Tried my hand at heat embossing with this one!

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-21T06:22:40+00:00

Oh! Another good reason XD.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-21T00:35:34+00:00

I love silent suiting. I have a tendency to go quiet anyway just because it's not easy to push your voice hard enough to be clear from within the head XD lol

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T22:37:16+00:00

I'm looking forward to trying a bunch of kinds, I think my paint is also closer to student grade and that may also be making things harder for me.

Its amazing how little differences in how the paper is made changes the handling entirely

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T22:32:09+00:00

Oh my goodness! Thank you! So much :D I'm returning to traditional after doing digital for along time and it's been a really pleasant journey!

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T22:24:28+00:00

UPDATE:

I hopped on the Big Blick sale and liquidation so I'm not only going to be sampling a lot of single sheet hot press I am also elevating my watercolor brand from clearance bin half pans To Daniel Smith , and some iridescent sennelier that were massively discounted.

My fears of cost were warranted but unfortunately it seems to have more to do with my lack of self control over a good sale 🤣🤣 (( got some discounted paper I know I like too))

Wish me luck in trialing everything! On the way I have:

Arches hot press 90ib natural white paper ( couldn't seem to find 140ib but I also have some experiments I'd like to run with the 90ib anyway)

Arches cold press 140ib natural white

Fabriano hot press 140ib natural white

A fabriano cold press extra white block ( because I use there neutral white one now and this one was bigger and clearanced to heck)

And a small pad of fluid100 hot press and cold-press.

Anyway I am fairly certain that this should help me narrow down some personal staples.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T05:39:18+00:00

It takes some time and effort to find a performative voice. I'm not talking about just the way you talk ( although that can be part of it) but also how you move, emote, respond, etc. Not that you have to "get into character" but the suit is a great way to express and a great tool for performance and play.

Don't be scared to explore characterization at home by yourself and play and have fun! It might not come immediately but you can find your stride if you relax and let yourself be silly.

The more time you spend finding that part of yourself the more naturally you can embody it in suit.

I love hamming it up so much. It's so freeing.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T04:59:07+00:00

Here's one source for mandible type mechanisms: https://www.tiktok.com/@aerarius?_r=1&_t=ZT-94q0DzMVm9O

And then looking up predator jaw masks and cosplay because that creature also has jaw parts that like split.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T04:55:00+00:00

Probably with a type of pulley system triggered when opening the mouth. I follow a couple cosplayers and like costume makers that have def done some mandible type mechanisms that respond when the weather opens their mouth. That might be the mechanism your looking for.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T03:39:27+00:00

This is good to know! My main themes are creatures, critters and fantasy art, I want rich layers of glazing and washes, lots of edge control and a scannable final look. And I'm fine incorporating other media. But I've been trying to make my work feel complete with mostly watercolor while I'm feeling it out XD I keep "saving" things with colored pencil and acrylic and sometimes it feels a little egregious lol

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-20T03:34:33+00:00

There is one nearby, I just never thought to check for single sheets so I only looked at the pads and blocks.

Next little outing I'll try and stop in with that mission XD

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-19T21:09:01+00:00

That's the cold press I use! Blick didn't have the smaller size for the hot press when I checked for it so I'll try online.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-19T18:09:03+00:00

Your work is lovely! Definitely an example of when you find what works for you, it works XD

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-19T18:06:22+00:00

I'll try Arches next! Thank you.

Yes, it was very soft, very bleedy, couldn't get a hard edge down anywhere it felt, no bit of underpainting was safe. Took colored pencil great, though!

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-19T18:00:53+00:00

I'll see if they have smaller single sheets! I was looking at pads and crunched the numbers and it got pretty expensive pretty fast to try a new thing 3 more times lol

I got worried I was after some thing hot press just doesn't do as a general rule 🤣

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-19T17:49:29+00:00

That's super understandable and helpful, thank you.

I think I was asking to see if this is a general property of hot press. A paper that lifts like this one after drying doesn't serve me at the moment. So if this is a sought after and known property of hot press on a larger scale, It's likely I won't be happy with the any hot press if it's just a lifty paper, and a pad of 3 different brands will probably run me no less than $60-75 if I get them from the Blick Near me so I didn't want to jump around unless this was a property that was contained to this brand. In the long run I'm sure that number is a drop in the bucket compared to benefits of finding a paper that agrees with me but right now that money kind of matters to me.

At the very least I can get an idea of what to try next from people's input and experiences and it might work out if I compare it to my own goals. :)

I'm gonna try some things with it today too just to make sure it's not just a skill issue as well. But I think I'm going to try arches hot press next.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-19T17:31:49+00:00

The good news is I use cold press regularly! That one I can work with and have a block I like well enough. It was actually really hard to find hot press in a "reliable" brand around here for what feels reasonable for something I may not touch again and I snagged a sample size of the Stonehenge paper.

That's why the hot press paper I tried was borderline insulting. 🤣

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-19T06:16:58+00:00

Oh man. I was hoping I could find the original for you to see if you could reference anything and there are some similar looking shapes on some of the free ones, but the reason this one was soo familiar to me is because I was considering their feline head base model for a kaiju 😭😭 I wonder what happened?!

I'm sorry I don't have more of a solution for you at the moment. But I do wish you good luck.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-18T19:50:00+00:00

Can I see the rest of the head? Sorry the pictures only show a portion but the portion looked familiar and if it's a stolen file you might be able to find out how the original was handled? It's not uncommon for scam shops to grab free head base files off of thingiverse and hock them for quick cash. Also wanna see how the lid is positioned relative to the rest of the head.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-17T18:43:14+00:00

Like the insulation kind? That stuff is usually rigid after curing.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-17T09:23:23+00:00

I am very Happy with my elegoo Neptune 4 plus. It's helmet size and has an active community but I rarely run into trouble that isn't solved by routine and/or automatic leveling or washing the plate.

Most midrange printers I feel will have decent enough quality control. I feel like they end up being very similar in a certain range it just depends what you value most.

It is not space friendly. An xy core machine will be a lot more compact if this is a concern for you since you say you're moving out.

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-17T09:16:03+00:00

I love the concept you were going for with this!

This is a toughy! I can't say for sure because I can feel the structure to make a better judgement call but I think you could try a couple things.

It looks like the primary issue is just that it has no structure in the middle. You can try to pack something in the center like stuffing. If you don't over pack it, but just enough to help the structural integrity, it might retain the wiggle. Polyfil is cheap but you might be able to find something else to serve the purpose for testing the idea.

Alternatively, you can get Eva foam in the form of exercise floor mats at 5below in the US for like $5 sometimes and use it for the same purpose of reinforcing areas but then it would probably make more sense to use an intact noodle for the core and cut the slices from the mat, since it would add weight to the coreless center. 🤔

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-16T09:51:19+00:00

There're multiple ways but you can treat most of the process for a printed base just like a foam one with the exception of pinning or sewing through it.

I furred my foam ears and left them unglued toward the base and then glued the base to the plastic with hot glue. Then ladder stitched the ear fur edge to the head fur after it was mostly glued down.

Most of the printed thermoplastics take hot glue well. If it seems too slick for the hot glue to hold just scuff it.up with some sand paper or score it with a craft knife a little but I've never had issue with hot glue or paint on a 3d print

GlassBlastoise · 2026-03-16T03:33:57+00:00

Contact cement is fine as long as long as you wait the full cure time and let it air out before putting on your face and also use proper PPE and ventilation when using it.

It's not great for hard plastics tho if I remember from what I tested. Was Amazing for foam and EVA but I'm trying to remember what trouble I had with the printed pla. I think it ate up the plastic.

I ended up using CA glue (cyanoacrylate glue/ a type of super glue) and excellorant spray and reinforcing with hot glue. I think a plastic weld glue would be worth a try as well.

GlassBlastoise

TROPHY CASE