Yes, it is finished… Tree of life, birds, nests. I will work on the roots when making the rocky surface but other than that all done. You can click to below picture to enlarge.
It is 4:35 in the morning. Another stolen night to spend on stop motion is almost over. Away from my all duties; taking care of my daughter, working to make money, taking care of the house, cooking, doing dishes,.. 🙂 I feel like every moment I spend on this film is a stolen one and I think I like to steal a lot! Anyways… a beautiful end summer night; sitting in the garden with mosquitoes, hearing cats fighting in our neighbor’s garden, feeling good after preparing pictures to post here.
Ok, what I have done lately and how I done;
Making of the “Big Bird”
I made some small birds to place in the tree of life representing the “souls” out of super sculpey and posted here previously. I needed one to animate. Nothing complex; just one bird to be able to raise her head. Here you see her:
Super sculpey again. But made the head seperately, connected to body with a piece of wire. Glued some foam. Covered foam first with “real fleece” which Shelley sent me 🙂 and then with some goose quill from our sofa.
She is nothing like the “Big Bird” from Sesame Street but somehow she reminded me of Big Bird at the moment I finished her.
Bird Nests..
This was challenging. Needed to look like bird nests but at the same time I wanted these to be strong; as being home for the souls. Metal but comfortable. After trying some different ideas, I ended up using pine cones. And boom! Cutting pine cones was harder then cutting steel… I am serious. Have you ever tried cutting pine cones with Dremel? I broke many blades made for cutting metals. Dust, smell,… had my respirator and protective clothes to keep myself safe 🙂
I painted cones with black acrylic and then stainless steel colored acrylic paint (which Shelley  sent me. Thank you!!) Dyed some raw looking yarn into green with acrylic again to tie the metal cones to the branches. Added moss around the nest after tying up.
Tree of Life Mooodddiifficccaattion:
Collected some bark, killed the bugs with mosquito spray inside a bag. Left those in the air for couple hours to get rid of the poison. Covered the trunk with these barks and the glued moss all around.
I use old newspapers to keep the table clean. As I was working on the tree, I saw a small article right next to the roots of the tree about “Tim Burton” There is a Tim Burton exhibition at MoMA between November 22, 2009–April 26, 2010 No way for me to go as NY is kind of far away from where I live 🙂 But, anyone living in NY and have not heard about this exhibition can check details here http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/313
Made many more new branches, added to the tree. Glued some more leaves.
The last picture on the right bottom is showing the quick background painting I did today to shoot the tree. The final background will be more like a real sky. This one was just for fun..
13 replies on “Birds in the Nests, Nests in the Tree”
Wow… everything is looking incredible!!!! Big Bird… hah!!! Excellent!! And I love the pine cone nests, even if you did have to break a lot of dremel blades making them.
From one time thief to another…
Holy crapazoid Yaz, so much ingenuity! That tree is just … amazing really. I don’t even know what to say I’m so blown away by your work haha. Definitely keep it up, these posts are an inspiration – one day I hope to stray away from a blank table top and actually build props and sets for my films as well 🙂
Oh Yaz!!
The tree is absolutely beautiful and worth every stolen moment and more! I love the lighting and background of your photos too. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
Mike, thank you!!! Yeah… from one time thief to another. Great to know that we are many.. I am not alone. I have been working on setting up Lumix. Your posts on your blog have been very helpful. I still want to ask couple questions though. I will comment on your site.
Tony, I hope I can create puppets as good as yours. I have been working on set creation but Adem’s armature is still waiting for me. Thanks for the comment!!! By the way, this blog also helps me learn english too 🙂 I love what you said: “holy crapazoid” I checked this out at urban dictionary and will definetely be using this one.
Peggy, great to hear you like what I have done lately. Thank you for your support here!!
It’s all completely gorgeous, Yaz! I love the real bark and bits on the truck and roots! Vaowow! Your tree now is so completely artful, the composition and proportion of its elements are so appealing. And then the birds souls resting there so safe and protected. It’s all so moving. The pinecones were a great idea too. Your mama hen for your safety is happy you took proper precautions to cut them! (Don’t touch the bark with bare hands and then eat though. I believe bug spray poisons would remain in the porous wood to some degree that you wouldn’t want to ingest.)
I avoid poisons like plague. To prove that, yesterday, I found little piles of sawdust inside the cottage set here were I had installed those real root pieces. So real live bugs are now living in Halfland. The first residents. Gross, right? I’m not getting any bites or other hazards so I’ll likely just co-exist with them here.
m_) I can’t get to read it all. Too much time AGAINST me..but loving , truly loving that tree of life..
m_) Metalmadcat
Shelley, I am happy with this new look too. When I compare with the previous one, this seems a lot better. There are still some things bothering me with this tree but as you always say I should not go back and I should not over work on any of these. Now, I am going to be working on lighting and photography before starting other pieces like the clock and my puppet!
Bug spray… yeah you are right. I am sure there are still some left over the tree. Thanks for warning.
Having real live bugs in Halfland.. oh no, be careful! Nothing gross but dont let them ruin your work over the years. You know how bugs effect wood. I know having some bug’s damage will make Halfland look even more natural but those can really ruin in a long time. Let our children’s grandchilds see Halfland as the way it is now! I am serious.
Dan, thank you for being here! You all add more LIFE to the tree of life…
Yaz,
You are a NATURAL!!! I am very impressed by you and your work….you are doing an excellent
job on all levels…..
jriggity
Justin, thank you soooooo much!!!!
Ah, the tree of life looks absolutely amazing!! Well done, Yaz!! And the birds and the nests too, so impressive. Stolen moments produce magical things.
Thank you DJ !!! Yeah.. stolen moments.. By the way I miss Jed. Is he around?
“Let our children’s grandchilds see Halfland as the way it is now! ”
An incredibly kind comment, Yaz. I’m touched, thank you. Same to you!
this is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo great!!!!!