Happy (Late) Halloween

I got a smartphone a few months ago and since then I've been neglecting the blog in favor of Instagram. It's too easy to use, so hopefully anyone who has been looking for updates found the new tab. I suspect I'll be posting to Instagram more (WIPs and such), and only posting completed projects here.

Anyhow, Happy Halloween. This years version of whatever the heck this is included a better range of motion and a head I could almost see out of (an improvement from no vision at all last year). I also added lights to the chest piece, mouth, and brain, although the batteries for the brain died at some point during the night which is why it's not glowing in the above picture. 

The mouth can open and close and it's lit from behind, which really emphasizes the teeth in the dark. A bit shines through the nasal cavity as well.

I used two different EL wire strands to light up the chest. One was brighter and sat under the dimmer one to improve overall luminescence. The one closer to the surface of the "skin" was a chaser LED, to create what I hope was the illusion of pumping glowing blood. 

I wish I had had time to articulate the back. It looked cool but it did not move with me at all. 

I still wanted it to look good in the light as well, so the skin is fully textured and painted. 

Construction details and more pictures under the break!

Copper (II) Sulfate (Blue Vitriol) - Natural Dye Experiments (Update 9/30/17)

This is another one of those experiments where I wonder where the heck people keep getting their results from.

Recipes and ramblings under the break

Black Beans - Natural Dye Experiments

Black beans... black beans took multiple trials and a whole lot of errors. I'm still not thrilled with the results.

Recipes and ramblings under break

Avocados - Natural Dye Experiments

Ramblings and recipes under break

Rock Tripe - Natural Dye Experiments

Ramblings and recipes under break

Shellmet Completed

Pipes are added, and the shellmet is complete! 

The dials I made in Photoshop. They look fine from a distance, up close they're a bit more noticeable. 

Crackle paint and sand

I love the corroded, crusty texture of old metals and did my best to replicate it here. I read about mixing sand and glue together for it, which is so obvious I'm sort of embarrassed I didn't think of that myself. It's fun to squish it around, and I didn't have spend time trying to get neat seams between the pieces of foam.

The edges of the shell have a bit of crackle paint for more texture variance.

You can only see out of the first set of lenses.

Despite its size it is one of the lighter helmets I've made. The shell is cardboard, the pipes are craft foam. And the whole thing is covered in around 20 layers of paint (I was painting this thing forever).

It's a little goofy and clunky from the back but I love it anyway.

Air Plants!

 

I've always loved air plants and finally went ahead and got some. Made these holders out of beach finds - sea glass, drift wood, shells, and a bit of a lobster trap. First time trying to do wire wrapping, which is fun but gets messy easy. I hope these guys are happy in the window, I really don't know how to take care of them.

More WIPs

I'm always working on something, even if I haven't finished anything in a while.

Burlap Mask

Not quite as thrilled with this one, but I'm done working on it so it's time to post. I've always loved the look of those creepy, dirty burlap masks that haunt the horror genre. Recently I came across a small tutorial which revealed the secret to form-fitting burlap: soaking it in water before working with it. And wow, does that make it really satisfying to work with.

You only need to soak it for maybe half a minute for it to become malleable. It can then be stretched and pinched over a basic armature, and holds its shape very well when dry. I wasn't even using heavy duty weight burlap and it seemed pretty solid.  

The teeth are translucent polymer clay, the gums are latex and tissue paper. The jaw is articulated to move with the wearer's mouth. The cheekbone and brows are built up with aluminum foil, so it's probably the lightest mask I've ever made. 

I don't know, I think it was much creepier in my head and the fact that it's not immediately nightmare inducing is kinda bumming me out. Maybe it will look better in the dark. 

Shellmet WIP Pictures

Some quick WIP pictures. The turquoise is less aggressive in person. Before the lenses were put on, my mother asked me if I was making a "shellmet". I am now.

Rib Cage Mask/Helmet

This was a quick build of an idea I've been hanging on to since maybe 2012 (the original drawing is on this site somewhere). I think a sort of torn sewn-up lip prosthetic and undead skin tones would really complete the look.

The base is made of EVA foam cut into rib and vertebrae shapes. The skin between the ribs and creeping across the bones is a few layers of tissue paper painted with glue. It's a quick and easy way to get a sort of mummified skin texture and it's more durable than you would expect it to be. 

Yes, you can see out of it in two different places between the ribs. You can see the eye holes best in the picture below - I kept them ripped and ragged looking which makes them deliberately hard to see.