Some stuff for the future

As Prigley ticks onwards steadily I briefly, very briefly, turned my attention to prospects for a future project using my somewhat standard style of model making as a medium.

I thought it was about time I used my more detailed level of sculpting in an animated film and although I'm not even near to starting this it's nice to have something to look forward to and to aim for.

My basic (extremely basic) plot at the moment is a conman who takes on a bet that he can or can't travel back in time. My inspirations for this are broadly speaking the works of Ray Harryhausen and the somewhat farsical British Ealing comedies following seeing the hilarious stage version of "The Ladykillers" starring Peter Capaldi. Another inspiration is the work of Jules Verne. Men in starched shirts taking on challenges to travel around the world in 80 days (Which has in a roundabout sort of way influenced the object below)

I see this being set in the roaring '20s, taking place during a dinner party as the style of the period is so elegant and something I've wanted to work into what I do for ages now.

I aim to make this film using 12" scale dolls, a scale I regularly use.

This figure below is in many ways a test.

This character isn't the main character, but I do imagine him playing a sizeable role in the film. As you may hopefully be able to see, I have based his facial appearance on Michael Palin, who has become a hero of mine recently (The connection to Jules Verne and Around the World in 80 Days)

The construction of the head is something new to me. It is made in essentially two parts, the face and the back of the head (the hair being sculpted from plasticine to allow for animationability onto the back section of the head). I intend to cast a copy of the face section and modify each copy with a different expression, mouth shape etc. I also want to atleast try hollowing out the eyes and replacing them with adjustable eyes within the mask, again with animation in mind.

These are all extremely tentative plans, no doubt they'll become even more impossibly difficult when, or if, I actually get round to putting some serious effort into this project.

Very much watch this space.
Like I say, it's often good to have something to look forward to, even if it's in the distant future.