When I first considered the possibility to make a Giraffe model I was not sure which of the nine recognized subspecies I should select Nine? Yes! Nine! There are NINE subspecies of giraffes….I didn´t know. I thought there were not more than three… Any way, there are no significant morphological differences between the diverse subspecies of giraffes, apart from some discussed variations regarding the ossicones and the mediam lump on the skull However, the pattern of the skin offers many beautiful options and it was not easy to select one of them. At the beginning I thought that those elaborate patterns on the Masai giraffe could be quite fun to paint. Later I considered that the Rothschild giraffes was really unique, especially those with unusually dark markings, also interesting for painting. However, I always liked the Reticulated giraffe–it is probably my favorite- although is a fact that most companies produce only Reticulated giraffe models for their catalogues. So, I would prefer to make something different. So, I started to make an studio about the real differences between all the subspecies of giraffes from the artistic point of view. These are my conclusions: 1. Nubian giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis camelopardalis)
2. Reticulated or Somali giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis reticulate)
3. Angolan or Namibian giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis angolensis)
4. Kordofan giraffe(Giraffa Camelopardalis antiquorum)
5. Masai or Kilimanjaro giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis tippelskirchi)
6. Rothschild's , Baringo or Ugandan giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis rothschildi)
7. South African giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis giraffa)
8. Rhodesian giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis thornicrofti)
9. The West Africa, Niger or Nigerian giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis peralta)
Finally, after a long meditation, when I was almost quite convinced to make a Kordofan giraffe… I have made a decision: I am going to do all of them!!!! However, from what I have been investigated, it would be worthy to start making the six subespecies that are generally recognized as been the most distinctive from them. These are the subspecies I choose to star with:
I will keep you informed about the project in followings posts... Bye!!
34 Comments
From my point of view, one of the beauties of small replicas is to feel them in your hands.
Since I was a child whenever I saw animal figurines I feel the irrepressible impulse of touching them with my hands. I suppose many people feel the same as in many places you can see a sign saying something like this: “PLEASE DON’T TOUCH”. However, the fact is that I can feel something special -difficult to describe- when I catch and feel these figurines with my hands. Definitively I like to see them ON MY HANDS: I promised one of my fellow to make a tutorial about how I make copies of wild animal models. However, once I started to think how to do it in the better way and looking through the net to find the best English words -to better explain myself- I found this topic with this very good link , which reproduces almost identically the method I used for my lion and my jaguar. There are only some tips of mine that I would like to pass you to simplify the method and make it a little bit cheaper. MY TIPS: • I use wires to make the vents that I fix to the model making small holes with a dremel drill. • I don’t use a wood box. Instead, I make a base of plasticine what I call “bed”. Be sure de plasticine is sulfer free (not difficult to find on-line), otherwise it can badly react with the liquid silicon and destroy the final cast. From the base you can thicken the vents with additional plasticine. • I use a semi-rigid plastic and adhesive tape to make ”a wall” surrounding the figurine. You have to leave a margin between the model and wall no less than 1 cm. • Fix the wall to the bed simply pressing. Then I use wrapping plastic stretch film to seal the union and the entire box, not putting too much pressure but being sure the box is isolated to prevent silicone leaks. To manage it in a better way I use to cut the film roll into small pieces. • Once filled the box with silicone and cured I remove away the film and the plastic and I use a scalpel to carefully extract the model in the way explained in the tutorial. • A GOOD TRICK! You can use old silicon molds to reduce the quantity of the liquid silicon you have to use. To that purpose cut the old mold into pieces like small dices and drop them into those parts of the box already covered by the silicon and not close to the model. These pieces will sink in the silicon forming part of the new mold saving silicon …and money!! (the silicon is relatively expensive) • Once the original figure is out of the mold, to make a new one, wrap the mold with plastic stretch film with not too pressure but ensuring the mold is completely isolated. Then pour the resin into the model through the widest air vent you left. To prevent air bubbles use always the same vent. • CAUTION! If the density or “surface tension” of the resin is too high (mostly polyester types), do not use conical “trough” to fill the mold but cylindrical, to ensure the resin is not acting like a blockage and the air is vented ...and that's all!!!
Enjoy your copies!!! Recently I started to sell some wild animals sculptures made of polymer or epoxy clay. Some of them were ordered as individual commissions with the possibility of requesting every single detail by the buyer. The difficulty of the sculpting and painting processes, as well as the cost of the production material, determined the final price of the "One of a kind" (OOAK) models that, to be profitable, have to be a little bit more expensive than I would like. Up to now I hadn't considered the possibility of making copies of my models. However, in return of a reduction of the price, some of the buyers gave me permission to make a cast and produce a limited number of copies for collectors. At the same time I started to make copies of some of my own OOAK collection. So now I am offering resin copies of some models -made on demand- at more affordable prices. To that purpose, I have decided to expand my on-line shop- divARTsity- where now you can find available copies as well as OOAK models. Obviously copies are not just like OOAKs. Commissions allow the clients to decide every detail of the model like the size, posture and color. Copies are just like they are, quite similar to those you can see in the pictures on my webpage, ut without the possibility to alter them in almost any way. See available copies here |
AuthorI love animal replicas. I make them since I was a child an now I have restarted this passionate hobby. Archives
October 2016
Categories |