Subject:
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Re: Some fun for Buffy and Angel fans (sorta long)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.build.minifigs, lugnet.parts.mod
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Date:
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Mon, 31 Jan 2005 00:58:44 GMT
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Reply-To:
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binky <binky29@KILLSPAMoptonline+stopspam+.net>
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Viewed:
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18 times
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OK! I finished the second batch and even fit in tweaking some series one
faces. I now have a whopping 51 unique faces (12 are alternate faces, so 39
unique figs).
You guys raise some excellent points. First, the technical stuff about decal
paper at the top, then the more artsy/art theory stuff about minifig
philosophy as you get to the bottom, if you want to go there.
PRACTICING THE BLACK ARTS
The decal paper I use is made by Micro-Mark. They are a model supplies and
small tool store in New Jersey, but they do Internet
(http://www.micro-mark.com) and mail order. The paper comes in both clear
(transparent) and white, and is run through any inkjet printer as generic
coated inkjet paper stock. The brightness of the white stock is strong
enough that colors will show up well, even against dark bricks. Of course,
it’ll show better against lighter and brighter backgrounds. The kinds I used
on the minifig heads are the clear kind, while the torsos are white stock.
To make the decals, you create the design with your design software. I
prefer to use CorelDRAW which, like Adobe Illustrator, is a vector graphics
program, so the designs can be created large then scaled down without any
loss of detail and the pixilation of bitmaps. Also, because a vector graphic
is individual objects that can be manipulated independently of each other, I
was able to mix and match different parts of one face, make quick
adjustments, and group the new parts together for an altogether different
design fairly quickly. Each face, after I’d gotten the first few done, took
about 10 to 15 minutes to create. In the past, I’ve used bitmap programs
like Photoshop with the resolution on both the image and my printer cranked
up to 600dpi. It’s not quite vector graphic quality, but usually good
enough. You print out the design on the decal paper with your inkjet
printer, then spray paint over the decal paper with a gloss coat paint spray
so the inks won’t run when you apply the decal (these are waterslide decals,
so you have to wet them to get them to slide off the backing paper). For
uneven surfaces, using a decal softener (decal set) will soften the decal
and make it stretch over bumpies. To make the application permanent after
the decal is dry, you have to apply a transparent coat over the applied
decal, just like with plastic models.
BUT HOW DO THEY BREATHE?
I’m also a classic smiley kinda person at heart, but gave up on having a
town full of smileys after they got outnumbered in my populace by ones with
facial features years ago. For this project, my main goal was to make the
finished figs as recognizable to their TV characters as possible, without
necessarily making them portraits of the actors who play the roles. To do
that, eyebrows, eye shape, noses, filtrums, and lips came in handy, but I
erred too much on the side of portraiture in an attempt to differentiate
between characters, especially in the latest batch with the secondary
characters. It seems like this is similar to TLC’s tack with their licensed
properties, (the sculpted headpieces, more realistic skin tones, etc), but I
found it a little different to do Buffy and Angel figures, because let’s
face it, the demons and monsters aside, the (ensemble) cast on both shows
for the most part are what might be considered generically
Hollywood-attractive 20 and 30-yr olds. The female faces especially start
to resemble each other after the twentieth face, so anything that
differentiated them more like nose, lip, and eye shape had to be used. I
tried Erik’s suggestion and stripped down the portraits even more, making
very abstract faces, and yes, they will still work as glosses of TV
characters, when matched with character specific torsos and hairpieces
(which is how the Palz block figures represent the characters—no noses, just
cylindrical heads with sculpted hairpieces and episode-specific costumes).
Since most of the characters are regularly dressed in mufti, it's hard to
use costume to signify identity (the Palz figures are from the episode
"Nightmares" and "Halloween", I think).
I sculpt, draw, and paint portraits of actual people and all the non-LEGO
stuff I do is very literal and representational (I posted a link to one of
my non-LEGO projects below), so the LEGO stuff is actually about as abstract
as I ever get. The way I approached the designs, I did try to make them a
little cartoony rather than overly literal, but it was a balancing act
between making them abstract and compatible with stock minifigs in my layout
and making them recognizable as the TV characters. I tried to use mimetic
shortcuts, like focusing on the actor’s particular facial feature that I
thought was most distinctive. For example, Alyson Hannigan’s mouth, or SMG’s
eyebrows, etc. I stuck with using a yellow head for Gunn (an African
American for you non-Buffyheads) because I’m stubbornly old fashioned about
yellow being the universal human skin color--I really dislike the flesh-tone
heads; they truly look freaky to me and bother me mightily. Not enough to
write letters to company CEOs, mind you, but still, it’s hard to deal. They
’re still quarantined from the overall populace, or now that there’s a
couple of Slayers in town, they just might end up comprising my population
of Undead Americans and other Creatures of the Night …
Like I said, I think I erred on the side of literalness, but compared to the
more OEM-compatible stripped-down lipless and noseless designs, I still
prefer the first designs. Even though my modded figs are very different
aesthetically from stock minifigs, they integrated into my existing town
layout without a hitch, and are now loose among the general populace. Aside
from completing a handful of mods on some hairpieces and torsos, I’m
considering this minifig project done, then it’s on to the sets. The next
minifig customization project (which I’ve started already) will be the New
Jersey Devils NHL hockey team (sigh—I miss hockey), and I think I'll be
switching back to using stock heads for that.
binky
Links:
LEGO Buffy-Angel page: http://home.att.net/~motoslave/angel-buffy.htm
Current non-LEGO art project: http://home.att.net/~binky2k/quarter-bust.htm
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | A hockey coincidence
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| Hello Bianca Thanks for your very interesting followup post. When I get a bit more time, I'd like to comment on some of the aesthetic issues you raise, since I've had to deal with similar ones in my own customization work. However, for lack of time, (...) (20 years ago, 31-Jan-05, to lugnet.build.minifigs)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Some fun for Buffy and Angel fans
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| Hey! I am NOT alone! I am feeling a little verklempt. Maybe I'll scare some more Buffy fans out when the sets are finished and posted to a broader newsgroup. These are some great suggestions, thankyou both. I am smacking my forehead, why I didn't (...) (20 years ago, 26-Jan-05, to lugnet.build.minifigs)
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