Polymer Clay Fan

This past weekend I took my kids to see the movie 9.  For those that are not familiar with the movie it is a post apocalyptic story where the human race has been annihilated by machines.   The basis for the plot has been used over and over again for decades now but the story of 9 separates itself from the predecessors in that in a last effort to save humanity a brilliant scientist has given his own life to bring life to nine different rag dolls.

I personally would rate 9 as one of the best animated movies that I have ever seen.  I loved the way the story unfolded before my eyes and the quality of the animation was nothing less than superb.  The characters and the creatures in the movie were brilliantly designed.  It was no surprise finding out that Tim Burton was one of the producers of this movie and you could feel his presence in both the landscape and character designs.

For those of you that have little ones and are wondering if this movie is appropriate keep in mind that 9 is rated PG-13.  There is a reason for the PG-13 rating and the movie is very intense with some scary action sequences.   This movie was a little more intense than I expected and some of the scenes were pretty scary for my six-year-old (I guess I won’t be winning the “Dad of the Year” award this year).  Don’t get me wrong my son did enjoy the movie but if you also have little ones you may want to screen the movie first a then decide if your own kids are up to it. Read the rest of this entry »

Mark Alfrey

One of my favorite sculpting videos of all time is Mark Alfrey’s Sculpting the Human Head. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mark Alfrey, he is both a sculptor and special makeup effects artist for the television and movie industries. Mark’s resume includes popular movies and TV shows like Men in Black I and II, 300, X Files, Ghostbusters II and much more.

Mark is not only an extremely talented sculptor but is also a great teacher as well. I have two of Mark’s videos and both videos are consistent in their teaching methods. Mark uses time-lapsed photography in his tutorials and narrates as you watch a lump of clay transform into a sculpture before your eyes.

In the Sculpting the Human Head video you learn how to create the different shapes in the face, how to create wrinkles, skin textures and much more. He really covers in detail on how you approach the different features in the face such as the shape of the eyes, the skin folds around the nose and the placement of the ears. Read the rest of this entry »