When I had a basic shape for the character described in my previous post I began to refine it using scissors to trim off any sharp edges. I also wrapped some electricians tape around the forearms to reduce the overall bulk. The foam will ultimately be covered by some sort of clothing, but it is important to at least begin to shape the flesh and get rid of any edges that are too sharp or angular, unless that is the look you are going for.
The final picture shows how the Stop Motion puppet looks now that the fleshing out has been completed, and also shows a frame for a head built out of aluminium wire. I have made armatures for claymation before and found that the clay is hard to remove when in contact with the armature or other materials used for fleshing it out. One way around this issue is to wrap the flesh in cling film, but since I don't plan on covering the less with clay it wasn't necessary. Instead I decided to make a base for the head out of two part epoxy putty which should hopefully provide a surface that will make it easier to remove the clay. To combat the weight of the epoxy putty I built an underwire frame to allow the putty to be hollow, which I filled with paper. When the putty was dry I moulded the clay around to create the features.
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