MICHAEL HODKINSON
PORTFOLIO
Models, Props & Sculptures
(Click photos for enlarged images!)
My Own Plasticine Head
I built this plasticine caricature of my own head for a business card I was required to make at university. I first carved a head-shape from foam and then applied the skin-coloured plasticine so that the head wouldn't be too heavy. I then added detail to the face and taped pieces of my own hair to the model for an authentic look, before adding the clothes, also made from plasticine.
Pumpkin Carving
I exchanged the skull and spider pumpkins for pints at my local pub on Halloween. The other pumpkin was hooked up to a smoke machine at a party and had glowsticks inside. I used only a knife and a spoon to carve them.
Reverse-Cast Mushroom Sculpture
This was an experiment. Using plasticine, I built a cast for what would become a mushroom model. I had to work with negative space to ensure the resulting shape looked like a mushroom. Using a plastic cup to form a base, I poured plaster resin into the mold. Once it had set, I removed the plasticine and applied paint and varnish to the model.
Stop-Motion Animation
For these two stop motion animations, I built models with armatures, and animated them on sets I also built from polystyrene, wood, plaster, and other materials. Both animations are available on YouTube.
At university I worked in a team to create another stop-motion film, "Win the Game", for which I crafted many models and props, and designed special effects. A lot of these revolved around a character named Carl Smith, who I was required to build many models of, varying in size from about 2cm to about 25cm.
Stop Motion Special Effects
For the same film, I also worked on animating and crafting special effects such as flame, explosions and an emanating rainbow background effect. These were extremely time-consuming for the short time they appear during the film, but I was particularly proud of them as I feel that they were unusual elements for a stop-motion film and I spent time making tests and figuring out how to make them work.
Other Sculptures
The above two models were created as pranks. I left them out on separate occasions for my family to find. The left character is a goblin head constructed from a balloon covered in ModRoc plaster. I also shaped the facial features out of ModRoc. To make it look it had a body, I placed it on a small table and added clothes. The creature on the right was made out of kitchen roll and various food products.
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Below: A roughly 40cm tall, two-headed gnome, constructed from chicken wire and ModRoc.
Below: Chickens I made for a carnival float in my home town. I carefully attached balloons together to make them look like chickens, then covered them in newspaper and wallpaper paste.
Unfortunately, it rained...
Additional Models & Sets for Stop-Motion
The above models were also made by me at various times, for various purposes.
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Below are photos of a set design test I made at university. It is supposed to be the home of a Gnome character, inside a hollowed-out tree. Again I used MocRoc, chicken wire and many other materials for the props.
