Danny Torrance
   MAKING THE STATUE

PAGE ONE: THE MAKING OF DANNY TORRANCE, A PHOTO JOURNAL.


Premier clay and close up of a ball of clay
I used Padico's LaDoll series Premier stone clay to sculpt Danny. Mentioned every chance I get, this clay is super lightweight and strong. Able to hold the finest detail!
Three close up images of the miniature refined sculpted bald head
There's no secret to sculpting the face. It's eyeballing and refining; adding clay where is needed and removing any excess. Repeat until you're ready to move on.
Three close up images side by side by side of the miniature head and jar of Mr.Surfacer 1200
My go to primer is Mr. Hobby's Mr. SURFACER 1200. Again, the fine features of the face were slightly altered because of the primer thickness even with it thinned out. The troubles of working on this scale...
Two close up images of refined primed clay head and clay figure of headless body
Once the primer has dried, I can begin sanding and polishing to get back some of the fine details such as eyelids, nostrils, the ears and eyebrows. The body is next. Can you guess how I made it?
Three images side by side by side of standing miniature statue fully sculpted without head
That's right! Wire. From a coat hanger. I bent it into the general pose and padded the wire armature with small pieces of styrofoam. The goal was to keep this statue piece lightweight.
Two images side by side in full body shot of sitting statue with primed head
Positioned Danny's head and tweaked the neckline to fit snuggly. Gave him very basic hands and feet for the purpose of constructing his ride: the big wheel trike (handlebar and pedal position).
Two images side by side of miniature statue headless with parts of tricycle unassembled
Danny's big wheel seat may look sculpted in solid clay, but it's not entirely. Inside is actually paperboard. Once the clay coating dried, I was able to carve out the details. Next were the tires and because they're identical, I sculpted one tire and made two moulds for each side using thermo plastic. The tricky part after was joining the two halves seemlessly.
Two images side by side of miniature statue with head and parts of a tricycle unassembled
Setting Danny onto the seat balanced was just a matter of sanding down his butt to conform to the seat. With his stubby hands and feet in place as markers, I could begin to construct the front of the trike. In the previous photo, you can see aluminum wiring used for the trike's frame. Quite easy to form with a pair of pliers.

Don't hesitate to email me at martengo or via if you have any questions regarding my Danny Torrance PD statue or work process. Especially if you are following these steps as a guide to making your own statue.










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