Mantle Studios

Here is another update to the Unburied.

Full shot

Ok, so here’s our zombie dude, sporting some clothes. The white leg is a actually the resin cast of the leg. The perspective is off, the guy is really 9″ tall

Hand detail

To save some time, I am going to make a mold of  the left arm, make a cast in wax, cut off the spikey ball, flip it 180 degrees and reattach to the bicep. Maybe it will save time. Maybe not.

Give me a kiss

Here is the wax tongue on top, and a cast.

Spinal column

His back in the process of being detailed.

Right-Side skull

Left-side skull

This skull has a little helmet, I need to add another skull to the right yet… here you can also see how the  mouth piece is cast separately and fits inside.

Right Leg detail

Left leg details

How the head is assembled

Mouth Castings

So, the interesting thing that I discovered along the way was how to make the teeth sturdy. I sculpted the original teeth with ends of party toothpicks. When I went to cast, the teeth would break out almost all the time when I pulled the resin out of the mold. Then it hit me… put toothpicks into the silicone mold before I pour the resin. BAM! Perfect casts, and when you paint the teeth, you don’t have to worry about breaking them off. Oh, and they stay nice and pointy too, unlike the resin counterparts.

Experimenting with a base

I am making a simple stone base, with two big slabs from a ruins, and a two-piece skull. These pieces are cast separately so each diorama can be custom built. The ornate piece is actually molding I found at a craft store, more for dollhouses I think, that I just added to the clay slab.

Things I need to improve upon

• Skull anatomy
• More dynamic pose
• Dynamic clothing folds
• Feet