Sneak peek of "bitty bosco" prototype ...

He's been more or less wrapped up like this for a while. (small voice here - hahaha) Most of my hemming and hawing has been about the financial risks of fronting the chunk of capital into the scanning and then needing a lot of time afterwards to refine the miniaturized product to be as exciting as the original (one hopes!). Sooooo... since they are rather big changes to some of his "look" I do think I ought to throw him out for input before I rush him off to the scanning company. I could do that as early as next week so please, if you spot something really awry please lmk asap tx! ;)

What's going on??? Why is he different at all???

Here's my thoughts & reasonings on that:

Point #1 every scale has it's pro's and con's from the aesthetic to the technical. Aesthetically 'in theory' something should look identical small as to big (if you are skilled enough to recreate the detail at that particular scale). That being said, in reality, on a shelf or on a table, the two have very different looks strangely sometimes. Human real life depth perception is simply going to relay to the brain "it looks a little different!" even if it's not... just like the statue of liberty model in your hand might look different when standing close to the real life statue.. hopefully that made some sense?

Moreso however I was thinking of lighting... In this case I have a horse who's already tilting his head into shadow on his "show" side. So when you look at this in a mini version, (especially in a dimly lit area), you'll have an even harder time seeing anything of coloration about the face. So I made about 8 different cuts into the neck around the poll area to tilt the head back to a more upright position. :) As I say in the comments, personally I like it or I wouldn't have done it.. although it might VASTLY change the "look" of the sculpture in other folk's eyes. Now would be the time for me to know this I guess... ;)

Point #2 real world technical issues. Lazer scanning tucked away areas is a very tricky matter. This is actually why I picked Duke first - his legs are apart and the tail doesn't create hidden zones like the original El Embosco's tail does. The tail really is tricky there, the fact that his hind feet are pretty close in his prancing also compounds the complications to be overcome. Lastly, in the mini version casting resins with tricky tails is simply hard.. it could require a whole nother mold section.. and the more mold sections you need the more shifting and distortion of the final product you introduce (nevermind seams!!). Oh, and of course last lastly - lol! - I have prepped more than a few large Bosco's tails and thighs and lemme tell ya, I wasn't thinking it would be a great idea to do it in a fraction of the size (hard to get at!).

So there you go. Some of my reasons.

I'm going to present everything in a little set of pictures with comments on them to clarify better I hope. I would REALLY like to hear of any dire reactions/concerns people have before I proceed forward. I've been hearing cries for "bitty bosco" since before there was a "dinky duke".. ;) All the same, I'm not one to rush fwd on this sort of thing without really addressing known and anticipated technical issues as thoroughly as possible first.

And on to the show. :D
(click to see enlargements)














I have the comments turned on now but they are "moderated" so I have to approve of them to come through. If you want to say something privately - just ask that I not post it. You can submit thoughts anonymously too. And of course I can be written at morgen@one-horse.net.

Thanks for looking and wish me a trouble-free journey through the rest of this! :) It get's exciting (in a nerve wracking way sometimes!!) from here...! (8-o
;)