After the clay has been completely kneaded together, Darga rolls it out to approximately 1/4" thick (figure A). The foam that he carved has been covered with foil so the clay will stick. Now Darga begins applying the sheet of clay to the foil-covered surface (figure B). He applies the sheet, fitting it against a section that has already dried and trimming away any excess. The wet clay is brushed with turpentine (figure C), which acts as a lubricant and makes the clay more malleable. (Some epoxy clays can be brushed with water instead of turpentine.) Now the elephant's skin gets its texture. Darga uses texturing pads that he made by sculpting samples of elephant skin, then pouring on some silicone, which is allowed to harden to create an impression. All he has to do is press the pad into the damp clay until the entire section is texturized. This saves him from having to sculpt each wrinkle separately. After the entire head is sculpted, it's sent to the mold-maker to be cast in fiberglass. With the casting complete, Darga adds taxidermy eyes (figure D) by crawling inside the hollow fiberglass head and inserting them carefully by hand (figure D), backing them up with a bit of the epoxy. Once the eyes are in place, he will go back and glue each eyelash by hand, using hair from a horse's tail (figure E). Darga has laid some lines of caulking on a piece of foil (figure F) and let them dry to serve as veins under the skin. Web extra: More about wildlife sculpture with Chris Darga How did you start in animal sculpture?
Back in the early '90s, the garage kit industry was really big. It's where people would sculpt their own, like, Frankenstein, and then make a mold and cast it out of resin and sell it as a garage kit -- a resin kit. So I started doing dinosaur sculptures. I'd make molds of these sculptures and then cast them out of resin in pieces, and then people would assemble them themselves and paint them. How did you start sculpting life-size animal heads?
I was watching like some animal show about Africa or something, and I saw a rhino. I figured it would be easier to sculpt things that don't have hair. Animal sculptures with hair don't look real. My idea was to do these things that could look absolutely real. So I did a rhino. How did you learn how to do this kind of sculpting?
I am completely self-taught. I've never taken a class, but I've gotten a lot of painting tips. It's just trial and error. It just goes to show you how much downtime you have as an actor. You finish these life-size heads in one or two weeks. Why do you work so quickly?
This epoxy that I use cures within an hour and a half. You have to teach yourself to work fast. Once it's cured, you're done. I've devised different secret tricks and techniques so I can do it rapidly. Why do you work mostly on animals?
Ever since I was a kid I've always had a fascination with wildlife and animals. I used to love watching Wild Kingdom , with Marlin Perkins. Do you ever work on set?
When you're working on a show, you're sitting in you're dressing room most of the time. So if I'm working on something small I devise a way to bring it in a box or something with my tools, and I'll be sculpting in my dressing room while I'm waiting to go on. Does your hobby help you in your acting career?
If I'm having a bad day or I get frustrated by an audition, I'll just go in my shop and work on something. By the end of that day I've created something and I feel good about that. I've forgotten my crappy audition from earlier. Not that I've ever had a crappy audition [laughs ]. Do you keep your sculptures?
I have very few, if anything, in my house. It seems like everything I make, I sell. Plus, I can't fit a life-size elephant head in my little tiny living room. Who purchases your sculptures?
There's a Safari Club International Convention where big game hunters attend from all over the world, and I display the stuff there. I've sold rhinos and hippos -- and even dinosaurs. A guy wants a dinosaur for his trophy room, you know, to say, "Yeah, I hunted this back in the Jurassic."
RESOURCES :
Sculpting in Clay
Model: 0764301136
Author: Dale Power
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