Fisherman and Seagull Armatures

I've started building now and though I'm further behind then I would have liked I'm still trying to find the motivation to kick start my creativity - it's hiding very well! I keep getting set backs due to having the wrong materials or size materials and I really would like to be on track with my schedule.

I'll try not to be too down in the dumps about everything and give you a quick glimpse into the work I'm doing at the moment.

So, I've finally got my armatures built for both the fisherman and the seagull and a the moment I'm working on the hands and bird's legs - which will hopefully be made from Silicone when finished - but I'll be posting about that a little later once they're done and out of the way.

Both my armatures are made using k&s tubing (in various sizes, depending on where they're being stuck) and twisted wire. On the fisherman I used double twisted wire for the arms and triple twisted for the spine and legs/ feet. All exposed wire is covered in heat shrink wrap to help it last longer. For his neck I used a ball and socket joint to give it better movement and also because I'd never used one before and thought it'd be interesting to use.

When it came to the hands I used a thinner wire for the fingers - but the same double twisted wire as the arms for the wrists. Most parts of the armature are removable, as this makes fixing it much easier if it gets broken, and they all slot together via the k&s tubes. 

Each hand is glued together on top of a small, ring shaped piece of metal and the tips of the fingers are dipped in the glue to stop them being sharp and breaking through their covering. Once everything was glued and assembled together, major joints and parts (that I really don't want coming apart and also to add some weight) were covered using chunks of Milliput.

The seagull does have wings if you're wondering, they're just not in the picture! 

I hope this was useful and I'll be posting the steps I've been taking to make the hands all fleshed out as soon as possible. Thanks for taking a look!