She Can't Bear It!

The bear named Misery in "The Bipolar Brain" suffers from depression. It an attempt to visually impart that in an automata scene I had to find a posture, or a look, that suggested depression. It was a bit of a challenge to say the least for something you can't see. My depiction would be one of withdrawal. Misery has lifted her feet from the control pedals, removed her hands from the joysticks, and drawn her legs up into a partial fetal position. She lays her right arm on her stomach in a lethargic way and drapes her left arm over her head to hide closed eyes from the light.

I decided the arms should be made separately rather than shaped as part of the body block. It would allow me to impart more detail on the head under the arm and finish it similar to her partners head. Automata characters are allowed to be cartoonish so any "detached" appearance is acceptable me here.

The challenge is shaping the arm starting from the flats left on the shoulders of the body, to where you want the hands to be positioned. You can sketch this all you want but for me the reality is starting with a rough oversized shape with the matching shoulder flat and cutting it down between multiple test fittings.

The photos below show the bear's right arm completed and the starting shape of the the left arm. We will follow the fabrication of the left arm in this blog. You can see the arm block as it was started on the left photo. The flat for the shoulder has been sanded. The block is thick at the hand end to allow me to make adjustments as I go. On the right you can see some shaping completed. I am trying to maintain clearance under the arm to allow the hand to sit flat on the face as I go. The bottom of the hand is shaped to match the profile of the top of the head. As I work I  remove material from the bottom of the arm. When satisfied I remove material from the back of the shoulder to match the bear's back.

After more shaping, sanding, and cutting fur into the arm, on the left below you can see both arms and the body block coated in a white sand-able sealer. On the left is is a photo with the pieces lying in their final position after a first coat of white paint.  At this point you have to start painting the details on the head that will be hidden under the left arm. Once assembled this area will be inaccessible  to paint easily.

So here is Misery assembled, sitting in one of the early prototype chairs. Hopefully she suggests depression to you.