When I built my Rancor Statues (January 2024 - September 2024), I got size and proportion correct by using a grid method I learned from watching one of Jonni Good's videos. I knew I wanted my statue to be around 16-17" high so I used an 8" image with a 1" grid pattern then drew a 2" grid pattern on cardboard which basically doubled the dimensions. Although I ultimately chose to use different materials for the base of my statues, this method worked really well for getting the size and dimensions right. I never made videos on what I did but I'll try to describe it here and I did include the video that inspired me. Let's begin!
Step 1: Find a Grid Pattern and Your Image
Click here to use the grid pattern I used for this project. If you open this image you'll notice that it's a PNG image and that's important. I use
Paint.Net for most my basic digital image editing and something that all of the programs do is to make image backgrounds transparent. JPEG doesn't support that, so when you turn the background of an image transparent you need to save it as a PNG. If you look at my image here you'll notice that the dimensions are 7 squares wide and 9 squares deep. This was as close as I could find to 8.5 x 11, which is your standard size of paper. I labeled this image 1.25 inch pattern, but its actual size depends on how you print it out, so if you do use this, experiment with your printer. Anyway, my first step was to find/create a grid pattern that I could use and print, and this is what I used.
I'm not sure if this is the image I used (I seem to have lost my original images) but this is close enough. When searching for an image, you want to consider the shape of the item you are making and what could work best with the material you'll use to make your basic shape. As you can see from the image at the top of this post, I used cardboard, and I basically had to choose to either do side view or front view for basic shapes. I chose side view so that's why I used this image. I include a 2nd image here that I did make a grid pattern for as well but didn't translate to cardboard. Remember as you do this that the primary consideration is proportion. The advantage of using a grid pattern is that you can get that correct.
You can see both of these images on
a presentation I made for myself that I used to get the look right as I made my sculptures. Making presentations of pictures is a common tool I use when making things and as I work in the garage, I use an old Chromebook to constantly look at the images.
To make a grid pattern, you need 2 things: the grid itself and the image you want to match. Armed with these two items, it's time for the next step.
Step 2: Make the background Transparent
This is where you need a graphic editing program like Paint.net. You want a white background on your image, and they don't often come that way. If you don't have a program like Paint.net, you must find an image with a white or very light background. Making a transparent background isn't a difficult process and you can find lots of videos for your graphic editing program showing you how to do it. And you don't need to do a great job. Here's a decent view of the Rancor pic above with the background turned transparent, which will look white here.
Once you've done that, you need to add the two images together. The way graphics programs work is that you can add layers to images and manipulate each layer as you want. So on this one, I began with my grid, added the rancor and kept resizing it until the head to toe height was 8, then I moved my grid in front.
Important: The reason for the grid is so you can get the basic proportions/dimensions correct. I knew before I made this that I wanted my final statue to be at least 16" tall so using 1" grids, I knew that all I needed to do was draw 2" boxes on cardboard. Some things to think about looking at this: If each 1" = 2" in real life, the Rancor's dimensions are as follows:
- Each leg is around 8" (real life) tall and around 2" thick.
- Each arm is at least 12" long and slightly less than 2" thick.
- The head is about 6" tall and 4" wide and long.
- His torso is somewhere between 4"-6" wide depending on position.
Step 3: Make a cardboard template
Apparently I've lost the template for poor Rancor's legs, but this picture shows you what I did. I used my picture with a graph to draw out basic forms and then I drew 2" grids on pieces of cardboard and replicated the smaller images. If you look at the arm in particular you can see that on the 1" graph image it's about 6" long, but when the graphs are 2" it becomes about 12" long. Most of Jonni's statues (where I learned this) are smaller and lower than Rancor ended up being, and she likes to use cardboard as the basic form to add onto, but I ultimately chose to use something else for better strength. Still, the graph method and making a cardboard mockup allowed me to get the proportions perfect.
I actually really wanted to make the cardboard form work, but in the end I used PVC for the skeleton, and 2 liter bottles worked better for the basic (tubular) shape that a rancor had. If you look at this picture of both the cardboard and PVC/plastic bottle Rancors, although the forms are different the proportions are the same. In other words, it was not at all a waste of time to do the graph picture and cardboard mockup.
BTW, since I'm making these posts long after I finished this product, it's only fair to show you a picture of Rancor after he is done:
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