The Kiss: Part 1

-By Tim Bruckner

You could have cut the romantic tension between Superman and Wonder Woman with a piece of well honed Kryptonite. DC decided to let the two love birds explore that attraction as if they were being pulled together by a golden lasso. The design for the statue started with art by Jim Lee.



Almost from the start my friend and Art Director, Shawn Knapp, and I were faced with translation issues. Most problematic was Wonder Woman’s head position, Superman’s right hand placement, his cape and the kiss.



If they actually kissed, their heads would need to be a one piece casting, truncated at their necks. Polyester resin, even filled resin, is prone to distortion based on when, during the production run, its cast. Parts cast in the early part of the day, when the molds were cool, would be less subject to distortion than parts cast later in the day when the molds had a chance to heat up. Any distortion would make the fit, necks to bodies, inconsistent. There were also paint application concerns if heads were a single unit. So, it was decided they’d look as if they were just coming in for the kiss.



His right hand, wrapped in his cape, up against her neck, with her hand holding his, presented a whole host of assembly issues. The design of her hair and his cape would have created a visual dead zone from the back. So, bit by bit, Shawn and I indentified the production and aesthetic problems and solved them as I began work on the rough clay. I designed an armature that would let me work on each figure separately, as I worked on bringing them together.

One of problems when creating “flying” figures is support. How to get them to look as if they’re flying without resorting to an obvious point of support, like a post in the bottom of a foot or in a bent knee. I’d done a number of flying statues before so I was decided to support them both with a cloud trail that Wonder’ Woman’s leg would glove into. Casting the base in a translucent resin would help minimize its weight while compounding theirs. The base was constructed of two pieces to give me the flexibility I’d need to position both figures once I had them together.

Coming soon... The Kiss: Part 2