Batgirl of Burnside

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Mister Farrell

I was excited by the new creative team on BATGIRL- writer/breakdown artist Cameron Stewart, co-writer Brenden Fletcher, artist Babs Tarr, colorist Maris Wicks and letter Jared K. Fletcher– and I wanted to sculpt Barbara Gordon in her new costume.

I based this pose on the cover of her first appearance in Detective Comics #359, as drawn by Carmine Infantino, with additional design input by John Vukelic. This was done for the 6th Annual Hub Comics DARK KNIGHT ON A DARK NIGHT Batman art show.

These pictures were shot on-site in the display case. I’ll try to get some better pictures soon.

Howard the Duck Redux

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Mister Farrell

I’m thrilled that Marvel has tapped the hilarious Chip Zdarsky and nicest-guy-in-comics Joe Quinones for a new HOWARD THE DUCK comic. I’m, uh, kind of a fan from way back. I based this Sculpey Firm relief sketch on Joe’s cool development sketches.

Howard the Duck was created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik.

Happy BATMAN DAY!

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Mister Farrell

Happy 75th Anniversary, Batman. Long may you fight for justice.

ROSE THE HAT

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Mister Farrell

I just read Stephen King’s DOCTOR SLEEP, his semi-sequel to THE SHINING. The villain, Rose the Hat, is an immortal psychic predator who feeds on the “steam” of children with the shining. Seemingly beautiful, her true face has one long, tusk-like tooth and, serpent-like, she can open her jaw so wide it touches her chest.

I was probably too literal in visualizing it, but the image of the saber-like tusk struck me and wouldn’t leave.

I made this mini-bust with a mixture of Super Sculpey, black and white Sculpey III and Sculpey Firm over an aluminum wire and foil armature. I also used a mixture of Super Sculpey and Apoxie, the recipe for which can be found here. This combination created a self-curing, water-thinned, more durable material that I used for the tooth and the hair loops, which would have been difficult with regular Super Sculpey. It’s a great material with the only downsides being a shortened working time and less self-adhesion.

CAPTAIN AMERICA (After Kirby)

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Mister Farrell

My 3D rendition of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Captain America. This is based on Kirby’s cover for CAPTAIN AMERICA’S BICENTENNIAL BATTLES

(He gets a little John Buscema-esque when viewed from the side.)

This piece is dedicated to my late friend James, Cap’s biggest fan.

Apparently there a new Captain America movie out. I don’t know how it could top Albert Pyun’s masterpiece.

(I’m really looking forward to it! If you enjoyed it, consider making a donation to The Hero Initiative in Jack Kirby or Joe Simon’s name. )

Commission for a Cause!

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Mister Farrell

Hey folks,

My friend Jenna has left an abusive domestic situation and is looking to relocate and start a new life for herself and her cat. She’s in a temporary home and is currently out of work. I’d like help her raise money for this move, so here’s what I’m going to do:

I haven’t taken commissions in over two years, but I am auctioning an original sculpture, character of your choice, style of your choice and will donate all proceeds to Jenna’s relocation fund.

Here are some examples of my work:

The winning bidder will receive one original sculpture, character and style of their choice, hand-painted, on its own ready-to-display stand.

I’m going to start the bidding at $300. Here’s how it will work:

Email me at jfsculptsemail01 (at) gmail.com with your bid and what character/style you would like
I will update this post with the amount of the current highest bid (See below for latest)
Winner will donate their winning bid to Jenna’s fundraiser page
4-6 weeks from that time, the winner will receive their sculpture

It’s that easy!

Jenna is my hero. I hope to help her get back on her feet. Please help if you can, by bidding, spreading the word with social media, or by donating directly.

Thank you.

Update: Here’s a link to share if you’re on Tumblr. Thanks!

UPDATE: I see there’s suddenly some new activity on this posts, so if anyone wants to contact me ( jfsculptsemail01 (at) gmail.com) with another bid (to be done after the winning bid, so sometimes in April/May), let me know.

Second Sculpture Auction…

Turns out the bidder was unable to come through, so I’ll be restarting the auction.

For those just joining us:

My friend Jenna has left an abusive domestic situation and is looking to relocate and start a new life for herself and her cat. I’d like help her raise money for this move, so here’s what I’m going to do:

I am auctioning an original sculpture, character of your choice, style of your choice and will donate all proceeds to Jenna’s relocation fund.

Bidding will start at $300
Email me at jfsculptsemail01 (at) gmail.com with your bid and what character/style you would like
I will update my site, JFSculpts.com with the amount of the current highest bid
Winner will donate their winning bid to Jenna’s fundraiser page
4-6 weeks from that time, the winner will receive their sculpture
I’ve decided to extend the bidding and do one more, so if you missed the initial deadline I’m keeping the auction open a little longer
New auction winner will be announced SATURDAY, MARCH 29th

Keep spreading the word and donate if you can: $10, $5, whatever you can spare. Every bit helps. Thank you!

Batgirl Black and White

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Mister Farrell

It’s the Winter Solstice and time for the annual Hub Comics DARK KNIGHT ON A DARK NIGHT Batman art show!

And above is my contribution, designed for me in record time by Erica Henderson. Here’s her design:

And here are some pics of the work-in-progress, made from Sculpey Firm over an aluminum armature:

Here’s another pic Erica took of it from the front. I’ll get some more pics and post them soon!

Work-in-Progress, Working Process

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Mister Farrell

More from the ongoing project with Sean Downey:

First we shot some photo reference, then we drew our creature here onto tracing paper, then pasted that onto some foamcore. Then Sean cut some hardie board into the general shape and we sculpted over it using Sculpey over a paperclay base.

Because we’re building pieces to be photographed and only seen from one angle, we’re working in relief …

Which leads to one weird-looking sculpture when viewed from the side.

UPDATE 12-22-13:

Lonely Monster

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Mister Farrell

Very glad to share more work-in-progress pictures of my ongoing project with Sean Downey. This was photographed by Tony Martins. This will be part of an illustrated book which we hope to show people sometime next year.

It’s amazing working in collaboration, particularly with a photographer. You really see what ideas hold up and which don’t.

More to come!

UPDATE:

Here are some behind-the-scenes pictures from this photo shoot at Hub Comics in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Green gels were used over the backlighting.

(Note also Sean’s tiger-stripe arm hair.)

Since it wasn’t supposed to appear in the shot, the “roof” was just cardboard draped over the walls to block light.

Here’s Sean. He’s holding the monster, I think.

You can see how the room was built using forced perspective: it gets bigger as it gets closer toward the camera.

Back at my house, this was how one of the walls looked when we started.

FURTHER UPDATE:

Sean added on 11/13/13:

In the making of this I made a brush by cutting a thin sponge into the shape of a hand roughly to scale with the set. It was then dipped in a red/brown paint and lazily dragged across the wall. Thinking about it now, I can hear The Stroll by The Diamonds as i look at the smeared blood trail. When I painted this, the sponge/brush fingers touched the doorknob with a foggy memory of how to open a doorknob. It was a chilling.

The brushes’ name is Richard.

HALLOWEEN MAN Mini-Bust

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Mister Farrell

‘Tis the season to be scary! Here’s Solomon Hitch, the hero with the power of the horror movie (he always comes back!), star of Drew Edwards’ amazing HALLOWEEN MAN comic. This piece was designed for me by original artist Terry Parr (http://darthterry.deviantart.com/).

I worked on some HALLOWEEN MAN stories – mostly coloring and lettering- with such talented artists as Nicola (WONDER WOMAN, SECRET SIX, EARTH 2) Scott, David (BLUE BEETLE, YOUNG ALLIES) Baldeon, Sergio (SKYJACK, SAMURAI & DINOSAURS) Calvet , and many more under the guidance of the irrepressible Russell Hillman.

JFsculpts

Art by Jesse Farrell

Category Archives: Art