This is one of a series of sculptures I made reconstructing early human ancestors, in this case Homo habilis rudolphensis. The bust is made of polymer clay over an armature of wire mesh, cardboard, plaster and styrofoam. It stands 14 inches tall and is about 1.5 times life-size. Below is my account of its construction.
Want to see more? Visit my website, www.wildmanillustrations.com! Commissions are welcome!
These are different angles of the H. habilis sculpture. It took about 2 months to complete. Teeth and eyes are all polymer clay, cooked hard and then added. Later I put clear nail polish on them to affect wetness.
This project was mainly to satisfy my own interest in paleoanthropology and was not part of any commissioned work. I began with images of H. habilis fossil skulls in as many angles as possible. Using those, I recreated the skull using cardboard, wire and plaster. Then I applied polymer clay to the skull to represent muscles, skin, eyes and teeth. I did not add hair, as I wanted to be able to show the physical structure of the head. Details like nose shape, eye and skin color and wrinkles are based on photographs of living chimps and gorillas. The completed head was fired and stands about 14 inches tall.
Australopithecus boisei, first discovered in Olduvai Gorge (Africa) by Dr. Louis B. Leakey, who dubbed it 'Zinjanthropus'. This was the first reconstruction I ever made, back when I was in college at SUNY at Stonybrook. I worked in the anthropology lab under the direction of paleoanthropologists Dr. Randall Sussman and Dr. John Fleagle, who gave me lots of suggestions on details. Originally the head was made of terra cotta clay over a terra cotta recreation of the fossil skull. But over time the clay cracked and I then repaired it and resurfaced it with polymer clay (fired). I added skin color (paint) and clay hair. The eyes were glass eyes from a supplier.
Unlike H. habilis, this head is totally solid and quite heavy, standing some 12 inches tall, life size.
Want to see more? Visit my website, www.wildmanillustrations.com! Commissions are welcome!
These are different angles of the A. boisei sculpture in its fnished form. I began this sculpture around 1983 and its final incarnation was in 2010. A long gestation.
