Gosho Prep
Posted on January 30, 2008
Filed Under Art & Design
Phase 1 - Breakdown
After breaking down the doll into separate pieces, I began to primer. I knew that in the end I wanted the primer to remain in the final presentation. I felt the terracotta color was reminiscent of of older Asian collectible sculptures.
Idea Board
Now that I have a good base color to work from I go back to the drawing board to see what sorts of sketches I can come up with. I needed to determine other colors. In this sketch I did not consider all of the historical aspects of normal goshos - which were very pale skinned and even more elaborately adorned.
Even though I know I will deviate from the sketch, I move on to the green color that I believe will make the figure pop. After the paint was on and set, I felt it would make a better complimentary color. So I began to mask pattern and line details on the head. I will repainted this with a lighter color, then peel away my mask to reveal the green.
This keeps in line with my thought to tribute the book Siddhartha. I pictured a young prince leaving his home, looking toward the enlightened path. So hopefully the finished face of my Gosho has characteristics of enlightened change, while his clothing says royalty-displaying the dueling personalities of past and present.
At this stage I have several ideas in mind for details. As you can see by the dots on the green head. I do not know how I will translate the Buddhist imagery from my head to hands. I like the Tibetan/Hindu statue faces and I love the terracotta color of the primer. So it leaves me surrounded by many Asian art influences. I want to retain that wonderful warm primer color, but how much? I feel for this figure you really must have a balance of light and dark to keep it interesting. Plus I keep wanting to use with the pale skin color to get nearer to the porcelain look in the end.
Phase 2 - mask removal
After peeling away my masked areas I notice that the mid section feels slightly bland. This is when I decide to introduce the gold color. The gold paint is a little too loose for a smooth application, so I decide to “dot in” the gold with my small detail brush. After I apply the gold I feel it is a good addition to the overall color palette. The patience in the paint application pays off as it replicates the texture of custom armor.
Reaching this point was the the hardest part because I began to see the many directions I could go in detail. The legs left me with the option to paint or remain light. What would that mean in terms of prep. I could see how efficient the masks were after removal, noticing I had about an hours worth of touch-ups that would be saved for later. This taught me to be very patient with masking. Test, check and recheck before painting. And always use sharp Exacto blades!
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