Welcome Blogger! Wow...it's been a while since I've had a blog. Back in the day (and by "in the day" I mean the early 2000's) I was a blogging queen. I would post multiple times a day- I couldn't even tell you what I talked about back then but I'm sure it was angsty and probably a lot of meaningless fluff. I can't promise anything has changed.
But here we are again. I really see this space as a dumping ground. This is where I will post art projects but also just my random thoughts about whatever. Some may find that interesting. Others may not. Secrets may be revealed *mysterious music*...or maybe they won't...*music intensifies*.
I really don't know. My web presence is sort of like my art- disjointed and all over the place. Perhaps someday I will find cohesion, but I've pretty much given up on that ever being a goal.
For this first post, I wanted to share something I have been working on. If anyone knows me, they know I'm a big fan of the work of Brian and Wendy Froud, as well as Jim Henson. Jim Henson practically defined my childhood. I watched "Labyrinth" so many times as a kid I broke the VHS tape. (The Goblin King was my first crush). I watched "Fraggle Rock" on t.v. religiously, not to mention the "Muppet Show: and of course, "Sesame Street". The Dark Crystal scared the bejeebers out of me as a kid...well...the Skeksis did- especially the scene where the Emperor dies and turns to dust. For some reason that scene messed with me.
I watched every "behind the scenes" special of Jim Henson movies that came on air and multiple times. I was fascinated by the puppetry and the artwork. My fantasy back then was to one day work in the Creature Shop.
Sadly, that was not to be. But with the revival of The Dark Crystal series on Netflix, my love of all things Henson and Froud has been revitalized.
So I got the idea of building my own Skeksi costume.
This was my original sketch. However, I'm finding I'm already deviating from this design just a bit. I've lowered the head to jet straight out from the body rather than stand upright- so my Skeksi is a bit more hunchbacked than this sketch. I did that mainly because the head was becoming heavy, and since this is essentially a wearable puppet, I didn't want my hand to give out on me 10 minutes into wearing it. Holding straight up above my head is a lot more work than holding straight out, plus, it makes him look a little more sleazy and sneaky.
I actually did my research here- which is shocking, I know. I'm modeling my design after the way they actually made the Skeksi puppets in the movie. The puppeteer's head is inside the body of the costume, and one hand is held above the puppeteer's head to operate the Skeksi's head. Mine is the same, except in the film I think a separate puppeteer operates the arms and hands. Since my Skeksi needs to be operated by just me alone, I am modifying the way the arms work. One arm will be operated by my left hand while my right hand operates the head. The Skeksi's right hand will be a false hand, and I'll hide it by wrapping his claws around some kind of scepter or weapon.
In the movie the puppeteers have monitors inside the costume that allow them to see where they are going and what they are doing- but I don't have that kind of budget here, so my solution is to use a sheer, black mesh fabric over the back piece that I will be looking through.
The back piece doesn't look like much right now, but you can kind of see where it is going. Those notches on the sides are where my shoulders will fit. This is the basic skeleton of the back piece. I'm going to cover it with plaster and then paint and add the trimmings.
I read a little bit on the lore of The Dark Crystal. From what I read, when the Skeksis and the UrRu (Mystics) first split, the Skeksis were vibrantly colored and quite beautiful. However, over time their bodies began to decay as they abused the crystal, and so to cover up the fact that they were essentially falling apart, they started wearing ornate robes to cover as much of their bodies as possible. Fun fact- Skeksis are genderless and cannot reproduce, so this is why immortality is so important to them. Once they are gone they are gone, so they will do anything to maintain the appearance of being immortal even if they know they are dying.
My Skeksi's robes will be a bit simpler than what you see in the movie and the tv series, but I'm attempting to capture that Skeksi vibe as much as I possibly can. I am working on a budget here, after all.
Then it was time for detailing on the head. The Skeksis have these glorious ridges, wrinkles, and veins on their skin. I did my best to capture that by using hot glue to draw in bumps, ridges, and swirls.
I will post updates as my Lord of the Crystal progresses. I'll also share some tidbits and fun facts about the movie, Jim Henson, and what not along the way.
But here we are again. I really see this space as a dumping ground. This is where I will post art projects but also just my random thoughts about whatever. Some may find that interesting. Others may not. Secrets may be revealed *mysterious music*...or maybe they won't...*music intensifies*.
I really don't know. My web presence is sort of like my art- disjointed and all over the place. Perhaps someday I will find cohesion, but I've pretty much given up on that ever being a goal.
For this first post, I wanted to share something I have been working on. If anyone knows me, they know I'm a big fan of the work of Brian and Wendy Froud, as well as Jim Henson. Jim Henson practically defined my childhood. I watched "Labyrinth" so many times as a kid I broke the VHS tape. (The Goblin King was my first crush). I watched "Fraggle Rock" on t.v. religiously, not to mention the "Muppet Show: and of course, "Sesame Street". The Dark Crystal scared the bejeebers out of me as a kid...well...the Skeksis did- especially the scene where the Emperor dies and turns to dust. For some reason that scene messed with me.
I watched every "behind the scenes" special of Jim Henson movies that came on air and multiple times. I was fascinated by the puppetry and the artwork. My fantasy back then was to one day work in the Creature Shop.
Sadly, that was not to be. But with the revival of The Dark Crystal series on Netflix, my love of all things Henson and Froud has been revitalized.
So I got the idea of building my own Skeksi costume.
I actually did my research here- which is shocking, I know. I'm modeling my design after the way they actually made the Skeksi puppets in the movie. The puppeteer's head is inside the body of the costume, and one hand is held above the puppeteer's head to operate the Skeksi's head. Mine is the same, except in the film I think a separate puppeteer operates the arms and hands. Since my Skeksi needs to be operated by just me alone, I am modifying the way the arms work. One arm will be operated by my left hand while my right hand operates the head. The Skeksi's right hand will be a false hand, and I'll hide it by wrapping his claws around some kind of scepter or weapon.
In the movie the puppeteers have monitors inside the costume that allow them to see where they are going and what they are doing- but I don't have that kind of budget here, so my solution is to use a sheer, black mesh fabric over the back piece that I will be looking through.
I read a little bit on the lore of The Dark Crystal. From what I read, when the Skeksis and the UrRu (Mystics) first split, the Skeksis were vibrantly colored and quite beautiful. However, over time their bodies began to decay as they abused the crystal, and so to cover up the fact that they were essentially falling apart, they started wearing ornate robes to cover as much of their bodies as possible. Fun fact- Skeksis are genderless and cannot reproduce, so this is why immortality is so important to them. Once they are gone they are gone, so they will do anything to maintain the appearance of being immortal even if they know they are dying.
My Skeksi's robes will be a bit simpler than what you see in the movie and the tv series, but I'm attempting to capture that Skeksi vibe as much as I possibly can. I am working on a budget here, after all.
I made the head out of some Styrofoam, wire, and cardboard. Here is a short clip of the original test.
I then covered it with plaster gauze. It's a big heavier than paper mache' but the principle is the same. Paper mache' would have definitely been lighter, but the plaster gauze is more structurally sound and requires less layers. I kept the layers thin to keep the weight down.
For the eyes I used some glass discs I got at the dollar store. I painted the underside of the eye this reddish orange, then glued the glass disc in place and secured it with more gauze.
The teeth I made out of polymer clay. These turned out to be a little more fragile than I had thought. My Skeksi has already chipped a couple of them, and he's not even finished yet!
I had to adjust the jaw several times as the weight of it was making it too heavy to control. Whenever I tried to make the mouth "speak", it would have this wobble to it that made it look strange. I shortened the jaw and cut a hole in the mouth to give my thumb a place to grab on to on the inside. This gave me more control and the "speech" look more natural. I will eventually cover the thumb hole with the tongue. (I haven't decided what the tongue will be made out of yet.)
For the claws, I also used polymer clay. I took a pair of opera gloves, cut the fingertips off, then glued the claws in through the holes. It looks a little messy here and definitely needs some finessing, but you can get the basic idea.
Then it was time for detailing on the head. The Skeksis have these glorious ridges, wrinkles, and veins on their skin. I did my best to capture that by using hot glue to draw in bumps, ridges, and swirls.
They are sort of hard to see there, but showed up much better after painting...
And then another test to see how everything is working...
There are still some slight issues with the jaw. I can now see that I made it too wide in the back. I could fix it, but it would mean destroying the paint job that I think turned out really well. So I'm undecided yet if it bothers me enough to fix or just leave as is.
So that's where we are right now. I've been working on this for about two weeks, which may seem like I should be farther along, but I do have two kids and a full time job, so I have to steal time here and there to work on it. My next big thing to tackle will be finishing the back piece, then I will move on to the robes and accessories. This is the most work I've put into building something in years, so I feel a little rusty, but I had forgotten how much fun this stuff is.
Where will I store him when he's done? I don't know. Where will I even wear this costume? I don't know. Why am I doing this? I don't know. I have no answers other than I'm having a good time, and in my life that's something not to be taken for granted.
I will post updates as my Lord of the Crystal progresses. I'll also share some tidbits and fun facts about the movie, Jim Henson, and what not along the way.
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