I've wanted to do a mushroom monster for a while now. I kind of took a new direction on this guy and commited to sculpt fast and furious and use a lot of cruder more organic texture. It's a mini figure, about 3.5 inches with the mushroom cap on. Hope you all like it. ( And yes, it's butt looks like Peter Griffins.)
Not meaning to be a dick at all, but want to offer criticism. You can have a crude, rough, organic sculpt without it looking like something whipped up in a grade school art class. (Really, I'm sorry for how harsh this sounds!) The Bemon sculpt is a perfect example - it's super crude, but you can tell a lot of time and effort went into it...nothing was half-assed on it, it all fits together well and has consistency throughout the sculpt. What's really turning me off is how the spots are carved into the mushroom cap, and the "spore" lines on the underside of the cap. It just looks like a ball point pen was used to gouge out some lines. It reminds me of the star that's scribed into the Smoking Star toy, or the "J" on the back of Killer J. (So obviously people, well, only Killer J, go to production with it - but I think it looks terrible and is an easy way to spot an amateur.) Spend a bit more time and make those lines more organic and more deliberate. Also, the feet have no shape or character. And the spines on the head could be blended into the head, rather than just stuck on. If you want there to be some delineation between the head/spines you could sculpt that in after blending them and then they wouldn't look tacked on. I really like your concept! Spend more time with it. Refine it. Maybe work a little bigger, as it's hard to work in a small scale. Again, I'm sorry if anything was overly harsh. This board has gotten way too soft and I think we need to be more honest in our opinions - not only of the board's sculptors/painters, but also of the established toy makers. Just wanted to offer something other than the "that's great" and "that sucks" posts that have become the norm. But stick with it, keep sculpting, have fun - sometimes the hardest part is coming up with a good idea, and you've already got that!
^ I agree 110% I should have mentioned that earlier but it is indeed a cool sculpt just needs a little more work.
Don't worry about it I was in art school, I can take criticism. I'm on this forum, because I feel the people here know good toys and I respect their opinions. And I want everything I make to be at a level that collectors expect and want. So, there are some things you said I agree with, if you and J Crazy think it needs a little more work I'll hit a few spots again, spend a little more time on them. I have to disagree with you on the feet, I like the feet and was thinking if a mushroom just sprouted feet they'd still have to look somewhat stem-like and not overly formed so I think those are working well. But the horns on the head, the underside of the mushroom, I agree. I also like the spots on the cap, but I'll look at making them a little more dimensional. This is why I post the sculpt long before resins are made. To get feedback and judge interest before commiting to resin. Also, I'm a collector too, I hope other collectors like my work. But I started sculpting because I want to see my creations in my collection next to my other toys. I like to work larger, of course it's easier. But different figures work better at different sizes, and I wanted to attempt a mini figure, and I think it's kind of cool, having a mushroom size mushroom monster and think it's the right size. I'll rework it and post some new shots soon.
I'd try and get that mushroom cap as thin as possible. It looks really heavy. You'll save on resin and you can cast it clear with a cool paint underneath. I like it but it needs more detail. Keep it up and have fun.
It's thicker at the bottom because i wanted it be clearly mushroom like and come out wide and make that mushroom shape, the clay does get thinner as it tappers at the top, I just don't think it's clear in the picture. Nice idea with the clear resin and paint inside. I'll have to try it.
Ok, back with changes. Also next to a Blobpi for scale. Added overall more texture and detail to the cyclops and shroom cap. Made the eyes and other spots on the mushroom cap dimensional instead of just stroked. Also sloped the bottom of the mushroom, I kept the lines because that's a true mushroom texture. But I resculpted them and made them more delicate, varied, and tapered. Thanks to all for their comments, I think the sculpt does look better.
Wow, that looks alot better. Especially the marks under the cap. I'm still not sure about the eyes on the cap. That should be a good spot for detail. Like the eyezon. Or you could just not have the two eyes sculpted and either paint eyes on all the bumbs or glue in eyes like this http://media.photobucket.com/image/cronic dorome/How_much/dorome3Small.jpg
i like those kind of textured bumps, those 2 to the left of the indentation bumps (nostrils)? and the one to the right, theres a couple others a few other places but they are looking good. keep it up
Thanks guys, glad you're liking it more. Yeah when it came to the eyes on the cap. I wanted them to almost be camo. Visible but seemingly just like the other texture, with the indents, I feel like it works, as the eyes kind of mimic the rest of the inverted lumps on the back. I didn't want the true monster to be revealed until the cap was removed.
