Facial Mechanics

In my previous post (Head Design) I'd worked out how my head was going to work, it was now time to start making it. One i'd drawn a scale plan of how it was going to look, started with the aluminium plate for the eye socket to sit on. I needed K&S to slot through the middle of it to attach the beard and hat.

To do this, i first drilled a hole the same size as the K&S (but round obviously) I then squared off the edges, making sure to check regularly that i wasnt making it too big for the K&S. 

Once it was the right dimensions, I slotted pre notched (i'll explain why later) K&S into place, glued it securely with epoxy glue, and massively secured it in place with miliput. 

I also needed the neck joint to attach onto this core piece. This was done with by cutting a piece of K&S at around a 30 - 45 degree angle, glueing in place again with epoxy glue (onto a perpendicular piece of aluminium) and encased in miliput. The ball joint was glued in place before all of this.

Skipped a few stages now, mainly down to poor photographing. Here I am holding the neck ball joint from the photo above. The K&S has had a smaller piece inserted into it (notched) with a ball joint glued inside of that. This leads through a double ball joint and onto the chin/jaw/beard piece. I have also attached supports up the sides of the original base plate in order to secure the eye sockets in place.

Eye sockets! In a very simple way. Made by pressing beads into sculpey clay (note - do this BEFORE you trim the edges of the clay to the shape you need. The sculpey will change shape once the eyes are pushed in, changing any shape you make before pressing them in).

I've had to file/sand down the eye socket. More work needs doing to it, foam added in the back and possibly eyelids but thats at a later date. Thin K&S has also been added into the other end of the larger piece running through the centre of the original base plate (its all getting confusing), for the hat to attach on to. (as seen below)

Current stage. Next I am going to semi fix the eye socket & eye balls in place, then apply a layer of vaseline over the top, followed by a layer of miliput. In theory, once the miliput has set, it will be removable from the face without taking the eyeballs/sockets with it. 

WISH ME LUCK!