Uruk-Hai
PlanetFigure Supporter
Posting below on behalf off Mr Blank.Dear Friends
I hope you are all safe and staying healthy.
Yours truly thought it might be time for a new article, an article about an idea behind a vignette. The idea to create an emotional scene, full of drama and yet being a quiet scene.
You guys probably know by now that I really love doing these vignettes and dioramas and the reason is that you are given a chance to tell a story, to create a frozen moment in time, a moment filled with drama and emotions. And without a story a vignette becomes a scene where a couple of individual figures happens to be on the same base.
To try to create this story, atmosphere and emotions is truly a wonderful experience in sculpting, to have that idea in your mind and to see how it takes shape in front of your eyes.
Suddenly these figures are working together and are telling a story.
And this a story about tragedy, despair, sadness and loss.
In 1675 the military genius Turenne, Marshal of France was killed at the battle of Salzbach, And France was shocked. Their beloved general was no more.
With this vignette I wanted to create that moment when some of his soldiers are standing next to the fallen marshal, all being filled with powerful emotions of sadness, despair and grieve. A quiet and dramatic scene.
The first step is to create the composition and here we have the marshall being the focus in the scene with his men looking at him and thereby drawing the viewers attention to Turenne, almost like the viewer of this vignette becomes a part of the scene and part of the story.
To find inspiration for compositions like this we can look closely at classical art as there are numerous paintings showing some wonderful compositions and storytelling.
And this I do every time I have an idea for a new vignette or a diorama.
If you are gonna learn from someone, why not choose the true masters!
The figure holding Turenne and the marshall himself was sculpted almost like a single figure to achieve a very tight animation. The remaining figures were posed around the dead marshal, forming a natural background and there framing the scene.
Not the angles of the heads of the mourning soldiers, how they lower their heads in honour as well as sadness...
With the kneeling figure in the foreground I wanted to create a stronger and more powerful emotion of sorrow, note his hands holding his hair and the expression on his face.
As always don't forget to compose using colours, they can help to create a focal point in a scene as well as creating an atmosphere.
So create a scene, tell a story and add lots of drama!
And keep healthy
The photos are taken by my dear friend and painter extraordinaire, Luca Olivieri.
Mike
Rarely do we see dioramas,vignettes ,etc., conveying such mood and emotion, all done with obvious love of the subject.
