As the artists look back on the last episode, Roy felt the judges were harsh.  He really wanted to make it to the finale.

For their last Spotlight Challenge, they went to the Burbank Airport where they were met by McKenzie and animal specialist Dave Salmoni.  They had to create a human bird hybrid from one of the birds Dave brought for them to study.  They were all beautiful and unique, and the artists were fascinated by them.

Laura picked the Umbrella Cockatoo.  She decided to create an aging, molting bird/human because these birds tend to live a long time.  She created a lot of work for herself with a separate cowl, face and feet sculpts, as well as making giant feathers, but she managed to finish everything so she could concentrate on the details during last looks.  Aside from the big fuzzy suit, the judges loved the character of the face.  They felt she captured the essence of the human hybrid.  She was the only one the incorporated flesh tones and they thought she was an intelligent designer.

Tate worked with the Egyptian Vulture.  He created a mummy-like body and with the suggestion of Mr. Westmore, a moveable beak.  His sculpt was huge and he wondered if he had gone too big.  Overcoming a slightly big head piece, he ended up creating a great makeup.  I loved this look, and the judges pointed out all the detailed paint work.  They thought it had a great profile, with a theatrical approach and it was an intelligent design.

Roy went for the Blue-throated Macaw.  He decided on a military surveillance bird.  His design was so big, that it toppled over when he was molding it.  He managed to salvage and patch it up.  He was really determined to finish.  The judges hated some black lines on the face, but they loved all the fabrications and recognized the huge amount of work he did.

Miranda picked the Silvery Cheeked Hornbill.  She really wanted to work on her time management and to redeem herself, but once again, she fell behind.  Spending too much time on her face sculpt left her little time to do anything else for the look.  The judges loved her sculpt, but felt the monotone paint job was too basic and the rest of the makeup looked slapped on.

When it came down to the wire, the judges picked well.  Tate was the winner of this final challenge and the first to go to the finale.  They loved his conceptualization and high caliber of work.  Laura was the second to make it due to her aging decision with the makeup.  The third person going to the finale was Roy!  He said he was going to make it and he did!  They like the overall form of his piece and the huge amount of work he did in such a short amount of time.

Sadly, Miranda had to go home.  The judges know what a beautiful sculptor she is but thought she played it safe.  She was grateful for the chance to be on the show again, and would take away a lot with what she learned.  I know with all her talent that she will do really, really well!  And so we’re off to the finale next week!