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<\/a>David DeGooyer has a keen eye for detail, such as a clavicle\u2019s orientation. <\/p>\n\u201cMore than any other part of the body, the clavicle sends a message,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way it is oriented says so much about attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
The University Heights resident and USPS mail carrier designs original and commissioned fantasy figurines from Sculpey clay. He created his first figurine for Stop Motion Animation.<\/p>\n
One of approximately 50 such sculptors in the U.S., DeGooyer said he has earned the nickname \u201cthe girl guy\u201d because of his expertise in sculpting female anatomy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned from a book about female body builders,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n
DeGooyer describes men\u2019s muscles as \u201cpiled on,\u201d but women\u2019s muscles have what he calls \u201cmore life\u201d because they run into each other more smoothly. <\/p>\n
\u201cA sense of musculature and flow really draws the eye to a sculpture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
DeGooyer pointed to Red Hot Amy, his elegant, blond-haired fox figurine based on the Amiga animation series by Eric Schwartz. He said he initially struggled with designing Amy\u2019s legs, reminding himself \u201cthey\u2019re dancer\u2019s legs.\u201d Using that focus allowed the tension to come through. <\/p>\n
He points to the tiny dimples behind Amy\u2019s knees. \u201cKnees don\u2019t make sense and are probably the hardest part of the anatomy to recreate. That people walk upright is amazing; the knee is such a fragile thing.\u201d <\/p>\n
Each of his creations, such as his rendition of Taral Wayne\u2019s Beatrix Farmer \u2013 glamorous in her wine-colored suit \u2013 requires a silicon mold as well as supporting plaster molds to keep resin from bloating. The resin is poured in and shaken to fill every bit of space and, as it begins to harden, DeGooyer has less than three minutes to secure the figurine inside a pressure pot. He must quickly tighten the seven screw clamps that hold the pressure pot\u2019s lid in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis \u2018pressure-in\u2019 process shrinks the micro bubbles from the resin,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
DeGooyer mixes every color he uses to achieve the right shade and effect. He employs a combination of wire tools and beveled wooden tools to rough out a sculpture. He also creates wire-sculpting tools, including modified dental tools that he sharpens, bends or smashes flat to get an edge. To make lines clean, he repeatedly goes over the figurine with a flat brush. DeGooyer\u2019s \u201ctool of the trade\u201d is the sculpting loop.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people ask me to do figurines,\u201d DeGooyer said, \u201cIf it\u2019s different, I\u2019ll get involved.\u201d <\/p>\n
DeGooyer said taking the time to infuse character and a sense of life into his figurines trumps output. \u201cI do sculpting mostly because it\u2019s something that lasts and it takes me places I like to go. I like making something from nothing. And everything I do has to be \u2018alive.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
His current project is an original: Qeyuu, the little spider waif. \u201cShe\u2019s starting to make me happy,\u201d he said, smiling. \u201cIt\u2019s my first time working on the fly without an illustration.\u201d <\/p>\n
DeGooyer frequently offers advice and suggestions to other sculptors. \u201cIf anybody asks me questions, I always tell them what I know because I learned from scratch by asking others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n