I just wanted to give a quick update on the status of Project T7. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much painting done during the last break, but there is at least some color on T7 now! I’ll have another blog post next weekend on something completely different. In the meantime, enjoy this post.

Back view with unfinished Zhao Pai

Side view

Angled view. How do you all feel about the nose with two greens blended into each other?

A glimpse at the top

Does anyone know why it’s called Project T7 yet?

Break started two weeks ago, so I finally had some time to work on the Lion Brothers Project again. Last time, I finished attaching gauze to the frame I built from scratch and also paper mache’d about half of it. This time, I finished pasting the first layer of paper mache and got about half done with the second layer.

First layer of grass paper pasted!

For the first layer, I used a brown grass paper instead of the typical white rice paper. My friend recommended this type of paper to me several years ago and I’ve found it to be a bit stronger than some of the white calligraphy papers I’ve used. When both grass paper and rice paper are combined, they become a very strong and crisp surface to paint on. By the way, I don’t think rice paper is actually made from rice. It’s made from rice straw and other fibrous remnants from other plants like mulberry. It makes me wonder what combinations of fibers make the strongest paper. I’ve heard my parents tell me multiple times that Xuan paper is the best stuff for calligraphy, but I wonder if there’s better stuff for papering lion heads.

Second layer started. The other side does not have a second layer.

Only about half of the second layer is done so far. I used white calligraphy paper instead of grass paper to keep track of the number of layers pasted. That means the next layer will be grass paper again. One thing that I’d do differently next time is to double up on the grass paper for the first layer, since remoistening it with starch to attach the second layer made everything very wrinkly.

I’m planning to do a total of 4 layers of paper on the outside and 1 layer on the inside, for a total of 5 layers of paper with one layer of gauze. Should make a nice and beefy frame to paint on!

On a side note, I’ve been wondering about doing cloth mache for the other frame that I’ve repaired. I’ve read online that cloth mache is much stronger than paper mache. What if I did a base layer of cloth mache then finished it off with one layer of paper mache? So many ideas!

Anyway, school is starting again in a few days so I’ll have to continue papering the lion during winter break. Until then!

It’s been a while, but I’m back! Then I’ll be gone for a while again…

I’ve been on break for the past several weeks and made some good progress on the Lion Brothers project. Unfortunately, school is starting again tomorrow, so the project will be on hold once again.

I last left off with a completely repaired frame and a partially completed frame that I was building from scratch. I’ve finished both frames now! Woot woot!

Front view of both lion frames

Side view of both lion frames

Back view of both lion frames

The frame built from scratch was quite a challenging process. Originally, I was going to copy the exact measurements from the other lion, but the two base rim measurements were too different. I decided to improvise some of the measurements. Oh yea, something random – I changed the color of the handlebar grip on the lion frame built from scratch because I’m not sure of the colors I want to use anymore.

Nose and upper lip of lion frame built from scratch

As shown above, the nose has a really bulged out center piece. Not sure if I like it, but we’ll see after the lion is done. Unfortunately, the upper lip turned out way lower than I wanted. From certain angles, it looks really weird.

Eyes of lion frame built from scratch

For eyes, I decided to make the eye socket circles snug with the shape of the eyeball to prevent the lazy eye look. Unfortunately, this also made the eye socket higher up than normal, which may be blocked by the eyelids with fur after the lion is complete. We’ll see how it turns out when the lion is done.

Side view of attempted Hok San eye

Also, I tried to add a more Hok San look to the eyes by pulling back the corners of the eyes just a bit. Not sure if I was successful or not.

Fist horn

I gave this lion a fist horn because I was aiming for a Fut Hok lion. This horn was much more complicated to build than a bamboo shoot horn.

Single soy

Because the other frame had the circular gills, I gave this one a single “soy” for contrast. The fins are the same as the other frame though.

Side view of entire lion frame

Back view of entire lion frame

Honestly, I have no clue how the final product will look. There’s at least one thing on each part of the lion that didn’t turn out as I wanted. Oh well!

Entire frame layered with gauze

This is my first time using gauze for the entire lion head. In previous projects, I’ve only used gauze for certain parts of the frame that had huge gaps. I’m glad I used gauze for the entire frame because it made papering much easier.

First layer of paper

 

First layer of paper

As of right now, I was only able to put a first layer of paper on the back, top, horn, and forehead. The project is getting really exciting! More updates coming during my next break.

Woot woot! I finished fixing up Annie’s baby lion. Less words, more pictures. Let’s go!

Here’s a front view of the complete lion.

Front view.

Check out the lighted eyes that I installed!

Lighted eyes.

I also put a new mirror and used a different method to mount the pom poms.

New mirror and remounted pom poms.

Here’s a side view just for kicks.

Side view.

And finally, here’s a back view with the completed Zhao Pai. I retied the ears with elastic so it can’t droop.

Back view with retied ears and complete Zhao Pai.

Hoping to eye-dot this lion along with my baby orange one sometime in the future!

I took a break from studying today by finishing up the Zhao Pai on Annie’s lion. Normally, the two circles on the side would have the two characters for awakened lion (醒獅), but they were way too small to write anything in it. I was planning to glue metals disks inside the circles, but decided on trying something else that I’ve been thinking about for a long time. The idea is to glue small bells in place of metal disks. Originally, I was going to use this idea around Ace’s horn, but decided that it might be too obnoxious with the large amount of bells. Since this lion will only have two bells, I decided to try it out. The truth is, I can barely hear the bells when the lion moves. Even with ten bells glued on a lion head, I don’t think it will be too obnoxious. We’ll have to find out when I actually do it!

I was also stuck on what to put in the rectangle at the bottom of the Zhao Pai. Initially, I was thinking of writing the two characters for awakened lion (醒獅), but Annie came up with a better idea! Why not write their last name in English? It would fill up the space pretty well. And so I did it, and here’s the result:

Completed Zhao Pai.

You guys may be wondering why I’m not working on the frame that I’ve started from scratch. No worries, I’ll be getting back to it soon…hopefully…

Back to Annie’s lion, I’ll be cleaning up other parts of the lion soon and then it’ll be like new again (or at least close to new?).

One thing that slightly bugs me is when I see a lion head with a blank Zhao Pai on the back. In my interpretation (and only mine haha), a lion with a blank Zhao Pai has no owner and therefore is untamed, or at least not as tame as it could be. I find it important to paint a last name or school’s name onto the back of the lion as a means of identification and ownership. Of course, this is only my opinion and not culturally based in any way. I’m probably just finding an excuse to get bugged by blank Zhao Pai’s. 😛

Anyway, I spent a little bit of time painting my girlfriend’s last name onto her lion. Here’s a picture:

Ngai Family Lion

My girlfriend brought over her childhood lion head this weekend so we were able to take some detailed pictures of it. The original plan was to restore this lion, but we decided not to because it’s still in pretty good condition. Also, the original paint and tail design are really nice for a baby lion (much better than a lot I’ve seen). I’m just gonna touch up some of the chipped off paint and clean it up a little bit.

The newly planned project is to make a copy of the lion with a different color scheme and maybe some changes to the paint design. Target completion year = 2050 hahaha

Enjoy the pictures!

Front view of the lion.

We’re gonna have to do something about those reverse crossed-eyes haha

The reflective part of the original mirror is missing, but plastic piece around it is still there!

The paint design above the nose.

They used marbles for the pupils. Gonna have to clean up the paint around it.

I really like the design around the horn.

Side view of the lion.

Although simple, I really like the design behind the eyes.

The design behind gills.

The design above the eyes. Really eye-catching!

Back view.

The lion tail is also really cool. It’s different than many of the baby lion tails I’ve seen.

Here’s the manufacturer’s label glued inside the lion. Anyone ever heard of them? I think they’re supposed to be a garment factory of some sort?

I finished the main part a little over a week ago but haven’t had the chance to blog about it. Here’s a picture:

Check out that forehead bulge!

Compared to the first frame, this one has a much bulkier and pronounced forehead. I will be trying to change the dimensions of the mouth and eyes to match this shape better.

Also, I am taking detailed measurements of every single step for this frame. Who knows, maybe the shape will turn out amazing and someone will want to duplicate it? In my dreams…haha

You guys are probably wondering why the title says “blossom”, huh? Here’s a sneak peak of the prototype I’m working on that will be part of the lion frame that I’ve already finished.

Glowing Blossom

The first part of the Lion Brothers Project will be now officially named “Blossom”. The rest of the explanation will remain a mystery until I’m done with the entire lion head. 😉

As for the 2^nd part of the Lion Brothers Project, I’ve already begun building the lion from scratch. Mad respect to those who have already built one from scratch – it is indeed very challenging. I started by cutting handlebars from an old broomstick and attaching them to the salvaged rim I acquired.

Base rim with handlebars attached. Can anyone guess the color scheme of this lion?

I then started adding bamboo strips to form the basic shape. This part was the most challenging so far, because each strip I added changed the shape of the previous strip. That is when Chris Low mentioned the A frame/inverted V frame. It is supposed to temporarily keep the bamboo pieces in the right shape until enough strips are put on so it can hold its own shape. It can also help with keeping the frame symmetrical. This method was actually mentioned to me a long time ago but I completely forgot about it! Hope the shape comes out okay without the A frame/inverted V frame.  Here is a picture of what I’ve done for the first two days:

Two days worth of work

More updates coming soon!

I spent several hours today wrapping the base with cane/rattan. This step is actually really important because it keeps the handlebars tight and the lower joints secure. You can probably tell that I’ve only done this once in the past from the messiness in the picture below. Practice makes perfect! Hopefully, it’ll be neater on my next one.

Base all wrapped up!

I’m pretty much done with the lion frame! There are a few pieces of bamboo I want to add and some fins to modify. I also need to make the ears and lip, but other than that, the frame is finished.

After finishing the fins last week, I decided to repair the cross brace inside the lion and install a pulley system for the blinking eyes. Installing the pulley system was actually a really helpful tip given to me by my mentor, Corey Chan, many years ago, but I’ve started seeing pulley systems being installed in lions made by Emplion. The pulleys reduce friction between the wire loops and rope, which in turn prevents the eye-blinking ropes from snapping during a performance. It also allows for a faster, sharper blink. At 2-3 dollars a pulley, it’s a really good investment.

Pulley system installed.

Next, I started working on rebuilding the mouth. Since the mouth was practically nonexistent when I got the lion frame, I had a really hard time trying to figure out the proportions and measurements. In the end, I decided to just wing it and rebuild the mouth by improvisation. It turned out okay, so I’m glad!

I decided to use rattan for some pieces of the mouth, since some of the bends would have been a little harsh for the thick bamboo strips. Plus, I had a whole coil of rattan lying around! Here’s something I figured out though: cutting a small groove in the rattan will keep it from slipping while binding. It also increases the surface area of contact, which I’m assuming would give a stronger joint. I only cut a groove for the more important joints that are prone to slipping, since it’s quite time consuming to do it for every single joint.

Cutting a groove in the rattan prevents slipping of the joint while binding.

Side of the mouth.

Front of the mouth.

Lastly, the nose was rebuilt. This was a lot more confusing than I was expecting. To make matters worse, the original nose shape turned out to be really weird, so I won’t be using it as a template for the next build. I kept it for this lion frame though since I worked so hard on it and was recycling bamboo strips from the old nose.

Nose complete!

*edit* 7/22/2013 @6:45pm *edit*

Here’s a side view of the completed frame. By the way, some people are probably wondering what those black marks are on the joints. I use this marking system to keep track of which joints have been coated with glue and which joints are fresh.

Side view of the completed frame.

These past few days, I’ve been doing some small/miscellaneous repairs and modifications scattered throughout the frame.

First, I modified the eyelids by adding a piece of wire to hold the eyelid up while the eye is open. For some lions, this piece of wire is unnecessary – it all depends on the shape of the eyes. In the past, I’ve noticed that some Bak Wan replica lions have the droopy eye syndrome, where the eyelid covers a small portion of the eyeball.

Droopy eye syndrome on a Bak Wan replica.

Some people like this feature but I prefer the eyelids to be fully retracted when the eyes are open. I’m not sure if the shape of the eyes for this frame would produce the droopy eyelids, but I put the wire in there as a precaution. It’d be too much trouble to put the wire in after the eyelids have already been put on.

Eyelid wire suspended with string.

Next was the repair of the left cheek. The old cheek had some pieces of bamboo missing, so I just took it all off and rebuilt it from scratch. Splitting bamboo evenly was a challenge for me, so the middle piece is actually a lot thinner than the top and bottom pieces. Hopefully, it won’t bring any problems.

Front view of left rebuilt left cheek.

Side view of rebuilt left cheek.

Lastly, I repaired the two original fins and added a third fin. Oddly enough, the original lion only had two fins on top of the eye. Maybe I’m just used to seeing three fins, but I decided to add a third fin to this frame.

The two original fins were either crushed or misshaped.

Original fins repaired with the addition of a third fin.

During the last week or so, I’ve been slowly repairing different parts of the frame. Last time, the left gill was taken off for repairs and the addition of three new fins. I did the same to the right gill and reattached both of them back onto the main frame.

Gills reattached.

I used some parts of the broken horn to build a new one and also reattached it back to the main frame.

Horn built from old parts.

Horn reattached to main frame.

Updates on the mouth and cheek area as I repair it!

The Lion Brothers project started in early June with the restoration/rebuild of a damaged frame that I got from a friend. I started by remounting the handlebars onto the base rim with plastic cable ties. Originally, the handlebars were attached by two pieces of wire with a thickness of around 14-16 gauge. Although this method holds the handlebars really securely initially, the hardness of the wire eventually digs into the softness of the wooden handlebars, loosening them from the base rim. Since plastic is much softer than metal, I opted for the cable ties instead. Also, the width of the cable ties spreads the force of the attachment over a larger surface area than the wires, which should minimize them from digging into the wood. Not to mention, plastic doesn’t rust like metal does.

Base rim with handlebars reattached.

There are two more things noticeable about the base rim. First, it is asymmetrical. I was thinking of ways to make it symmetrical again but couldn’t come up with anything. I decided to move on and hope for the best. So far, the asymmetry hasn’t given me any problems. Second, the corners were really thin compared to the rest of the base rim. I wrapped them with two layers of sports tape and brushed a layer of glue on it. Hopefully, this is enough reinforcement to keep the corners from cracking.

After the handlebars were mounted, I proceeded to reattach the rest of the frame onto the base rim. One of my mentors once told me that the key to a solid attachment is actually the vertical strips of bamboo folding back up around the base rim. Unfortunately, they were all broken off already. I improvised and used a second piece of bamboo to wrap around the vertical strips and base rim. Lots of sports tape and glue held everything in place.

Frame reattached to the base rim.

Because the mouth area was so damaged, I had to take off the nose to repair the mouth. The nose itself is actually damaged too, so I might just end up making a whole new nose for this lion.

Nose off for mouth repairs.

Repairing the mouth area is still not finished as of today. It’s pretty challenging since I have no reference/template to work off of. I had to look for hints of old attachment points, different lengths and areas of crossing, etc. Of course, there was also a lot of guesswork involved. I eventually got four of the main mouth supports on.

Mouth supports attached.

Next, I took off the left gill to repair the side of the mouth. Since the gill was off, I tightened all of the joints and added three fins to it.

Left gill off for mouth repairs.

Left gill with three new fins.

That’s it for now! More updates coming soon.

I actually started the Lion Brothers project earlier this month, but never had a chance to blog about it. Blog post on that coming soon!

Anyway, here’s a little side project that I did today. Yup, I did it! Jumped on the illuminating mirror bandwagon. 😀 This trend is still not accepted by all lion dancers – people either love it crazily or hate it madly. In my opinion, if it’s done right, the illuminating mirror gives the lion some oomph. Some of the cheaper assembly-line lion heads have it, but the LED ring is clearly shown over the mirror! If hidden underneath a layer of rabbit fur, I think it looks much better. Check it out!

Illuminating mirror and lighting eyes.

What Now?

I moved back home to San Francisco last month and have been searching for jobs, unpacking, reorganizing my room, cleaning up, etc. Now that Ace is done, what are my next lion projects? I’ve actually been thinking about it throughout these past few weeks and narrowed it down to three projects, but I’m not sure which I’ll be doing first and when I’ll be starting them.

1. Buddha Head Restoration – My friend gave me this Buddha head in 2006. I forgot where he obtained it, but it was in terrible shape. I promptly started the project but never got around to finishing it.

When I first got it, the outside was poorly covered with many layers of brown paper bag material, resulting in a really rough surface. The paint job was also really sloppy.

The Buddha’s head when I first got it.

As I started tearing off the outside layers, the original mask was revealed. It seems to be a young Buddha head, but I’m not entirely sure. What shocked me the most was the “feature” on the forehead! 😯 I wonder what happened! I started pasting newspaper on the inside and outside to prevent anymore plaster from cracking off and making a mess.

Had a lobotomy?

To fix the hole, I blew up a balloon and stuck it inside the head so there was a template of the contour. I pasted more newspaper over the balloon to patch the hole and popped the balloon afterward. Plaster was spread all over the surface. I started sanding but never got around to finishing it. Here is how it looks right now:

Where the project currently stands.

A bit freaky, ey?

2. Baby Lion Restoration – My girlfriend has a baby lion just sitting around in her house. It was her childhood toy, although she doesn’t remember playing with it at all. It looks used, but the condition is still pretty good for its age. We’re planning to restore it completely and give it a lavender/blue-colored theme.

My girlfriend’s baby lion.

3. Lion Brothers Project – Probably the most ambitious project so far. The project will consist of rebuilding a frame that completely lacks the mouth area and building a frame from scratch. For the rebuild, most of the frame is still in pretty good condition, but the mouth area was completely destroyed and practically nonexistent. I already took the frame off the base rim to reattach the handlebars. After rebuilding the frame, I will use it as a template to build another frame from scratch. It will start from a salvaged aluminum base rim that I acquired.

The two rims being prepped.

This frame needs a completely new mouth!

Updates soon!

Ace is finally coming together! I’ve been making a lot of progress over this past week but haven’t updated on it, so here they are!

Saturday – April 20th

Ace’s ears were fully assembled and embellished. I spent the previous few days putting a gloss coat on everything and preparing the embellishments.

Ace’s ears are complete!

Close-up shot of right ear.

I also finished the mouth on Saturday.

Ace’s mouth complete!

Ace’s beard. A little thin this time around so I’ll be changing the way I do it for my next project.

Sunday – April 21st

Ace’s nose was finished. I glued rabbit fur strips, braided trim, and metal discs on it.

Front view of completed nose.

Side view of completed nose.

I also glued metal discs around the entire lion. Many had patterns, but some were just random.

Metal disc pattern along green strip.

Metal disc patterns on front.

Metal discs around horn.

Monday – April 22nd

It took me a horrendous 4 hours to mount the mirror because a lot of complications came up.

Mirror mounted and embellished!

I also glued rabbit fur and braided trim around the horn.

Completed horn.

My friend, Andy Ta, also helped me put on the bristle fur for the lion. A special post about him coming soon! 😀

Mounting the bristle fur.

I also glued rabbit fur and braided trim for the lower eye.

Ace’s lower eye area has rabbit fur instead of bristle fur.

All the bristle fur on!!

This is how Ace looks currently. I know I didn’t meet the Sunday deadline for finishing him, but I’m hoping to finish by Tuesday! Good luck to me, I guess.

I’ve finally finished painting Ace. I set the due date for Sunday, but finished one day late. It’s okay though!

After a gloss coat, I will be able to start accessorizing. I’m hoping to finish the entire lion by the end of the week, on 4/21. Let’s see if I can do it!

Here are the pictures of Ace’s paint job.

Front view.

Angled view.

Side view.

Back view.

Top view.

More updates coming soon! Stayed tuned!