Crafting Believability: The Art of Animatronics with Chris Clarke

Chris emphasises the importance of blending practical effects with digital methods, recounting his creative process, challenges, and innovations. He highlights how simple, logical solutions often work best and shares his early passion for special effects, driven by a desire to solve technical problems.

Chris also touches on the broader industry trends, including the ongoing relevance of animatronics despite the rise of CGI. The conversation provides insights into the creative and practical aspects of animatronics, underscoring the necessity of believable results over mere realism.

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Check out full episode notes, pictures and links here:
https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/98chrisclarke

Richard Martin is a multi-skilled and astute operator. He combines creative flair with a very sound approach to business, problem-solving and meeting deadlines.

Often, as creative people, we love to dig deep into the joyful processes of making stuff, but often we lack the capacity to insist on sufficient time, money and space to allow that to happen. Richard talks about that in this episode, and we are so happy with the conversation we had.

Fresh from his stint on the successful TV drama series The Day Of The Jackal with Eddie Redmayne, this was a joy to record, and we both met with Richard and recorded this episode in his workshop in the Midlands in November 2024.

Richard did not start from an effects background, coming to the field later in life from a sales background, which has helped him approach the business of effects from a, well..., business frame of mind.

In this episode, he presents a refreshing perspective on how we should support our talent.

We cover various topics, such as:

• Discussing Flock & Flocking
• Techniques and Challenges in Flocking
• Insights in Pigmenting Silicone
• Painting Prosthetics: Tips and Tricks
• 3D Printing in Prosthetics
• The Evolution of Scanning Technology
• Life Casting vs. Scanning
• AI in Prosthetics and Beyond
• The Illusion of Progress
• Self-Sufficiency and Modern Life
• The Digital vs. Traditional Debate
• Efficient Workflows in Sculpting
• Breaking into the Industry
• Balancing Creativity and Business

Full details and transcript of this episode can be found on the podcast website:

https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/97richardmartin/

This episode discusses our experience following the Prosthetics Event 2024 in Coventry. We mention our highlights, including networking, speaking to hundreds of people with our presentations, and a series of insightful discussions, which we hope you will find very helpful if you are a rubber monster freak like us.

We chatted with Adrian Rigby, known for his exceptional bald cap techniques. He shared his methods and discussed common challenges in creating realistic bald caps.

We also discuss the advances in digital workflows in prosthetics moulding with Sangeet Prabhaker, who shares his innovative methods, including reverse engineering life casts and 3D printing to make lightweight, efficient moulds and very realistic appliances.

The conversation touches on the importance of adapting to new technologies and continually innovating in the field. While technology has evolved, the basic principles of mould-making remain vital, so you should download the free notes we made for it.

We try to capture the essence of these artists' passion and enthusiasm for their craft and the importance of sharing knowledge and pushing the field's boundaries.

Be sure to check out the free workshop notes we give away, which are available for download on the website.

https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Mould-Making-For-Those-Afraid-Of-Making-Moulds.pdf

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Check https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/tpe24 for detailed show notes and transcription of the episode.

This time around we discuss the technical aspects of 3D modelling and printing for practical work, especially in creating detailed prosthetics and animatronic components using software like CAD and ZBrush.

We delve into teaching and learning new techniques, particularly the significance of hands-on experience in moulding and sculpting.

Then we look at taking on jobs without proper qualifications, highlighting the potential dangers and importance of safety in prosthetic and special effects work.

With Sasquatch suits, severed heads and blood gags on stage, come and join us on episode #94 of Battles with Bits of Rubber!
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Cannibal! The Musical (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlMIFRXLW8c

In this second and final part of our trip to Falmouth Uni, Neill Gorton joins us as we discuss making mistakes and learning the hard way in the workshop.

We also discuss how to approach workshops and folio critiques and why latex and plaster are such great materials when starting and budgets are tight.

Latex and plaster are a big theme in this episode. Be sure to check out the blog post with the show notes and the latest free workbook download, which is all about making latex pieces and plaster moulds from the UMAE 2024 makeups Stuart recently did.

This is a hefty episode, and the workbook is 26 pages full of step-by-step processes and techniques!

If you enjoy this podcast and got something out of it, would you do us a solid and tell people about it? Send them a link and help the show grow!

As always, we have a rough idea about what we want to talk about, but it's always led by the feeling in the room at the time, questions that come up and current events within the group .

We spoke for so long in a packed room using a single recorder, so the sound is a little different from our usual close microphone stuff.

It went on for nearly three hours, and fell into two distinct sections - the first half we present here.

The second part we shall release soon, and was when Neill Gorton arrived after just having beaten Covid again. Present were lecturers and all-round good eggs Brad Greenwood and Duncan Cameron, plus a room crammed with the students from the Prosthetic Effects MA who we had come to see.

Thanks to Duncan Cameron for his awesome sketches which feature in the episode art of parts 1 and 2. Check his work out on Insta @brokensharkcage.

Thanks for listening! Incidentally, the 'Hi, welcome to passes with bits of brother' bit comes from an automated transcript attempt in Word of the near 3 hour recording. Needless to say,I don't think we will be using that as a way to pull text from audio!

More notes on the blog post found at

https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/falmouthp1