First Meaningful Progress

At last, progress to speak of! I've been working on Zurg's head over the last month, though it's been a bit slower than I would have liked. Using the same method as I have done for the last three years (i.e. wire and papier mache) I've finally gotten a frame together.



The delay came from much deliberation with regards to certain elements of the head. The main points of contention were Zurg's eyes and mouth; both of which I wanted to be full of LEDs. The eyes weren't so much of an issue (though I'm still working them out), the real question mark was the mouth.

Zurg's mouth is complicated, insomuch as it's different colours depending on if he's speaking. When silent, it's a very dark shade of yellow. When he speaks, each vertical cell (that his mouth is comprised of) lights up. Like your typical stereo equaliser, a greater section of the mouth lights up depending on how loud he speaks. So this got me to thinking: how do I make such an equaliser? After plenty of brainstorming sessions with people more technically-minded than myself, and after another few weeks had elapsed, I decided: I don't! It was becoming an all-too complicated affair - so I've settled on painting the mouth.

So, here is a rough chronology of where I am and how I've gotten here:

As always, I started off with the simplest of wire formations: A circle. From there, I formed the first outline of his face, along with the top of his head (which hangs out over his face, see below).




At this stage I wasn't much convinced about how he was coming along; but nevertheless, I pushed on with him. The next thing I did was start making ridges along the top of his head:

Giving me:

From there I started shaping the rest of his face:




Following this, it was time to start the dreaded masking tape (which I use as a primer before applying the papier mache).

Which brings me to the most up to date picture:

Huzzah! I'm very happy with the shape now. The next step as far as the head goes is papier mache, which is always a messy (but fun) affair. I should get cracking on that tomorrow; and in order to get all of it done in one go, I'm going to have to make his Ion Blaster too.