Thursday, September 28, 2006

Children's Books Display - Part 18



The two children I ended up nicknaming "Hansel and Gretel" for obvious reasons. Humid conditions required that I dry them in the oven.



The boy was constructed in essentially the same way as the girl. His features were all made using the same cereal box ears, and paper pulp/wheat paste mix for eyebrows, nose and mouth. The boy's hair was also made from this mix, as I essentially covered the entire hair area with small pyramids made from this mix.

Here, I've tested out the eye placement before painting. It's amazing how a couple of shiny black plastic beads, essentially, can bring even the most unfinished construction to life.



Next, he was primed...


...and painted. All of the painting was done with acrylic paints.



As with the girl, I didn't bother painting any areas I knew would be covered with clothing. The sneakers (still wet here) and socks were also painted on.

I spent a lot of time painting the boy's Chuck Taylor's, only to find out that once he was dressed, you really couldn't see them. This was fine with me in the end, as I'd already spent a good amount of time, laboriously threading a shoelace through one of them. I didn't bother with the other one.

The boy stands about a full head taller than the girl. This was done because he was always meant to be part of the window display, and so needed to be large enough to be visible for some distance, and able to attract attention. If I can manage it, I'll probably incorporate him into the main display at the end of his time in the window.

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