Okay, so I am trying to combine my love of vinyl toys and Mayan archeology into one project. This is a very early look at my project. There is still tons of work to do and many pieces need better sculpted and replaced. Mostly the white parts need covered with more details or completely replaced. I know you guys are the toughest crowd so let me know what you hate, and what you like(if anything). It is so early in this project that i am open to changing stuff. First picture is one(of many) things that inspired me.

i like the start of this. i would say the headcone where the face is could be more sculpted with mayan or other south/central american architecture elements. maybe making the head shaped similarly to a mayan pyramid but with the same face you have here. also more sculpting around the base will make it seem less like a slab of stone and more like the base of the first picture.

those are all in the works. I want to add glyphs on the sides, and some vegitation around the base. I only work on this a few hours a week, so the details are going slow. I am on vacation next week and hope to make up some ground. Like I said the white parts all need details. Thanks for the suggestions!

I suppose I would like to see a more monster shaped body with the mayan elements...I like the big scaley arms!

Love the Kulkulkán arms! Seriously cool ideas here. Just one critique ... because the sculpt does look a lot like a Mayan stele, it loses a little bit of "toy" dynamism by being more of a static sculpture. Not a big deal if that's what you're shooting for. Please keep us up to date with the progress!

I would give him some legs

Greasebat-A monster sculpt was a little ambitious for my first time. I look to do more monster like creations for the future. Greasebat toy is looking amazing by the way.

Dean-Thanks for the input, I can see you are a fellow Mayan enthusiast. I know the stele shape limits it "Toy appeal." I wanted to start out with a simple base. In the end I may just go with making a few resins for my own collection with this one. Mostly using it as a learning tool. I also still have to hone my painting skills.

Grzlli - I have mauled over legs for a while. I am still not sure. Legs would make it more of a monster which is a plus, I may have to add some just to see what it looks like.


thanks for the comments keep them coming

T.J. I think you're right in your attitude about starting points. Never mind whether the sculpt is "toy" enough or not ... I see how you're incorporating different ideas here and think you should just run with your inspiration.

Yeah, although I'm no expert I'm fascinated by the Maya and Azteca. So advanced prior to their downfall and conquest. Just trying to get a grip on their religious/cosmological beliefs is a heck of an endeavor. Radically different from anything in the Abrahamic traditions. Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this develops.

What Dean said....

Dude, I'm gonna give you some feedback, I hope you find it helpful.

I think capturing what you're going for here is just gonna be a nightmare to pull off. I'm not saying you shouldn't try, but it looks like it's gonna be hard. Toy or not, you've chosen a subject that, in my opinion, will be very hard to sculpt.

I can't really tell if you're inspired by the idea of the Mayan statue/monolith or you're just trying to copy it. Not making a judgment, just confused.

For me, what makes the original so awesome is that an early civilization took a giant rock and covered it with amazing detail that includes a whole language of glyphs. Maybe you could research the glyphs and make the piece say something? I just think the skulls on the sides make for a missed opportunity to do something a little more creative.

Also, the face and "torso" just don't really work. It's not just that the sculpting is crude, but it doesn't look Mayan. The face especially. Look closely at some reference pics and you'll see that Mayan artwork tends to incorporate similar facial features that look more "native" (for lack of a better word). Also, the facial features are carved into the stone, on yours, they're very obviously added on top. Looks weird.

I do like the snake arms. They're definitely the best thing you've got going on here.

That's all I got. Keep at it and good luck!

-Dustin

Update:

I've done a little more work on the head. and some feet(not sure i like them) still a huge amount of work and rework to do. I will be removing the skulls from the sides and adding something a little more interesting(thanks to above suggestions) I'm trying to utilize any suggestions so keep them coming.

I suggest you hurry because there's only two and a half years left!

you should make the sandles out of snakes!

the arms are rad.

The details are awesome but the body I just don't get.
Keep going though it's a rad start.

so i decided to completly redo the body of this thing. It should make it more monster like. I will keep the arms but redo the look of it all. Updates will not come for a while though. Thanks again for suggestions.