He's Got a Knife: Exciting Conclusion

So the monster and the man have color. Let's wrap this up already.

1. The Base.

I debated whether or not to have a base for quite awhile. Eventually, I decided I needed something to a) keep the two figures physically together, b) bring the figures together in one scene, and c) help keep the figures from tipping over if they get bumped. I originally thought I'd go with a plain grass or sand covered base but that wasn't enough. I then thought about simulating a sidewalk so I could have it all cracked and dislodged under the monster's feet. I finally decided on the pier idea. It brought the figures together, raised the man enough to make it appear the monster's bulk sunk him in a bit, and it gave something for the monster to demolish.

The base is a piece of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) leftover from another project. I trimmed it to the funky shape with a jigsaw. It was covered in Original Sculpey and baked. The pier is Super Sculpey, rolled flat, and sliced with an X-Acto knift. The individual boards are just pieces sliced smaller.

2. The Sea.

Like the figures, the base was painted in artist acrylics. I had to repaint the base as the water came out looking much too crystal clear Carribean blue the first time. I did some investigation online and found that mixing complementary colors can make a good brown. I had good luck with mixing purple and yellow. This, combined with some grey-blue-green made a decent swamp.

3. The Assembly.

Putting it together. The monster's eyes and teeth are attached with cyanoacrylate glue (i.e. Krazy Glue). I really like this glue for my sculpture projects. I've had good luck in using it to fix broken pieces on other projects and it seems to hold well and it dries quickly.

The monster is attached to the base with three screws from the bottom up and into his feet. These were pre-drilled plenty large to prevent breaking the clay. I then filled the holes with wood glue and inserted the screws. Maybe not the best method but it seems pretty sturdy.

Everything else was attached with more cyanoacrylate. This includes the pier to some dummy supports, the dummy supports to the base, the pier pilings to the base and pier, the random pieces of splintered wood to monster and base, and, finally, the man to the pier.

4. The Clear.

The last thing I did was spray the whole thing with a clear acrylic sealer in a matte finish. This keeps it clean and cuts down on the acrylic paint's tendency to to shine and/or remain tacky.

Then again, the project is a bit tacky all on it's own.