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April 6, 2006
building sets with insulation foam
by sven at 6:00 pm
Back on March 15 I made my first foray into set-building. (I've been meaning to write about this for a while!)
From what I've read online, it seems that one of the most versatile materials for making stopmo sets is insulation foam -- so I started there. I used 1" thick pink Dow insulation foam-board to create a 24"x15" stone wall.
I hacked into the foam with a steak knife to create an irregular surface. Then, I painted the entire thing with black (acrylic) gesso. On top of this basecoat I dry-brushed three layers of acrylic: burnt umber, a gray, and finally a very pale gray. I was originally trying to create the look of a cave wall. I don't think I got that. Maybe a cliff face, maybe granite that's been roughly mined...
Even so -- for a first try, I'm very pleased with the results. Here's what I'll need to explore next...
- While the surface texture is good, it's still just a flat wall. I want much more depth in my sets -- hallways and landscapes, etc., where there can be a foreground, midground, and background. ...I always think of Peter Greenaway's cinematographer Sacha Vierny as someone I'd like to emulate in this regard.
- The lighting is flat and lifeless. I've ordered some par cans and gels, so I can start experimenting with more dynamic lighting set-ups. A cave environment, I think, needs some blues and reds.
- I'm increasingly curious to try a hot-wire foam cutter. There's a local hobby store that carries them -- but I'll want to do some further online research before I purchase.
posted by sven | April 6, 2006 6:00 PM | categories: sculpture, stopmo