The Grinch Project

This semester, I am in a class that allows me to have one on one time with a professional teacher. This experience has helped me to develop my skills immensely. I have learned so much with this class already, especially this week.

This class helps us to develop our skills. I wanted to become better at everything, so I decided to recreate the Grinch look from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. I had to start out by researching the character and finding pictures that would help me recreate him. 

This picture has been the biggest help to me. I have used and referred back to this picture multiple times. Well in order to create this, I had to create a schedule of everything I needed to do to complete this process. Well, I learned that this whole process takes several days and multiple hours. I am still nowhere near finished, but this is what I have learned so far. 

I had to take a life mask. A life mask is a mask of the person's face. There are multiple steps to get to the end result. First, is to mix alginate and apply to the face. Once the alginate has set, then plaster bandages can be applied to help keep the mold of the face. 

 Then plaster is used to create this look...the look of a life cast.

 After I had the cast of the head, I decided to make a positive mold. I choose to do this for a couple different reasons. First, I would not have to mold on his life cast that he gets to keep, and I would have a back up piece in case something were to go wrong. Then we sculpted on the face to create the look we want. I sculpted The Grinch features the best I could, but in my own way so I would not be plagiarizing other's work. Plus, it is always hard to follow someone exactly. Once you have the face sculpted then a negative is created. The negative and positive go hand in hand so that a latex, gel, or foam piece can be created.

 During this process of creating the negative, I learned that I had not Vaselined the keys enough. This caused the positive and negative to stick together. I learned Vaselining the keys are essential, and must be done well, in order to avoid mistakes or breaking. Well, as a result of my lack of not coating the keys in Vaseline, my positive side broke as we pulled the negative and positive apart. Part of the reason was that the positive side was much thinner than the negative. So in reality the thinner the piece is the weaker it is, when it stands up to something else. I learned that thickness is helpful to withstand breakage.

Instead of crying over a broken piece, we quickly sprung into action and saved the positive as best we could, in order to make a new positive. We had to use alginate and plaster bandages again. Needless to say, I was in the makeup room for a good eight hours that day. I love my major, so I did not mind the eight hours.

With the eight hours we managed to make a negative piece work as well as a positive piece (bottom is the negative piece).

Through this learning experience I learned several things. First,  I will always remember to Vaseline everything, so plaster will not stick to plaster. Second always build up. It is okay to have a thick layer. Better to be thick, than thin. Thin can break, whereas more thick layers can withstand the breaking. Third, this process of building and making takes a while. Last, I learned how grateful I am to work one on one with a teacher. She helps me to learn and grow. She never criticizes me or my work. She helps me and always encourages me to reach my full potential. She knows that I can do this assignment. I can! By the end of the semester I hope to have something similar to the Grinch. I will have a Grinch of my own. Plus, multiple skills and knowledge I have gained through this process.