Madog's the Dog!

I feel like I'm closing in on the completion of my gravedigger's head. Detailing still needs to be done -- coloring of the face, hair, eyebrows, sideburns -- but the head itself is completed. Below will be a longish set of pictures that updates the progress I've made to date, such as adding the eyes and painting.

When we left, Madog was pretty much looking like this:

I used two "sticky eyes" I got from Wal-Mart a couple of year's ago and set them into the sockets:

Using the cloth mache technique I learned from Dan Reeder (The Monster Man), I cut up four pieces of cotton sheet into small squares to form the upper and lower eyelids. Dipping them in my "pancake batter" mache paste I wrapped them around the eye. 

If you look at an eye, the upper lid tends to overlap the lower lid at the corners so start with the lower lid first. Despite the fact that the picture below shows my placing the upper lid first, I subsequently removed it and put the lower lid in first. You can see the overlap in the subsequent pictures.

They were then covered with Monster Mud and allowed to dry.

To begin the painting process, I first covered the head with a protective layer of spar varnish. Interestingly, it makes the Monster Mud feel like clay. Once it was dry, though, I covered it with a layer of primer.

Below is a completely unnecessary dark base coat I applied. I'm not quite sure where I was going with this, probably thinking of dry brushing or something, but I guess it provides another layer of protection for the mache and clay beneath.

I then applied three coats of a flesh tone paint.

The next step will be adding hair. I went to my local dollar store and picked up this "jumbo" braid (for $1.29!) which I'll use to add the various hair features. But first I'll need to add some further details to the flesh with paint.

Then it's just a matter of constructing the body. Well, if that's all there is.