“Over the past couple of days I’ve been working on a larger Buffalo skull to go along with the figure I’m doing. While using reference photos from the net I finally gave into bringing over the skull I have mounted in the Gallery to work from. Nothing beats the actual article as a go-by. (“Go-by”….I hate that word. Why can’t we just say “reference”? It sounds much more intelligent and professional! ) Anyway, to show the difference from using mostly photos as a reference over the actual article take a close look at the two skulls. . Notice the placement of the horns and the curvature of the facial plates. Quite a difference. I still have to make a correction after mounting the horns as while correct in themselves they are just to massive to match the skull. That should be an easy fix. Once this is done I should have a fairly correct copy to go along with the figure. Even though the complete result might be a caricature, the details associated with the figure will make it that much more authentic. and carry the theme I’m trying to express.
So, if I could give anyone some advice it would be to stop and take a moment to find out as much about what you’re trying to accomplish as you can. For myself, I’m always on the lookout for more “reference” matter no matter where I am. Today, almost all of us have the ability to whip out our cellphones and snap a photo. When in a museum the first question I ask is can I take photos. If that’s not allowed I have a small sketch pad handy to record something of interest. Unfortunately, too many of us casually “go-by” so many things that could have a direct and positive affect on what we’re trying to accomplish. (There’s that word again! I hereby banish it from this blog!)”
I apologize for the quality of the video. As I said it was made quite a few years ago so we were still in the learning phase of doing these productions. Here’s the link to the first video of the series. You can find the remaining 6 videos which complete the series on my Youtube channel.
Comments welcome.
