POP GOES ATHENA

On October 6, the end result of two years' work will arrive in bookstores. But what the heck is it? Simply put, it's a start-to-finish instruction manual for creating prototypes, molds and paint masters for a 3-D sculpture headed for mass-production. While we show a bunch of different pieces in the book, in different stages of completion, we needed to create one piece on which we could demonstrate the various techniques we were about to teach. Since Tim, Ruben and I were emptying the contents of our skulls to benefit aspiring sculptors and curious collectors around the world, we figured, why not choose a character who sprang fully-formed from someone else's skull? And so Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, became our willing test subject. Here, you can see glimpses of her representing the many steps of the process. - Zach Oat

1: Rough clay. Playing with position and proportion on a mock-up base.

2: Finished clay ready for Waste Mold.

3: Finished clay head.



4: Clay head part cut from figure and gated for waste mold.

5: Waste mold cut and clay part removed.

6: Collection of wax cast part from waste molds




7: Working wax toward finish

8: Finished wax head for Athena statue.



9: Cleaning resin cast for Paint Master.

10: Primed resin cast. Paint Master started.



11: Finished Paint Master of Athena head.