Tim Burton:
Orb Monster
| Project Collaborators: | Tim Burton and The Neon Museum |
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| Date: | October 12, 2019 |
| Location: | The Neon Museum: Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Materials: | steel plates and tube, EPS foam, EP200, plywood, various hardwood, LEDs, acrylic domes, automotive paint, various hardware |
| Project Goal: | To create an 18’ tall sculpture version based off of provided character sketch by Tim Burton to be permanently installed at the museum. |
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| Project Challenges: | In order to install the sculpture’s legs on-site, we had to use an 85’ tall crane to lift the mouth over large trees at the museum. The three legs were assembled and secured with the Orb Monster’s mouth hanging above the crew. |
By drawing different positions of the orbs, we were able to see different aesthetics that the formations provided.
A 3D printed version of the finalized model was used as a reference during the build process.
Exploring multiple color renderings was crucial to getting an understanding of what the sculpture would look like in context.
After the drawings were approved, we moved onto the steel fabrication process which would give us the understructure for putting the foam onto.
EPS foam was placed inside of the steel structure and then prepared to have the details carved in.
Pool noodles were used for the gums to give an organic shape that we could apply hardcoat urethane to.
The three legs were comprised of plasma cut and tube rolled steel using large format prints as guides.
The feet were made of CNC plasma cut sheets as well as welded steel tubes.
All of the ribs were created in the computer, so we were able to CNC plasma cut all of those before adding foam to them for sculpting in the detail.
Using a special sculpting clay, we covered the plasma cut steel pieces so that we could achieve a hard smooth shape for the ribs
The clay material hardens to create a smooth surface for detail painting.
The teeth were made of sculpy clay over CNC plasma cut profiles to stay accurate to the originally provided model.
The custom steel tube holder for the orbs was made with telescoping steel tube with steel pins to secure each one.
The orb posts were test fit with the protective sleeves still on so that the powdercoat that was just sprayed on, would not chip off.
The main orb mouth was painted and the eye balls were placed inside the sockets.
a 80' boom extension crane was required to lower the orb mouth onto the 3 legged base structure.
The final installation was completed in Las Vegas an remains a permanent installation.
The orbs were programmed LEDs that matched the pre-existing art that was in the museum.
This 24' sculpture was a 5 week project from start to finish that required 30 people to complete.