Customizing

The Making Of Black Mirror

Kristian Beverly8 Comments
Back in Febuary I had the desire to sculpt. But I didn’t have any idea of what to sculpt so I hacked off a few of the stablemate unicorn horns.  

But then then it hit me. An idea. I’d had a Django body hanging around for a year and imagined him as a Thestral.

Thestrals are skeleton horse like creatures with reptilian features. And a beak.

source: harry potter wiki

First I drew some guide lines on him.

And then I grabbed my engraver and dremel and went at it. I whittled him down to pretty much an armature.

The trouble area was the tail area. Chopping the tail off took away some of his hind legs too. Oh well, it needed resculpted anyways. 
Threstals have long tails so I inserted a wire for that. Super glue and baking soda held it together. 
Next came the actual sculpting part. 
I finished one side of it in a weekend before putting it down. After I’d finished the face I thought wow, now I have to do the other side. I think I’m good for now. 
School took over and the Thestral was forgotten. After I finished the semester I decided to do more work on him. And the idea of entering the best of customs contest took hold. 
I stopped taking progress pictues because I needed him done, and done fast to meet the deadline.
The wings required some creativity. I made an armature with wire and poka dotted fabric. I stiffened it with baking soda and super glue.
The Thestral gained the name Black Mirror because of my re-binging of the Netflix series.
After much sanding and painting, Black Mirror was done. He was photographed the last day the contest was open and the photos were submitted with two hours to spare. I’m really happy with how he came out. It has been a long time since I’ve resculpted something to this degree, so it was a nice challenge 

Spotted

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Traveller is my favorite Appaloosa. He’s actually one of my favorite horses.  He’s fun to ride but also has plenty of personality.

Alex rides at the barn and also loves Traveller. 
She initially asked if I would make a nameplate halter for a model but then asked if I’d make a model to look her favorite Appy. She gave me a box of models and an Idocus to be T. I think he’ll look great as him.  
I decided that I also deserved a Traveller model. Years ago I bought a Walter resin. I’ve decided that that’ll be my Traveller. 
Last week I started taking reference photos. 
Traveller has plenty of spots and I’d like the models to match the real counterpart as much as possible. 
Being an Appy he also has mottled skin. 
Customizer is not something I’d add under my skill set. Mostly because if I get annoyed with something it ends up in the pail of lost ideas. I won’t allow these two to fall to that fate!

In The Studio

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It feels like it’s been forever since I actually finished a project. Which it has been but anyway—
I have a commission bridle that is almost done. It needs the other rein braided and a separate set done too. I bought Rio Rondo’s new buckle set and love it! The chin strap needs a bit of shaping and shortening. Then it’ll be finished.

I also have my Feather Fund donation almost done. It’s a portrait of Surfer Dude, the well known Assateague island stallion that died last year. Last year my plan had been to use Croi but I sorta screwed it up (but it’d make a good base for a fantasy model so there’s that…).

So that’s where my studio is right now.
Also
BREYERFEST IS SO CLOSE!
Who’s ready?

Let's Do Painterly Things Without Painting

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My attempt at NaMoPaiMo was a really nice try.
I had a model to paint

even if I accidentally dropped her and chipped her ear. In August I accidently knocked her over so she tumbled down my shelves in a series of loud thumps. 
I’d gone out and bought supplies. I decided to paint her in oils to some sort of bay. 
My Michaels had a 2 for 1 deal on oils. I read Jennifer Buxton’s Jennifer Scott post about oils and decided to try them. I got the basic pallete of plastic pony colors plus a new set of brushes. I use Turpinoid for colored pencils so I didn’t need to buy that. 
The last needed supply was reference photos. I really wanted to do my Hazel justice, which meant I needed good reference photos. I have a binder of horse photos plus I have taken plenty but in the end I just dumped more photos onto my horse reference pinterest board. I pinned a rainbow of bays before deciding on a final shade. 
And that’s where my NaMoPaiMo ended. School work and getting sick ate away my free time. I didn’t finish NaMoPaiMo nor even start it, but I gained so much knowledge from reading the tips on the board and on Jennifer’s blog during the month of February. Learning is just as important as doing sometimes.