August 27 - Oompa Loompa

What do you get from a glut of IG
A pain in the neck and an IQ of three
Why don't you try simply reading a book
Or could you just not bear to look
You'll get no..
  You'll get no..
    You'll get no..
      You'll get no..
        You'll get no ad reels.

~ Oompa Loompa Song (modernized)

I typically don't like reboots, and I'll admit I wasn't looking forward to the Johnny Depp version of Willie Wonka, but it was a surprisingly great heartfelt re-imagination.

It was with this same hopefulness that I went to watch the most recent one which was ... some sort of candy factory war thing?

This felt like Hollywood was throwing together a quick trashy meal.  "What do we have in the fridge, Wonka License Leftovers?  Okay .. take the Diagon Alley set from Harry Potter, fry it up and we'll serve it with a glass of Chalamet - and can someone tell ChatGPT we need another script?"

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This was another example using Twistin' Sam's "Getting Over Overalls" class from Bling Bling Jam this year - he showed this Oompa head, I modified the body a bit as I went, but I do like the original chubby baby look as well.    

(view other Ooompa Loompa)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Twistin' Sam DS:

October 11 - Oompa Loompas

Oompa Loompa doopidy dial,
This was inspired by Christopher Lyle,
If you'd like to learn from this fellow,
Follow the link to find Clockwork Yellow.

(link)

Once again I draw inspiration from Christopher Lyle's cheek design to create these Oompa Loompas.

I would say these are based on the original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - but the remake chose to use the actual book title.  I would be hard pressed to say which version of the movie I like better, there is nostalgia and the amazing Gene Wilder in the original, but it's a more heartfelt story with the amazing Johnny Depp in the remake.  I will just enjoy both equally, watch whatever is on and hope I'm never in the situation of choosing between the two which to watch.

I'm playing around with a Smooshy body style this time as well as trying out how to add hair.  First I made the over-the-head arc with the curls, but felt it lacked some stability so I tried a full head of hair on the larger of the two.

One of the things I'm enjoying about this balloon concept is that it's hard to get the exact size and pressure right in the base structure - so you can end up with radically different looking faces like these two.

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Other Clockwork Cheeks:

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Other balloon designs by Christopher Lyle:

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