The Geisha from Ghost in the Shell captivated me. I always wanted to make one and when the WC ANA base arrived I knew this would be the right size and format to make it on. This piece is for the @wcmakers LovexDeathxRobots competition of which she placed second. 

I started with a digital sketch as I waited for my base to arrive. This helped me figure out the volumes and which areas I needed to alter the base before I started sculpting. 

After altering the base, I sculpted the head, body and arms so that I could junk mold them in sections. Building the next part as I went. The head and arms are detachable so I can concentrate on getting the detail for each section right. Before moving onto the next. I used little ice cream spoons for her collar and a tape dispenser blade as a rake to make the detailed Geisha hair. Her hair decorations (Kanzashi) are clear cast red tinted resin and metal ball bearings. She also has a detachable belt (obi) to make it easier to cast and paint. Her head is still detachable to allow me to make alt head fittings in the future. 

I built a light box runway from balsa wood, baking paper, acetate sheets and cardboard. I used gold metallic paper for the backboard.  A glossy black box for one wall and my PS4 for the other wall for the photoshoot. I used a pack of 4 x LED lights for the light sources as well as a larger LED ring light. I'll be making a series of alt painted versions (of which there are 13 designs). 

I've also finished building the butterflied face version which exposes all the inner workings. 

Project Green Geisha Part 1: Late last year I approached performer @hannahtaskerpoland and offered to make her a custom Geisha. Hannah portrayed the Green Geisha in the live action Ghost in the Shell (2017). I’m a big fan of the scene so I was thrilled that she agreed to accept the offer. After modifying my original base model. I customized it to the Green Geishas on screen appearance. I was finally able to present it to Hannah yesterday. Hannah shared stories of her time on set. Filming in the beautiful (and uncomfortable costumes). Which was an interesting insight into how blockbuster movies are made.

Now this story has a twist. There are very few reference images online of this particular Geisha (the Maciej Hotel Geisha). The only ones being from a prop auction of the costume from a few years ago. Which sold for $24,100USD. Hannah tracked these down and sent them to me and I got underway. Now to put this into context Hannah shot her scenes over 7 years ago. So it wasn’t actually top of mind. Hannah had a gut feeling and later triple checked the reference. She made the discovery that the auction piece's facemask had been replaced with another one! So, not the one she wore on screen😵! By this time I was well underway with the sculpt so too late to make a U-Turn. Hannah was extremely apologetic. At first glance the reference image is every bit what she wore on set. Down to the hyper tailored and expensive handmade gown. She offered to pay to rebuild the on screen head, but there is no way I would accept her money.

Luckily, in-built into my design there is the ability to remove the head for future customizations. Which I’m currently working on - (more on this soon). So I’ve decided to rebuild the mask to the one used on-screen by Hannah and gift this to her. It's actually just another excuse for me to make another Geisha😅. It actually got me thinking of the person that paid $24,100USD for an onscreen used costume. Still an amazing purchase but, the mask probably wasn't on screen.
More to come in part 2......
#robotgirl #robogeisha #geisha #cyborg #cyberpunk #cyborpunk #cyberpunkgeisha #chibiart #chibi @mrwhitecell #whitecell @wcmakers #handmade #resin

Additional photos from @stjohncollection