File puptcrit/puptcrit.0902, message 526


From: "Creaturiste-AT-primus.ca" <creaturiste-AT-primus.ca>
To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:08:25 -0500
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Paper casting contacts?


Thank you, Hobey!

The paper mache processes seem to force us to be attentive and to embrace a 
certain level of "imperfection", that adds richness and reality to the final 
result.

Instead of fighting with the medium, we learn its properties, we control 
what we can about them, and choose what we like to keep within the 
possibilities it offers us. I think that applies to all mediums.


Most Neoprene puppets and masks I've seen online seem to be painted with an 
airbrush.
It tends to give a cold, too-perfect result (but not always). One exception 
I've seen up close were Larry Hunts masks, which I think he paints by hand. 
They look very alive and real, even with the wild colors he uses. A 
blue-green face will look as real as any human flesh tone.
I love that Neoprene can be controlled in thickness and rigidity, and that 
it will conform perfectly to the mold's details. The speed in execution is 
also a great asset.  If it was more readily available here, I'd spend the 
money to make some of my creatures in Neoprene, and paint them by hand.  As 
it is now, the shipping alone is prohibitive, and so is the weather barrier 
(can't ship in winter, unless it's an expensive heated truck).

My choice is to work mostly with materials I can reliably find locally, and 
that I could find most anywhere. In that way, I wouldn't be stuck if I were 
to have a contract where specialised materials are hard to find. For 
instance, a friend in Hawaii says she has to personaly import almost every 
Art supplies, and some are either prohibited, or unvailable for shipping, so 
she sometimes asks friends accross the water to receive the package at home, 
then ship to her.


Paper mache is as basic as it gets, and so versatile I could switch all 
ingredients at a moment's notice, and still get neat results.

The learning curve is extremely easy to navigate. It's so deceptively simple 
that people who are impressed by results have a hard time guessing how it's 
done. Humans are good at complicating things. I teach the same methods I use 
to 10 year-olds...
My full range of methods can be learned in 3 days.



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