Mr Bean

Mr Bean step by step...

My first attempt at sculpting a caricature. I chose Mr Bean coz he's one of my favourite characters and his face is full of expression. 

Step 1: Usual stuff, start with an egg-shaped ball of LCM, or RKT (rice krispie treats). I used half a bar of LCM coz I only needed a little. No point making a whole batch of RKT just for a little bit. Squish and shape LCM into an egg. Oh, do you like my new head moulding tool? 

Step 2: Cover LCM egg with fondant. For face sculpting, I find a mix of 50-50 white modelling chocolate and Satin Ice ivory fondant gives me the best texture. The modelling chocolate prolongs the working time of the fondant without drying out too quickly and the fondant prevents the modelling chocolate from getting too greasy from the heat of my fingers. All in all, a great marriage :-) Don't forget to indent two holes for the eye sockets.

Step 3: Make 2 small balls from white fondant for the eye balls. Make sure the eye balls fit in the eye sockets. Before proceeding to Step Four, leave the face and eye balls to dry out and firm up a little. This is a good time to catch up on some housework... or watch TV.... or have a nana nap (I chose the second and third option. Hehehe).

Step 4: Add eye lids. I ended up doubling the size of the eye balls to add a bit of drama and expression to Mr Bean's face.

Step 5: Form a nose and attach to the face with some tylose glue. 

Step 6: Add the cheeks.

Step 7: Blend the cheeks into the face. This is another reason why I add white modelling chocolate to fondant. It's easier to blend and smooth out the seams. Don't forget to etch out the mouth at this stage.

Step 8: Add lips and forehead. At this point I also etched out some details such as wrinkles and skin folds.

Step 9: Add pupils to the eyes. I simply used black non-pareils.

Step 10: Add eyebrows. Remember eyebrows play an integral part in facial expressions so give some thought about how to shape the eyebrows to get that expression you want to achieve. Don't forget to attach the ears!

Step 11: Finally, the hair and here's Mr Bean! A few things I'd like to have done better; make the forehead wider and higher, for example. And make better looking hair. But overall, quite happy with my first attempt. This head is rather large, almost the size of an egg. Next project is to make a smaller head which is more of a challenge to get all the details on a smaller scale. 

Bean! With a dash of colour...