Hybrid practice

In today's lesson I finally got to practice my Hybrid design. I am a bit under pressure as tomorrow is already our deadline but I keep having problems with the silicone and moulds I wasn't able to do it last week. But I can do it! Anyway when I did the sculptures for the cheek pieces I did two different sizes as I wasn't sure which one would fit better. I did the moulds in Uni and the bigger ones turned out really nice and smooth but the smaller one got some texture in it as the silicone didn't dry properly( again..haha I just want to cry..I didn't think the silicone and I are a good match :D )So I decided to use the smaller ,messed up ones for practice and if I would want to use the smaller ones I just make them again but I held the bigger cheek pieces against my models face and they looked quite nice so I was thinking going with the bigger ones. Again, when I did the forehead piece, even though the negative mould was really smooth , the actual piece had texture in it which I didn't want but again as it was for practice use only, I didn't mind that much even though it really annoys me that the silicone ,sometimes(everytime I really need it) just doesn't dry properly and I still haven't figured out why. I had all the silicone pieces ready for the practice and only got some food colouring and contact lenses.Everything else I needed was in the kit already.

I was a bit worried before I started the practice, not only because of the deadline pressure but also because I wasn't sure if the forehead piece would actually fit( even though I did measure her face) and if the overall character would actually look good in real life. Somehow I couldn't imagine how the pieces would look on her so that's why I felt slightly uneasy. Also I wanted a very red transparent shiny look on her decollete and shoulders using latex and food colouring but when I tried it at home the latex always reacts with the colour and starts crumbling into big chunks.. But I tried to apply the latex first and then afterwards the colour and it is a but better. I just have to be very careful when applying the colour.

For the hybrid look you need:

• silicone pieces
• pros aid
• pro clean
• cotton buds
• alcohol
• two bowls
• supercolor
• sponges
• bright blue contact lenses( in this case from Kryolan)
• latex
• red food colouring( also have some blue and green)
• blue fish net
• black top
• comb
• water spray
• hair gel
• hairdryer
• clips for holding the net at the back
• contact lens solution
• brushes
• towel
• baby powder
• Makeup wipes
• cleanser
• toner
• antibacterial Makeup spray

Steps:

• set up your work place and make sure you have all the tools and products you need
• clean models face-> only cleanse and tone
• ask model to put in contact lenses
• while she is putting in the contact lenses apply the Pros Aid to the silicone pieces ( there are 3->one big forehead piece and two cheek pieces)
• wait until it is almost dry and then also apply the Pros Aid onto the areas on her face where you will apply the silicone pieces
• when the glue is tacky and clear ,take the pieces and make sure before you apply them that the blending layer is not curled up
• stick on and press it down so it will stick properly, stretch out the blending layer and try to get no wrinkles->this makes it easier to blend it in
• when pieces are glued on,get another bowl with alcohol and cotton buds and start blending->take your time for it as you want seamless edges!
• when all 3 pieces are blended in clean up around them just in case there is some fluff or other leftover from the Baldiez layer->if the Baldiez layer or glue got into the hair just get a cotton pad and some ProClean and wipe it off
• when areas around pieces are clean get some baby powder and just brush some on to get rid off the stickiness
• when you are happy with the application take some pictures-> you need close up's for the hand in but also take some from different angles and mid-length shots
• now you can start painting
• get a sponge and use first supercolor number 10(red with an orangy undertone) and cover the whole face apart from the eyes->stipple it on apart from the eyes->please  leave a big circle free
• after that you apply the number 11 on the outside of the face and also do some shading under the jawline ,the cheeks pieces, the forehead piece and under lips->but under lips only slightly
• then mix the 11(deeper red) and 6( black) to get a brownish red and contour the cheeks pieces even more->makes them stand out even more, apply also some on the forehead piece and around the hairline
• fill in the eyes with the light blue which is weirdly also number 10?-> this blue color is very similar to the blue of the contact lenses so it makes it look like big blue eyes->which is what we want
• blend the red and blue slightly together so there are now harsh lines around the eyes
• after you applied the paint make sure everything is blended very well->colours have to be smooth and edge less
• now brush the hair back and apply first some water spray to wet it down ->if the water spray is not enough get some hair gel and comb it through->we want a very sleek kind of slimy looking hair 
• let the hair gel dry a bit before you apply the supercolor-> then apply the different red tones and a bit of orange into the hair line and take it down slightly, with that we create the effect that the forehead pieces kind of blends into the hair and we don't have abrupt harsh edges between hair line and silicone piece
• when you are happy with the hair and the overall face ask model to tuck down(or in) her t-shirt and bra straps so they are not visible anymore
• then cover the shirt with a towel->to protect the shirt as well to see until where you will apply the latex and food colouring
• first apply the latex; I find it is easier just to apply it with your fingers as it starts to immediately pick up when I try to apply it with a sponge
• when you covered the area you wanted let it completely dry and make sure nothing gets on it like hair or the towel
• when dry stipple on the red food colouring and create a shiny kind of transparent texture
• let it dry
• when everything is ready put the blue fishing net around her shirt and one arm->create trapped look
• take final images!

Before you start insert blue contact lenses

They already make a huge difference.

Looks a bit creepy ^^

So that my model will be more comfortable while I apply the silicone pieces I told her to lie back and relax.

As you can see I applied the latex layer and food colouring already on the decollete which was a big mistake as the alcohol was running down her face dripping on it as I was blending the edges and I had to take it all off again. But I was bored while the glue was drying so I thought I could do the latex layer while waiting.But now I know I will definitely leave that part for the end.

The 3 silicone pieces are applied. But the forehead piece is definitely too big and I have to do the  new smaller and flatter.

Done with applying the supercolor and doing the hair. The colour doesn't show up that much on the hair so for the actual thing I have to make the colour more intense.

And those pictures I took with an actual camera in the studio(the other pictures were taken with my phone)

Thoughts on the practice:

First off all I am quite relieved and happy with the practice outcome even though there are still things I have to change. But that is okay as you use practice to see what is working, what needs to be changed or further developed and how it actually looks. Even though I used the smaller cheek pieces and the forehead piece turned out way too big it was still very helpful to see how it would look like as I had my problems imagining it before. I knew how I wanted it to look like but I just couldn't imagine it on an actual person. But now I feel better. Also I will change the forehead piece. I will make the sculpture smaller and flatter and do a new mould , hopefully the silicone is cooperating with me:) .As for the cheek pieces I will use the bigger one as I think it will fit better with the forehead piece and they were much smoother. The thing that definitely wrong during the practice was the blending of the Baldiez layer. I think because the forehead piece was so big the blending layer just ripped off very easily . It ripped off right on the edge to the silicone which gave me now way to actually blend most of the sides but it also made the piece come off around the edges, which you can see very good especially around the eye area. But I already did like 5 layers of Baldiez because I knew it had to be a bit stringer so I didn't expect it to rip off so easily. So I was thinking to apply maybe one or two layers Baldiez after the silicone in the mould is dry , so that the silicone piece is covered in it from both sides and hopefully will last better. And I am honest after the blending layer ripped off and already looked stupid I wasn't really bothered to blend away the edges well. You can see it is quite messy, as well as the cheek parts. I know you should try to do your best even if it is just a practice. Otherwise I was quite happy how the colours turned out on the professional camera. They are more intense than on my phone. But I have to intense the red tones on the hair so it looks more blended in. As for the neck and decollete part I need to match the different red tones better. On the neck I still used the supercolor and on the decollete latex and food colouring. And you can clearly see the difference . I will experiment a bit more with those to see what works best. Otherwise I think if I blend better tomorrow and the blending layer is not ripping off it will look quite alright :)And I need to adjust her shirt and the fishing net for the actual shoot

Hybrid design: Step by Step

Products needed:

• silicone pieces
• pros aid
• pro clean
• cotton buds
• alcohol
• two bowls
• supercolor
• sponges
• bright blue contact lenses( in this case from Kryolan)
• latex
• red food colouring( also have some blue and green)
• blue fish net
• black top
• comb
• water spray
• hair gel
• hairdryer
• clips for holding the net at the back
• contact lens solution
• brushes
• towel
• baby powder
• Makeup wipes
• cleanser
• toner
• antibacterial Makeup spray

->hair chart

->face chart

Step by Step:

• set up your work place and make sure you have all the tools and products you need
• clean models face-> only cleanse and tone
• ask model to put in contact lenses
• while she is putting in the contact lenses apply the Pros Aid to the silicone pieces ( there are 3->one big forehead piece and two cheek pieces)
• wait until it is almost dry and then also apply the Pros Aid onto the areas on her face where you will apply the silicone pieces
• when the glue is tacky and clear ,take the pieces and make sure before you apply them that the blending layer is not curled up
• stick on and press it down so it will stick properly, stretch out the blending layer and try to get no wrinkles->this makes it easier to blend it in
• when pieces are glued on,get another bowl with alcohol and cotton buds and start blending->take your time for it as you want seamless edges!
• when all 3 pieces are blended in clean up around them just in case there is some fluff or other leftover from the Baldiez layer->if the Baldiez layer or glue got into the hair just get a cotton pad and some ProClean and wipe it off
• when areas around pieces are clean get some baby powder and just brush some on to get rid off the stickiness
• when you are happy with the application take some pictures-> you need close up's for the hand in but also take some from different angles and mid-length shots
• now you can start painting
• get a sponge and use first supercolor number 10(red with an orangy undertone) and cover the whole face apart from the eyes->stipple it on apart from the eyes->please  leave a big circle free
• after that you apply the number 11 on the outside of the face and also do some shading under the jawline ,the cheeks pieces, the forehead piece and under lips->but under lips only slightly
• then mix the 11(deeper red) and 6( black) to get a brownish red and contour the cheeks pieces even more->makes them stand out even more, apply also some on the forehead piece and around the hairline
• fill in the eyes with the light blue which is weirdly also number 10?-> this blue color is very similar to the blue of the contact lenses so it makes it look like big blue eyes->which is what we want
• blend the red and blue slightly together so there are now harsh lines around the eyes
• after you applied the paint make sure everything is blended very well->colours have to be smooth and edge less
• now brush the hair back and apply first some water spray to wet it down ->if the water spray is not enough get some hair gel and comb it through->we want a very sleek kind of slimy looking hair 
• let the hair gel dry a bit before you apply the supercolor-> then apply the different red tones and a bit of orange into the hair line and take it down slightly, with that we create the effect that the forehead pieces kind of blends into the hair and we don't have abrupt harsh edges between hair line and silicone piece
• when you are happy with the hair and the overall face ask model to tuck down(or in) her t-shirt and bra straps so they are not visible anymore
• then cover the shirt with a towel->to protect the shirt as well to see until where you will apply the latex and food colouring
• first apply the latex; I find it is easier just to apply it with your fingers as it starts to immediately pick up when I try to apply it with a sponge
• when you covered the area you wanted let it completely dry and make sure nothing gets on it like hair or the towel
• when dry stipple on the red food colouring and create a shiny kind of transparent texture
• let it dry
• when everything is ready put the blue fishing net around her shirt and one arm->create trapped look
• take final images!

Afterwards:

• help model get off the silicone pieces by using ProClean and get some cleanser, toner or Makeup wipes and clean her face
• ask her to take out the contact lenses
• wash and blow dry her hair
• clean up your work place->wipe surface with flash wipes
• spray your palette with antibacterial Makeup spray

Quick update on Hybrid design

Yes this will be a quite short post but I think it is important to note those things.

As I was running out of silicone and had general silicone problems(it wouldn't dry) I had to cancel my actual model to come down for my assessment. I also have to postpone my assessment because of that. And she hasn't got time on the day I am doing my assessment now so I will need to find a new model.







-> new model found.But I will have to redo my sculpture as her face shape is very different to my first model -.-'' Also my new model has long and very straight hair so I will need to change my hair design. I probably could still do a marcel wave but I know her hair and waves or curls usually don't stay in and I doubt I have the time to keep being troubled with her hair during my assessment. So I will just sleek back her hair and make is look wet and maybe a bit slimy.

Designing my hybrid

After deciding that the Vampire squid will be my other element I started thinking what key characteristics it has that I could use to mix with my human.

I did a drawing of the vampire squid with chalk just to get a better understanding myself  how it is build and what colours to use.

And I thought I could definitely build in the red skin into my design. But it hasn't got just one red tone so I will have to mix an play around with colours. I think it is important to actually try and do it first to see if the design is actually working the way I want it. I also decided to use a silicone piece to make the forehead bigger, rounder and outstanding.The vampire had a quite big, smooth and round forehead so I think that would be a nice effect. But that means I will have to measure my models head first to get the exact measurements otherwise the silicone piece won't fit later. I will also get bright blue contact lenses to make the blue eyes more outstanding. The vampire squid has really huge blue eyes and I want to recreate them. Also i think it is inevitable to do that because otherwise her eyes will look to small because of the massive forehead piece. And I still want her face to look balanced. As for the rest of the body I thought I could start painting it in red and then see what else I could do. As for the her I was thinking to do a marcel wave as it could portray the movements of the water-> waves. My model already has short curly hair so I think it shouldn't be too difficult to do it.

-> it is really hard to draw it because I don't know how to bring in the dimensions from the silicone pieces if it shows the front of the face^^ So now it looks more like an alien^^

I just did a drawing of what I think my hybrid could look like and I also decided to do silicone pieces for the cheeks which will enhance the cheek area. If I only do the forehead piece I think it would look too massive and unbalanced. I also was thinking to flatten the nose but I will have to see if I have enough time to do all of that. What I will also do is that the colour will get darker and more intense  going outwards the face.

Cheek pieces

-> I did two different sizes to see which one is working better

Forehead piece

I ask my model to measure her forehead and her measurements were 17x8cm ( she has a massive forehead!!^^)

It took quite long to do the forehead piece as you need to build up the height. But what else is there to do when you can't sleep at 2 am. Just do sculptures^^. To get the slight curve around the eye area I actually put some cling film on my face and applied heated up clay onto it to get kind of the shape I needed. Also I wanted to see how it would look like. I did look a bit weird but well we will see:) But otherwise I quite enjoyed doing the sculptures, It is something very relaxing to do still you have to focus.It's nice. But the thing that took me the longest was to create the walls with clay for the silicone. That's absolutely no fun.



I was just thinking a bit more about the clothes I want my hybrid to wear and because I want to show a lot of skin I will ask my model to wear a black bandeau top. I also need to see what I will do with the colour of her hair. As she keeps dyeing her hair in various colours at the moment I may need to cover them over with a coloured spray or supercolor

Research for my hybrid+ chosen element

When we got the task to create our own hybrid I started thinking about the elements that could influence it and also thought about hybrids that already existed.
I really love water, I especially feel free and calm when I sit in front of the ocean and just watch the waves going back and forth. That's when I decided that my main element will be water. More specifically the Ocean. But I decided to create a hybrid that comes from the deep sea as this part of the ocean is barely known and there is still so much to discover. This will also give me more freedom when creating my hybrid because you never know what's really down there.

I started thinking how I could combine a human with something from the deep sea. I was just playing around with some ideas and thought I could create a silicone piece and apply it to the shoulder and in it add some corals. But for that idea to work I first need to check of there are actually corals that deep down. I am not entirely sure because in those depths the water is quite full of sulfur and it could maybe be poisonous for corals but I will definitely get information about that. Then I could also make the skin very slimy and add some special contact lenses to make my hybrid look blind. I thought that would be a good idea as the creatures living in the deep sea don't need to have proper vision as there is no light down there. So the eyes are not adapted to sunlight. Another idea would be to add gills. But then again that's probably something a lot of people will do if they choose something living in water. And I want to create something more different. I also thought about creating a wound on my hybrids body that shows black blood coming out of it which I could link to octopuses ink. But here again I would need to check what kind of octopuses live in the deep sea. Those are all just some random ideas but hopefully after watching some good documentaries about the deep sea and deep sea creatures I will have a clearer vision for my hybrid design.




For my research I watched documentaries about deep sea creatures for hours on you tube. And I found a really good one which also helped me to clarify some of my questions I had when brainstorming my first ideas but it actually also helped me choose the animal I want to use for my hybrid. The documentary is called "Creatures Of The Deep Ocean - Documentary" but unfortunately I just noticed that it was deleted on YouTube -.- That's a bit annoying as I wanted to add it into this post but I found some other short videos about my chosen animal.
When watching this documentary I learned about the Vampyroteuthis infernalis which is more commonly known as Vampire squid or Vampire squid from hell. I never heard about it before and it is really mesmerizing and just so beautiful!

But first let me show you this beautiful creature.

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->vampire squid using bioluminescent

Some Videos:

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Some facts about the Vampire squid:

• lives in depth below 600 -1200 meters deep
• slow metabolism
• lives in oxygen minimum zones
• can be found in the tropical deep sea regions world wide
• is around 30cm long
• female longer than male
• is either a squid nor a octopus but fundamental structures are similar ->comes from a line of  Cephalopoda which would later divide into 10 limbed squid and 8 limbed octopuses 
• are living fossils
• can have a range of colours from black to red( deep red) depending on light
• have big blue or red eyes, depending on light again
• to big fins on top of their head that actually look like big ears
• eat 'marine snow' which is dead (fish)body parts coming from the surface, fish poop ->don't eat living animals
• have only suckers on the end of their arms, have 8 arms which are connecting by webbing
• turn inside out when threatened 
• use bioluminescent  mucus do draw away attention of enemy so they can flee
• have also bioluminescent on their body and two big round circles which look like their eyes( but are not)

A bit of background story to my vampire squid human  hybrid.

Because it is the deep sea I was thinking that a human vampire squid hybrid could be found in a lost city underwater. Because if we think about we don't really know what is down there so a lot would be possible. As an example you could use Atlantis. I watched some documentaries about Atlantis to see of the location would fit with the natural habitat of the vampire squid but unfortunately the exact location wasn't found yet. But there are some speculation. So that's why I decided to make my own underwater city which would fit with the natural habitat. And there my human vampire quid people live.

Hybrids in Mythology

When I thought about hybrids one of the first things that came in my mind were mythical creatures and deities and gods from different cultures. The first thing I was thinking about were the Egyptian gods where a lot of the gods are all half human half animal, making it a hybrid. Of course there are also gods which consist of different animals only. But I will make a list and show a few from each.

Egyptian half human/ animal and animal hybrids

Sphinx 

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lion body, human head, sometimes even with bird wings

Anubis (protector of the dead)

Khepri (god of rebirth)

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human body, scarab beetle head

Khnum (god of water and creation)

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 human body, ram head

Ra ( sun god)

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human body, hawk head

Thoth ( god of knowledge)

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human body, ibis head

 Meretseger ( goddes of tomb builders and protector of royal tombs)

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human body, cobra head

Ammit ( soul eater- not a god but demon)

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head of crocodile, front legs and upper body from lion/leopard and back of a hippo

Then there are the typical hybrids we already know like,

Unicorns

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In some stories you can also find unicorns with horns

The Neverending Story

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Fuchur the lucky dragon->by the way Fuchur is the German name and I like it much more than the English version

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as it said it is a lucky dragon I would say it is a hybrid with a dragon body(kind of as he is very fury) and a dogs head

Percy Jackson Series

Satyr- Grover

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half goat, half  human

Minotaur

body of human, head of bull

Manticore

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this one is half lion half scorpion but when you google manticore you can also find some version with wings and a more human like face

Hippocampus

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upper half of a horse, lower half of a fish

Medusa

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female body with snakes as hair

other Greek hybrids

Siren

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fish like woman and similar to a mermaid

Harpy

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half bird, half woman

Drakaina

woman with dragon features

Cerberus

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three headed dog with mane of serpents, also known as hellhounds
You can find a cerberus (Fluffy) in Harry Potter as well^^


Chimera

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mixture between lion, snake(or dragon) and goat

Other mythical hybrids

Hippogriff

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front of an eagle and back of a horse

Cecaelia

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half woman, half octopus

I have to say after I watched the little mermaid as a kid I was really worried as my grandmum's name is also Ursula and I thought she was the evil witch from the little mermaid^^

Qilin (China)

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head of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the scales of a fish, the hooves of an ox, and the tail of a lion; there is also a Japanese version

Yali (Hindu)

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head of a lion, the tusks of an elephant, the body of a cat, and the tail of a serpent

Skvader(Sweden)

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body of a hare and wings and tail of a wood grouse (female one)

Narasimha

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human body with lion head

Ganesha (Hindu)

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elephant headed god

Nüwa (China)

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half women, half serpent

Angel

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half human, half bird