Steam Punk Spider automata

Well after nearly 2 weeks it is complete and working!
It would have been done earlier but I decided to add some extra movement. The mandibles move (not much though) and I've put a little motor into the body to turn a big wheel. it doesn't actually do anything but I like it!
Let me know what you think.

I feel really pleased with the end result, especially as it was my first go. Some of the movements are a bit sluggish (not helped in the video by me turning the sculpture while operating it) but this could be rectified if I rebuilt it. I've learnt a lot and it became more ambitious as it went along and as my confidence grew. The one thing that I think lets it down is the head, I was so engrossed in the mechanism for the body I really didn't consider this until too late so it was a bit bodged.

complete spider mechanism

After over 3 days of failed attempts I have finally constucted something which works fairly well. The 2 individual mechanisms were quite simple; an eccentric cam to create the up and down movement for the body (which also lifted the 6 main legs) and a rocking mechanism for the two tapping front legs.

The BIG problem was linking the two together so they worked from one handle and at the correct speed. I tried various methods to avoid using cogs because I just didn't feel confident I could make them well enough. It was fairly obvious that this was the only solution though. After about 4 sets of cogs I finally got a pair that worked smoothly.

The finished product looks crude but does work better than I could have hoped.

Spider legs up and running

After a little experimentation the spider legs, well 6 of them anyway, are working. I settled for a simple cam below the legs so the body just goes up and down making the hinged legs gently move too. Its a bit rough as the base is still loose but it seems to work well enough. Next I want to add two front legs which tap away making it look impatient. Not really sure how this will work....

Steam Punk Spider begins

I have started to experiment with making a steam punk spider as a automata. I had originally planned for all the legs to move but now I think only the front 2 will move up and down, tapping impatiently while the body itself slowly lifts and drops. This will be easier to make!

Int he background you can see a very rough mockup which i did to get a feel for joints and scale. In the foreground I have made a pair of legs from thin wood, jointed with brass with a few bits of plastic added to give a more mechanical feel.

The next step will be to make the body mechanism.

Steam Punk sorcerer, early designs and influences

I've always loved Jim Henson and Brian Froud's skeksis from The Dark Crystal. The long flowing and mishapen robes of office over the weird bodies give the characters such grape character. I've played with this type of figure before once as a clay wizard and 10 years ago as a puppet. A love creating long leather coats for my steam punk characters so I thought it was time to revisit the idea.

For years I've had a figure from The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (a Tod McFarlane model) sat on my shelf. I thought the two would go togehter really well.

The McFarlane version (right) really exaggerates the body shape and even has goggles.

I want the steam punk figure to have the usual goggles and breathing tubes but also some kind of mechanical bits coming out of his back. The elongated Skeksis type body is ideal for this.

As you can see I've constructed a very basic body and head from card and plastiroc. This is very crude and really only there to give me an idea of the shape so I can build onto it. Now I can play with bits of plastic and start to create the details which will give it character.

carnival of insects venice

I recently saw an advert for cannon sureshot featuring some amazing giant insect puppets in Venice. With a bit of hunting a found some more clips and images (click the photo link below or follow the address)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7OcwKzbN5c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECBBCHIuI3A

I love giant puppets so was instantly captivated by these, especially the preying mantis. I'm not working on anything at the moment and in fact have been too busy to really feel motivated but I now have an urge to amke a steam punk insect automata. I have a vague idea so far on making the legs move but will have to experiment.

I know who I am!

Tesla Guard

I am really pleased with this figure now, partly because it took me so long to decide on the final look but mostly because I've used and refined some new techniques to get the Steam Punk look I want.

I'm not sure who this is?

Some time ago I saw a design for a scary looking docotor, very Frankenstein looking, with weird goggles, a long coat and strange mechanical instruments for a hand. I liked the idea of a mad steampunk scientist and started developing a head with weird bits coming out for eyes. As you can see it's gone through various incarnations and now looks more like a guard than a scientist.

I like all the funky helmet bits which give him character even though he has no face. The face mesh is one of those cones used for wool or thread cut up

I've realised that the best steam punk effects come from simple bits of palstic carefully cut and glued together, rather than trying to actually sculpt shapes which then tend to look too organic.

The almost complete figure will be holding a spear/cattle prod attached to his back pack. I saw a fab design for this in Mike Mignola's Witchfinder graphic novel.

When it came to making the gauntlets and the leather cowl (you can't se the latter in the photos) I tried using a different technique. Normally I would make them from card but I wnated something that looked more like giant rubber gloves. After a few experiments I hit upon using wire mesh. I've had this stuff around for ages and a colleague of mine uses it a lot, covered in tissue, but I've never got to grips with it. I covered a section in wide masking tape on both sides and coated it with PVA. This proved very flexible and gave a good finish. I will be using more of this!

The Highwayman

He is now pretty much finished although with a new name. He was originally going to be standing at the controls of somethink suitably steam punky, I even had a great wheel, bit like a ships helm in my box of bits but it blocked too much of the figure.

Really pleased with the gun though as it is nice and crisp (lots of funky bits glued together!

I think the figure is a bit stiff though and his hat looks wrong from the side

World of Froud

I was very happy this morning to discover that I've been selected to be this month's Froudian artist of the Month on Brian Froud's website The World of Froud