A special story goes with this figure...

A special story about a very special young man.......

When I make figures for various customers, I don't always know what will happen with the figure I'm sending out, if it will be used for performance, for fun, or in some special situations......., a noble purpose. As this particular Sparky was on my workbench, staring back at me..........

I got a very warm, fuzzy feeling, as I knew exactly where he was going and how he was going to be used. It was a pretty heart warming story, even 'before' this cute little guy was on his was to his new home. There's a brave young man, fighting some very serious illnesses. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he decided he wanted to try to help other young ones who have these illnesses.

For me this was a very heartwarming and encouraging story, and was honored to have had even a small part in this. You can read the whole story here....

Brent's Story

My wife and I were very touched by the courage of this young man, and we certainly wish Brent the best of success in this noble endeavor. If you want to brighten your day and put a smile on your face, please take the time to read Brent's story by clicking on the above link.

Just a quick puppet painting tip....

By far the majority of people who order professional ventriloquist figures from us, order the darker hair colors such as brown or auburn. Matching the eyebrows on with either of those hair colors is fairly straightforward to do. But what about blond hair or gray hair? A little trickier typically. Here's a blonde little boy figure I did not that long ago as an example.........

Now you wouldn't think it would be any harder than painting brown or auburn eyebrows on a ventriloquist figure. But if you take a closer look at those blonde eyebrows, you will see it is not just a solid color painted on there. There are striations of color in order to get a close match like that. I've been asked by a number of people how I achieve that look. Here's the scoop.....

If you paint one solid color trying to match the hair, it will look very flat, bland and barely matching at all usually. Take a look at the blonde hair in those photos. What do you see? If you stare at it awhile you start to notice it is mostly a bit of very light and some darker shades alternating (with some shades in between). That is why one color just doesn't get the effect you want.

 I start with the lighter color matching as best I can, paint the eyebrows and let them dry. Here's where the fun comes in and starts changing the look. Next, I take a 3/8" wide flat artists brush and alter it. I take some thinning shears (used to cut hair) cut the bristles so it is now like a fork with several prongs of bristles (it will paint stripes now).

 I mix up some fairly dark brown paint 50/50 with acrylic medium. I take the altered brush, dip it in that mix of paint and medium, and dab on a paper towel to get off the excess. I use broad strokes at an angle and try not to go over the same place twice. If you get too much on and it gets too many dark lines, you can clean the brush and apply a little bit of the lighter color that you started with to tone it back some.

Between the two colors and the altered brush, you can get the striations just the way you want them. Finally, you may find the match to the blonde hair is not perfect at this point. These were too beige and not the golden blonde I was going for at first. So I poured out a little puddle of acrylic matte medium, added the slightest amount of bright yellow and painted a wash of this over the whole eyebrow. Two coats did the trick.

This same trick works very nicely for gray haired figures as well......

Now on those two figures, I did the same exact technique. And the interesting part was that the figure in the top photo also required the yellow wash to get the eyebrows to match the lighter colored gray hair.  I often will however make the final color on the eyebrows slightly darker than the hair so they stand out (real people often have that anyway).

So just a little painting tidbit from the workshop that some of you might find helpful at some point. I actually enjoy the painting process quite a bit, and find learning how colors work to be quite fascinating.

Another figure goes down under.....

I am always amazed at how many far away places we send figures to (somewhere between 40-45 different countries over the many years we've been doing this). We get to know people from all over the globe. Australia has quite a few of our figures now (and kits too!). We got a nice note and some photos from some new customers 'down under'. Here's what they said.........

"G’day, Mike and Catherine, well after a long but exciting wait, Sparky has finally arrived in Victoria, Australia, after his long journey from Arizona and he is in good shape, all working perfectly and actually speaking with an Ozzie accent “mate”, it is amazing how you made that happen.

I would just like to say thanks for getting Sparky ready for me and Jacinta, as this was a birthday present from Jacinta to me, and she actually made me up a birthday card with Sparky’s photo to give me on the day. Jacinta is very happy also with how he looks and moves, etc. I will get some sneakers for him and maybe a check shirt half open an the neck to make him look like a trendy kid about town but with a bit of attitude!!

I have enclosed a couple of photos for you to see how happy he is in his new home in Oz and how well we are getting along together, you will also see he has a new friend here “Bucko” who is getting a bit of wear and tear on him now, still fairly cheeky and needs a bit of a refresh of colour on his face, and I was wondering what paint or product you could recommend for me to give him a bit of a make over ???? I would appreciate your suggestions.

Are there any other Sparky’s in Australia that you know of ?

Anyway guys, thanks again and please respond to this email, and we will keep in touch, we may come and visit when we are next in the US ?"

Cheers Eric and Jacinta

  

Always great to get such nice emails from the folks we meet this way. Here are the photos Eric sent.

 Well the smiles on their faces says it all. Looks like Sparky will be very happy in his new home. And yes, teaching him how to speak 'Ozzie' before getting on the plane was the hardest part of all this! <G>

Winker Mechanics book - In Print!

Sorry to be so long between posts! I had some health issues that got a bit serious, slowed me way down, got me behind in everything, and I finally ended up in the hospital and had a surgical procedure. Doing much better now.

Well the title of this post is fairly self explanatory. My popular book, 'Winker Mechanics Can Be Fun?!?' is now available in hard copy. Some people like PDF Ebooks just fine. Others want a full printed version. Some like having both, as my other figure making book has been for some time now.

In any case, my 'Winker Mechanics Can Be Fun?!?' can now be purchased as a full color (inside and out), quality printed soft cover book. I have to say, it is very nice! Here's a shot of the cover........

The digital age is incredible. I sent all of the digital information of the complete book to my printer on a Wednesday, and on Friday I received the 'proof' copy of my book in the mail! Awesome!  I reviewed it completely just to make sure that all was okay, made some changes, and submitted the final draft ready to publish. The printed book can now be ordered here............

Winker Mechanics Can Be Fun?!?

Well just a short post for now to let you know I'm still alive as well as announce the printed version of my winker book. I will try to post more often now that I'm feeling better. Thanks to all who subscribe and read my blog!

Makes It All Worthwhile!

Making quality professional ventriloquist figures full time is a lot like hard work, with a lot of painstaking attention to detail. Some days you scratch your head and wonder if it is all worthwhile. You get one of these figures finished, get 'em all packed up and sent on their way to a patiently waiting customer. You wonder if they will notice and appreciate all the time and effort you put into making their quality figure.

Then, after a few days when the figure has arrived, you get an email or a phone call from the customer. Then you know it's all worthwhile! Here are a couple of happy customers comments right after they got a chance to look at their new figure for the first time..........

"Hi Mike,

Eddie arrived on schedule, although I had to leave as soon as he arrived.

I'm back and looking at a masterpiece!  The colors on Eddie's face and hands

are so vibrant, yet realistic.  His facial features look great from every

angle.  When I saw Eddie I was more overwhelmed than when I viewed

Michelangelo's statue of David.  David met my expectations; Eddie far

exceeded all my expectations. Additionally, Eddie winks, blinks, moves his

eyes, raises his eyebrows, and looks like he is about to speak.

With much appreciation,

Faye

P.S. If I am this pleased with Eddie, I know Ember will be wonderful too!"

 Here's the other one from ventriloquist Bob Isaacson, a very familiar name to many in the vent community....

"Hooray !...he's here Mike.  Safe & Sound.  I don't know where to begin....  Sparky is perfect; I'm sure the little kids ( preschoolers) at my Church are really going to like him. He is a very charming looking fellow. Going to get him properly dressed in "kid type" clothing.  Even arrived a day early so I can get him properly ready.  Mike, I can't think of enough superlatives to describe your work.   Everything, I mean , everything is done to perfection.  The controls are wonderful & I appreciate the frontal eye control. Also  the head lock is great. I always use a head lock on my figures ( remove it when figure is in action). Your lock is so sophisticated in design, but simple to use.  The hair, eyes & makeup (paint) are also terrific. I really appreciate all you've done for me & will certainly recommend your work.  Not only perfection, but price is so reasonable.  I'm hoping to take Sparky to the convention, so folks there can see your wonderful work.  As soon as I have photos, will send you copies.  Many, many, thanks Mike !   as "they" say  " you're the go to man".     Sincerely,  Bob"

Here's a pic of Bob's Sparky in the workshop, just before he went out the door....

Here's some pictures of Bob with Sparky and some of the kids at the school.......

Bob Isaacson further said when he kindly sent me these pictures...........

"Hello Mike… Here's the photos the preschool teacher took of the younger kids with Sparky. She thought the photos would be better in the classroom. Those "little kids" really took to Sparky. He talked to them for a while, then the teacher had me sit down & the kids gather around.  You can see by their faces, that they loved Sparky. He was truly a big hit with the children.   Another Mike Brose success story!...  again Mike,  My thanks !    Bob"

So, as you can guess, I keep all such comments on hand, to remind me that after all the hard work....., blood, sweat and tears...., and other such fun, that figure making can be, that it is surely.....,   ALL worthwhile! 

Epoxy Putty on a diet!

For a number of years I had been looking for a light weight epoxy putty, that would work basically like Magic Sculp or Apoxie Sculpt, but the cured material would be light in weight. Epoxy putties can be a great material for altering ventriloquist figure heads or puppet heads, but the problem has always been, the more  putty you add to the head, the more it is going to weigh!

 I always try to keep up with what is going on in the mold making and casting industry (I've been doing mold making and casting since the latter part of the 1960's), and so I came across a new product that looked promising. Its been so crazy busy here with making cast parts and finished figures for customers, I didn't even get around to ordering it for quite awhile, and then several weeks passed before I was able to try it out.

I was somewhat skeptical before trying it, as I have tried so many dozens and dozens of other new materials over the years, and some few turn out to work exactly like you hoped they would, but many others have been a big disappointment and end up getting tossed. So how did this one work? Very nicely! I was pleasantly surprised. It is made by Smooth-On and is their newer Free Form Air.....

Here's my review of Free Form Air:  First of all, Free Form Air costs less than Magic Sculp or Apoxie Sculpt. It's like 2 quarts of material for $25, which will go a long ways. Apoxie Sculpt is $35 for about the same volume of material, and Magic Sculp is around $40 for about that much material (you get a little more I think as you get 5 lbs. for that amount). In any case, the Free From Air appears to be a good value.

Next, it is very easy to mix. Much easier than Magic Sculp or Apoxie Sculpt or any of the other epoxy putties I've tried for that matter. Those are a little bit of a workout to mix in comparison. It comes out of the container very easily and is light and almost fluffy. It almost feels like you are not holding anything at first. But it's consistency is such that it will mix and blend at a much faster rate than the other epoxy putties.

Cured Properties: One of the first things you will notice after it has cured, is that it is not a hard as the other epoxy putties (it is only Shore D 50). Magic Sculp is Shore D 80, and from what I can tell, Apoxie Sculpt is in about the same range (fairly hard when cured). As a comparison, Free Form Air is somewhat comparable to basswood as far as relative hardness/softness. At any rate it is softer than what you may have worked with before.

In My Opinion: Because it is light in weight, you can use much more putty to alter a figure's face (at least twice as much is my gut feeling) and not have the head be too heavy. On the flip side of the scale, I would say it is great for altering a face, but there is a caution regarding other uses. Example: Some like to make heads completely cast from an epoxy putty material. I even show that on my web site as a way to make a head. Here's the reason for the caution.....

When I test a casting material, I always test its breaking strength. I need to know if  'push comes to shove', at what point will this material break? I create test samples about 1/8" thick and then see how much force it takes to break the sample piece. It takes a pretty good force to break a piece of cured Magic Sculp or Apoxie Sculpt. In the tests that I did, Free Form Air has about 3/4 to 1/2 the strength to resist breakage as either on of those.

For this reason, I would not recommend making a cast head with it unless it was properly reinforced and/or cast pretty thick (probably around 3/8" minimum). So closer to the thickness of a basswood head (basswood may actually be more like 1/2" or so in places). Otherwise, I think the casting will be too fragile. However I haven't actually cast any full heads in it yet to verify what might be required. I'm just putting that caution out there based on my destructive testing so far.

In any case, I think it has the potential to be a great material for a light weight alternative to the other epoxy putties, and thought I would share my preliminary findings on this product. It could make it much easier and more feasible to make a custom of or semi-custom face over an existing head casting using this light weight material instead of the heavier epoxy putties you might normally use.   

Tip: When you first mix the material it is pretty much too soft to work with in my opinion. Let it set up a little (approximately 30 minutes) before trying to sculpt with it. It will have more body and be easier to sculpt when it gets slightly firmer in consistency.

Well, I hope you find this review of Smooth-On's 'Free Form Air' of benefit. I will be testing it out further as time allows.

People kept asking, so......

Since 'Sparky' was first introduced as a finished figure, we have had numerous requests to make him available for purchase as a quality kit head. We have listened to our customers and have made this a reality.

You can now purchase this top quality head casting with Sparky's unique, premium sculpted face, which is brimming with personality, and make your own quality figure. You can read more about him on our head casting page.....

Head Castings

The Sparky head, as with all our head castings, is made with our unique head casting process. You can read more about that here.....

Unique Head Casting Process

Kit includes the Sparky head, matching trap door, jaw with brass axle and easy install metal collars for positioning. I've also added some extra flanges inside this unique head for gluing in a pulley axle for a cord controlled jaw. So there are 3 sets of flanges (eye tray, jaw axle, and jaw pulley axle) already inside the head for solidly gluing these items in place.

Also, you don't have to glue his ears in place. Even though Sparky has ears that stick out quite a bit (that's part of his personality and fun look), I worked very hard at creating a special mold (core head molds are special to begin with) where the ears are cast as an integral part of the head casting. Because of this, they are rock solid and aren't going anywhere!

That was a real challenge, but it was very important to me so I kept pushing myself until I got it down. Also, there are some pilot holes pre-drilled in the eyebrow area, so if you are going to install raising eyebrows, you don't have to guess where to drill the holes. 

So, take advantage of all my hard work (I do a lot of this to make my own figure making easier, but I know others appreciate it too!) and check out this new, way cool, Sparky head cast kit!