Midztoyz: Let's make TOYz!

Let's sculpt: An Elf bust

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 08:35:00 PDT

New speed sculpting video! This time I did a speed sculpt of a manga-style elf bust. The material used was soft wax clay. I'm aiming for a more moe-fied look. I did this sketch in about 10 minutes. I will do a more 'realistic' take on the same subject in the next video.

This kind of videos is much easier to produce than a full on 'tutorial'. This is good because I can make more videos faster. So be sure to tune in next week!

Takayuki Takeya works documentary

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 20:13:00 PDT

If you're a fan of Takayuki Takeya, sculpting or design in general you need to see this. It's a pity that it's not subtitled for international audience.

Midztoyz di Jakarta Toyfair 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:35:00 PST

*This post is in Bahasa Indonesia*

Midztoyz akan hadir di lapak B92 dalam acara Jakarta Toys Fair 2013 yang akan berlangsung 9-10 Maret di Balai Kartini, Jakarta. Akan ada penawaran khusus untuk produk MwaxZ dan MpoxZ juga lho. Kalau sempat jangan lupa mampir ye!

Kunjungi juga meja Komunitas Sculptor Indonesia tepat diseberang Midztoyz.

Monster Girls Creature sculpts series!

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 03:48:00 PST

One of my new year resolution is to sculpt more this year (and get more commissions done). So to start that off I promise myself to make a new figure every 2 weeks, more or less. I have this idea of making Monster Girls creature sculpts since back in 2007. So I thought this was a great time to get the project going.

Currently I've sculpted 2 monster girls. The first one was Harpy and the second one was Nagja the gorgon. These and future sculpts will be made using my MwaxZ S sculpting wax. I will be sharing my method and technique in making them in this blog, Midztoyz facebook page and my tumblr blog. I usually update my tumblr blog first and then compile the posts there in this blog. I will also be making more videos on this, although not as a weekly scheduled upload like I previously intended. Producing weekly videos is a large undertaking.

More pictures of Harpy and Nagja the Gorgon after the break.
Enjoy!

Harpy turnaround

Monster Girl #1 Harpy

Nagja the Gorgon

Nagja general shape up

This is the first sketch of Nagja. In this stage I shape the basic pose and silhouette of the sculpt. During the sculpting process, I change the pose of the arms and snake body quite a lot.

Detailing the scales

You'll notice the difference shape of the snake body since I have to scrap the previous one and start from scratch. For making the scales on her body I used a wire mesh as a stamp. I first heat the surface with a butane torch and then carefully stamp the mesh along the body. I did this on a straight snake body which I then bend to give a serpentine look.

Here is the 'final' shots of Nagja. It's not really finished yet. I'm still adding details and refining the sculpts a lot more. But For this stage, I'll call it finished...for now. The egg Nagja is holding was design by Randall Newnham. Check out his blog post about it.

Nagja detail shot

Nagja turnaround

That's it for this post. I'll be making a new Monster Girl starting Monday. If you're interested in following the making of it, do check out my tumblr blog where I'll be posting daily progress of the sculpt.

Happy sculpting!

How to Make a Wax Model with Elenor Crook

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:55:00 PST

Very interesting video of artist Elenor Crook, a sculptor specialising in wax anatomical and surgical models, demonstrates a few of the techniques employed when making a wax model. She use a very brilliant technique in making skin texture. Watch it and you'll see.

Let's sculpt something: Wings & feathers

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 07:52:00 PST

New video tutorial is finally up! This time we'll be sculpting feathers on a wing. As usual, I used MwaxZ sculpting wax for this demo. I learn how to do this from reading this article on sculpting bird wing. I recommend you check out the fur tutorial too. If you've been following my tumblr blog , you'll recognize this as the wings for my current Harpy sculpt.

Sorry for the lateness. Making a weekly video is harder than I expected. Be sure to check back next Saturday for another new video!

HOW TO SCULPT A DRAGON ATTACKING IN MID FLIGHT - MONSTER MONTH - DAY 17

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:32:00 PST

Cesar Dacol Jr. is the man! Look at him sculpting this big-ass dragon. DANG!

5 Tips to Be a Successful Artist!

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:58:00 PST

Set your mindset to be a successful artist. Leonardo really nailed the points here, if you're an artist or doing art and want to achieve more from your artwork, watch this!

Mid

I'm sorry I can't keep my promise of uploading a new video yesterday. Still haven't finished it yer. The video will be up soon though.

Midztoyz Tumblr blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:20:00 PST

I've set up a Tumblr blog for midztoyz. It's a very fast and convenient place to share my newest (and some old) works. I often times post WIPs there and then compile those posts in this www.midztoyz.com. So do visit http://www.tumblr.com/blog/frikimidz and follow me if you like.

As promised there will be new video every week on our youtube channel. This week video will be up by Friday.

Cheers and happy sculpting!

Sketch from the past: Pirlouit/ Peewit

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 20:39:00 PST

Sometimes a commission just never works out. This is one of those time. Several years ago I was contacted to make a 4" figure of Pirlouit (Peewit if you're in the states) for a client. I got as far as this sketch before abandoning the project. That project taught me the importance of making a contract and NEVER work on spec.
Lesson learned, experience get, bussiness skill level up.

More pictures after the break.

The sketch was done using soft wax. I copy the look from a smurf toy which has the same general shape and form to Pirlouit. I might revisit this and other pieces in the coming weeks.

Zbrush Sculpting - Gray Elf 02

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 20:11:00 PST

More and more sculptor are now moving to a digital medium. With the advancement in 3d printing technology, that is a natural progression. Still the basic skill sets are the same, just the medium changes. Traditional and digital sculptors are still sculptors and the best thing is, we can all learn from one another.
In this video youtube user zbro z demonstrate how to sculpt the elf body in zbrush. I like this because I used a similar method in sculpting the torso. Don't forget to check out his other videos on the channel.

Happy sculpting!

Recasting now with English Caption!

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:21:00 PST

Today my channel has been promoted to Youtube Partner. YAY! With this comes a new resolution of having more videos regularly uploaded, hopefully, at least one every week. Though this is not a new video, I've captioned this video in English so more people can enjoy and learn from it. Turn the CC on!

So See you next week for a new Midztoyz video!

Side project: SIC Denpa Hime head sculpt

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:06:00 PST

This is a side project of mine. I always like the design of SIC figures. But the head sculpt of Tackle leaves something to be desired. So I made a bishoujo style head sculpt for it. I called it Denpa Hime (electric wave princess). I based it on the appearance of Tackle in the Decade Movie. If you thought that the face looked similar with a certain character from One piece, that was no coincidence. I use the POP Nico Robin to model the face.
More pictures and story on the making of this after the break.

The project started as a sketch. This was done using my softest wax, MwaxZ E. It's like a practice run, seeing how things comes together. After getting the shape right I resculpted the head in my harder wax, MwaxZ L. The harder wax made it easier to add in details without the worry of deformation.

Head study

Hair test

Final wax sculpt

The next step was to transfer the wax sculpt to a more permanent material. Unfortunately I didn't document the process. To sum it up here's what I did.
Using epoxy putty, I used MpoxZ, I made a 2 part mold of the head. Then I cast the head by pushing epoxy putty into the mold. The cast needs cleaning up, but because it's done in epoxy putty you can sand, grind, and smooth it. So I did and the I painted with acrylic paint.

Something's off with the eyes, so I repainted the eyes and top coat it in matt varnish. I also use some washes to further blend the skin tone and made it richer. All in all, it's a fun side project to do. And it made me realize that I need to learn more on painting, especially blending with acrylic paint.

Denpa Hime painted

Repainted the eyes

Denpa Hime painted v2

That's it for now.
There are some new material in the coming weeks. One of them the tutorial/guide that I've promised many moons ago. Thanks for reading and happy sculpting!

Video: Roquelaine Cyril

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:26:00 PST

Another great video of sculpting a bust by the artist Roquelaine Cyril. Be sure to check out his channel. He uses Monster Clay, which is a wax and oil based sculpting medium, much like MwaxZ.

100.000 views get! New tutorial coming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:52:00 PST

According to blogger's page views count, Midztoyz has been viewed more than 100.000 times! That's a lot of views.
As thanks to all my viewers, I'm going to post some fresh tutorial on making anime figures. For real this time. Check back this Wednesday to catch the first part of the tutorial.

Thanks again and happy sculpting!

Sculpting The Face - Webinar with Ryan Kingslien

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 06:50:00 PST

A great insight in sculpting, not just using zbrush, but in general. Ryan Kingslien talk about the basics of becoming a better sculptor. It's kinda long, but so worth it.
hhhhl;'

Let's sculpt ana anime figure! Basic armature and legs

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 04:33:00 PST

The next video on the 'Let's make an anime figure!' series. This time it's about making a simple wire armature and sculpting the legs. As usual I use MwaxZ sculpting wax for this demo. Check out our tutorial videos too!
Enjoy!

Video baru dari seri 'Ayo bikin figur anime!'. Kali ini cara membuat rangka sederhana dan kaki. Seperti biasa saya menggunakan MwaxZ. Jangan lupa untuk menonton video tutorial lainnya ye.
Selamat menikmati.

Ol' Man Goblin

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 06:56:00 PDT

An original sculpture demonstration and time lapse movie of Ol' Man Goblin by Kenshiro Suzuki. It's really awe inspiring to see video like this.

Jello molds

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:42:00 PDT

How to make gelatin reusable mold! Thanks to Youtube user PhilipStephens007
This is great for small parts but sadly not very wax friendly.
Thia

Let's make an Anime Figure! The Arm & Hand

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:40:00 PDT

The long overdue video on sculpting the arm and hand. In this video I share my technique in sculpting the arm and hand. The material used was MwaxZ L, my homebrew modeling wax. This is a reinterpertation of Fionna from Adventure Time episode, "Fionna and Cake".

Fionna Anime Figure WIP

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 10:06:00 PDT

Been a while. Sharing a new sculpt of Fionna from Adventure time in anime bishoujo style. It starts as a practice, but it looked good so I put more work into it.

More pictures after the jump

More pics on Fionna. This Fionna figure is sculpted in MwaxZ Cor, my homebrew modeling wax. Ejoy!

Sculpting The Hand by Philippe Faraut

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 02:15:00 PDT

Sculptor Philippe Faraut shows a step-by-step method on sculpting the hand. This technique works great when making your own anime figurines.

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Recasting dengan MwaxZ dan MpoxZ

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:00:00 PDT

Tutorial recasting menggunakan MwaxZ dan MpoxZ. Akhirnya jadi juga video ini. Video ini adalah awal dari seri tutorial Midztoyz dalam teknik penggunaan produk MwaxZ, modeling wax dan MpoxZ, epoxy putty

Selamat menyaksikan!

Selamat

Monster Model Review #143 Tim Bruckner Sculptor - Author - Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 07:48:00 PDT

One of my sculpting heroes did an interview with Monster Model. I have always admire Tim Bruckner's sculpts. If you collect action figures, you might have some of his works in your collection. Don't forget to check his book, Pop Sculpture.

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Making of Lin Beifong figure

noreply@blogger.com (Edsa Abdurahman) — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:58:00 PDT

Hello everyone!

I've been busy these past months and haven't given this blog much attention concerning posts. That and I'm still just so dang lazy.

For this post I like to share what I've been doing in my spare time in the last few days. I've been a fan of Avatar the last air bender, you can see from the many (unfinished) sculpt projects I started. I will get around to finishing them... hopefully in this lifetime. Anyway, there is now a new sequel to the series and like any other ATLA fan I gobble it up!

As you might expect I again start a sculpting project. This time it's for Lin Beifong, the daughter of Toph Beifong from the first series. She is awesome. So awesome that, since there isn't any new episode last weekend, I vow to myself to finish a Lin Beifong figure before the next episode. And so it starts...

It is now been 4 days since I started the project and it is coming along GREAT. I'm quite surprised myself. Those time working in wee hours in the last few days really paid off. That goes to show if you have the will and motivation you can achieve almost anything. Here is the full gallery for your viewing pleasure.

The figure stands 7 inches and is made from my new blend of modeling wax called MwaxZ-Cor. It is not made out of chocolate. It is actually red, but the camera didn't capture it quite right.

All that is left is detailing and smoothing the figure. My goal was to have a finished wax figure by the Saturday june 2nd, and I think I achieve that goal. Now I'm thinking to cast it and paint it too.

I've started a tumblr blog for this (and hopefully other projects) at http://www.tumblr.com/blog/midzfigureworks
It's updated daily at around 23.00 WIB (GMT+7), at least for this current project.