Okay, so here we go to our first individual challenge. I kind of wish this show would do an individual challenge right out of the gate, and just make the premiere 90 minutes to give enough time to show everything, since that's when you really see what an artist is all about. They kind of did it this season with the Foundation Audition in the first ep, but I'd like to see a full spotlight challenge go that route.
Anyway, they go to this pyramid thing in Long Beach (I hope they had armored guards leading them there...), and Glenn and McKenzie make conspiracy theorists jizz their pants when they talk about ancient constructs like the Giza Necropolis and Stonehenge being made by aliens.
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| This guy is very happy with this challenge |
Drew is doing the Pyramid Of The Sun since he's actually been there (lucky dude - I want to visit all these places), and he's doing the same thing quite a few people are doing - using the ancient pantheon of gods from those areas to drive their designs. Drew's using the ideas of Quetzacoatl, the Aztec God of the sun. Cig is using Vishnu for Angkor Wat, since it's a temple that was erected FOR Vishnu.
Gwen sets up GIANT WARNING ALARM bells when she says that she wants to follow in the design of Predator. Predator is fucking awesome, and SUCH an iconic alien that copying is a huge disaster in the making. You can't just copy shit and shoe-horn it into a design, Gwen. The judges will rip you apart for that.
Vince is doing a really cool Easter Island head where the model will actually see out of the cheeks. Doc is also doing Easter Island, and when Mr. Westmore comes around to mentor, he's really not liking where Doc's design is going, and we get a montage of him giving advice, which feels like the longest he's stayed with one person in the whole show. Ruh-roh.
Sasha and Stella both chose India, but Stella's in a better position because Sasha's never made a mold before. ???? Wow, she must be really green. She watches Dina do hers, and she catches on pretty fast, because at least the mold comes out properly. She's also never made a cowl period!
Doc's having major issues after Mr. Westmore talks to him. George says an Easter Island head would look weird on a dude, but he said that Vincent's looked cool, and it DID. Maybe he was just trying to make Doc feel better about his current position of 'fucked'.
Stella hoards all the really crummy costume jewelry in the lab, and puts it into her sculpt for the collar she wants to make that is seen in Peruvudaiyar on a bull sculpture. Right now, they don't match AT ALL. She'll paint them, though. Gwen is feeling better about her concept, and she's working on a chest that.... why bother. It's a human chest just without a belly button. It's a waste of time. I'd say she's in the biggest trouble if it weren't for Doc and his lack of concept.
We also get a bit of an interlude of Vincent just kind of wandering around. Hey, that seems familiar. I have a cat named Vincent who just kind of wanders around (and makes lots of noise - he's the stompiest cat EVER). Vincent's just trying to get in the mindset of what he wants to do on application day, which might actually be a good idea, since most application days, people are so freaked out that they don't know what to do next and get brain-locked.
In last looks, Gwen is trying to save the chest piece (God knows why - she should have just ditched it and focused on the paint of the face). Damien is having trouble with the blue on his gold and blue face going muddy, and Drew has an airbrush clog issue, so he has to sponge instead, which looks wayyyy sloppier.
Ve is back! Okay, so for on stage:
Jason chose Machu Picchu. We didn't really see any of him during the episode. His face looks VERY muddy. There are some cool shapes in the cowl, though.
Drew's Pyramid Of The Sun guy has a really cool looking face, but the paint job suffered because of his airbrush issues. I love the headdress.
Oh, Gwen. It looks so bad. The chest edges are awful, and she covered it with wardrobe anyway! The face suffered because she just couldn't let go of that chest.
George went very Pyramid Head for his Machu Picchu alien, and it looks really cool.... except for the Crazy Quilt wardrobe. It just actually makes the whole thing look like a mess. Wardrobe department fails again! George knows this, and Lois's expression is one of 'huh...?'
Vincent's Easter Island dude turned out cool. He looks like a very Zen cousin of Dr. Manhattan from The Watchmen. I wish he'd done some other scarification or paint on the face to more mask where the model is seeing from.
Keaghlan (yay, I'm getting her name right) had the Giza Necropolis, and it's pretty cool. She used cat features and a Nefertiti shaped head, and it looks like it really fits in with the Egyptian pantheon. It also made me get this thought 'man, maybe cats are aliens'. It would make SO MUCH SENSE.
omg omg, Stella's Indian one is SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. The shapes around the eyes up into the third eye are really cool, and the jewel collar turned out really awesome. She also did this neat thing in the back of the cowl by adding petals, which makes it look even more traditionally Hindu.
Cig's isn't.... terrible, but I'm not a huge fan of it. The extra arms don't look like arms. They look more like insect pincers. And the cowl shape is cool, but it's such a hard transition between the blue of the cowl, and the pale colors of the face that it looks like a hood, rather than a cohesive piece. But it's definitely not the worst on stage.
Rachel's Stonehenge character is completely forgettable. I really don't have words to describe it, other than 'she'll be safe'. Though, there are some cool speckling patterns going up to the edges of the cowl.
I dig Dina's, but it looks a little crooked going up into the cowl. She's got a very reptilian thing going on, with the head splitting open to a red 'fire'. It's also got cool ears with huge gauges. They cut to Lois, and her poker face is as good as Glenn's.
Doc's.... eeesh. It's a lumpy mess. It looks like he sculpted it with a shovel.
Up next is Damien's. Okay, I'm just gonna say this - I liked this one. I REALLY don't get what the judges hated about the forms on the face so much. I thought it looks very regal. That may also be some of the model's face showing through, because this model (who is new to the season - I think his name is Keith from freezing when it shows the life cast shelf) has GORGEOUS, regal features. I also didn't mind the paint. My mother, who also loves Face Off and watches with me every week, also liked this one. Most of the time I agree with the judges, but not this time. I thought Jason's mud mess was WAY worse than Damien's. Yeah, the blue parts of the paint got a little muddy, but the sculpt was very clean. Still shaking my head in confusion about this one.
And lastly, we have Sasha. For someone who has so little experience in the lab, this turned out awesome. Hell, even for a vet of a lab, they'd be proud of this. Sasha went more minimal because she wanted to use her model's features. She had a model that has freakishly large eyes, and it makes this makeup look very mystical.
So, the top looks are Stella, Sasha, and Keaghlan. Yay, all ladies! When the judges are talking about the bottom looks of Gwen, Damien (still don't get it...) and Doc, Lois makes Glenn almost pee his pants with her comment on Doc's. She said that if that alien came to the Polynesians, they'd have no reason to live, and would want to club this alien to death. It's always, always noteworthy when Glenn laughs out loud like that.
Stella wins. She deserves it, because hers was the best. And she's adorable herself, too! Gwen is going home. She deserves it, but Doc should be breathing a sigh of relief because it could have just as easily been him.
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