Skeksis

Skeksis are the antagonists from Jim Henson's classic movie, the Dark Crystal. The movie is a classic tale of good and evil in a fantasy world entirely made up of puppets and animatronics. For this project, I conceptualized and designed my own Skeksis animatronic puppet. The character was first designed on paper and imported into a computer where the proportions were determined. From that image a clay sculpture was created with all of the basic forms the skeksis face was going to have. This sculpture was then 3D scanned into CAD software and 3D printed as a plastic core. This 3D print was then layered with thermo plastics to make the inner skeleton of the skeksis head. The sculpture was then layered with softer clay and the skin was molded and textured. The eyelid and eyeball mechanism was designed in CAD software and 3D printed in order to test usability and tolerances and then I fabricated the aluminum piece that would allow for light and robust eye movement. I then made a mold of the sculpt and cast the head out of silicone. The thermoplastic skeleton was padded with muslin after the mechanism was installed and the skin was pulled over top. I then painted the silicone skin in layers in order to match the aesthetics of a skeksis.
Proposal
Presented at Union College's Steinmetz Symposium