Sculpture - More Xombie Progress

More progress on this sculpture commission - he's almost done and ready for painting!

If you notice he has no toes/feet, there's a reason for that! :) I like to keep the feet as plain stubs until after I bake--super sculpey is so soft sometimes, its easier to bake in stages and then add more detail. I'll do the same thing with his tail, adding more bulk to it after its had a preliminary baking. :) Its on the 'ratty' side right now, no good!

I should have more photos, of the baked and painted version of Xombie, soon. :)

WIP, plus a few sculpting tips

Here's a close-up shot of a work-in-progress for a client on Etsy, of her American Pit Bull Terrier, Xombie. I really like how his expression turned out. :) I need to add his bottom teeth and his tongue, but its a good start.

You can see a bit of the foil armature at the bottom of the photo--I typically start with a base of foil and/or wire, depending on the size of the sculpture, and the structures I need to create. Stocky shapes are usually just foil, while thinner ones are a base of wire and foil. For example, Xombie's whole body/head is foil, while his forelimbs are wire with a few layers of foil on the outside.

I'll take more photos as I go along (right now only this fellow's head/face is in any sort of 'finished' state), and explain my process a little more, over the next few days.

Happy Monday, everyone! Have a great week. :)

Sophia, monster-ized!

Jenny over at My London Flat Couture commissioned me to 'monster-ize' her pup, Sophia! I think it turned out pretty cute. :) This was completely digital! Please click the image for a bigger version, so annoying when blogger shrinks things down so much!

I can do a rendition of your pet/favorite animal in a similar style for $35. You will get a web-sized image, and the original high resolution 5"x7" 300 DPI image to print.

Please email me (shelly[at]shellyrodriguez.com) if you're interested, or have any questions. :)

Yummy Beef Stew

photo & recipe from marthastewart.com
I made this beef stew for the two of us late last week--and it turned out WONDERFULLY! That, and its pretty nice to come home when its dark and chilly outside, to know that you have a hearty meal waiting for you. :) Martha Stewart's recipes have never let me down, they're always so delicious. :)

I'll be making another soup/stew tonight - the last of the stew is coming with us to work, so we'll need something new for dinner... what can I say, the cold makes me lazy! ;)
--
Ingredients

Serves 6

* 3 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of visible fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
* 1/3 cup tomato paste
* 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 pound medium onions (about 2), cut into 1-inch chunks
* 1 pound small white or red new potatoes (about 6), well scrubbed, halved if large
* 1 pound carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
* 6 garlic cloves, smashed
* 2 bay leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a Dutch oven (5-quart) with a tight-fitting lid, combine beef, tomato paste, vinegar, and flour; season with salt and pepper.
2. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and, if desired, season with salt and pepper before serving.
3. Slow-Cooker Variation:
Place beef in a 5-quart slow cooker. Distribute tomato paste, vinegar, and flour over beef; season generously with salt and pepper. Add onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, and bay leaves. Cover slow cooker; cook on high until beef is fork-tender, about 5 hours (or cook on low heat 8 hours).

Time for a poll!

Please take a few minutes to fill out this poll about tee shirts & designs, I would really appreciate it! :)

I'm featured in a Treasury West! :D

There's my pinkie monster, top row & center! You can see the rest of the treasury here.

How fun! :D I'm pretty excited, its my first time being featured in a treasury!

IKEA!

Ah, the land of cheap, yet stylish goods... we're going to be decorating a bit this weekend!

People with license plates from Nevada and other surrounding states are usually in the parking lot. Its so crazy how people make a pilgrimage to this store, but at the same time I can understand it. ;)

I'll finally be buying some better lighting for my art area, and some wall organizing stuff, as well. Its intended for kitchens, but I can easily see bottles of paint, scissors, sculpting tools and other things hanging within easy reach of my desk. :)

I think these will work perfectly--right now all my acrylic craft paints are in a sad little shoebox, and I usually keep my brushes in a plastic party cup. It works 'ok', but it takes up a lot of space on my small art desk! Thankfully the things I'll be discarding in the organization bonanza can be reused/recycled. :)

I'll take photos once everything is up~! :) I should have some art to post this weekend as well, been working on new stuff for my etsy store!

Voting day in the US!

This is probably the most important election of our generation. Please do NOT 'not vote'- exercise your privilege as an an American!

Our country needs change, and you can help. History could be made today, folks...

What I've Been Playing: Little Big Planet

I love, love, LOVE this game!

The concept of "Play, create, share," is wonderful to me. Although I haven't created any levels yet (the mood hasn't struck), playing through the levels created by other users is actually a lot of fun.

I've stuck mostly to the story mode, and have enjoyed it immensely. The settings for each group of 3-4 levels is really inspired, drawing on cultures, cities and geographical areas around the world.

The game is played with a 2D camera, and because of this the gameplay is very reminiscent of old 2D platformer games on the Nintendo/Super Nintendo & Sega Genesis, but with amazing 3D graphics in place of tiny, pixelated sprites.

You control a 'sackboy' (which can easily be transformed in to a sackgirl via accessories), and you are given almost limitless options to customize them. Fabric patterns for your 'skin', wigs, glasses, hats, dresses and jackets, even a lion's mane, ears and tail!

Your character starts out looking like everyone elses', brown, with a silver zipper, big button eyes and a happy face. But upon playing with the controller for a few seconds, pressing any button on the d-pad gives you a whole range of emotions--happy, sad, scared, angry--and different intensities.

As you play through the game, you unlock various objects to use in the level building mode, as well as stickers (used to unlock more items or secret areas), and of course, more clothing items for your sackperson.

This is one game where I feel really compelled to get 100% in all the levels, for all objectives (finishing a level, collecting all items, and finishing a level without losing a life). Each objective is rewarded with a gold icon to denote that you've completed the task, as well as even more items & accessories.

In summary - I want to stay home all week and play this game, until I've gotten everything they've hidden away in each one of the beautiful levels. I can't remember the last time that happened...

P.S: Like I just mentioned to Xavi, if Sony ever decided to sell physical sackpeople with oodles of accessories, even at the age of 24 I would buy them up (and play with them!), no question. They are too adorable for their own good!

Little Big Planet is for the Sony Playstation 3.