I thought it might be interesting to follow the process of a commission work from inception to finished sculpt.
I was first approached by the client Theo Meier, three weeks ago. I’ve known Mr. Meier for nearly six years and although in the past he has bandied about ideas, this is the first sculpt he has commissioned from me. The price was quickly agreed ("a zillion dollars and I’ll be good for a whole week") and we began to discuss the project.
Theo M. It’s going to be called ‘Slug-eat-your-face’.
Tom M. So, It’s going to be a kind of slug…
Theo M. Yeah!
Tom M. And how is it different from an ordinary slug?
Theo M. It’s big.
Tom M. Is that all?
Theo M. No, it has big teeth, to eat your face and is really scary.
Tom M. What kind of teeth, like a shark or an alligator…
Theo M. No, like Hambam (a hamster who, it ought to be mentioned, once bit the client)
Tom M. Any other distinguishing features?
Theo M. Yeah, he’s really crazy, crazy to eat your face!
Tom M. And how does his mental state manifest itself in his appearance?
Theo M. He’s got one eye bigger than the other.
Tom M. One eye bigger than the other?
Theo M. Yeah, that shows he’s crazy.
The details of the design being worked out and a rough mock-up created by the client sculpting was begun a fortnight later and concluded in the course of a Saturday afternoon. Payment is pending.
