LA PESTILENCIA - Hair pic added 11/25/09

[Chuckenstein]

Hi. I decided that I wanted to take pictures of this little gem as I finished various sections. This is not necessarily a step by step WIP, but a rather a record of how the piece looks at various stopping points. I will also try to do this by attempting to take the same 2 shots for each entry, for comparison's sake.

Although I happended to find out that this piece was based on a COLOR photograph of a living individual affected with tertiary syphilis, I will not necessarily be adhering to imitating that photo, but instead creating my own interpretation. Thanks for looking.

So far:
Base coat
Drybrush with a lighter base coat
Sponged thinned olive + lighter base coat
Sponged thinned red oxide + lighter base coat
Sponged thinned bluish shade + lighter base coat
Sponged thinned 1-more-step-lighter base coat
Sponged thinned 2-more-steps-lighter base coat
Connected some of the bluish splotches to create some veins

[Chuckenstein]

Added reds, browns, greens, and yellows with pastels:

[Creature Core7]

HOLY FU**ING SHYD!





What you've done so far is...gorgeous. This will no doubt be an amazing interpretive take on her. Get it on, Brother!!

[razorwyre1]

oh gawd.. i remember that photo..... disturbing.

great work.... i'll be taking notes!

[gort]

nice job keep it up

[john383]

Hey Charlie,

Great progress shots!
I really love the mottling you are achieving with the sponge work.
Thanks for the recipe you used to get there.
This is one of those kits that would creep my wife out!

John

[nmeyers]

This is looking great!! Can't wait to see it finished!

[shakey dave 187]

Amazing so far, I think this ones going outta the park!
BTW after reading what this piece was from, I google imaged for this, I didn't find her but lots of other pics that made me skip lunch.

[Chuckenstein]

Thanks guys. I hope to have something else to post soon.

Dave-
I googled for photos this weekend and saw some disturbing stuff, too. Like some of the stuff going on with this bust is shown on body parts - private body parts. Not very pleasant - and lots of those pictures.

[nek33d]

very nice in a creepy way...I'll be checking again to see it finished..

[jbmidnight]

just outstanding stuff here Charlie. I so like what I am seeing and your color tutorial. Could you please let us know what sponges you use buddy. Keep this stuff coming and thanks.

[Chuckenstein]

Thanks nek33d and jbmidnight.

Could you please let us know what sponges you use buddy.

I use sea sponges, the type that can make a small detailed pattern. They are also sort of rounded in shape. Hope this helps. I bought mine at Michael's Arts & Crafts.

[razorwyre1]

thanks for letting us in on the technique. im doing a couple of zombies right now and plan on imitating much of what you are doing.

i googled and finally found the original photo. (i remember seeing it in a copy of hustler ages ago) its disturbing as ever. (this sculpt is a portrait bust of a woman suffering the last stages of tertiary syphilis, and i do mean PORTRAIT. the photo was taken in the early 1970s, and she really looked just like that folks.)

(if anyone wants to see the original, PM me and i'll send it. you'll appriciate the sculpt more... but dont look at it anywhere near mealtime.)

[DaveKeeper]

Charlie, so glad to see you doing this!!
This is one of my favorite sculpts this year.
Can't wait to see what she looks like after the skilled hand of Chuckenstein has gotten a hold of her.
I'm Very interested to see what you do with the base!!!
This is going to be so COOL!!!
During my work doing prosthetics in the film industry, it was my job to do most of the Pathology research as I seemed to be one of the only ones at the shop that had the stomach for it.
For anyone interested in finding this kind of reference material, one of the best places I found was to go to your nearest university's Biomedical library and look up any of the many color atlases.
For example Color Atlas of Skin Diseases, or Color Atlas of Burns.
You probably won't get to sign the books out, unless you get a special library card.
I was able to obtain mine through the shop I worked for and it had a limited time on it that needed to be renewed each year.

As well there are web sites that can be used if you need reference for dead people, but I warn you that they are quite twisted sites and the pictures are very horrific.
I won't post the sites here as I'm sure it will break a rule or two (if only enabling the viewing by minors).
If anyone is interested you can PM me.

And Norm... Believe me Buddy I didn't say anything

[Chuckenstein]

Thanks for all the nice support, everyone! Critques and suggestions are always welcome, too.

razorwyre1- - Very interesting place to first see a picture of this poor lady.
Dave - Thanks for the info about the pathololgy atlases.

I do have to say that after I found out that this was an actual human who suffered, I almost didn't start this piece. Somehow, it doesn't seem appropriate to try to paint up a real person's malady as a piece of horror. Maybe I'm too sensitive. I do prefer my horror in the fantasy realm, and that was what I thought this was at first. Thus, I have mixed feelings about this piece, but as you see I have started it anyway. It is indeed a beautifully sculpted work of art. Anyway...

Painted some tiny reddish-purple broken capillaries here and there.
Splattered thinned red oxide + base color. (Wiped off non-circular splatters with a Q-tip).
Splattered thinned dark brown + base color for freckles, etc.
Applied a wash of red oxide + base color & wiped off with a damp cloth.
Detailed some areas with the above wash.
Applied a wash of dark brown + a touch of Payne's gray + base color & wiped off with a damp cloth.
Mixed the base color + a cool light gray + a touch of Payne's gray + a glob of matte gel medium & thinned with water to a tube paint consistency. Drybrushed this almost-transparent color over the entire piece to pick up the raised details better and to cool the entire skin color down.
(Lightly sealed with Krylon matte between steps, too).

[razorwyre1]

razorwyre1- - Very interesting place to first see a picture of this poor lady.

it was certainly the quintessence of "buzzkill". and it made an impression, we are talking about a hustler from about 30 years ago.
strangely it wasnt until i saw the photos here that i connected the sculpt with the photo, because this was the first tile i saw it facing the camera (which is the original photo angle).

[danfaz]

my goodness this is ghastly! Superb work here!

[jbmidnight]

Outstanding. Wow just saw the pic that this sculpt was based on. Eerie. Doing great work here Chuck.

[Chuckenstein]

Thanks again, guys! She may be taking a short break due to a rather hectic week for me. However, I did want to let you know how she is progressing.

Everything is done, except for the hair and base. I punched up a few areas with pastels, and then gave her a dark olive colored wash to tie things together, which I wiped off the high areas.

A red oxide wash was added to the open sores. Some of this was blotted up. Later, a darker red was was washed into part of the sore and partially blotted.

The inside of the mouth was painted with a red oxide/brownish color, and the tongue was also painted. The teeth were then painted with a grayish-tan color and drybrushed with a lighter version of that color. Washes of dark yellow, raw & burnt sienna, and burnt umber were washed over the teeth successively and mostly blotted up, leaving more brown at the root. The inside of the mouth was washed with a dark burnt umber, red oxide, and Payne's gray mixture to really darken it up. This was blotted off the inner teeth and tongue.

I later worked here and there over the bust detailing and refining areas such as little growths/bumps and the gums. I also put a dark wash around the eyes. The eyes: You'll have to wait and see. They are not the ones in the photograph. I was originally under the incorrect assumption that this was leprosy and found a pair of eyes that I wanted to replicate. This is what I painted, but I don't want to lessen the impact of the finished piece, so I will hold off on showing them. The eyebrows are finished, too.

Sorry that I don't have pictures at this point. I hope to post something maybe with the hair and/or the base. Once again, thanks for all your feedback.

[john383]

I'm loving the detailed explanations!
Thanks!

John