#98 - Chris Clarke
Battles With Bits of Rubber
Crafting Believability: The Art of Animatronics with Chris Clarke In this episode of 'Battles with Bits of Rubber,' Chris discusses his journey and experiences in the world of animatronics. He recounts various projects, including building the horse animatronic for 'Warhorse' and the massive head for 'Wicked.' Chris emphasises the importance of blending practical effects with digital methods, recounting his creative process, challenges, and innovations. He highlights how simple, logical solutions often work best and shares his early passion for special effects, driven by a desire to...
info_outline
#97 - Richard Martin
Battles With Bits of Rubber
Richard Martin is a multi-skilled and astute operator. He combines creative flair with a very sound approach to business, problem-solving and meeting deadlines. Often, as creative people, we love to dig deep into the joyful processes of making stuff, but often we lack the capacity to insist on sufficient time, money and space to allow that to happen. Richard talks about that in this episode, and we are so happy with the conversation we had. Fresh from his stint on the successful TV drama series The Day Of The Jackal with Eddie Redmayne, this was a joy to record, and we both...
info_outline
#96 - Brian Best
Battles With Bits of Rubber
Mastering Digital and Practical Prosthetics with Brian Best In this episode of 'Battles with Bits of Rubber,' we delve into the intricate world of prosthetics mould-making with the talented Brian Best. Join us as we explore Brian's transition from traditional mould-making to mastering ZBrush, discussing the nuances and challenges faced along the way. We cover many topics, including the practicalities of clay and silicone, the difficulties of working with different materials, and the invaluable lessons learned through years of hands-on experience. From...
info_outline
#95 - The Prosthetics Event 2024 Debrief
Battles With Bits of Rubber
This episode discusses our experience following the Prosthetics Event 2024 in Coventry. We mention our highlights, including networking, speaking to hundreds of people with our presentations, and a series of insightful discussions, which we hope you will find very helpful if you are a rubber monster freak like us. We chatted with , known for his exceptional bald cap techniques. He shared his methods and discussed common challenges in creating realistic bald caps. We also discuss the advances in digital workflows in prosthetics moulding with , who shares his innovative...
info_outline
#94 - Practical Pixels & Imprudent Imposters
Battles With Bits of Rubber
This time around we discuss the technical aspects of 3D modelling and printing for practical work, especially in creating detailed prosthetics and animatronic components using software like CAD and ZBrush. We delve into teaching and learning new techniques, particularly the significance of hands-on experience in moulding and sculpting. Then we look at taking on jobs without proper qualifications, highlighting the potential dangers and importance of safety in prosthetic and special effects work. With Sasquatch suits, severed heads and blood gags on stage, come and join...
info_outline
#93 - Falmouth Part 2
Battles With Bits of Rubber
In this second and final part of our trip to Falmouth Uni, Neill Gorton joins us as we discuss making mistakes and learning the hard way in the workshop. We also discuss how to approach workshops and folio critiques and why latex and plaster are such great materials when starting and budgets are tight. Latex and plaster are a big theme in this episode. Be sure to check out the blog post with the show notes and the , which is all about making latex pieces and plaster moulds from the UMAE 2024 makeups Stuart recently did. This is a hefty episode, and the workbook is 26 pages...
info_outline
#92 - Falmouth Uni Part 1
Battles With Bits of Rubber
Our trip down to Falmouth Uni preceded The Prosthetics Event 2023. It was a great trip, and so nice to see the work being done by students there and talk shop. As always, we have a rough idea about what we want to talk about, but it's always led by the feeling in the room at the time, questions that come up and current events within the group . We spoke for so long in a packed room using a single recorder, so the sound is a little different from our usual close microphone stuff. It went on for nearly three hours, and fell into two distinct sections - the first half we present here. The...
info_outline
#91 - Digital Tools In The Workshop
Battles With Bits of Rubber
Makeup artists typically like makeup. It is a tactile medium, and they enjoy products, how they feel and smell and respond to brushes and pressure. Making prosthetics similarly has its tactile qualities, and it is hard to separate these sensations from the very nature of the joy in the work. It is little wonder then that this same group of people may not have developed an extensive love of digital versions of the same work. Doing a digital makeup effect in Photoshop requires the makeup artist's mindset but somehow it is not the same thing, and I think...
info_outline
#90 - Joel Harlow
Battles With Bits of Rubber
Joel Harlow is an academy award-winning artist who started out in animation before he moved on to makeup. Gradually building multi-faceted skills, confidence and workloads, he has evolved and expanded into the makeup effects heavyweight we know today with a hefty rollcall of credits. Check out his company, . It is always fascinating to go through the IMDb of an artist and see their credits creeping up the hierarchy over time. Evidence of trust earned as supervisors see a way to pass the responsibility on, and nothing breeds more work than showing up on time and doing more than the client...
info_outline
#89 - Maddie Scott-Spencer
Battles With Bits of Rubber
Maddie is a talented concept artist and teacher known mostly for her ZBrush work. Coming from a practical background, her skills come from familiar ground - Fangoria, a love of monsters and sculpting for fun! She has taught classes for Gnomon since 2006 - we recommend the ‘’ video course. Todd and I both cite this as the breakthrough moment for both of us, making what previously had been indecipherable to us accessible and understandable. The way she comes across reminded us of Dick Smith, with a generous nature coupled with a thorough understanding of the subject. Maddie...
info_outline
Daniel was the first professional prosthetic professional to look at my portfolio. That stuff sticks with you.
That was back in 1994, and there was still a lot of Frankenstein stuff kicking about in the workshop from the previous year. I learned a lot being in that workshop, and got to see a makeup test on Ian McKellan for Richard III in my time there.
Daniel has recently been praised for his work as makeup and hair designer on The Queens Gambit (Netflix) and Chernobyl (HBO). He has an extensive range of credits spanning 37 years, including Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, Band Of Brothers, Frankenstein (Academy Award nominee) Empire Of The Sun, Cloud Atlas, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and Enemy Mine.
In this conversation, we talked about how often simple techniques and good paintwork can do so much and using appliances wisely. It is very easy for an artist to fall in love with the processes and things they have learned, and to decide to inflict themselves as extensively as possible on anything they do. Instead, the aim is to see the full picture and work with the raw material of the performer and make only the correct changes for the character.
Daniel also is a director at his temporary Tattoo company, TattooedNow! which he runs with Serbian artists Igor Strangliczky and Nikola Prijic.
----------------------------------
Many thanks as always for your time checking the stuff out. You can email us direct at stuartandtodd@gmail.com or leave us a voice message directly on our site.
If you enjoy this podcast and got something out of it, would you do us a solid and tell just one more person about us? Send them a link and help us grow!
-Stuart & Todd