NEW mug - Pia-kua from tikiracer [making of pics]

I've really enjoyed the "how I made this" posts, so thought it only fair to share my first mug sculpt.

The guys at Cheekytiki spotted my zombie mug print design and asked if I'd like to come up with a real mug. Well I thought about it for about 1.2 milliseconds and said "oh yeah".

This is the plaster blank that Jamie sent over.

Then I got to work in turning it into a mug of the living dead. Started out sketching the design onto the blank.

Then had to be careful about where the cuts fell. I had to make sure the thing would come out of the molds. Plus had to plan how many segments the mold would need to make of. I went for 3 as I wanted the eyes to be rounded.

This shows my target lines.

Then I started of with the dremel but after awhile I decided I was being too gentle and got stuck in proper.

Once the general face was coming to life [unlife??], I then made sure I didn't get too carried away and end up with a zombie tiki tumbler, I wanted to fit in a don style, zombie cocktail, plenty of zombie eatting booze.

Here's the finished carve before going to Cheekytiki to start production.

The final mug will be in an pale, grey green glaze with a limited edition run set for the New Year. The cool news is this mug will be used in the Mahiki, London's newest Tiki Night Spot.

The mug will be for sale from Cheekytiki and my tikiracer website, I'll post on the marketplace once they're ready.

More soon.

Thanks to Jamie and Anjy for the guidance and chance to do this.

[ Edited by: tikiracer 2009-04-14 02:10 ]

M

[ Edited by poptiki on 2022-10-12 04:23:24 ]

Great mug TikiRacer!
I am always fascinated by the production process for mugs - you shaped yours in plaster while Squid tools his out of carving wax. Why the different materials? Can't wait to see a zombie glazed, filled with a drink, and garnished like your sketch!

Mugmakers of the world unite! :)

VanTiki

Looking good! Can't wait to see this guy glazed up.

Couple questions. This is plaster? Was it completely dry or did it have some moisture left in it. I carved into plaster a few times and it was easier for me to work with while it was still drying. Also, did you use only a dremel or work with other tools?

Great post. Can't wait to see more. :D

Really nice work. Your mug sculpting method gave me inspiration. Thanks a lot!
I'll be keeping my eye out for the finished product.

very cool, I'll have to keep my eye out for this one.

Thanks for the great feedback.

To answer some of the questions. The plaster was completely dry and turned on a lathe by the crew at Cheekytiki.

A couple of people have asked about getting some blanks, check in with Cheekytiki, I'm sure they'd be happy to help out.

Here's a pic of the first mug glaze test - bit too bright

After a long conversation about the exact shade, which included the phrase 'swampy and more pallid", Cheekytiki nailed here

With the test glaze complete, the order is in for enough to do the first batch for the Mahiki bar and do the limited edition, hand painted mug in the new year. More on that soon.

Until then the mugs of the undead lie in wait...

Please put me on the list for the limited paint mug. The straight up green one looks sweet as well.

Very nice work Tikiracer! I am envious.

Mahalo

McTiki

THe mug looks simple enough to do and yet, came out with a sweet finished product. I always like saying the group shots too. The color is great and the mugs sitting in a bar will be great too.

Looks great :)

Congratulations on giving it a go! I'm sure you are very proud that you did!

looking good! the mugs are a great physical realization of your graphic style. can't wait to own one.

cheers,
chris
http://www.tikichris.com

Creepy-cool. Kinda reminds me of Eddie!

Zombie Update...

Got to spend the day at Cheekytiki HQ. See how the whole zombie infection works from the molds

to the kiln

We then got started on the limited edition hand painted horde [50off]

These boys still need to be fired and then the green added, leaving the teeth and eyes white.

Had a great time helping to make these mugs raise from the dead.

Look out for the limited edition set [handpainted mug and giclee miniprint] soon.

Here's a couple of pics of the finished standard green mug - loaded with zombie [grog log]

Always aim for the brain...

Sweet pics.

Flaming Limes are cool. Just remember not to melt the straw.

I really like your concept 2D art for this as well as the mug, very nice craftsmanship and results.

great stuff!!!!! makes me thirsty!!

Sweet :)

Thanks for the cool feedback, always welcome.

Here's the latest [thanks to cheekytiki for the spy pics] photos from the project

HOT out of the kiln...

If you scroll up and down fast it's like its alive!!!

here's the latest news ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCpVO-gG9hE

... more tomorrow.

excellent trailer for the mug. It worked : it made me want one !

Where did you find such skillful actors for your video?

I've seen the finished product, folks. These mugs are beauties!

Can't wait to own one,
Chris

That's so rad, I love that stuff. Great lookin' mugs and Tiki Chris looks just like a bonafide Zombie! Scary :D
MORE MUGS! MORE VIDEO, MORE RUM!

Chongolio

They're coming to get you Barbara! Can that be right? No one has said 'Dead Cool' yet? What in tarnation is going here? We had every faith in you Tiki Racer but you really nailed this one in the head! This ZOMBIE mug is going to be on everyone's wants list I'm sure. Another fine example of BRITIKI in action...When there's no room left in HELL the BRITS will walk the Earth!!!! Send more Paramedics...Send more MAI-TAIs!!! Sorry if I miss-quoted anything there, but the MAI-TAIs are starting to kick in. And, for all you 'anorak wearing horror fans' who are about to post....Chill out and have a ZOMBIE dudes!

Seriously...Great job done by an up and coming Tiki artist who, I'm sure, will become more widely known with each creation he presents. Keep up the good work TIKI RACER...we know you can deliver!!!

Sorry to end on a low note, but who are those losers in the News Report? Surely you could have done better than these 'low lifes' and 'hangers on'? Ditch 'em before they bring you down ol' boy!!!! Mark my words...They will!!!

All the Best from Tiki Towers - Trader Jim & Sian The Beachcomber xx
(Make mine a limited edition ZOMBIE!)

REALLLY GREAT! Great Mug, and a commercial too! Well done Tiki Racer! I think I dig the monotoned version though... brings out the detail. Beautiful work!

Thanks for the great feedback, I put some more sales details on my marketplace thread but here's just the pics again.

The set includes handpainted mug and numbered by the artist [me!]. The mug is packaged in a body bag, sealed with a hazard sticker to ensure fresh delivery of your undead drinkware.
A limited edition giclee art print [A5 image on an A4 sheet] of my original mug design, signed and numbered [numbers match the mug] by me.

There is also included a [death] certificate [again signed by the artist] to prove that's authentic and cause of dead.

This is limited to only 50 sets.

the zombie mug

mug detail

body bag

giclee art print

death certificate

... The dead drink again

Did you shoot that in a morgue? If you did that was a great idea. If not tell people you did, 'cause it's a great idea.

Thanks for the great feedback, we had loads of fun making these mugs and all the stuff to go with them.

Thanks to Cheekytiki, trader jim and sian from pocketiki, tiki chris and alone for their support in getting this together.

The buy now details are now live on the marketplace thread

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=23034&forum=12&8

Wahoo! Looks like I've secured by ZOMBIE mug!! Can't wait to crack open that 'BIO HAZARD' seal and see what my one died of? A bad MAI-TAI? Too many late nights on eBay & TC maybe? I'll post the cause of death when he arrives.

Great work TIKI RACER keep it up - Trader Jim (Make mine a ZOMBIE!).

hey that is COOL. one of these days i want to try that out....but i have no idea how lol.
great job

Sweet! Nice work! What was the "blank" made of?

flamingo - the guys at cheekytiki gave me a plaster blank turned on a lathe.

I've since made some plaster blanks of my own, by using old plastic pop[soda] bottles to get them the right size and shape. Just need to saw off the bottoms.

Thanks! I realized that the plaster blank proberbly was made of plaster just as soon as I turned my computer of.I guess thinking pays of sometimes :)

Do you find the plaster easy to work with?

[ Edited by: Flamingo 2007-03-08 09:13 ]

yes, although it took a while to know how much pressure to use and when it would crumble, it was smooth and consistent. By starting with a cylinder already meant I had a good mug shape from the get go, just had to watch how the cut lines feel to ensure the mold was only 3 pieces.

My next mug designs are coming along well...

On 2007-03-08 09:15, tikiracer wrote:

My next mug designs are coming along well...

Cool! Can't wait to see more tikiracer mugs!

What a clever idea tikiracer! Love the body bag - nice touch. I think I may have overlooked the link to the video in your post?

New mug design and build pics

This mug has been on a slow burn for a while now.

Named Pistoniki, it's a marquesan styled mug which also looks and feels like a motor engine piston - hence pistoniki... I wanted a short mug good for mai-tai's, always a favourite in my homebar.

Here's acouple pics of the master carve, from a large plaster slug.

Right for the get go, I wanted to have fun with the packaging of this mug.

Each mug comes wrapped in out hot rod magazine pages, and a box filled with brown cardboard packaging. The box designed to look like a vintage [NOS] auto parts box. Also included is a small instruction sheet with a recipe for Engine Oil. This cocktail was keenly researched and created at the tikiracer workshops. The drink has the colour and pour of motor oil, but not the taste. Not that I've tried oil...

The great folks at Cheekytiki have been making these and helped source a great limited edition glaze for a run of client gifts. This red hot colour with white hot edges works really well. I only have one left which is number one of 16, is available here.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30199&forum=12&0

Now the mug again from different angles.

And now the underneath.

Here's the mainline [available soon] colourway. This is a great oily brown glaze that feels slick and reacts really well in different lighting. The inner glaze is a carbonised, matt black.

Some details.

Mahalo for looking.

Very very cool!
I love the texture, and the basic deisgn is wonderful. A classic!

Hey - I've got a couple of items on ebay [including a pistoniki mug].

They are priced in pounds but as the dollar is strong you can save...

9 pounds = about 13 dollars...

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/tikiracerstudio

Thanks for looking

Aloha

Here's the making of my latest mug project.

As I guess many of you have spotted my work is inspired by Marquesas art.
So when it came to designing a smaller, tiki mug I decided on the classic marquesas crown/headress for the starting point.

Titled - Pai-kua

Once I'd sorted the size, I started off with a block of plaster, pre-shaped from pouring into a cola bottle.

Then came the job of roughing out the proportions.

Here's the final master.

Thanks to the help of the nice folks at Cheekytiki, I'm very happy with the final glazed mug.

After a few test glazes...

Here's the final mainline mug.

Fancy one? Click here http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=29909&forum=12&start=15&17

http://www.tikiracer.com

[ Edited by: tikiracer 2009-04-14 02:12 ]