Robotic Bird, approx 500mm long.

Designed and sculpted by Rhys Norton, this is a Fine Art piece available in Bronze or Aluminium.

P.O.A.

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Foxtel Human Skull Wireframe.

This Photograph was taken halfway through the job.

The task was to produce a life-size realistic ‘burnt corpse’ for a TV Promo, it had to be able to withstand real fire in a SPFX Burn of a house set.

The wire skull was joined to a steel framed body and the ‘corpse’ was finished in a fire resistant render.

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State Lotteries, ‘Scratch me Happy’ stop motion animation model parott.

Created for a State Lotteries Television commercial, this Parrot puppet was sculpted in clay, molded and then cast in rubber over a mechanical armature.

The finished, painted character was then animated in front of a sculpted scenic background.

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Sci-Fi piece for the acclaimed short film ‘Twilight’. This prop had to be totally convincing for the climax of the film.

It featured a mechanized open, display lights and mist burst. The main body was cut from PVC pipe, sanded, filled and then assembled with the hinged cover. The lighting electrics were fitted then removed for final surface finish in brushed metal.
The piece worked beautifully on the shoot day, the action was an actor pulling the canister from a rucksack then switching it on, lights came on in sequence and the canister opens with a puff of mist, soft blue light emits from either end of the chamber.

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This was an order of 20 units for a POS style display to give away USB flashdrives in an executive lounge environment.

The pieces were a branded, stylish presentation stand that was compact enough to be placed conveniently within the décor of lounges, waiting rooms and foyers.

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The brief for this job was to design and create an opening title sequence for the science show QED.

The concept of a series of kinetic models that would feature a ball bearing running through them, setting off chain reactions, was devised. The look would be ‘steampunk’.

One of the more challenging aspects to this job was sourcing really great pieces that had the right style for the overall aesthetic.

Much time was spent in obtaining the right components but it ultimately made the overall construction easier as the pieces gave great value to every shot.

The build took two weeks and was filmed over two days, all the reactions happened in real time with no need for any effects.

The individual shots all married beautifully in a sequence of events over thirty seconds. The title sequence for QED was a huge success.

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Artonomy designed and built this set for a print campaign for AJC Spring Racing Carnival. 

The set was big, contoured heavily and had a river running through it. It also needed to be stable enough for our (real human) model to be able to leap from one side to the other over a crocodile, so safety was a big consideration.

The set was assembled in studio in a day, with the basic topography built using timber and plywood which was then covered in plastic.

A rubber membrane was then laid into the riverbed and a further layer of substrate was laid on top.

The entire set was then dressed in sand, earth, rocks and foliage.

The background sky was spray-painted on the back wall of the studio. The effect was great and the total look meant that everything was achieved ‘in-camera’ on the day of the stills shoot with very little compositing or re-touching required.

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Artonomy was asked to produce the Prize Belt for ‘The Contender’ TV series.

The Belt was going to be featured a lot, from the opening titles, promos and links to the final presentation of the winner, it had to be a standout piece of ‘Bling’ but also be durable and real, not just a prop.

The metal pieces were sculpted as patterns for molding and given several coats of gloss paint for the high finish required. The silicone molds for the three pieces were created flat, the curve was achieved by bending the rubber mold on a support at the next stage.

The pieces were created in Brass using the ‘Cold Cast’ technique – real metal bonded in resin, which can be polished to a very high lustre, at this stage mounting hardware was included for fixing the panels to the leather belt.

The polished pieces were them inlaid with rhinestones and Paua shell which has the visual qualities of Opal (and is much less expensive).

The leather took some time to source.

The belt required the highest quality, flawless grain in a specific colour (Oxblood) and to be particularly thick. It was acquired from a saddle maker who also provided the buckle. The leather was handcut, its edges were burnished, the piece was buffed and the panels affixed.

The completed Belt was a huge hit and the client was delighted.

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This job was one of our favorites, a case of model-making in its purest form.

The client asked Artonomy to make them a commemorative piece for presentation to one of the contractors on ‘Mission Impossible 2’.

The requirement was to build a 1:20 scale model of the Kawasaki BK117 Helicopter. No plans were available so it had to be created by referencing the real helicopter.

Several days were spent measuring and photographing it at Mascot airport. This information was then used to make scale plans of the entire helicopter. These plans were in turn used to sculpt up 3-dimensional patterns which were then used to make molds.

The molds were laminated with fiberglass to create the pieces for the fuselage, tail and main rotor blades.

The other components were cast in solid Polyurethane or fabricated from steel and brass.

The pieces were then painted and assembled and clear vacuum formed acrylic windows were fitted.

The finished model was stunning and a fitting tribute to the hard work of those involved in making the film.

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The Toyota Chicken was a fairly large scale ‘stop motion’ puppet (approximately 500mm, or 50 cm, high). It had to be durable enough to be animated working on real cars and in other environments.

The character itself was designed by Rhys Norton and sculpted in clay, after which molds were made.

The puppet required a mechanical skeleton (armature) which would support the model and allow it to be moved in tiny increments for the animation process. This was created to fit within the void of the mold and be fully encased in a silicone skin.

With the head, hands and feet cast onto the armature, the rest of the body mass was fabricated by laminating sections and layers of foam rubber to achieve varying degrees of flex. The character was then painted, detailed and given a coat of ‘feathers’.

The television commercials were a huge success and extremely popular.

Here’s Rhys performing spinal surgery.

Surgeon’s view of the operation. He was fully adjustable so that he could be made to stand in any pose.

We won’t forget you, crazy Toyota chicken!

Artonomy specialize in these types of models for film or television commercials. If you need a stop-motion model or puppet like this, please give us a call. 

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