I really want to create a piñata of this character, but I want it to look as muscular as he does in the anime and exactly like him in the anime, too. How do I go about doing this? I really have no idea. Even his hair looks complicated to replicate into a piñata. Any ideas on how to make this piñata overall? Thank you, beforehand. 🙂 ~ M. S.
Answer from Piñata Boy
Realistic muscles and identifiable facial features are really hard to pull off on a piñata. Unless the person has iconic features, such as Mister Spock from Star Trek, it’s extremely difficult to achieve an immediately recognizable likeness. That’s why I almost never do people piñatas, and on the few occasions when I have, I aim for more of a caricature look than an actual likeness.
Even without the muscles you can create an immediately-identifiable Radnitz through his Saiyan armor and accessories, his iconic eyes and eyebrows, and his long black mane. Sometimes the real key to the success of a piñata is in the decorating, and this is probably one of those cases. The most effective means of capturing the character might not be in the shape of the piñata itself, but in how you decorate it.
If I were making a Raditz piñata, I would aim for an action pose but not worry too much about whether the arms and legs were adequately muscled. The pose itself will project strength. Then I would make Saiyan armor by cutting and shaping pieces of craft foam, then hot glue the pieces together and paint the armor. The face is going to be important, so I would really try to capture his attitude with the eyes and mouth. Add the gloves, boots, the green scouter over his left eye, and especially the long black mane. If I can create a wow factor in the overall presentation of the character, nobody will even think about the muscles.
I wrote a short description of how I would try to make muscles if your heart was really set on it, but I deleted it because it was bad advice. I think the end result would look so flawed that it would detract from the rest of the piñata instead of adding to it. After reading my own instructions I realized I would be better off going with a simple body shape and decorating the heck out of it to really make the character come alive. That’s the best advice I have for you here.
Good luck!