10 Little Kodama

One of my most recent projects has been sculpting some adorable little kodama, inspired by the tree spirits in Hayao Miyazaki's animated masterpiece Princess Monokone. Who wouldn't be inspired by these guys?

I sculpted them with a blend of Sculpey Firm, Super Sculpey and Sculpey III over an aluminum armature. Alone they stand about 3" tall, and their bases are 2"-3". I made 5 this time around, each one with two little tree spirits.

They were painted with many thin coats of acrylic paint and given a semi-gloss protective coat of PYMII. Here you can see them being painted.

They look like little aliens!

They stand on a base of heat-cured, responsibly harvested* maple logs covered with dried and treated moss. I had a lot of fun making these and plan to make more in the near future!

Kodama being sculpted!

*Regarding the logs, my Father-In-Law had a huge maple in his back yard that was severely damaged by an unfortunate fire next door. The tree was beyond saving, so he cut it down. He gave the wood to us to use as heating firewood and many, many of the branches are the perfect diameter for these little sculpts!

Mermaids!

In 2012 a friend asked me to make some art dolls for his grandaughters. They had seen another mermaid doll that I had made on a whim, and requested two similar dolls. The intended recipients were 5 and 3 at the time, and they wanted one purple and one pink mermaid with "princess" elements.

They were made from Super Sculpey and Apoxie Sculpt over an aluminum armature. They are painted with acrylics with added Swarovski crystals, sea shells, pearls and super soft mohair braids. The tail fins are made from Fantasy Film over aluminum wire. By all reports, the girls were pleased with the gifts. These were a lot of fun to make. The full figures measured about 11" tall.

Both of the girls together.

Front view of the pink princess

Side view...

And the purple princess