I think my problem is that I am learning so much that, as I'm working on a project, I realize that I could be doing something differently or better so I move on to something else to test out my new theory!
I have been dying to try making a silk top, but am determined to finish at least a couple of these projects first, before moving on to something else! I still also have the Marilyn wig that is finished, but as yet uncut and unstyled...
I need a couple more hands, and at least double the number of hours in the day!
Wow, starting to look like the wig room where I used to work! Watch out, it takes over, the hair gets everywhere! Would you care to share what you have changed/ learnt up till your new project? And I was wondering, with the blonde, did you get the full head or half head extensions? And how many packs you need for a full head? Thank you for the great blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks, glad you're enjoying it! You're right about the hair, it follows me everywhere! I find great balls of it blowing across my wood floors, like tumbleweeds across the prairie! Worse yet is finding long strands of hair that have somehow made it inside my clothes and are wedged in places that I won't mention in a G-rated blog... HAHA!
DeleteThe things I learn with each project are usually subtle little changes that would make the piece better, like lowering the density in a certain area or changing the ventilation direction. With the blonde piece for instance, the nape area is bothering me. I have been studying peoples napes while riding the subway, and have noticed that on most people the hair grows sideways at the nape towards the middle, and the density drops towards the bottom. Of course that won't matter if I keep the hair the length it is now, but if I cut it into a short back and sides men's style, then it will make a big difference!
These are often minute details that I'm sure most wig makers would consider finicky and a waste of time, but my goal has always been to create wigs that mimic a natural head of hair as closely as possible. I have the luxury of not doing this for money, so I can take my time and really indulge my love of detail!
The extensions were, I guess, the half-head - just a single wide strip with 5 clips across the top. Here's a photo of the actual extension with the clips removed:
http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/hairsay514/media/blonde%20synthetic/clips_zpse6c455b8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
It weighs about 120g with the clips attached, and is about 22 inches long.
It looks like I might get away with only 2 packs for this wig, but I'm not sure yet. It's quite low density, so I would imagine that most people would need 3+ for a full wig.
I know that feeling too, and you can't figure out how all that hair got in there! I even find it woven into my socks!
DeleteBut your right to do it, its the small details that make the piece, my teacher told me "The bus is your best friend in this business!" she said to look at the back of everyone's heads for angles and direction! She also said that everyone is a little balding but just don't know it yet!
Thanks for the great info!
HAHA! Yes, buses and trains are great sources of information and inspiration! I often prefer to stand so I can look down at the top of everyone's head! I have been caught several times, and have considered wearing sunglasses so people can't see me looking... :)
DeleteI will do a blog post one day on my observations, but I'm too new at this yet to feel confident that my details will make any difference in the long run.
A lot of my ideas might be quite idealistic, and frankly impossible to recreate due to the limitations of knotting into lace, and also usually having to cover up someone's real hair beneath the wig. Ideally, in my world, everyone would be bald so I had a clean slate to work with! :)
But things like hair direction at the nape, and adding a crown swirl, are things that most wigmakers don't bother with. I have also noticed that most wigs seem to be ventilated back from the hairline, no matter what style is being created. To me, this can give a very unnatural look to the front of the wig. Even on a long wig, I find it looks much more realistic to vent the hair forward from the crown, and actually at a slight angle, so that when the hair is brushed back it has some volume and appears to grow from the scalp like real hair.
However, I know if I was doing this commercially or for theatre etc. then there would be no time to worry about those things!
I find that as-well, too many wigs are ventilated backwards, this some people say is to stop it from falling over the face but really I think they lack realism. With fronts I kind of follow the swirl at the crown forward with irregularity for realism and the sides I ventilate at an angle that follows all round the perimeter as this is far more realistic!
DeleteBut when working for theater we don't bother with the nape so much if it's long, and a lot of the time we up density and ventilate back to create a widows peck when we don't have much time to make them. This allows for less 'scalp' or wig cap at the parting and the widows peak in the center of forehead will look like growing hair so that it will look realistic from a far!
I still have no idea how I still enjoy it, it's a labour of love!
Yeah it makes sense that wigs for theatre have very different and specific requirements! I would love to try it for a while, because I'm sure it would make me a MUCH faster ventilator...! :)
DeleteI think the key is to know the ultimate purpose of the wig, and hopefully the ultimate style, and make/ventilate it according to those requirements.
Do you have a blog or a website that shows your work? I always love to see what others are up to!
I don't at the moment because we are not allowed to put our projects at work out into the internet because they are owned by the company we make them for, some clients put us under nda! But I will for my next personal project!
DeleteAh, top secret... I understand :)
DeleteI don't feel so badly now, I have three wig blocks with half completed projects! Love your work, even at half done.
ReplyDeletesigned, another anonymous wigmaker.
HAHA! Thanks, glad I'm not the only one... :P
Delete@ anonymous, I learned you love this or you hate it.. no happy medium. I'm kinda new to this and I find it cathartic. I never get tired of looking at other's workmanship, so Dave, I also thank you for sharing your work here.
ReplyDelete@anonymous, that is one of the perks that you have working with other professionals as you are learning, you get to pick up those little details, tips that are small but help to create realistic work. Basic teaching, the hair is ventilated all going back, yawn. I am working in solitude, but I am focusing and attempting more on my direction, trying to ventilate direction in what will be the FINAL style the wig will be worn in.
signed, another anonymous wigmaker~
one more thing, Dave, thanks for admitting you study napes on the subway. I stare at hairlines on the subway. I look and I sort of trace in my mind the curves around the perimeter of the face. Someone even caught me staring once, but all I wanted to do was get a sketch book out and try to simulate on paper.
ReplyDeletesigned, another anonymous wigmaker~