Custom cast lego and Transformers in resin (with sprinkles!)

So, as part of DIY Birthday Party stage 1 I made custom silicone moulds of Lego minifigures, a large Lego keyring figure and the Transformers badges. My plan is to cast a bunch of items in resin, soap and crayons to use as favours and prizes at my son's 5th birthday party.

Here are the Lego men, cast in black opaque resin:

 Notice the alien on the left? He's for my husband :P

 This guy is my ultimate favourite! The sprinkles with the black resin make him look spotty, lmao. He is a Transformers Kre-o man that came with one of the building sets.

 Jigsaw pieces from the Ikea silicone ice mould.

Everyone needs to display their affiliation :)

These resin pieces with become necklaces, badges and magnets. I hope the guests like them! I have more curing right now, in gray, clear and white. I'll show you when I'm done.

DIY Birthday party stage 1

Preparation is underway for my son's 5th birthday party. It's his first 'real' party where he actually gets to pick his theme and stuff so both he and I are really excited.

We are doing the party on a limited budget and the absolute focus is my son's happiness. I want the guests to have a good time but really, it's all secondary to the birthday boy enjoying his day.

So far the invites are done, the photo booth masks are designed and the flexible silicone moulds are cast for Transformers badges, lego minifigures and lego giant men. Lego have silicone moulds for the minifigures but sadly like so many of the other Lego range, they are not in Australian shops so have to be imported. So I whipped out the trusty two-part silicone casting compound and cast those suckers myself.

Here are the photo booth props:
Masks: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Autobots symbol, Decepticons symbol.
Props: Stegasaurus headpiece (this has two sides and will look like twin plates on the head), Triceratops fan headpiece, T-Rex mouth.

Once they are all finished I'll make them available for download :)

Invitations:

Digital portraiture with Corel Painter

In my continued adventure into digital painting I have finally tackled that most elusive of all painting subjects - the portrait. Not elusive for many, I'll grant you, but for me it is like standing at the base of Everest, staring up into the snowy glory and thinking 'While the adventure may prove to be fun, if I crash and burn I'll feel like shit so instead I'll grab a coffee and a postcard.'

The first is taken from one of my own photos of my daughter last year.

 The second is an image from the internet of the inimitable Ginnifer Goodwin. I claim no credit for the original photo :)

Both of the photos are altered in Photoshop first, increasing the yellow and red tones as would be seen in an old master's painting and playing with the curves, levels and contrast. In Corel Painter, the image is first cloned roughly to establish the basic form before each brushstroke is rendered individually. Once the base is good, I create new layers, using a variety of brushes, layer styles and opacities to achieve the final look.

The goal is to keep all the detail in the eyes and mouth, gradually reducing the detail towards the edges so the hair, clothing and background are mere brushes of colour. Also, to avoid making another photo-realistic reproduction all brushstrokes are kept rough and natural.

Punk's not dead!

AFTER^^

BEFORE^^

(Note the photo corrections and the guitar morph?)

Guitar design

Logo design

Get your punk on! Fictional Punk concert complete with logo, guitar design and photo manipulation :)