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Ssthisto wrote:Melody wrote:
They are almost all one-piece moulds.
Have you ever posted a photo of any of the moulds? It would be educational to see what they actually look like from the outside (since we know what the insides come out looking like!) – how thick are they? Are they fairly stiff, or are they pretty stretchy? Do they need any kind of support while they’re in use?
Quote:[=cyan]You are doing this the right way! Finding out what ways to achieve what you envision and then tayloring your sculpture to best fit a realistic way to get there is the trick. So often folks send me a photo of a sculpture that is already finished and ask: “How do I cast this?”. It is much harder to do it backwards like that!
I’d much rather alter my design BEFORE making the emotional investment in building the sculpture (yeah, I get attached to my pieces!) instead of building it and, say, having the mould destroy the original in the process of committing mould suicide because I picked the wrong materials for the job… which is what happened to my last attempt-at-making-a-mould sculpture. (Latex + green clay + allergic sculptor = bad)
I’m also going to actually DRAW what I want to make from as many angles as possible before I try casting anything, just so I know where the possible sticking points or difficult bits will be.
I can post a photo when I get a chance. We had some pics of our molds online somewhere, but I couldn’t find them.
I sometimes make thumbnail sculptures. These are small simple versions of something, just to visualise it better.Romeodanny wrote:That’s alright. Between my strange freckle problem and my yellowed unicorns (actually they were won off ebay, I didn’t notice they were yellowed until I compaired them with mine.)<>What can I say other than I have some strange windstones.
The only thing I know that will yellow them is smoke.
copper83 wrote:Hi Melody,
I was wondering if the paint you use on the rock dragons is different from what you use on the indoor pieces sense it has to hold up to sunlight and the elements? I’d love to put some of my dragons in my garden window, but I’m afraid the sunlight would fade them. I had most of my collection in the windows at the last place I lived for years, but there was a carport over one window and a deck over the other one, so they never had any direct sunlight and were fine. Do you feel that the indoor pieces can handle direct sunlight or not? I’ve always assumed not, but it would sure be nice if they could. Thanks! The rock dragons are painted with the same type of paint as the others, acrylic. The earth-tone colors should be totally light fast.We have tested a painted rock dragon in my garden since we first made them, and it has not changed at all. All of the pieces are as light fast as we can possibly make them. The ruby is the only color that can fade,(even it is automotive paint, which is made for use in the sun) everything else is virtually impervious to light..
dragonessjade wrote:I was wondering how you decided on designing the hang tags. I would tend to think that more people would list an item correctly if the hangtags had Windstone Editions on the front of them as well. I know a lot of people don’t look at the bottom where the company name is.
We assume most people know to turn a piece over to see who made it. We got “Windstone Editions” stamped on the bottom of the pieces..and the back of the hangtags… we figure that should be enough.
Romeodanny wrote:I hate to be a pest. I know you have a lot to do. But I was wondering if there are going to be more of the russet curl dragons? I missed them completly while I was at work. I got home just in time to see the PYO wolves. I hope that if you do more that they will be up when I have a day off. I would really like one but, no rush. I just wanted to know if you’ll be painting any more of them.
We’ve got a few Peacock Emerald Curls to sell first but, yes, I will get more russet curls up soon.
Ssthisto wrote:I’m starting to think about trying to make a sculpture or two that can be moulded and cast, and I’ve just got some questions about the way that Windstone moulds are made.
I’ll answer what I can!I’d been planning on doing sculpey originals, and either cast-resin or cast plaster/hydrostone finished pieces.
I know that the plaster, due to its weight, does limit the shapes that one can make – thin and fragile things, for example, being a bit indicated against. This is sort of making me lean towards resin, on the basis that I could do the whippy tail that’s in my mind’s eye… but then, I really do prefer working with porous materials like clay and plaster, and the smell of resin makes me -really-
ill.
Resin is bad for your health if you are breathing the uncured vapors off of it.Be careful! You must have proper ventilation , and you should wear the right kind of protective mask to use it.(not just a dust mask) We don’t use it for production, but we use it to make the production masters that we cast moulds off of. I don’t know much about casting resin, but from what I’ve seen in stores(fairies with thin, fragile wings and dragon figures exactly as you describe, with long wings and long tails AND undercuts) it seems as if it is perfect for casting the things you are descibing. I know it can be cast in seperate parts and joined together as you describe also.Can plaster be embedded with, say, a sturdy wire frame that would add strength to any whippy parts? My mental image does NOT require that the whippy bits be able to support any real weight other than their own – the piece’s weight will be supported in other ways.
Yes, but I’ve never done that, so I don’t know how!Also, are the Windstone moulds generally one piece, two-piece or more?
They are almost all one-piece moulds.
I’ve never noticed a seam line on any of the pieces I’ve got, but that could just be because someone is doing a darn good job of cleaning ’em up!
That too
If they’re one piece, what sort of mould material is used? I tried doing latex once, and that was about as successful as a chocolate teapot; since then I’ve discovered I have a pretty impressive latex allergy. Is there a flexible, reasonable alternative that’s not going to make the mouldmaker swell up like a balloon?We use silicone rubber. There are other mould materials, such as urethane and gelatin..You should search on “mold making” and see what you can find online about it. There is lots of info out there to read, and I am not up to date on the newest materials and methods
I’m also considering the possibility that the pieces I have in mind might have to be cast in several parts… particularly to avoid major undercuts if I do, say, wide spread wings. If this is the case, how does one go about sticking together cast plaster?
I have never done that either, but glue should work fine!Plaster glues very well.
I am SUCH a nosy beast, and if I could afford the trip to California JUST to have a nosey around the factory, I would love to do so… but that’s an awfully long time on a plane! You are doing this the right way! Finding out what ways to achieve what you envision and then tayloring your sculpture to best fit a realistic way to get there is the trick. So often folks send me a photo of a sculpture that is already finished and ask: “How do I cast this?”. It is much harder to do it backwards like that! There are so many things to consider with reproducing a sculpture, it is mind boggling, however, there is also a ton of info available online that can answer the questions that I can’t.ladybrooklyn wrote:Not to uh…. further the madness at all… but did you see these plates?
I did a search for “Royal Orleans” and found them….
Or this?
I know I saw in the movie in my elementary school class… but it’s been a loooooong time…
I believe that it CAN be a kid’s movie… you just have to, perhaps, talk to your kids about it… they are more intelligent that you think… but honestly… if you just leave them to watch something like that alone… of course they’ll have nightmares. 😛
That lady was just a lazy parent… period end. 😛 I hate people like that.
My kids still won’t watch that movie,or let me read the book to them. Chessie is sixteen. She has seen part of it and still won’t watch the rest, or read the book. She is no wussy either.
It is NOT appropriate kid stuff, in my opinion. All the talk in the world with your kids wouldn’t ease the deep emotional horror in that movie! ..and I liked it.The book is better.frozendragon wrote:Melody wrote:SilverArrow wrote:Melody wrote:Nam didn’t learn from me! Quite the opposite! I’m not a painter!
Wha??? Aren’t you the High Supreme Master of test paints at the factory??
Well, yeah, that is mostly with an airbrush. That’s different. I’m not modest about my airbrushing skills. I am about half as good as the Windstone painters. That’s bragging.
It isn’t false modesty when I say I can’t hand paint.. I’ve tried! My hand just isn’t steady enough to do it well. I’ve watched our hand painters at Windstone paint the little eyeballs on the Cherubs,(remember those?) I knew how, but I simply couldn’t physically do it.
I tell ya.. when I see the beautiful pyos all you folks have done in the gallery, I just go “Agh! How did they DO that?!?”
I sent the first pyos to Nam and had her figure out how to do it!I wish I could airbrush….so far I can’t….I have one and all kinds of paints with it….but so far I get little blobs of paint….
I guess I should practice…but I’m sticking with brushes for now
It takes practice, so don’t be instantly discouraged. It doesn’t take pratice to have fun with it though! Nice thing about opaque acrylics, they can be painted over if you make a mess.
90% of learning to airbrush is getting it to work properly! That is why an airbrush class is useful,or at least a book on it. It is a matter of learning what is wrong… paint blobs are because: a. not enough air, b. paint too thick, c. nozzel not adjusted right… etc.SilverArrow wrote:Melody wrote:Nam didn’t learn from me! Quite the opposite! I’m not a painter!
Wha??? Aren’t you the High Supreme Master of test paints at the factory??
Well, yeah, that is mostly with an airbrush. That’s different. I’m not modest about my airbrushing skills. I am about half as good as the Windstone painters. That’s bragging.
It isn’t false modesty when I say I can’t hand paint.. I’ve tried! My hand just isn’t steady enough to do it well. I’ve watched our hand painters at Windstone paint the little eyeballs on the Cherubs,(remember those?) I knew how, but I simply couldn’t physically do it.
I tell ya.. when I see the beautiful pyos all you folks have done in the gallery, I just go “Agh! How did they DO that?!?”
I sent the first pyos to Nam and had her figure out how to do it!frozendragon wrote:skigod377 wrote:vantid wrote:Dragon Master wrote:practice makes perfect!! If she learned from you she learned from the best!!
Nam Learned on her own! She’s awesome that way.
I need her to Learn me!!!
LOL…me too me too… She wrote the tutorial.
Greater Basilisk wrote:It’s at $410 and somebody said they’re still available from the factory? Or that there will be more of them later on because they were limited production?
No, there are no more available from the factory, and I have no plans to make more. I left the option of making more in the future open though, since they aren’t a limited eduition.. If I ever do, they will have the pearly toenail paint of the Blue eyed Pearl albinos, so the first batch will always be different.
I love to see these guys go for more that they were purchased for! I know that not every one liked the pink eyed ones, but I love ’em.
skigod377 wrote:Yeah…I emailed Karen one time nad she never got it. I just tried again. Im hoping to buy some jewels for my griffin. All of them fell out of his necklace!!
If anybody ever emails Windstone, or me, and doesn’t get a response, DO IT AGAIN. Who knows why we didn’t get the email, but this happens. I always answer my emails, as long as my computer doesn’t break down. This happens too..
The biz was closed over the Christmas weekend.
