The Cartographer

Hello, and welcome to my Buy/Sell Topic! There's not much to look at yet, but I'm curious to see how much interest there is for little trinkets. As of right now I'm selling resin-cast Mata Nui totems and mis-casts (see photos below). I've gone through a few different processes trying to make easily repeatable casts, and I've gotten as close as I think is possible with the resources I've available. If you're interested in seeing photos of the progress, you can check out this topic and this topic. The design of the totem is a personal interpretation of the stone totems found in MNOG. I've been working on a more "screen-accurate" version, but it's on hold until I finish school. If you'd like to order a totem, please post here and I will DM you to square away the details. If you'd like one of the mis-casts, post which you are interested in (the number), and I will remove it from the list. If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask. I'm not expecting this to take off, but if there's some interest, it'll be a nice way to recoup some of the material costs while going to school and allow me to continue to experiment. As I'm taking classes right now, the processing time will be one week from the order date (except for mis-casts). Payment and shipping will be handled as follows: - Payment will be sent through PayPal - Buyer pays shipping: $3.00 (USD) - Items will ship as soon as payment is received - I am only shipping within the US as of right now (I will likely be changing this in the future and apologize for any inconvenience) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cold-Cast Aluminum – Finished: $15.00 Finished casts are buffed with steel wool, rubbed with acetone and black shoe polish (separately), and coated in an acrylic spray to seal the details. Cold-Cast Aluminum – Unfinished: $12.00 Unfinished casts have a flat, stone-like appearance. Please note that the outer layer of these casts is very thin and will easily rub away to reveal the aluminum underneath. If you wish to preserve the flat, unfinished look, refrain from handling them when possible, and keep them away from abrasive objects when storing. Black / Translucent: $8.00 These casts contain no aluminum powder. The resin cures as a translucent, soft amber and can be colored with black pigment if desired. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mis-Casts: No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 No. 12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The purpose of this topic is not merely to see how much interest there is, as I'm completely prepared to sell what you see above. The plan is to offer other things at some point in the future, and honestly I'm not sure if a topic like this is permitted. If not, then close it, and I will create a more traditional topic later. Thanks for looking! JB

UPDATE: March 27, 2017 I've recently gotten back into my groove and experimented with a new mold for the Mata Nui totem. It's slightly larger than before, and it has a flat bottom, allowing it to sit upright without modifications. I've been able to produce pretty consistent casts, despite the mold being a single piece. Click the thumbnails to see photos of each of the different casts. I invested in some brass powder to experiment with, and have since made my own compression chamber to eliminate bubbles. It's been a while since I posted last, but I've been making slow progress, and I'm excited to finally be sharing it! A quick side note: I'm almost finished with my Metru Nui island graphic, and will post it soon. It's taking a lot of motivation to get it done, but I'm determined to complete a lot of my on-going projects this year, and Metru Nui is among them. After that I plan to do Voya Nui, to complete the three "big islands." My goal is to eventually do every island in the MU, and I'm a bit excited about working on those lesser-known.

That map is absolutely incredible—everything about it is perfect! I've always wanted to make a subway-style chute map for Metru Nui, but haven't ever gotten around to it (doubt I ever will, but if this isn't inspiration I don't know what is). Honestly, it wouldn't look this good even if I did! The nostalgic part of me is devouring this! The inclusion of the little information posters are solid, and very well incorporated into the overall theme. If I had one...suggestion, it would be to add an image to the Ta-Metru section of the poster (e.g. the Great Furnace), to both even things out and make Ta-Metru seem a little more interesting. Other than that, I think you nailed it! I do hope you continue to share your work if end up exploring other projects, especially if they relate to G1 Bionicle! Thanks so much for sharing! J•B

PM sent! Not sure if it's still available since the topic is now 20 days old, but not locked.

I really appreciate the encouraging words! I haven't been really active lately, what with the holidays and life stuff going on...and school starts up again soon. *Sigh* lol I love the community here, and am always open to suggestions or advice! I'll be back soon!

Hey there, and thanks for visiting my collection topic! I started a topic a while back about my cold casting efforts, and I really appreciate the feedback I've gotten. I haven't had much time lately to experiment because of school and work. However, the semester is almost over, so hopefully I'll be back at it again soon! In my small stints of free time, I've been working on a few other digital art projects, and I wanted to share some of them here, with all of you. My original topic (linked for reference) can be closed if anyone with the authority is reading this. I'm not planning to add anything more to it; that's what this topic is for. All project updates and new submissions will be added to this topic. The reason I re-created many of the designs below is because there are very few high resolution versions available on the Internet. It also gives me the flexibility to adjust the design if something about it bothers me. I like having a consistent collection of images to pull from when working on different projects. As such, I'm making all of these designs available to anyone who'd like to use them. I don't need credit, but I'd love to see what you create if you use any of them. I'm doing this as much for the fans of Bionicle as I am for myself. I'm working on several projects now, but if you have a suggestion about what I should do next, please share it! These designs are very simple, though most have taken many hours to create. The maps/silhouettes took massive amounts of time, as they were traced with a mouse. I'm not really proud of the amount of time I spent on them, but I'm really happy I took the time. Hopefully these can make others happy too. UPDATE: March 27, 2017 I've recently gotten back into my groove and experimented with a new mold for the Mata Nui totem. It's slightly larger than before, and it has a flat bottom, allowing it to sit upright without modifications. I've been able to produce pretty consistent casts, despite the mold being a single piece. Click the thumbnails below to see photos of each of the different casts. I invested in some brass powder to experiment with, and have since made my own compression chamber to eliminate bubbles. It's been a while since I posted last, but I've been making slow progress, and I'm excited to finally be sharing it! A quick side note: I'm almost finished with my Metru Nui island graphic, and will post it soon. It's taking a lot of motivation to get it done, but I'm determined to complete a lot of my on-going projects this year, and Metru Nui is among them. After that I plan to do Voya Nui, to complete the three "big islands." My goal is to eventually do every island in the MU, and I'm a bit excited about working on those lesser-known. As always, questions, comments, and criticisms are always welcome! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Resin Casts: First Mold: Second Mold: Third Mold: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vector Graphics: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Raster Graphics: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This topic will be edited periodically. Changes to links may cause temporary inaccessibility to some images. If you are having troubling clicking through to an image, please let me know! Thanks again for looking!

Well it seems to be working for ya just fine!

I'm so happy you uploaded these reference sketches... It honestly didn't occur to me that the extra width might be intentional (shortsighted of me), but I had assumed you'd probably sketched out alternate views. I don't think you have to worry about the details translating well into your designs. The thought that you've put into these illustrations shows. I agree with Iaredios that the inspiration for his form is very imaginative, and the details you have chosen really play to his character. I'll look forward to Teridax then, I don't mind waiting. In the mean time I'll have to check out your comic!

These illustrations are awesome, Stroxx! Miserix is so far my favorite. The details you've borrowed from his canon form are really thoughtful and well placed, and the color scheme you chose suits him well. It could just be the angle playing tricks, but the tail seems oddly proportioned to me. It seems like it should be seen coming up to meet his body rather than disappearing behind his thigh (or thinned out a bit where we see it "under" his leg). I can see how this apparent distortion could just be a result of the angle, if the tail were to come straight down before curving away from his body. That's me being overly critical I think. Anyway, his face and mask look very jolly! It would have been neat to see him holding a pre-ev version of his staff -- might've helped the sage look you were going for. I for one would love to see Teridax, not sure if anyone's requested him yet. Not to mention post-ev renditions of these Makuta...I'd love to see any of the G1 characters rendered in your artistic style, really. Keep up the great work! J•B

I'm really impressed with what you've been able to do here! My knowledge of resin-casting and mold-making is limited, to say the least. The thought of trying to replicate a mask is daunting to me, but your posts have have been a wealth of information and inspiration! The masks you've made so far are incredible, especially the Kaukau. I'm looking forward to seeing a custom dyed cast. I've been using supplies from Smooth-On, and I'm not sure how their prices compare to what you've been spending, but they offer a couple options if you're looking for a slightly longer cure time. I'm using smooth cast 325 with the powdered metal, but you could probably use any of them (haven't read up on the others). The smooth cast 300 series, a basic white plastic, is available in four different options, with cure times ranging from 5 minutes to 4 hours. Resins are definitely not cheap. There are so many options on that website, I had to do a lot of reading before committing to buying anything. I'm happy so far with what I've been able to produce. Keep up the great work! Cant wait to see some updates! J•B

Thanks all, for the encouraging responses. I haven't had a lot of time lately to try anything different, though I'd like to make an updated sculpture to allow the totem to sit on a flat surface. Originally I wanted to have something that looked like it wasn't "made" to sit nicely on flat ground -- something that looks like it was created using a [perfectly shaped ] rock off the beach. Seeing as that won't be practical for display purposes, I'm going to recreate it with a flattened bottom. I really want to create a Makuta Stone to go along with this little guy, but I'm not sure how I'd go about it. I'm thinking I could use a translucent resin with a very, very dark red dye. If I could somehow sculpt a replica out of obsidian, that would be amazing! One of these weekends when I have some time, I'll try to at least get a positive made. It neat seeing the different patterns created with each cast. It was my intention to use cement/concrete only, to give it a very stone-like representation. When I saw what cold casts looked like, I was very excited to try it. It's all I've used so far, and I love it. I did make one attempt at casting using cement, and it didn't turn out half-bad, but I hate the seams. The next mold will not have seams. The "whiskers" will be higher up on the face for the next mold, I think that's the only design major flaw. That's high praise coming from you! I'd think no mould alteration is required, since they could just drill a hole in the top and screw in an eye-hook. o: I've considered jamming an eye-hook into the top of one, I'm not even sure if tapping a hole would be necessary. My mom asked me if it was supposed to be a cat. She wanted one made into a necklace, which I thought was funny. I've thought about selling them, but I'd have to nail down a process first, which probably won't happen anytime soon. I do have plans to make a sort of Kanohi display stand, but that's down the list a ways.

So, this project has been on my "want to do" list for quite a while, and I've finally gotten around to sharing pictures of my progress so far. I'll start by saying that I've had zero experience working with silicone or resin before now, and this is my first ever attempt at making a mold of anything. Anyway, I wanted to make a Mata Nui stone/totem, similar to what is seen in the comics and mini movies to represent the Great Spirit. I started with a small model to test the process, and it turned out pretty good. The pieces I've made so far have been cold casted with aluminum powder. Once I've had a bit more practice, I'm going to try casting cement pieces for a more authentic stone look. For my first attempt, I coated the inside of the mold with a thin layer of powder before casting, which (I believe) resulted in a pocket of air/powder at the base of the mold (the top of the piece). I decided not to pre-coat the mold for the second cast, and the result was a much darker version without any major hiccups. By the third try I was able to eliminate much of the seam and tiny air bubbles that were present in the first casts, but it's still not perfect. In the album, the first picture is of the last cast (unfinished). When I have a little more time I will try to put up some thumbnails so there's not as much clicking to do. For now, here is the link to the entire album (good luck ): https://flic.kr/s/aHskjhP8aa Update: This past weekend I had a little time and decided to create a new totem mold to allow the cast to sit upright. The process is partially documented on DeviantArt, but the final photos are also posted below (I am going to see how the autoscaling works, and may just end up linking back to the album). I'm pretty happy with how the new mold came out. I fixed a few things that bothered me about the first one, but of course the this one isn't perfect either. Personally, the eyes are not as symmetrical as I'd like them to be (something I made worse by digging at them with a razor blade >.<), and the "nose" line seems a bit too wide to me. Everything considered, it sits upright and I'm happy. I also went hiking this weekend and found some pieces of natural coal, which I may try to use to create the shape the Makuta stone. That's it! Thanks for looking! Comments, questions and criticism are always appreciated!

I'm not sure if a topic such as this is allowed, seeing as I don't own the rights to the original work which this piece is heavy based upon. It is original in the sense that every element was created from scratch, but it is obviously inspired by Christian Faber's original Vitruvian Robot concept. If the topic must be closed, please do so. You'd be hard-pressed to stumble across a member of this forum who is not a fan of Faber and his awesome work. That said, the reason I created this in the first place is because I wanted to display Faber's original design in my home. The image he posted to his blog was great but would've required a custom frame, short of some undeserved retouching. So instead of reworking the original image, I decided to recreate it from scratch, with some modifications. I made some minor adjustments to the robot's proportions and symmetry, in order to abide by both the dimensions of Da Vinci's squared circle and the scale of the Vitruvian Man. In light of these changes, I did my best to stick as close to the robot's original details as possible, and I'm fairly happy with the results. I've since printed it and have it hung up in my room. Now, I thought I'd share it with the community for some welcomed feedback and criticism. I do hope you like it, though there's not much to it that you probably haven't already seen. I will say that I'm aware of the fact that compressing the robot's dimensions and scale pretty much goes against the accepted proportions of the true Mata-Nui robot. I would like to give credit to Christian Faber, again, for his unmatched contributions to the Bionicle Universe. Credit for the original concept is owed to him. The original piece, along with other tidbits of awesomeness, can be found on his blog: Faber Files. Click the thumbnail for a larger view. I don't mind if anyone uses this for their own purposes, as long as credit is given where credit is due.

This was the hardest poll for me to vote in, such a shame only one entry will be moving on! I was really torn between Maxilos, Brutaka, and the Nui Jaga. In the end, I couldn't help but let my nostalgia get the better of me and voted for the scorpion Rahi, which is very well built! The head is really creative and maintains the simplicity of the original model. Brutaka, would have been my second choice, but the abundance of gold held me back a great deal. Overall, some very impressive MOCs throughout the contest! I regret not having time to make a Gen 2 Hydraxon, maybe later down the road!