Last week, I spontaneously joined a “sandpainting” workshop for a few hours. The idea is that you have a lightbox with sand on it, and you can create images that way. If you add a camera setup, you can use it to “animate” stories, especially when working with kids. It’s not rocket science, but perfecting more complex images still takes practice. The interesting part for me is that you need to think in layers and that you need to limit your details. You learn to focus.

I finally got around to finishing the straps for the giraffe helmet. It’s by far the most complicated costume to “harness” that I’ve made so far. That’s because of the height and balance of the piece. I had purposely formed the inside off a real hat, but the helmet still tended to fall backward. I couldn’t understand why, until I realized that hats normally sit on the head at an angle, not parallel to the ground. This meant that the inside shape was correct, but at the wrong angle, forcing the helmet out of balance. So I had to remake an inlay to correct it. When that was done, I could finally screw in the straps and add padding material.

the mold for the inlay with a mark of the new angle

inlay, ready to cut and set in

new helmet setup with straps and padding

finished helmet

And I also found a Youtube channel with anatomy drawing tutorials. I’ve taken live drawing in art school and have some understanding of proportions, but when I looked at these tutorials, I felt like an ignorant beginner. I clearly have some gaps to fill, and I will be doing that. No matter how much you’ve learned, you’ve got lots to learn!

before the tutorial

first results after the tutorial