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!!!
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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 Trying to keep all my models to the same scale, I had the challenge to make at the same time figurines for those big species as elephant and hippos and on the other side, for of those really small mammals as rodents and so... See here some of the models I made for those little fellows... Up to now, the Golden Hamster still is the tiniest of the classroom... One year ago, I decided to retake an old project I had that is is making homemade 1:20 models for the entire Felidae family, what means CATS. In total, although it is still discussed by the scientists, it is said to comprise 40 species and lots of significant different forms and variations. These is the current (2016-03-02) family photo: Wild Cats of the World "With the exception of Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, Japan, and most oceanic islands, native populations of cats are found worldwide, and one species, domestic cats, have been introduced nearly everywhere humans currently exist. Although some authorities recognize only a few genera, most accounts of Felidae recognize 18 genera and 36 species. With the exception of the largest cats, most are adept climbers, and many are skilled swimmers. Most felids are solitary. Often, felids are separated into two distinct subgroups, large cats and small cats. Generally, small cats are those that, due to a hardening of the hyoid bone, have an inability to roar. Felidae consists of subfamilies, Pantherinae (e.g., lions and tigers) and Felinae (e.g., bobcats, pumas, and cheetahs)" From http://animaldiversity.org You can explore them through this taxonomical tree I made with all the links to my models-as they were presented in the STS-Forum-as well as those I plan to do in the future. You can also explore them in my pages OOAKs or Copies: FELIDAE FAMILY: ----SUBFAMILY PANTHERINAE: --------Genus Panthera: ------------Tiger (Panthera tigris): ----------------Siberian tiger (Panthera Tigris Altaica) ----------------Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris): --------------------Normal form –PENDING. --------------------White form ----------------Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) –PENDING. ------------Lion (Panthera leo): ----------------Southeast African or Transvaal lion (Panthera Leo krugeri): --------------------Male --------------------Lioness –PENDING --------------------White variation, male -PENDING ----------------Barbary lion (Panthera Leo Leo) ----------------West African lion (Panthera Leo senegalensis) -PENDING ----------------Asiatic lion (Panthera lion persica) -PENDING ------------Jaguar (Panthera onca): ----------------Normal form) ----------------Black variation –PENDING ------------Leopard (Panthera pardus): ----------------African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) ----------------Indochinese Leopard (Panthera pardus fusca): --------------------Normal form -PENDING -------------------- Black form ----------------Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) –PENDING ----------------Arabian Leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) -PENDING ------------Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) --------Genus Neofelis: ------------Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) ------------Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) ----SUBFAMILY FELINAE: --------Genus Acinonyx: ------------Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus): ----------------Tanzanian Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus raineyii) ----------------South African Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus), King Cheeta variation -PENDING ----------------Saharan Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecky) –PENDING ----------------Asiatic Cheetah(Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) –PENDING --------Genus Puma: ------------Cougar (Puma concolor) ------------Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi): ----------------Grey form ----------------Red form -PENDING --------Genus Catopuma: ------------Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) ------------Bay cat (Catopuma badia) --------Genus Leptailurus: ------------Serval (Leptailurus serval) --------Genus Caracal: ------------Caracal (Caracal caracal) --------Genus Lynx: ------------Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) ------------Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis) ------------Bobcat (Lynx rufus) ------------Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) --------Genus Prionailurus: ------------Leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis): ----------------Bengal leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis) ----------------Amur Leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus) -PENDING ----------------Iriomote cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis) -PENDING ------------Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) ------------Flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) ------------Rusty-spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) --------Genus Otocolobus: ------------Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) --------Genus Leopardus: ------------Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) ------------Margay (Leopardus wiedii) ------------Oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) ------------Southern Tigrina ------------Pantanal cat (Leopardus braccatus) ------------Colocolo (Leopardus colocolo) ------------Pampas Cat (Leopardus pajeros) ------------Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) ------------Kodkod (Leopardus guigna) ------------Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobitus) --------Genus Profelis: ------------African golden cat (Profelis aurata) --------Genus Pardofelis: ------------Marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) --------Genus Felis: ------------Jungle cat (Felis chaus) ------------Sand cat (Felis margarita) ------------Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) --------------Wildcat (Felis silvestris): ----------------European Wildcat ----------------Chinese mountain cat (Felis silvestris bieti) -PENDING ------------ Domestic Cat(Felis catus) As you could see, living cats belong only to this two subfamilies:.
A pantherinae and a felinae species togueter However, there was a third extinct subfamily, the Machairodontinae, which included the "saber-toothed cats", such as the famous Smilod Smilodon Populator by Mauricio Anton Possibly the oldest known true felid, Proailurus, lived in the late Oligocene and early Miocene epochs. Proailurus from animaladay.blogspot.com
Few days ago I read a story about a couple of Thai villagers that found a pair of gold nuggets in an abandoned mine in the middle of the jungle. Precisely in the forests of Thailand you can find the famous Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii). I made a 1:20 scale model of this cat that in fact can also be considered a small piece of gold. Far away, in the jungles of West Africa there is another small golden cat that resembles its Asian relative: African golden cat (Caracal aurata). However, later it was found that the similarities between the two golden cats follow an convergent evolution, as far as their habitats and their behaviors are very similar, but they do not maintain really a close relationship. The asian cat belongs to the genus Catopuma, while the african belongs to the genus Caracal. In any case, recently I also modeled an African golden cat at the same scale of 1:20 and now, as the Thai villagers, I truly have two small pieces of gold. The truth is that when I have them on my hands I feel myself as a real millionaire ...
I thought that I had made model of every felidae species. But I have just discovered there was one left. In this nice family there was a prodigal son and now I want to welcome him: The Southern tigrina (Leopardus guttulus). Southern tigrina was formerly considered to belong to the species L. tigrinus (oncilla). It is found in southern and southeastern Brazil, and was recognized to be a distinct species in 2013. This small neotropical cat can be distinguished from the oncilla by its slightly darker background coloring, larger rosette pattern, and slightly shorter tail. However, it is extremely difficult to distinguish between the two species by appearance alone, since more genetic variation tends to occur within each species than between the two species...further research is being conducted throughout South America to better understand the special differences between oncillas and southern tigrinas. In this picture you can see the differences between woth species: Here you can see the model of Tigrina I made using only colored polymer clay, What I called an "sculpinture" More information about this exceptional cat here
Geoffroy's cat -another member of the Felidae Family- is an spotted wild cat about the size of a domestic cat. As he is native to a southern America region which roughly shapes what is Argentina, it could be said he is a truly Argentinian cat. Curiously, he is the only cat which has been observed to stand up on their hind legs using their tail as a support to scan the surrounding landscape. Just like meerkats and weasels do... In this sense we can say that Geoffroy´s cat is some kind of world champion, as he is the only cat with the ability to do such a thing. ...You can never say an Argentinian is not able to do something See this if you don't believe me... Unfortunately I couldn't find a picture of this cat in so strange posture... so, I have to make my model in this other one that I hope you like: As I said Geofroy´s cat, as other argentinians, is not a big cat . To have an idea about the size, look at him here in comparison with other well known brazilian wild cats. Don't you thin that these futbol players could wear spotted instead striped shirts? ....like these cats!
I know it may looks crazy, but I have started to "paint" a Barbary Lion while sculpting... I am using a combined process that I call “Sculpainting" Here is my palette: I have sculpted my model adding small balls of polymer clay properly colored in accordance with the part of the body. Then, once I made the final sin texture, it is not necessary to paint it. Made in this way the figures are without a doubt OOAK items, as every “sculpinture” The disadvantage of this process is that it is a heavier work and so, the model would be more expensive than using the traditional process. The advantages are two. The first one is that the coat belongs to the model, not like an external layer of paint. You can perceive that it comes from the interior,an incredible sensation ...The second one is that you can handle the model without the danger of removing the final paint layer and loosing the color. Here you can see some pictures that could show you the procedure: This following models have been made using this technique, although it has been cleary easier for the Cape Buffalo, which is almost completely black. At the beginning of the 90s, the famous opera singers Plácido Domingo, José Carreras Luciano Pavarotti formed the legendary trio “The Three Tenors”, during a performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome. Caracalla resembles me the beautiful Caracal, and the three tenors the three magnificent cats that form the genus Caracal: Caracal itself, Serval and African Golden Cat . Here you can see my models of the three them, made at 1:20 scale…a really wonderful trio that I like to call: “The Three Tenors” "Caracal is a genus of the subfamily Felinae, of the family Felidae. Previously it was considered to be a monotypic genus, consisting of only the type species: Caracal caracal, commonly called caracals. However, genetic analysis in 2006 has shown that caracals, African golden cats, and servals are genetically closely related, which places them in the same genus.The IUCN currently uses this classification for the African golden cat, although it's still being "under review" for the serval." From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are four species of lynxes, medium-sized wild cats. Neither the caracal, sometimes called the desert lynx, nor the jungle cat, called the jungle lynx, is a member of the Lynx genus. Lynxes have a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face. Under their neck, they have a ruff which has black bars resembling a bow tie although this is often not visible. There are four species within of lynxes, medium-sized wild cats. Neither the caracal, sometimes called the desert lynx, nor the jungle cat, called the jungle lynx, is a member of the Lynx genus. Lynxes have a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face. Under their neck, they have a ruff which has black bars resembling a bow tie although this is often not visible. All the species of Lynxes lives in the northern hemisphere. As climates get colder and more northerly, they have progressively thicker fur, lighter colour, and their paws are larger and more padded to adapt to the snow. Their paws may be larger than a human hand or foot. Eurasian Lynx Bobcat Iberian Lynx Canadian Lynx
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AuthorI love animal replicas. I make them since I was a child an now I have restarted this passionate hobby. Archives
October 2016
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