choose a suitable shape and detailing for the final piece. Clay, wire and card are readily availible around the studio and are ideal for roughing out ideas quickly. Foil was used to represent the additional shoulder strands in my drawings. I have decided that multiple, thin pieces look better than thicker hoops over the shoulder pieces. The cardheadband has been scored along the inside to allow the sides to to form around the face. After trialing a few nets for the headband, I was able to decide what size and shape it should be. However, I do not feel that fabrication would be a suitable method to make the headband from, as I wish it to appear machiene made and hard edged. Styrene allowed me to see how many vents should pertrude from the sides of the piece and at what distance they should be placed together.

Colour samples

Drawing colour from my reference imagery has provided several pallets and themes for my piece. Through selecting areas of pattern, I am able to quickly render them in photoshop with a graphics tablet. I have saved several versions of each component in many different tones, simply by adjusting the colour balance of the rendered image. I am particularly favouring black and white, gold, light blue, white and green themes. White and red act as modern day colour scheme associated with robotic design whilst gold and green,blue are featured heavily in Art Deco styling.

Further detailing

Playing on geometry, much of the detailing has become more simplified and bold. It is important to consider how these details would be picked up on camera and on stage. Areas of block colour would not necessarily be black, as I have then edited these in photoshop.

Detailing

Most of the detailing is starting to draw more heavily form art deco architecture and iconic New York buildings in the 1920s. The strong graphic element of repeated geometry adds drama, particularly to the back piece.

Design refined

front view

back view

Eventually, I was able to draw the key shapes I feel the most successful and appear in the majority of my drawings. Using these templates, I can work back on top of them adding detail and additional features. I will also be able to draw a turnaround after creating some sketch models.

Design development

"57821" is the cerial number of the Cyndi Mayweather Android

Re-drawing some of my favourite elements at a slight angle allows me to consider how they would look in three dimensions. I have started to move away from the idea of a full collar piece, opting for shoulder pads instead. I find myself shaping the headpiece around her distinctive hairstyle, possibly supporting it in position and accentuating it. Rather than a large heavy crown, a headband seems a more elegant option to balance the head and shoulders.

Design progression

This hairslide was drawn whilst watching Metropolis, as was the design below. Iconic shapes and features such as the ten hour clock have been taken directly from the film's set.

introducing ideas for makeup

These ideas are heavily drawn from Frank R Paul's illustration work throught the 1930s along with modern day concept art for the Star Wars films. I have started to notice how merging such references brings out an art deco aesthetic, particularly when playing with the idea of giving the Archandroid a halo or wing shapes. The Archandroid is "the mediator between the androids and humans, an arch angel, like Neo in the Matrix". From these sketches I have picked out some graphics which keep repeating, such as lightning bolts and cogs. These silhouettes could be further integrated within the makeup for my model.

Design templates

Front-on view

Slight profile view

After researching several artists famous for their use of stage costumes, Janelle appealed to me due to her strong artistic vision and variety of influences behind her two albums, Metropolis, the chase suite one and Archandroid, suits two and three. My costume design for her will primarily reference Fritz Lang's Metropolis as the singer regards this as a key film behind her interest in science fiction and androids. My early designs also site the work of performers such as Bjork and David Bowie , whilst I also explored futuristic and robotic sculptures used around music festivals such as Glastonbury and Burning Man. To understand the mind set behind Janelle's alter ego Cindi Mayweather, I have also explored popular science fiction series such as Battlestar Galatica, Terminator and Blade Runner.

Using a light box, I have traced the singer's profile to fit the headpiece to her facial features. She is depicted here in her classic, tuxedo wearing style that acts as her uniform when working on her music. She chooses to dress in simple black and white outfits for most of her performances, tho the cover for the Archandroid album depicts a story through her appearence as Cyndi Mayweather. I am to produce a more fashion based headpiece around the theme of retro-futurism as a reference to 1920s vision of sci fi.