[01/02/20] The Mediterrans - Phase 2, The Big Chief - shark teeth

News from Post-Apocalyptic Mediterra!

For the second phase of the Mediterran Project, I want to create two more characters - a Clan Chieftain and his Firstborn.

He will be the Chief of the Clan that Zraikos and Capraia are part of.  When they were little kids, their grandfather, the former Chieftain, was dethroned by this new Chief, a young warrior back then. He is ambitious, with some grand ideas of uniting the clans to match the power of the North Atlantic Cargo States. He is aided by his charismatic, intelligent but also very independently operating Firstborn.

Valzenka and Jordi are from a different, neighbouring clan. They love their independence but are aware that something might change.

I call him Big Chief for a reason, as I chose the Worldbox AT018 body.
I considered Strykers critique of the World Box body, as there are few heads that really seem to fit because of their size. I needed a headsculpt who would make a good father of an adult child and a strong leader and had to decide, like so many Hollywood studios before me: Which American could take the role of this important European figure?

I found three head sculpts on eBay. And ordered them all, as they were far below 20€s and can be of use, regardless of which one I choose for our chief. The quality was surprisingly great.

So, now to the heads.

Number 1: The Crowe
I think the sculpt is based on Superman's Dad.



The Chief in his prime...


...and Crowe also has some experience leading the good life as a king!



Number 2: The Godfather

Look at that box, it's very fancy! Like Snake leather. With some glitter.


No shame in losing your Chieftain title to this young fella. Imagine him in Loincloth and shell armor.


He achieved mass late in life too.


Number 3: The White

Bloody by default, but great otherwise.



He also has what it takes to be a chief. But if he keeps on throwing his pizzas onto the roof he wil never achieve a chieftain's body.


Mediterran Rhapsody.


I cut some necks (thanks Denecknator) and tried them on the body. Just a loincloth and some place holder necklaces. His outfit will get very rich, royal and fancy and don't you worry about those seams. And about the hair, long black manes with a little grey and maybe badass beards.

I also gave every type of character some keywords I associate with.

"The Good King"

Heroic
Fair
Honor
Democrat
Boring
Wisdom
Pride
Faith
Diplomatic





"The War Chief"

Charisma
Strength
Efficient
Brute
Practical
Realist
Machismo
Dry Humour
Family Man





"The Dictator"

Intelligence
Cunning
Foresight
Backstabbing
Progress
Reformer
Unstable/Compensating
Patriarch





I think I have a tendency. Opinions?

Placeholder!

Also a Placeholder.

I can’t handle Walter White with moobs... just.... ahhhh, my eyes! it burns, preciouss!

The other two are much more suited to it, imo. I’m trying to picture them both with longer hair/beards, etc, and maybe the Brando edges all them out. It really depends on the features you prefer and what you’re going for, though.

I like where this is going, and you are welcome. Go forth and slice off some necks, my son!

Isn't Russell Crowe Australian or Kiwi?

For that body you need a head with heft. To my eyes, neither this Russell head, nor the Bryan Cranston one "go" with that body -- they just don't seem to belong to it. I think the Marlon Brando head fits best of the three, and certainly makes sense (age-wise) for the man who usurped Z's grandfather. So I think Marlon's the winner for this role, but it is your character and your world...
By the way, nice choice of heads, I got them too (except Bryan).

Brando, for sure.

And, yes. Crowe is from New Zealand.

skywalkersaga wrote:I can’t handle Walter White with moobs... just....  ahhhh, my eyes!  it burns, preciouss!

The other two are much more suited to it, imo. I’m trying to picture them both with longer hair/beards, etc, and maybe the  Brando edges all them out. It really depends on the features you prefer and what you’re going for, though.

Haha he is stunning, right? Too bad I don't have an Anakin headsculpt.

And yes, Brando.

GubernatorFan wrote:I like where this is going, and you are welcome. Go forth and slice off some necks, my son!

Isn't Russell Crowe Australian or Kiwi?

For that body you need a head with heft. To my eyes, neither this Russell head, nor the Bryan Cranston one "go" with that body -- they just don't seem to belong to it. I think the Marlon Brando head fits best of the three, and certainly makes sense (age-wise) for the man who usurped Z's grandfather. So I think Marlon's the winner for this role, but it is your character and your world...
By the way, nice choice of heads, I got them too (except Bryan).

Hacking and wacking and smacking!  

Ah, yes, New Zealand. I thought every actor from there was in Lord of the Rings. After a short Google search I found out Crowe turned down the role of Aragorn.

Thanks, Marlon 2. With the heft.

Stryker2011 wrote:Brando, for sure.

And, yes. Crowe is from New Zealand.

And Marlon 3, Thanks.
Well, he was my favourite too, he was even the first one I ordered and only then I found the other two. But they will be of use some day.

It was this Marlon head that created a picture in my head reminding me of some long haired fantasy king sitting on a throne, but I couldn't quite place him. Now I think I know what my subconscious was trying to tell me:

That Jarl from Vikings. The Big Chief will be less depressed and hopeless for sure. And more beard. But similar hairstyle.


I am thinking about placing the hair directly onto the sculpted hair, like in this Joker video. (Rooting starts around 1:50)

Wow, very impressive head paint and hairing (I'm making this a word), thanks for the video link.

The Jarl from Vikings was a great character. But his heft was in the attitude and clothes, not so much the physical size and girth.

Man, what I wouldn’t give to have Gabriel Byrne and the rest of the crew from The Usual Suspects...

All I can say is, you'd better not do that to my Ani, lol.

And thank Eru that Crowe turned down that role.... he would have been completely wrong for it. Viggo was perfection.

Hey that's the exact video I was talking about in this other thread about gluing hair on. I love this video and have watched it a million times. I change the settings to the slowest speed so I can actually tell what's going on. Mine still don't turn out like his... But I'll keep trying!

I think that godfather fits the most with what you've written. Crowe I feel would be the front line king, the one that has no fear and leads his men from the front, the castle is just a place to sleep. Walter seems to me the sort of king that is feared but respected, he's the one that can make people disappear, the one that whose hand would not shake when it came to punishing someone, just my opinion of course, I shall wait how the Big Chief turns out.

GubernatorFan wrote:Wow, very impressive head paint and hairing (I'm making this a word), thanks for the video link.

The Jarl from Vikings was a great character. But his heft was in the attitude and clothes, not so much the physical size and girth.

Welcome. And ye he was great, one of those more human antagonists.

Stryker2011 wrote:Man, what I wouldn’t give to have Gabriel Byrne and the rest of the crew from The Usual Suspects...

If YOU really want it, it's possible. But I guess Gabriel Byrne has to do some Marvel or Star Wars film to get an industrial head sculpt...

skywalkersaga wrote:All I can say is, you'd better not do that to my Ani, lol.

And thank Eru that Crowe turned down that role.... he would have been completely wrong for it. Viggo was perfection.

Don't you worry, only blue bug tattoos. And Crowe turned down the role because he felt that Peter Jackson had other visions. True Gentleman. (source: that one random article that appeared first on Google)

chrisinbama wrote:Hey that's the exact video I was talking about in this other thread about gluing hair on. I love this video and have watched it a million times. I change the settings to the slowest speed so I can actually tell what's going on. Mine still don't turn out like his... But I'll keep trying!

Hah, yeah that's EXACTLY what I did, three times in a row at 0.25x speed, always focusing on another detail! And keep on the hairing!

Theboo-bomb wrote:I think that godfather fits the most with what you've written. Crowe I feel would be the front line king, the one that has no fear and leads his men  from the front, the castle is just a place to sleep. Walter seems to me the sort of king that is feared but respected, he's the one that can make people disappear, the one that whose hand would not shake when it came to punishing someone, just my opinion of course, I shall wait how the Big Chief turns out.

Ha I like that you feel similar. Crowe would be a great leader, but maybe a bit too uninteresting/not enough fun. Maybe he was the grandfather that was replaced by Marlon. And Walter, Mad Dictator of the Mediterran Empire, let's be glad we didn't take that route!


Started some Marlo rooting. Glued directly onto the moulded hair, as the style will be similar but longer and the head needs every kind of volume increase it can get.


I used the black dyed hair that was next to the original grey hair patch, where it blended a little and is a bit greyish, not that deep perfect pitch black. That's reserved for his Firstborn.


Not sure yet about the hairline there, one last row of hair has to be glued. And flaking removed.


Experimental placeholder cloth to cover joints.

That looks awesome! You are becoming hair rooting expert.

And re: the LotR films... in that aspect, I gotta agree with Russell Crowe, in that I had a lot of issues with PJ's interpretation of the story at times. That said, I'm still glad that it was Viggo as Aragorn.

That "fatter" body is very interesting. I have to scroll back and see what info was written about it. I know it was mentioned.
Those photos of the half-haired head look very much like mine! I keep having problems with the glue glopping up and making big glue lumps on the head, messing up the hair. I don't know why I can't get it to do right.

Ha! That description... Fat hands, fat foot.
Also it is sold out.

Fantastic job on Marlon’s head. Looks awesome.

It looks great to me; in fact, I'd consider it complete as far as the head is concerned.

skywalkersaga wrote:That looks awesome! You are becoming hair rooting expert.

And re: the LotR films... in that aspect, I gotta agree with Russell Crowe, in that I had a lot of issues with PJ's interpretation of the story at times. That said, I'm still glad that it was Viggo as Aragorn.

Ha ha, thanks, it's my fourth rooted head so I must make some learning progress. Being an 'expert' now means getting better results while being less pleased with those results I guess...;D
The 'just try it it's not that hard and very straightforward' attitude by our Gubernator really helped.
I Keep Hairing.

And re: LotR, I am just one of those 'only watched the films' plebs, so I can't argue about that. But Viggo took his sword everywhere, so that's cool.

chrisinbama wrote:That "fatter" body is very interesting. I have to scroll back and see what info was written about it. I know it was mentioned.
Those photos of the half-haired head look very much like mine! I keep having problems with the glue glopping up and making big glue lumps on the head, messing up the hair. I don't know why I can't get it to do right.

Yeah, that flaking glue. I think it's because we use too much of it, and when pressing the hair strands on the sculpt, it's oozing up or something. Acrylics really helped, for black hair at least.

And that body is quite cool, yes. There is a version with a suit and a head, some MMA guy with head and the headless unclothed one, AT018.

Stryker2011 wrote:Fantastic job on Marlon’s head. Looks awesome.

Thanks!

GubernatorFan wrote:It looks great to me; in fact, I'd consider it complete as far as the head is concerned.

Thanks a lot! Well, the photos I took were just too good, like those promotional images on eBay. Hair and sculpt did not blend that we'll in real....

But now I added the last hairlines on the...hairline.


For some reason that plays in my head when working on that figure:

The visible joints on the knee are quite big, maybe trousers are a good idea? Still experimenting.




Buona Sera Senorita.


And with wet hair, after diving in his personal bathtub (formerly known as the Mediterranean Sea)



His family is known for beautiful black  hair I guess. His Firstborn will have them too.

LOL I'm loving it. Yes, the pants are a good idea... unless you're Alexander the Great. And the hair is working out beautifully. He can be wet. Or sweaty. Or maybe both. Either option seems to work...

Nice options on the outfit and hair. I agree, wet, or dry, looks good.

Big Chief Brando looks great!, tho I wouldn't want to see him walking towards me.

I keep meaning to ask — what kind of glue(s) are you using on the hair?

Fantastic Job at that Character. You masterd the Hair Job in a real short time

GubernatorFan wrote:LOL I'm loving it. Yes, the pants are a good idea... unless you're Alexander the Great. And the hair is working out beautifully. He can be wet. Or sweaty. Or maybe both. Either option seems to work...

Thanks! And he may be great, but not Alexander.

Stryker2011 wrote:Nice options on the outfit and hair. I agree, wet, or dry, looks good.

Thank you. I think it will be something between wet and dry.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Big Chief Brando looks great!, tho I wouldn't want to see him walking towards me.

Thank you, and yes he's supposed to be menacing in his own charming way.

skywalkersaga wrote:I keep meaning to ask — what kind of glue(s) are you using on the hair?

I use that FabriTac glue because it was recommended somewhere. But it's a bit nasty. Normal crafting glue seems to work too. It can be easily removed when it comes in contact with the headsculpt in an area you don't want to be covered. This happens to me sometimes. I will never use superglue for rooting, that's something for the more brave like Shovelchop.

Ephiane wrote:Fantastic Job at that Character. You masterd the Hair Job in a real short time

Thanks, still a lot to learn but yes it gets easier every time.

I just messed around with faceapp, as I am thinking of rooting a beard. Free faceapp has only one standard beard:


But the age-filter adds another beard (cool old):


Old Bud Spencer?


This one looks ready to appease some tyrants. Or try, at least.



Young Marlon:




Maybe he will get this kind of beard...but less old then. Black with grey streaks maybe.