Regarding Stella’s Minotaur from last week, thinking about it, I guess the judges were looking for more of a blended character, a human/cow hybrid, like Cig’s approach? The thing is, I disagree - a Minotaur is a bull’s head on a human body, not a morphed human/bull hybrid face. Same way a centaur is a human’s torso and head on a horse body, not a horse-human hybrid head. The Greek chimera’s were stark contrast animal mixes, not blended hybrid mixes.
Anyway, this week’s challenges.
For the Foundation challenge, I thought they all did pretty well. I liked the approach Sasha took with the hair and face texture, but agreed that the line was too even down the face. It should have been more asymmetrical on the spread of the stone. I thought Dina’s was interesting with the 3-D elements. I was less thrilled with George’s work. I understand he went for old and weathered and growing lichens, but he covered up his work by putting it in that big hood. And I liked Stella’s - it looked creepy and menacing while looking organic under the stone. Worth the win.
For the Spotlight challenge,
Cig, Apollo: I did not like this result. I don’t see what the judges were complimenting, the were definitely overpraising in my opinion. I put him in bottom on my original ratings, but after the judge’s up close review, I could see him Safe, which is ultimately what he ended up with. It’s almost like the judges needed someone to compare with Dina for drama, and used him because he’s been doing good work. Or something. I didn’t like the sculpt, I know it was intentionally asymmetrical, but it didn’t read like fire to me. Add to it the shoulder puffs that were small, poorly shaped, and poorly applied - it just wasn’t his regular standard of work. Couple that with the beast’s head - I get that it was supposed to be a pestilence demon, but I really struggled to see it as a head. I had to struggle to pull out a face - finally see the teeth and nose openings. I didn’t like it, thought it was too amorphous and you couldn’t tell it was a head. Ergo, overall, I thought his work was substandard this week.
George, Zeus: I have to agree, this was a Bottom look, and it read that way to me as well. I thought he did a good job with the face sculpt, but something in the paint color on the bride of the nose and eyebrow ridge didn’t quite match his face. Maybe it’s the camera picking up something by material affecting the way the color reads. It was disturbingly prominent. Couple that with the atrocious [del]dress[/del] toga and armor - seriously, the baby blue armor bits not a coherent armor plate, the clouds didn’t read from afar. I was a bit more forgiving on the hair, but you’d think the guy with the big beard could have gotten the beard right. Anyway, this was the Bottom for me and I think he should have gone home. Too much wrong. His severed head wasn’t bad, except for the lack of connection to Zeus’s powers, which weren’t evident.
Sasha, Athena: She struggled on concept, and made a risky move subverting the concept by making the Medusa head winning over the Goddess, turning her to stone. Mr. Westmore was correct, for this to work, the Medusa head had to be pristine to look alive, so it’s taking over the goddess. In this case, the head wasn’t just a prop, it was a central element because of the role it plays in the character. And what Sasha made was a dreadful severed head. “Anima sex doll” - ha ha, but the nose was whack, the skin around the eyes was bad, the eyes bulged, then there’s the wig work. And fake skin is hard. That was awful. I originally put her as Safe, because I the elements on the face were interesting to me, but I understand the judge’s comments that she still should have been beautiful, and the texture was more gravel pit than stone sculpture. With that, I see why they went Bottom look for her. I still would have eliminated George, but she’s been Bottom a lot, and so maybe that factored in.
Dina, Aphrodite: I agree, she was the only Top look, hers was a class by itself this week. Every bit was perfect. The headdress was nautical while accentuating the beauty, the color scheme was bright and appealing, the coral bits worked, the model’s beauty played through. And then she topped that with the best severed head of the bunch. That severed head was excellent in its own right. Smart choices all around, superb result.
Drew, Hades: I agree with Safe for him. I didn’t think his face was great. The severed head’s face was pretty good, but the shape of the head was kind of blah and vague. Still, better than the Bottom looks.
Stella, Poseidon: I think Stella was underrated this week. I liked her sculpt and paint job. I suppose it looks a little rubber masky. The severed head didn’t really turn out great, supposed to be an octopus. I guess Safe works, but I rated it higher.
With Sasha’s wildcard knocked out, that leaves us one step closer for Dina and Cig to battle it out in the Finals, probably with Stella rounding out the third. Drew’s got a chance at it, but George is treading water, and someone keeps adding weights.