ah I'll just chime in here "real quick" since I guess I should?
I am not going to say that I think the Will Farrell is perfect. I actually I mentioned to Dan from the beginning that a "smirking" Will Farrell can often look generic because of the "generic" facial muscles.
https://a.imageshack.us/img831/6813/farrell1.jpg <<master ref pic
My last client didn't like an Indian actor I sculpted because he was also smiling.
I would've preferred the passive stare Will Farrell because then I could really sculpt the unique facial muscles on his face. Nonetheless, the eyes and such are set but I could edit the bottom part of the face passive later on if he wanted me to. We can discuss this privately, Dan, if you want ,
but I want to address something else since it's been brought to my attention..
Regarding the Inception heads,
I usually spend about 20 hours on head sculpts. Not including photos, reference, etc. My first 8 sculpts this summer took about that long. Then I had a break through, I sculpted Van Zan in close to 11 hours and it looked like one of my best works. A few after that took only 13-15 hours as well.
Then I attempted the Inception heads.
Arthur, Joseph Gordon Levittmy favorite from the movie and a good actor overall,
was a personal project I would've done regardless of the board's excitement or demand.
Cobb was the one I did purely out of interest of the board.
I spent almost 30 hours on Arthur. It took me a whole week to sculpt him given I worked about 6-7 hours a day with some breaks in between. Even then I was constantly editing the sculpt afterwards and not to mention, I only "budgeted" in my schedule for him to take 15 hours. Right now, I won't be able to do Morgan Freeman or Tommy Lee Jones because of how long the Inception heads took me.
now Leonardo DiCaprio.
After 15 hours, I could barely see the likeness. I was terrified that I had already spent the same amount of time I usually sculpt and FINISH other heads.
After 25 hours, I posted pictures and had to make a bunch of changes to the cheek and jaw, etc. I changed Everything EXCEPT the eyes and hair.
After 35 hours, I post pictures and people want more edits and I see them too, so I rework the nose and now at 40 hours, I still have to tweak the neck.
The thing is, Leonardo Dicaprio's face varies from film to film though his goatie doesn't LOL. The thickness of his face, etc vary and it was difficult for me to identify exactly how he looked in Inception since the reference pictures of him from the movie are very limited at the moment.
I wouldn't say I rushed any of those sculpts but both were exceptionally difficult likenesses.
Not to mention, I did Will Farrell weeks before Inception.
I personally love the way Arthur turned out though I know it's not perfect. however, if this speaks justice to my feelings on that piece,
on DeviantArt (
www.deviantart.com),
I posted that piece and it was featured as one of the Daily Deviations of the day. I woke up and checked my messages to see 190 favorites on that head and 600 new "notifications." Sculptors like Trevor Grove get Daily Deviation statuses, not me.
I just want to pipe in that I spend as much time needed on each sculpt and the "shortcomings" you see in the likenesses are just my own limitations and flaws as an artist. I am still learning, very amateur, and doing this as a hobby.
I am saying a lot right now because recently I've been dealing with a lot of personal family issues with me and the nature of this hobby "consuming" my life and "heightening my stress and anxiety" because of the time and detail required. My parents have given me the option of either leaving or discontinuing my art. I can't deny the fact that such small scale art is very stressful and I wish people wouldn't assume that I have poor artistic integrity because some of my works are perfect likenesses everytime.
It's called a "regression to the mean"
Not everyone can stay top notch all the time. Everyone has a time to shine and a time back to the "average". Hence the reason why many people are disappointed at why Hot Toys and Enterbay seems to be raising the standards and also disappointing us at the same time...
Both sculpts are close but need some more refinement like the noses. Its a shame because if he spent another week on them I think they'd be perfect.
Ideally, I wish I could spend 50 hours on them each at my own pace without worrying about deadlines or pay.
However, realistically speaking, I am a student and I need to pay off school loans.
Working 50 hours (2 weeks) on a head sculpt and spending 7 more hours shipping out all the sculpts and making $600 profit would mean I made $10 an hour and I don't think there's a board member here who makes that little and dreams of working like that for the rest of his/her life. Perhaps one day I can work professionally for a company and spending 50 hours on a sculpt will be more appealing than it is now...
Ideally, I really do wish I could spend as much time though, you're not wrong to suggest it since it's the kind of "freedom" I wish I had.
****sorry Dan for hijacking the thread,
if responding to my comment, please just comment on my thread here if possible
https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15605&page=59
Just do it in your spare time or something. Know what I mean? Get more enjoyment out of it and take your time. I know it's hard though when you want to reveal all the sculpts you have or are going to do and it excites you. If I had your talent i'd want to do every character I like and everyone else likes!
