Jonathan Hoffman Maquettes

Another fuzzy viking guy

2011-01-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

Latest sculpt for Josh from my work. Fuzzy liddle guy.

New Sculpt

2010-12-21T00:44:00.001-08:00

This one was fun because I really enjoyed the whole process of character creation. You can visit my digital painting blog to see the original design.

Pele (finally!)

2010-10-18T01:11:00.000-07:00

After wrestling with different ideas to light this sculpture, after attempting a couple of sculpted heads, I decided that this project couldn't be done proper justice with sculpii. If I used UV light to make it glow I couldn't have gotten the nice, rich reds (UV light makes reds go pink) and if I used internal LEDs to light it then I'd never have gotten an even glow, nor could I light delicate things like fingers or arms. I'd been meaning to learn Zbrush anyway, so this project provided a great opportunity to do so. It's been a major battle, taking far longer than a physical sculpture would have taken me - and these renders are a product of 6 different software packages (Zbrush, Maya, Modo, Photoshop, Painter and UVLayout). Yowza. The renders have very little doctoring in photoshop, mostly I used Painter and Photoshop for creating and applying the textures you see on the model.

Voting Closed

2010-06-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

We have our Winner! Thanks again for all of you artists and your entries - it was a close race and there's a good chance I'll end up doing more than one of these designs. but first up, I get to do Brittney Lee's - It will likely be a few months before I'll have it ready, due in part to the fact that the technical challenges of this piece will be very large. But they should be interesting to work out - I'm debating right now whether or not I want to try to light her internally or externally with UV lights pointed at phosphorescent red\orange clay. Externally gives me a more even\smooth spread of the glow, while internally lighting gives me a more vibrant\accurate color of glow, though I'll have hot spots where the leds are seated. Hmm.

Huntress

2010-04-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

So here is my latest sculpt - no LEDs, but there is a little bit of slime and drool, so that makes up for it... well, almost it does.

Sorry mom, this one's a bit violent for me, I know. Here's the clip from the story (Book 2, Prometheus Fire)

"Asharadel wrenched her bow free from the hard packed soil. The carved steel of the blades glinted in the blazing sunlight, one of them wet with the Tamarak's violet blood. The creature's bulky body lay a few yards away, the mass of limbs and spikes finally still with death. The terror of the battle, the adrenaline, the thrill of the hunt all slowly drained from her, leaving her body weary and exhausted. But the beast was dead, and that realization suddenly burned bright within her. She had done it, and she lived.
Elder Aoselan still stood on the stony outcropping twenty yards away, flowing robes a bleached bone-gray that seemed to glow in the sunlight. The shadow of his hood hid his expression, and Asharadel could not see if he was pleased or angered that she had done what none said she could. Slowly the man raised his staff, signaling the final form of the ceremony.
Asharadel strode to the body, grasping the Tamarak's severed head by the scruff of the neck with her gauntleted hand. Every muscle in her body ached from the long hunt, and the many scars crisscrossing her plague-ravaged arm burned with the exertion of hefting the thing. She lifted the trophy, the mark of her right to stand among the Hunters, forcing her expression to remain calm as she regarded Elder Aoselan. This was her right, her heritage.
For a moment the Elder regarded her from beneath the shadows of his hood. Finally, wordlessly, he lowered his staff, bowing his head just enough for the light to brush across his brow. It was finished."

Please continue to submit your designs! I'm excited by what I've received so far. To those of you who have sent me your work, thank you so much! I will post the different designs and open it up for voting by the beginning of may.

Silvester and the Cupcake

2010-02-20T17:34:00.001-08:00

So - All you folks who read my blog (if any of you are out there) I want to know what story this sculpture inspires for you when you see it. Please comment and tell me why you think he's crying, and what the cupcake has to do with anything. So far I've gotten a few delightful ideas from people who have seen it in person, and I'm curious what everyone here might come up with. Perhaps when I've gotten a few responses I'll write what I had in mind when I drew him up.

Terec

2010-01-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a villian I just completed, from my latest book.

New Elrae Shots

2009-12-21T22:55:00.001-08:00

Here are a few shots of Elrae, taken now that I have her back and Jim has finished the electronics. Thanks Jim!!

Zak - finished

2009-09-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

So, despite this guy turning out alright, I'm still very very frustrated that he doesn't match the original design very well. If you go to my painting blog, you'll see the original design - which to me is much more appealing than the final sculpture. The legs ended up way too stumpy, and the head just too big and not shaped quite right. The sculpture is cute, but it just could have been better had I followed the design better. This is a frustration I've had time and time again - almost with every single sculpture. Guess I'm doing something wrong.

latest work on Elrae

2009-08-21T12:47:00.001-07:00

So here's some progress shots and the final look for Elrae. Unfortunately we had a tragic electronics failure, and Jim and I will be working over the next couple months to replace the circuit board.

Random Sculpt

2009-05-11T21:45:00.001-07:00

This is my latest - just a random sculpt I did while I was waiting for parts from Jim for the Elrae sculpt. I wanted to try doing just normal looking clothes for once - it turned out that T-shirts are incredibly hard. Also I'd been wanting to try glasses- and these ones were really tricky. The lenses are cut out from a 2 liter soda bottle :)

Sculpt of Ryan Woodward's 'Soldier'

2009-02-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

here's a quick one I did with Casteline. (since my sculpture studio is in my bedroom I haven't been able to bring myself to use CM-50. The smell of sulfur permeating your room when you're trying to sleep at night isn't pleasant.) The design is Ryan Woodward's: he taught my character design class back at BYU, and is an amazing artist. You can see more of his work on www.ryanwoodwardart.com

Quar

2009-02-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of commissioned pieces I did for a coworker who saw my sculpts at the Pixar craft fair. They're larger versions of a line of pewter game pieces (you can see the originals at www.zombiesmith.com)

The many faces of Elrae

2008-11-30T01:20:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been following this blog for over a year, you'll recognize this character. Her name is Elrae, and I've been trying to do a sculpt of her since last october\november. Each of these six heads have been created since that time, starting with the earliest in the upper left and the most recent in the bottom right. I really despise #1,3,4, and 5 - and I may have decided to use 2 if she didn't look so ugly from the profile (besides the fact that that head was too large).
This final head used to have the eyes looking down and to the left to give a more 'sultry' sort of expression. It didn't work.
The fact that I've done this head so many times is just a testament to my rampant perfectionism. I've also wanted to do LEDS with this one from the start, and Jim is currently working on getting the circuitry ready to make this sculpt more awesome than many experts thought humanly possible. So now hopefully I'll be able to proceed with and finish the sculpture (and keep my fingers crossed I don't accidentally break off those eyelashes somewhere in the process...oi!)

Rylan

2008-11-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

My latest sculpt: Rylan, the main character from my story. This sculpture turned out to be somewhat disappointing - not only due to a few mistakes I made that resulted in some firing problems (he cracked in a few places) But also I'm miffed that his expression and pose didn't turn out a more appealing. My meticulous detailing of his clothes doesn't really make up for the fact that his face is a little funny.

Nurk

2008-09-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

This little fellow is called a Nurk. He's a domestic pest, typically residing between the washer and dryer (though they also have been known to nest behind dressers and under beds). His primary diet consists of socks (though he will only consume one per pair). However, specimens have also been observed grazing on ties, bobby-pins, pencils and pens, etc. Nurks generally avoid clean, well-kept spaces, preferring instead messy and cluttered homes to build thier dens. In such an environment they have also been known to snatch shiny objects such as keys or glasses and hide them at random (there is only one documented case of a Nurk actually eating a pair of glasses. Keys free of keychains, however, are more easy pray for a Nurk's insatiable appetite).

Who broke my broom?

2008-09-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd show a little more of my process on this one. Again, this is with CM-50, and this one took me about 12 hours. I'd spend more time polishing and adding detail, but I'm trying to keep if rough to mimic the Pixar process (they typically keep theirs relatively rough, though probably not as rough as these).

Icarus

2008-09-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

So this one is obviously a lot more rough than my typical piece. It took a little under 8 hours from start to finish, and it's my first try using Chavant's CM-50, the hard styling clay the sculptors at Pixar use. It's good stuff, but it'll take me a little while to get the hang of it.

Aryah Finished

2008-06-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

So - Here she is from a bunch of angles. Hope everyone likes her - There's a few things I would do differently if I were to start again (as always when I'm done with such a long project) but overall I'm pleased with how she turned out. Thanks so much Jim for the circuitry and getting the light in Aryah's hands - this sculpt's pose depends on the lights and how much interest they add to the character.

Aryah

2008-05-05T18:50:00.001-07:00

Here's Aryah's head... The rest is coming along in the next couple weeks.

Sucker

2008-04-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

This is a character\creature that was genetically engineered as a janitor. His concept painting is on my painting blog (www.jonpaint.blogspot.com).

2008-03-09T17:53:00.001-07:00

So, as you can see- this latest sculpt has a bunch of LEDs - they're actually going to be animated too, but Jim is still working on programming the micro chip that runs the animation. I'll get some high quality photos next week with proper lighting and backdrop and such - but I'm really excited for this one so I snapped a few this morning to post.

2008-01-17T21:17:00.000-08:00

Okay all - so which one would you be more interested in me sculpting the full body? I've got concept art for each piece on my paintings blog, take a look:www.jonpaint.blogspot.com

Mirel

2008-01-05T15:43:00.001-08:00

This character is the antagonist from my story: Mirel Terasireon. My brother commissioned me to make this sculpture for my sister in law Angie - It's a remake of an original that sold from the BYU bookstore in 07. My brother Jim was the mastermind behind the LEDs for the blade, (they even pulse when you switch them on) which is really a nice touch for this piece. I also strayed away from my 'clay only' rule, and used some auto-body chrome spray for the blade and the base. Who doesn't like shiny stuff?

Rylan

2008-01-05T15:37:00.001-08:00

This character is the protagonist from my story - though I can't say I'm 100% enthusiastic about the way the sculpture turned out (especially his face). His figure was originally done from a study from my figure sculpture class, and our model was sorta short and stumpy. Rylan is supposed to be beefy, but I think he's a little too squat in this rendition.

Quick sculpt

2007-10-18T15:28:00.001-07:00

This is a sculpt I did while at a local high-school renaissance festival. It was quick and dirty, but a fun little piece.

Hugo

2007-08-07T17:14:00.001-07:00

This is a commissioned piece I did recently for Shadow Mountain press. This is a character from the book 'FableHaven'. His name is Hugo, and he's described as being made from mud rocks and clay. I decided to go more with rocks than mud simply because I felt the form of the cracked and chipped rocks was more interesting than a sort of muddy clay look (which would have honestly been much easier considering the sculpture is in actuality made from clay).

Fairy Lantern

2007-08-07T17:10:00.001-07:00

In the book 'FableHaven', the Jack-O-Lanterns have fairies inside. I used 5 different colored LEDs in this lamp to give it a more magical look - And yes, there is actually a little translucent clay fairy inside the lamp. I was very pleased with how it came out. It's really quite stunning up close and in person. Thanks again for your electronics and wiring help, Jim

Hugo Details

2007-08-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some closeups

Angry Finhead

2007-07-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

I love the attitude of this character- like he's a grumpy old ... whatever he is. His attitude reflects how I felt when I made him a couple nights ago - I was unable to sleep, and rather grumpy about it, so I warmed up my casteline and went to town. The last two images were an attempt at taking the character's 1.5 inch tall face and making a larger version of it, with a different expression. It turned out alright, though for some reason the angry one doesn't capture that same lethargic, upset feeling of the earlier sculpt. Maybe his eyes are too open...I don't know. The top sculpt took about 5 or 6 hours, and the lower head about 2. The top sculpt is 9 inches tall - I created polymer clay eyes for both sculpts.

Nose

2007-07-14T18:21:00.001-07:00

This is a one hour face study I did this morning - After having seen Pixar's Ratatouille, I fell in love with all the fantastic character design - all the humans had stylized proportions in their faces, usually with one dominant feature like the forehead or the nose. So I got the disproportionate part down - but the 'making it look good' part that Pixar pulls off every time - yeah, didn't get that quite right. looks like I need some practice. At least it only took me an hour.

Bob

2007-06-18T12:07:00.001-07:00

This is my first attempt at using Casteline, which was both fun and frustrating for me. It took me about one third the amount of time one of my colored polymer clay sculptures takes (maybe a total of 6 hours for this one) . It was an improv piece from the beginning - also unlike my polymer clay work where I have to plan everything meticulously from the start - I figured since I'm just using one color of clay I might as well just make it up as i went. I couldn't resist using some of my home made polymer clay eyes on this one tho - it needed that sorta glazed over - wonky eyed look for the character.

2007-05-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Here's the sculpt with low key lighting so you could actually see the glow of the LED in the lamp. The sculpt is 11.5 inches tall, and what you see is 100% polymer clay (no paint!). There is of course armature wire running throughout - and a button battery in the base of the lamp for the LED.

2007-05-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest maquette - I've had some differing opinions given to me about it so far, not as positive as I could have hoped. I'm planning on reworking the thing hanging from her staff - I just got some LEDs in the mail and once I've gotten the proper resistors I can wire an actual light. This is a character from a story I've been working on for several years now - (I'll finish posting the actual narrative on Google Docs shortly - but it's over 166 pages so you probably wouldn't be interested in reading it anyway)

From a few Angles

2007-05-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

The main criticism I've had on this sculpture is the hair - I tried to go for something more intentional and stylized than I have in the past. If you want to see the sculpt from all angles go to www.JonathanHoffmanArt.com - you can rotate it around though it take a while to load the images.

Closeups

2007-05-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a closeup of the face, hands, and boots. I'm pleased with how all the details came out; and yes, those are fingernails on her hand. I think I like how blonde she looks (personality wise, I mean) as if she's in the middle of saying something rather unintelligent.

2007-05-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

Another character from my story, and believe it or not he's actually one of the good guys. My favorite part is the strands of saliva in his mouth.

Kites...

2007-05-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is the Grandpa Maquette for the 2008 BYU animation senior film. The working title for the film is "Kites". This is probably my best peice thus far- simple, with a lot of character.

2007-05-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

Some closeups of gramps. I love the subsurface scattering on his ears- a bit hard to see in these images.