FX final version. Originally I was going to compile a selection from the many clips of footage I had made during this project, but in the end I decided on an underwater theme. This way I could combine some of the more tranquil, atmospheric images with something I created digitally - the 3d modelled submarine. This is a second version as the particles (subs bubble trail) weren't very noticeable in the first, which can be viewed on Vimeo https://vimeo.com/148477625

 

 

Above is my attempt at creating a 3d model and importing it into after Effects where it can be edited further. I had to try this in 3ds Max as my version of Cinema 4d doesn't save the files - trial version.

Unlike in the C4d tutorial we got - on adding tags and object I.D.'s - I was unable to do this in 3ds but you can add Giff I.D.'s to separate elements of a 3ds model and in theory edit them further in After Effects. I did manage to add a fractal effect one face of the cube but it seems to act more like a mask as the fractal image itself isn't rotating.

 

 

Above is the blue glass pebble that I found on our driveway. I discovered that it made an ideal filter to create the scene in the video below. I used it for the background in my final FX video as the changes in light and shade reminded me of an underwater view.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well I finally opened the hand mould to see how the cast turned out. Another disaster I'm afraid.

 

The first impression was that it seemed o.k.

 

There's a share of excess silicone around the centre join but that can be trimmed off easily enough

 

The first mistake can be seen above where the first layer of silicone didn't stick to the latex layer and peeled away.

 

I obviously should have secured the mould halves together as the depth of the cast is deeper than it should be, i.e. the excess silicone didn't get squeezed out when the halves where placed together.

 

There are also a lot of blemishes from little holes in the plaster that I should have filled beforehand

 

The palm side isn't too bad - though again there are places where the latex layer didn't stick properly to the silicone layer

 

This angle shows how thick the cast is

 

Compared to the original it's not bad from this angle. The biggest problem though is the fact that the armature doesn't work. The fingers can be bent o.k., but due to the volume of silicone, they bounce back into the straight position. I've since worked out that the armature should be almost as thick as the hand itself - with only a minimal amount of silicone covering it. Plus there needs to be a 90 degree angled space between the joints to allow for movement. The question is how to fill these spaces, or with what, so that they don't accidentally fill with silicone. maybe some sponge? Anyway I won't be able to animate this one so I guess it's back to the drawing board - again.

 

 



 

 

I am still working on the hand cast and it's kind of slow progress as I have to leave each layer of silicone for 24 hours to set. So while I was waiting I tried out another experiment. One of my ideas for my FYP involved human like androids, and one of them has convinced all the humans that it's also human - that until it's skin gets torn revealing the robotic mechanism beneath. I wanted to create an effect of torn skin on my arm using liquid latex - with the robotic mechanism then showing. Something like the image below, but with loose skin around the cut.

 

 

 

Instead of drawing or painting on the robotic bits I thought I would paint on a flat colour and key it out later in After Effects, and add an image of the robotic arm. I used some blue face paint which I had to apply fairly thickly.



 



 

 

I then applied a layer of liquid latex

 

I soon realised that the latex dried almost transparent but figured that I could add some make-up over it to give the area a skin colour

 

After several layers of latex the blue paint underneath was still very obvious. I wanted to get a white colour to apply the make-up over.

 

I had seen a video on the interweb where the person added a layer of tissue paper between the layers of latex to save on latex, so I decided that this would give me the white I needed and hide the blue.

 

As I had no make-up (I think foundation is what they use) I decided to just rip the latex - as this is only an experiment as yet - to see how it will look. As you can see the layer of blue face paint stuck to the first layer of latex and came away with the latex. Also the tissue was too thick and gave a lumpy texture, not a bit realistic.

 

I also didn't shave a big enough area on my arm but I did discover a new method of hair removal (though I wouldn't recommend it). Next time I'll draw on the robotic section and cover it with a release gel. I also discovered that there's a liquid foundation that can be added to the liquid latex before applying, so I'll try that too.

 

I've added several more layers to each half of the hand mould and have since joined the two halves after applying more silicone to hopefully fill in all the gaps - It was a case of guessing where it was needed as I couldn't see into the mould. There's a lot to be said for a viscous material. I know from experience that this cast could take ages - over a week - to set, so at the moment it's outside where there's a strong breeze. Hopefully this will speed up the setting time.

As the face cast is kind of on hold at the moment as I having trouble re-modelling the wax cast into the right shape (by heating and manipulating when pliable). My initial plan was to make a better plaster mould from the repaired wax cast. Then a silicone cast would be made, which I was going to fit over a rigid support. I had this skull shape that I had been working on ages ago, which I could hopefully re-model into a decent support. I bought some expanding foam to fill in the holes in it, and to make a lower jaw. With a separate lower jaw it could be animated to sync to some dialogue.

 

 

To make a lower jaw section with expanding foam I needed a mould - for the basic rectangular shape. I also needed an armature that could be connected to the skull, so I bent some wire into roughly the shape of the curve I wanted. I decided to use a plastic container for the mould (Chinese take-away). The expanding foam is easy to cut and shape, so the mould just had to be slightly bigger than the shape I wanted. I glued some wooded skewers (kebab) across the top of the container to support the wire armature - keeping it away from the sides and bottom so it would be hidden by the foam.

 

It took a few goes to get the wire into the right place, as I was securing it with masking tape, but its all ready now - just to add the foam.

 

As there is no silicone available in the materials store at the moment I decided to work on a hand cast. I figured that this could be animated - with an armature fitted - a bit like the hand in 'The Adams Family' film. Again I will make a plaster mould (of my own hand) and, as there's no silicone, I will use some industrial silicone sealant that I bought recently but never used.

 

 

I started off by making a mould using my own hand. After finding a suitable container (sweets) I cut a groove in the side to allow my hand to sit flat - near the bottom but with a space for plaster underneath. It was big enough to do both halves of the full mould i.e. make the bottom half, let it set, and then fill the top half. I forgot to put any release agent on the container before I mixed the first batch of plaster, so I put a plastic bag around the edge before pouring in the plaster to prevent the plaster sticking to the container.

 



 A close-up of the bottom half of the mould shows up a few imperfections. This was due to me forgetting the release agent and wasting time finding and fitting the plastic bag, before pouring the plaster. This delay meant that the plaster was already beginning to set as I poured it in, which meant it didn't spread properly. Still, I should be able to fill these small holes with plasticine before casting.

Once the bottom half of the mould was set I spread some release agent (vasaline gel) over the top of it to stop the top half from sticking to it. I also had to apply masking tape over the plastic bag that was lining the inside, as it also needed a layer of release agent, but it kept moving - so the tape kept it in position.

 

 

 

You can see from the image above where a section was cut out of the side to allow the hand to sit low in the mould, but also at a fairly straight angle.

 

So once I had the second batch of plaster mixed I replaced my hand in the bottom section and poured in the plaster. I made the second mix a bit runnier so it would find its way into any gaps. This meant it would take longer to set. As you can see I had shaped some plasticine to block the gap where I'd cut the side of the container. This allowed me to fill the container to the top which covered my hand completely. Separating the two halves of the mould was a bit tricky as I didn't want to flex my hand too much in case the plaster cracked. Anyway I allowed loads of time and took it slowly and eventually the two halves separated.

 

As you can see on the inside of the top half the plaster captured a lot of detail.

 

It's hard to tell from the photos but the joint line of the two halves isn't  really along the centre of the hand - re the profile. This is because the plaster was starting to set on the lower half and I had to force my hand into place, which pushed away the plaster around the edges (contour). If you notice on the top-half mould that there are ridges around the edges. Hopefully this won't cause problems later on.

 

 

The next step is to make an armature. For this I'm using plastic 'Rawl plugs' which can be bought in lengths (roughly 300mm). This is like a hollow plastic tube but it's rigid enough to maintain straight cylindrical shapes i.e. finger bones, and can be threaded with wire (to link together). What I did for each finger was to measure between the bones on my fingers, and cut corresponding sections of tube. You can get the gist of it from the photo below.

 

I cut the sections of tube at angles - roughly 45 degrees - so that the joints could be bent after casting, without stretching the silicone.

 

The fingers, and thumb, sections are all cut to size and threaded on the wire.

 

I have applied some liquid latex to the plaster as an 'outer skin'. I'm hoping this will add more detail as the silicone I'm using can have fairly unpredictable results. It's funny how the top image seems to show the hand in 3d.

 

 

 

So that the gaps between the angles of the tubing won't get filled with silicone - which would prevent them bending - I covered each one with masking tape. I don't know if it'll work but it's all I can think of at the moment.

 

Luckily the gap positions are obvious as they need to be aligned before the fingers are set in place.

 

I drew out a template of my hand on a sheet of paper so that I could place the fingers as accurately as possible. I placed upturned masking tape on the paper to hold them temporarily, before gluing them together.

 

I used hot-glue to form a brace across the knuckles and again near the wrist.

 

As you can see the armature is fairly stable.

 

There isn't enough of a bend in the joints to be realistic, but I think I could still animate this much movement.

 



 I just discovered a major flaw in the armature. I'd braced the fingers across the first row of knuckles - at the hand - not realising that they won't be able to bend due to the amount of glue.



 

 



 So I had to cut off all the glue from there and re-apply it closer to the wrist. There is now a better range of movement overall.

 

A quick test of how the armature fits into the mould.

 

This is the type of silicone sealant I will be using. Unfortunately it's not very viscous, it kind of has the same consistency as toothpaste - and it doesn't set without exposure to air, similar to the liquid latex. So I will have to build it up in thin layers as opposed to joining the two halves of the mould and pouring it in. It also takes a long time to set so this will take a few days and a lot or guesswork to get the volume correct.

 

I pit several marks around the outside of the mould so that when the halves are joined together they will match-up in position.

 

Starting to apply the silicone. It's coming out of the tube in a thin bead so I don't know how smooth the end result will be.

 

After several layers of silicone I've finally placed the armature in position. Hopefully the silicone will secure it in place.

 

In the image above you can see that the latex outer skin is starting to peel away from the mould. Maybe the next layer of silicone will push it back into place. Next I'm going to start applying layers to the top half of the mould. It's beginning to look like I will have to stick the two halves together as opposed to any kind of 'poured' cast.