British Lawyer Timid Monster -- The Making of

I'm ecstatic. I haven't slept since yesterday. I must toot my own horn.

Never. NEVER did I imagine that this commission would turn out so well, that I would be so in love with it, or that I would so desperately wish to keep it. Here are some work in progress pics.

Like all my Monsters I started by making the basic body shape. Kind of a capsule-ish shape. I then flatten one end and make the space to distinguish the legs. I forgot to take a picture of just the plain, blue Monster body.



I added the robe to the body before sculpting each arm separately. I dressed the arms in sleeves before attaching them. Yes, those are pleats you see in his robe and on his sleeves.


I added little bits of metal to the bottom of the briefcase to look like hinges. I have other bits on top as the handle and clasps, you'll see them in later, finished photos.

I have never done a powdered wig out of clay, nor have I ever done curls in clay. I found it looked best to cut thin little strips of white clay and then roll each individually before attaching it his head. I don't show it in this picture, but at this point I had the top of the wig formed (not yet detailed). It was necessary to have it shaped in order to begin placing the curls. I had to work the curls from the bottom up and needed a rough measurement of how far down to begin. You will note the gap I left in the curls. There was one on each side. They were left open to leave space for his horns.

Here he is with the horns filled in. After this point, I filled a few more curls in aroudn the horns, and then I added the top of the wig--still un-detailed at this point. I only did the curl detail after the collar and eye were finished.From here I added the white collar, made and placed the eye, and finished the last of the briefcase and steno-pad, and placed them.

Then I decided not to take the steno-pad off for a variety of reasons, including fear of it burning during baking and fear of it snapping off during handling and shipping. The finished Monster can still hold the pad, but it is not permanently attached.

The next post will have pictures of the finished and baked Monster.