I have a egg!

After the initial plaster layer yesterday I have built the plaster up more and have a smooth egg shape that will become EVEs body. I found the best way to use the former was to take it off and clean it and the base after each batch of plaster had been put on and turned. Idealy the process would have been easier with a team of people, one to mix plaster, one to apply it, one to rotate the former and another to scrape fallen plaster off the base.

The plaster that ran off the form kept on going under the former base, if I didnt clean it regularly the plaster would have built up and raised the former up.

The rotating former technique worked really well. The plaster was easily built up quickly and gave a good smooth result that will only need a small amount of hand finishing.

First layer of plaster was to make sure the hessium was well covered.

Bulk shape starts to form, the former shape wasnt touching the plaster yet.

Former starts to scrape the plaster into a smoother shape.

Just the last few gaps to fill.

Finished shape. Once fully dry I will sand it lightly to get a really smooth finish.

Layers

Yesterday I used layers of hessium and plaster to bulk out the form. Today I have put on one last single layer of hessium and am about to start putting the outer layer of plaster on using the former.

Former formed!

Stuck the polystyrene to the base on the metal rod. Filled larger gaps with plaster, covered in a layer of woven hessium and glued down. The former was attatched to the moving base and secured with brackets to make it stronger.

Is it ready yet?

Finally the pieces for the plaster shaper are cut and can be assembled along with the polystyrene contours.

Forming the former....

The former I will use to make the plaster shape has been drawn up and laser cut. I have added a circular base for the polystyrene and a base for the former so it will follow the shape better.

In circles...

I needed the polystyrene sections to be circular. By using a piece of wood and dowel I could spin the sections and cut using the hot wire. This made it easy to get a good shape quickly. Next the pieces can be stuck together over the pole that will be used to make the plaster shaper. The acrylic shaper that will push the plaster just needs to be secured into place and then I can start plastering the shape.

Back on the laser cutter

Have cut the former shapes for EVEs body on the laser cutter from acrylic and cut the stacks of polystyrene that will bulk out the shape for the plaster to go on.

EVE gets digital

To get the contors ready to make the larger shape for the plaster I drew the shape of EVE on Rhino. Using this I will laser cut the shape out of acrylic.

Head test...

Using the same technique as the body test, I tried a full shape head test. It worked fairly well ad thanks to this test I should be able to get a nice even shape to the head. I also have found out how I need to better secure the center pieces as they had a tendancy to spin.

Testing, testing...1...2...3...

Have done a test on the method i will use to make EVEs body. I cut foam into the contors of the body shape then used plaster to fill. By putting a stencil of the shape onto a rod and turning that as the plaster went on i could get a nice smooth even shape.

Now I just have to do this on a larger scale!

For one of my final projcts I am going to make a model of EVE from Disney Pixars WALLE.

For this I will need to achieve an extreamly fine finish and fit. I will be doing the lights in her neck and eyes.