Novel Tea

Novel Tea
Found gel putty makes convincing stop mo water.

sigh*... Novelty gel putty entirely non-sticky, smooth textured, non-oily, odorless, and (hopefully) non-toxic, made in China.

Comes away cleanly from anything it touches, like puppets or props without leaving a trace, mark, or residue of any kind, yet stiff enough to hold it's shape, such as sculptable pouring water.

Can be worked to develop bubbles for boiling effects, or clouded for increasing level of opacity.

I looked high and low online for a link to the same material I bought in a $1 bin of party supplies but I couldn't turn it up. The closest product I could find was a clear slime novelty toy but I don't know how it compares to the way this material firmly holds form.

The test GIF** shows me that, with properly secured props and more careful animating, this substance will be an ideal solution for Rana's tea, soup, and other liquid props.

*Wrote this post then lost this post. Found Blogger "help" not found helpful. Re-wrote without same finesse.

**Made from frames stacked and animated in PS CS3 and saved to GIF format--really missing that sweet easy stop motion feature on the earlier Coolpix model for no fuss tests.

Comments

  1. Vaoww great idea! Yes, with secured props and careful animating it could look totally real. I have also check out online and could not find the gel putty. Will keep looking and let you know if I can find something looking better than slime novelty one.

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  2. I haven't cared for materials like this because up to now I had no need for those. But I'll keep it in mind for using it later, it seems pretty convincing!

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  3. Wow - so it holds it's shape vertically like that? Really cool, hopefully you'll be able to track down more, it looks fantastic!

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  4. yeah this is really cool stuff. I found some novelty slime in the local toy store, but it didn't hold any shape for very long. Tough to manipulate without gravity getting in the way.

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  5. Hi! I don't think I've ever properly introduced myself, but I have been following your blog for sometime. And I thought It was about time to say hello! I really love where your going with all of this. Thought your dust bunnies were quite hilarious:) Oh...and while I'm thinking of it, I'd like to introduce you to the 'miniworld'....there's lots of people that would be interested in what you do:) Do you mind if I do a post about your blog:) It's tooo cool Not to share!!!
    Katie:)

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  6. Amazing that it can hold still for a shot in that thin spout-like shape. The bubbling effect would be really neat too. Really hope you find a supply of it. I should check the party stores here theres about 3 within a 2 mile radius from my house :)

    G'luck Shelly!

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  7. Wow Shelley... that really looks amazing!!!

    Did you see the awesome job Nick did in his latest clip using cellophane for water... er, beer actually?

    I wonder if this Earthquake Gel or Museum Gel might do the trick: http://thestoragestore.com/earthquake.html

    ????

    I've been meaning to order some, but haven't got around to it yet.

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  8. Hi Everyone! Thanks for commenting!

    This stuff is so perfectly textured it makes me want to make a spacial trip back to TARGET's (!) clearance bins today and but up every last jar to share with everyone. They're only a buck! Actually, I will do that tomorrow.

    I've Googled crazy for hours with no luck finding the exact putty online. It's labeled as distributed by Ankyo Development Ltd. T.S.T. Kowloon. H.K. Made in China DPC# 234 24 1466 1 Set Sea Creature Putty (each jar comes with a plastic fish in it which comes out cleanly with no effect)

    It's the exact perfect amount of snap and rubberiness to hold it shape in a thin stream yet soft enough to makes swirling shapes with a slight touch.

    The museum wax looks good, Mike. I don't know how it compares texture wise or whether it's stickier, or tintable but def worth a try.

    If I find more tomorrow, I'll say how many jars I scored to share (after my massive hoarding for myself :) Hell, I could transfer a sample of the stuff to an air-tight zip lock and mail it to anyone who'd like to experiment with it in an envelope!

    That's 8 who commented here for sure who'll want to try it. Anyone else? (Katie (if you could use any water in miniworld?), Rich, and Jessica, I'll need your mailing addresses to send the sample. please email to nobledesign[at]sbcglobal[dot]net)

    And a big hello to Katie! I love it when watchers say hello! I'll of course love to check out your Miniworld! I've ALWAYS ALWAYS been into it!!! I'll go to your links when I get home later.

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  9. Wow, I want some! What a find!
    I'm animating lots of pouring right now, using the old clingwrap trick, which is not bad - but that stuff leaves it for dead! I use real liquid for the stuff in the glass, which easily spills out:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vXfM_GjoZU
    It could be the answer to the age-old question, "How do U animate water?" !!! (Well, one answer, for some applications.) As well as pouring, it could possibly do splashes and ripples over a pond surface. Well, you did that in the cup, so it definitely can.
    I will check out Target here in Australia, but I don't have much hope. I'll get back to you.

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  10. Wow Shelley that stuff looks great.
    Really great, you could corner the market for stopmo liquid with that stuff.

    Mark

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  11. I forgot to ask Mike which clip of Nick's had the beer drinking and then you provided it, Nick. It's incredible! The liquid is completely convincing and those clouds!? My god, those clouds are exactly the way I'd like mine to look. inspiring!

    I should know about the water supply before noon tomorrow. I plan to buy out whatever stock they have.

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  12. Hi Mark! You want some to play with if I can get it?

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  13. very very cool!

    I will definitly be remembering this techniqe

    jriggity

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  14. Shelley,
    Just had a goo hunting expedition. Not sure how successful I was, but at least I found the little champagne bottles with bubble liquid that I've been looking for for the last 4 days. (I need that for the Knight and Death's next drink.)

    I looked in Target, found nothing, then Kmart, and got something called "Whatchama Blob, the amazing liquid solid", which is transparent and yellow, but with little gold flecks in it. (Might do for champagne though.) It will form a pouring stream, but slowly sags and flows. So it won't hold an arc, but could be used for pouring straight down if you work fast. If you shot time lapse it would animate itself. In practice I may be able to re-model it between shots, then shoot before it all droops down too far.
    No plastic fish, but it comes in a fish-shaped container!

    Then I tried Toys R Us, which had the last remaining pack of Insta Worms, reduced from $9.99 to $4.98. It's transparent blue in the photos, and you have to mix it up. There's a bottle of blue liquid called Sodium Alginate, and a little sachet of calcium dichloride crystals. It doesn't look like the same stuff at all, more related to the alginate used for making teeth moulds and face casts. It doesn't stick back to itself unless you dip it in the activator solution. (That sounds like the trick of adding new alginate to a thin part on a face mould by brushing it with Epsom salts, otherwise it won't stick.)

    Your gel sounds like it might be a bit firmer and more stable than the various coloured Slimes I saw, or the Whatchama Blob stuff I bought, but possibly the same ingredients. So I would love to get a pack of your Sea Creature Gel if you manage to get more.

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  15. Good hunting, Ranger Nick! I managed to score some quantity of the stuff I think/hope is better for pours. I will send you a bunch and also some of the softer, slimier gloops in case they'll come in handy in your capable hands.

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  16. thanks for the water goo offer. I will pass - i am staying away from any water animation for now. I would like to know how its made though. Seems like it should not be to hard to mix up some goo if you only had the recipe. Does it say anywhere that it's non toxic?

    It seems like it would have to be since it's aimed at kids, but then its made in china so all bets are off.

    It actually looks like it would make water animation not so daunting.

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  17. Oh yeah, Mark, it's a total non-daunt for water animation. I made the clip above in under 2 minutes w/o any preparation or thought! It's like the easiest water animation product in universe.

    I believe it to be utterly non-toxic. It seems like some sort of inert silicone? I don't trust China either and so I wash my hands after handling before eating, but even I don't wear gloves with it.

    No ingredients listed on label at all, although the other similar gels I bought do say they conform to "ASTM D4236" And warns not to heat or eat.

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