Applied 2: Starting to Bake!

After thinking about the feedback from Sara, Hayley and I talked a lot about what we would do to our models. They took a really long time to make, so we didn't want to completely get rid of them from our animation. Instead, we decided to apply the feedback as best as we could, considering our time frame and finances. There were a lot of materials Sara suggested we use, but we could not afford some of them, so we talked some more on what we could do.

We agreed to remake the mouths, eyes and other parts of the models that won't be moving. We chose Sculpey as the material for this, because we can let it air dry or we can bake it, plus it is affordable. This means that we can change mouth shapes without worrying about making marks on the teeth, or moving the lips every time we change them. We also agreed on buying some magnets so that we can change the mouths and eyes, without the model moving place, perhaps buying magnetic wire so that we can place it through out the model.

Therefore I went out and bought some Fimo modelling clay which you can mould very easily, and then put in the oven to bake. I have never used this previously, so it was a first for me. I chose the colours red, for the bird, peach, for the sheep mouths, and white for everything else. I could not find any black Fimo at my local art supply stores, however I thought buying two blocks of white would be more efficient, because I could just paint on top of the white, any colour that I didn't have.

There were a few differences I noticed when moulding with the new modelling clay. Firstly, it was VERY soft, much softer than plasticine because that can go a bit harder in colder temperatures. This meant that it was more tedious to make the mouths, and took me longer than the first time, as I was being too forceful with the clay. 

I began to make the outlines of the mouth shapes (red clay) first, to see if I could replicate the ones I had done previously. Once I was happy with them, I then made the 'shadow' of the mouth, which had to be white because there was no black, but I didn't mind painting this afterwards. I then made the teeth, and the tongues. I mixed the red and the white clay to get the tongue palette colour, and if anything, I actually think it looks more realistic than the first set I ever did. 

First batch

Then it was time to bake them! I was actually really nervous about this part, because after looking online and doing research on the different types of clay that need different temperatures, I had read many stories that said they burnt their clay the first few times they baked it. I thought that this would be me, and I did not want to put the mouths that had taken me two hours to make in the oven to burn. However I took the chance, and guessed the temperature and time (I chose 100 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes!!) and placed them on a baking tray that had tin foil in it. I am not sure if this helped at all, but I did keep checking on the clay and opening the oven to make sure they weren't burning or cracking, and after the fifteen minutes, I took them out and let them rest to cool.

They worked perfectly and were nice and hard after about five minutes of cooling! 

P=Plasticine ... C=Clay (Baked)

And this is the result. After they were completely cool, I filled in the shadows with a black marker, because I didn't trust myself with a paint brush. However I think I might have to purchase a permanent marker, because there is a shine to the shadow which I don't really like.

Nevertheless, I am quite pleased with the results. They look more realistic with the fimo clay, the only thing is, is that the white is not very white, and I am considering going over the teeth with some acrylic paint to make them 'pop' a lot more. Other than that, they are a lot more durable and will stay like this until we are finished with them, because they have set and will not move. Although I really didn't want to make all of these mouths again, I am glad that I did so, because it will save us so much stress and hassle when we come to animating.