Humpback Whale breaching

[Ferris]

Hi All,

I've been really into MiniNature's 3D-printed animals recently. They make for rather quick projects and here is another one, for me in record time after my previous one. This one depicts a humpback whale breaching the surface, a rather spectacular pose that I was lucky enough to witness once.

Biggest challenge was the water, for which tinted epoxy resin was used. I did not want to first poor a flat surface and then add waves, but wanted the waves to be an integral part of the epoxy resin base. This meant I had to first sculpt the sea surface, make a silicone rubber 'negative' of it, and use that as the bottom of the plexiglass mould in which the epoxy was poored. I will post some pictures of the proces later.

Google offered loads of reference material for shaping the waves and for painting the animal.

Really satisfying to work with these animals. They give uncharted terrain that is great for practicing and extending skills.

Anyway, here it is. Hope you like it.

Regards,
Adrian

 

[Dr Bison]

That's just bloody marvellous! Thanks for showing this little marvel.
Karl

 

[ometz]

That's superb craftsmanship

 

[Oda]

Agree with the gentlemen above.Superb.

Oda.

 

[MoboSchreuder]

Wow fantastic work

Mobo

 

[DaddyO]

Lovin' the latest work you are producing Adrian

A very fine little project and just the thing for trying out new ideas and techniques. (I love the fact that you can see the tail below the surface) You are becoming quite the 'water resin master' and it'd be good to see some more pics of the method you used (although the explanation was very clear)

Can't wait to see what next appears from 'Ferris manor'
Paul

 

[Nap]

Hi Adrian

That is wonderful to see , what amazing creatures they are

Great modelling and a pleasure to see the water effects , love the colouring you've used

Would love to see a mother and calf together from you and who wouldn't want to go whale watching

Look forward to seeing more

Happy benchtime

Nap

 

[franck edet]

fantastic scene Adrian, i'm in love with it !

 

[Ferris]

6. Removing the plaster and rubber.

7. The rough epoxy cast.

8. Remaining steps were to sand and polish the sides and bottom of the cast...
9. ...to add a thin layer of gloss acrylic paste over the surface to make a high-gloss rippled sea surface.
10. Create the foaming water with filings of plexiglass mixed with gloss acrylic paste (three thin layers).
11. Paint the remaining part of the whale (acrylics).
12. Add water splashes to the bottom part of the whale with acrylic paste (not entirely happy with how this turned out).

Main issue with this project was to prevent leaks in the mould. It took more effort than I thought to make the wax/silicone/plaster assembly leak-free. I made it a habit to do a test pour with water to check for leaks, because epoxy leaks can destroy the whole thing if undiscovered.

Cheers,
Adrian

 

[KenBoyle]

Truly amazing work Adrian!

Cheers,
Ken

 

[sd0324]

Wow. Nicely done there.

Steve

 

[Dr Bison]

Holy cow! I should have seeked a degree in rocket science too...
Thanks for the great SBS.

Karl

 

[DaddyO]

Blimey

Professional Luddite that I am I would have cut the tail off at the waterline and stuck it on the bottom of a layer of sculpted water and then hidden the join with waves, but I doubt it would have been as aesthetically pleasing

Great job and thanks for the explanation
Paul

 

[lascar 22]

Amazing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[miniNature]

Beautiful Adrian! You did a great paintjob and those waves are very clever! Not taking the easy way, I love it! The whale is truly alive now

 

[Ferris]

Blimey

Professional Luddite that I am I would have cut the tail off at the waterline and stuck it on the bottom of a layer of sculpted water and then hidden the join with waves, but I doubt it would have been as aesthetically pleasing

Paul

I considered this Paul, but hesitated because I wasn’t sure how then to fix the tail to the silicone rubber. Looking back at my admittedly rather cumbersome method, I should have fixed the tail to the plastic sheet on which the waves were sculpted. This would have placed the joint above the waterline, but this would have made it easy to get a perfect fit with the top part of the whale, and have given room to putty the joint.
We live and learn...!

Glad you like it, thanks.

Regards,
Adrian

 

[Ferris]

Beautiful Adrian! You did a great paintjob and those waves are very clever! Not taking the easy way, I love it! The whale is truly alive now

Thanks a lot Stijn. Glad you like how this turned out.
I really like your creations and plan to use a couple more.
Looking back, I should have opted for the high resolution print, because the white plastic printed version is a bit rough for something satin-coated (it’s fine for animals with hair).
Like I said, live and learn...

Cheers,
Adrian

 

[pmfs]

Amazing scene Adrian.

Cheers,
Pedro.

 

[balder]

Super cool! Nice job.
-Gerald

 

[-=König=-]

Hello Ferris
My congratulations! The work done is great. I imagine how hard it is to work with resin.