Making Erik The Red

Erik the Red is finally complete. It was a long winded process, but that was only down to me procrastinating about what to do with him! I made him in backwards stages, because I like to make things easy for myself.

I started off with sculpting some faces over Summer. I chose the first face. the holes were to thread the hair through, although after experimenting with this I decided to smooth out the face as this method wasn't suitable. 

I then extended the sculpey around the sides. I used a small perfume bottle to mould it around as it was the perfect size. I left his head hollow so it would be lighter and also allows access to his eyes.

I then started working on his beard. This was a laborious process, as I added small sections of roving wool to build up the layers. 

This is Erik with skull and all. His skull is detachable as it is made from polystyrene. Again, I did this so that I had access to his eyes. Whilst animating the skull will be stuck down will double sided tape.

As you can see in the photo below, the sculpey that I had used to secure the armature together had cracked. This was only a temporary fix until I could get the materials I needed.

I chipped off the sculpey and used epoxy to secure the armature. When the epoxy had dried I then used Milliput, it doesn't hurt to be extra safe! I have used uncooked sculpey for his neck.

His armature has been wrapped in material to bulk it up and give him some sort of figure. I had also added extra wire as by this point he wasn't supporting his weight.

I finally got around to remaking his hands, due to crucifying the last set. I decided to make these out of sculpey as he wasn't going to move his fingers or hands much in the animation. As these attach at the elbow I can easily change them.

I then wrapped the join with some material to smooth it out and make it a little more secure. 

Sadly I didn't take any photos whilst making the clothes, but here is the finished product (more or less).

As his head can't be removed, I had to make his shirt open at the back, but this is hidden by his cape. Because of the simple style it can be used with the opening at the front.

I've finally added some metal plates to his feet. These will be wrapped in matching material to complete his boots. If I have time I will also make a few accessories for him. 

I can't wait to see how he animates!