Brief 2 - Live Commission

This week I got commissioned by a friend to make a model of him playing the piano that he could put on his piano as an ornament. He asked me to make him this after I'd shown him the character I'd made for my previous animation. I thought this would be a great opportunity to improve my own skills, particularly as I want to go down the route of stop-motion background construction. Skills in model making would also be beneficial. 

I started designing the upright piano, and drawing sketches of my friend.

After the sketches and designs were done, I went about constructing it. Concerning this commission, I kept in mind two factors for the project - to keep the cost as low as possible, and to work effectively and with speed, in the case that I had many more commissions on the go at once, but without these factors impacting the quality of the final product. I managed to achieve this by recycling a lot of the materials that had gone into building my previous 'Les Gen du Mur' animation, so the profit I make from this will not in any way be reduced by material costs.

I transformed the gown worn by the main character of "Les Gen du Mur' into a grey suit that I know my friend tends to wear when performing the piano. I trimmed the length and cut a v-shape down the front to make the suit. Then I added a black tie and white shirt. The hands and feet were replaced with wire hands that had individual fingers covered in plasticine, for playing the piano, and black plasticine shoes.

Finally, the head was made by layering white plasticine on top of a carved wooden head. This was the hardest bit to make, to get it to look as close to my friend as possible. It could have looked more accurate to how he looks (the model makes him look a lot older) however, overall I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

Next I made the piano. The hardest part of this was making the individual piano keys (from cardboard and wooden skewers). This was because I had to decide how many keys would fit into a piano proportional to the model of my friend.

As wood is my go-to material for making sets, I used this to make the sides, back and lid of the piano. The stool for the puppet to sit on was made by sawing the back off a model chair and using the back rest as a stand for sheet music (very little of the materials went to waste). Once again, this commission would increase my experience of using this material and develop my skills. This wood was also used on the previous animation set so my profit margins stayed high.

I still wasn't happy with the hands and face of the model however. I thought I could make them look more realistic so I re-sculpted these features. I'm much more pleased with the final result as was my friend when I showed it to him. I also painted the piano, making it look newer. 

Final Product:

What Went Well

• Overall I was pleased with the result of the product (once I'd gone back and improved it), and it's one that directly improves my skills in set construction and model making
• By reusing materials, I kept the profit margin very high and was able to produce something efficiently, were I to have lots of commissions on the go
• I was able to balance this commission alongside the 504 project and other 502 tasks
• My friend was pleased with what I made and that is the most important part of a commission

Criticism

• The initial face on the model could have been more accurate as it made him look older than he is!
• Postage was a price I hadn't considered to profit as well as the durability of the ornament when it's posted
• Certain aspects like the piano keys and puppet's face needed a lot of time and attention
• I would have more moveable parts on the piano in future beyond the lid, such as the keys