luke314pi Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Artmates Series 2 are now in production! Let's kick things off with some photos: The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci Link to original artwork Although you might not be able to tell this from looking at her, this is one of the hardest face decals I have ever made. I kept tweaking it and testing it out on minimate heads. I would change the colors, the proportions, and even played with adding a cracked paint texture. After finding the right hair I had to change it again. In total, I printed this decal at least a dozen times. She has one of the most famous faces in history, and recreating it was much more challenging than I expected. Also she has a long face and a high forehead, which is always harder to put into the short area of a minimate head. In the painting she is wearing a transparent veil on top of her head, and has rolled cloth draped over her shoulders. I decided to use real cloth for these two items. Her hair is longer in the back, but I wanted to make sure it didn't restrict her head movement too much. Her clothes are mostly cloaked in shadow in the painting, but I believe she is wearing a green dress with brown sleeves. I tried to make it look like the simpler dresses of this time period. Removing her from the painting was also a challenge. There are mountains and water in the background, and da Vinci has an orange road on both sides of her. I decided to put another mountain behind her, and connect the two points of the road. I can post a larger version of this if anyone is interested. David by Michelangelo Link to original artwork David's face was also a challenge. It was only when I started looking at close-ups of this statue online that I realized how intense his face is (while I have seen the Mona Lisa in person, I have not had the opportunity to see David in person). From far away he looks contemplative, but up close his brow is furrowed and his eyes are piercing. Also the hair piece that best matched his curly hair has a lot of volume, so I had to increase the size of his facial features to compensate. So this face also went through several variations. His sling is sculpted with Apoxie Sculpt. It is attached to his hand. He will also come with an extra hand with no sling. His empty pedestal is visible in the background. Woman with a Head of Roses by Salvador Dali Link to original artwork I decided that each series of Artmates will have one lesser known work by a famous artist. In the first series it was the Portrait of Kahnweiler by Picasso. I had a lot of requests to do something by Dali, and I found this amazing piece that I had not seen before. At first, I made a face and top of head decal for her roses. But it didn't have the effect I was looking for. I wanted it to be the most prominent part of the figure. So I scoured my local craft stores until I found several assortments of beads and pins that I could use to reconstruct her head. I think this gives the figure a more unique look, and is closer to the original painting. I also decided to use real cloth for the draping on her leg. This draping is wired on both sides, so it is easy to reposition as needed. Removing her from the painting was challenging in a different way from the Mona Lisa. With that one, I had no idea what was behind her. In this painting, I knew exactly what was behind the subject, but it was very time consuming to recreate the perspective lines and shadows. Once again, I can post a larger version if anyone is interested. With the first series of Artmates, they were a signed and numbered limited edition of 10, and I did a second printing of The Scream. This time around it will also be limited to 10, but there will be no second printings. This series is much more time consuming to create, so the price will be increased to $21.99 each. First dibs will be given to people who purchased the first series, and those people can reserve the same edition number. I will be contacting people who purchased these through the toy store. If you purchased them via PM, please contact me if you are interested in these. I will be finishing production next weekend, and they should be ready to ship in 10 days. If any remain after the original buyers have been contacted, I will list any extras in the toy store. Packaged pics coming soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youbastards Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Consider my edition number filled!!! Amazing work, Luke!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban Saboteur Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 *applause* Very nicely done mate, :biggrin: I didn't see Artmates Series 1 but if these are anything to go by i'm sure they were awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSTZach Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I too, missed out on Series 1. But that David is wonderful. Bravo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke314pi Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Thanks guys! You can see Series 1 here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Decided to skip the naughty bits on David, huh? These are really fantastic, Luke. You've outdone yourself again, and taken Minimates to a level I'm not sure even DST thought of. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke314pi Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Decided to skip the naughty bits on David, huh? I did consider including it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Yeah, 2 printings of The Scream (My favorite painting) and I missed out on them both cause I didn't have a job at the time. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Holy... wow. Artmates series one were great, but these are at a different level. I can see how much time and care you put into these. Just extraordinary work. Put me down for a David, if you would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I'm definitely in again this time. I can't wait to get these (so I can store them away in a box with the first series). And when you said David's sling was sculpted and attached to his hand, I had to look again at the picture because I misunderstood what you were talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyd Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Some absolutely stunning work, Luke. Really love David, especially the face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Wow Luke! These are amazing!! And so was Series 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springportguy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Love them Luke! Consider my set sold as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj87 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I was one of the first to buy the series one artmates, but due to some sort of mix-up or delay with my order, I ended up with a #2 edition one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MINI_MYTE Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Awesome dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) I am so in. I think I only bought one of your first edition art-Mates, but I'm pretty sure I want all of these. Please keep a brother in mind Edited February 7, 2012 by karamazov80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I've made my comments via a PM but I'll say again......stunning! Decided to skip the naughty bits on David, huh? His 'naughty bits' have apparently been controversial over the years .....I could elaborate if those at the back could stop snickering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geohound Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcastick Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Stunning pieces Luke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsMarvel fan Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Decided to skip the naughty bits on David, huh? I did consider including it. sorta like how minimates don't have noses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamrock Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Oh yes indeedy! Awesome work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nessex Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 damn - i might have to buy me a David! Very nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOMac Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 What a great job, simply amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WookieFodder Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 i may not know art, but i know what i like. Mona Lisa is crazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Harris Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Great! As in last series, I do like the one you call not-so-well-known best. Your translation of that Picasso piece was stunning and that new Dali one is amazing. I really love the details on that one. The minimate hands on the belt and the arm? Perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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