Finally dove in and sculpted the hair. Decided to go super cheap and use Crayola Model Magic. I was concerned it wouldn't adhere to the paper mache but my fears quickly vanished once I got going.
It's interesting to see the progression from start to finish, don't you think?
Sure, she's no Venus, but I'm pretty happy with it considering I had no idea what I was doing.
To simplify my life this Halloween, I picked a theme (Halloween in the Black Lodge - a Twin Peaks reference) that would not involve a lot of large scale prop building. There would only be one big one. Sounds simple, yes? I mean, I usually build numerous props for a theme, so one should be a breeze.
There's a statue seen in the Red Room/Black Lodge on the series.
A very famous statue.
In fact, one could argue besides David, the Thinker, and Atlas, it's probably the most recognizable sculpture ever made: Venus.
It's one thing to create something from your own imagination, or a symbol known by people. But I mean...it's freakin' Venus. Not only do I have NO experience sculpting humans (the closest I've come is my Witch in the Woods but she was a character, not a realistic sculpt), but I am not a famous master Roman sculptor!
I decided right from the start that I would NOT be aiming to recreate Venus. That would be stupid. And drive me to drink.
Instead, I would aim for generic white sculpture of a woman with Roman qualities.
I've been working on casting a form from a mannequin (don't we all have mannequins hanging around?) using paper mache. It's the first prop for my Halloween theme this year, and probably the one that will take the most time.
Thought I would share the process so far.
Miss Mannequin gets covered in tinfoil. To help keep the tinfoil in place without actually attaching it to the form, I've put tack adhesive putty on spots around her body (especially around the facial features). I want it to stay in place, but I want to be able to remove the tinfoil and paper mache form fairly easily when I'm done.
Covered Miss M with a layer of newspaper using watered-down white glue. Basically, I rip newspapers into strip, coat them in the glue/water mix, and smooth them over the tinfoil. For a more detailed explanation of my technique, check out my tutorial.
Since she is so large, for the first layer I used fairly big pieces of newspaper for the torso. After it was completely dry, I added a second layer of more traditionally small pieces. The smaller pieces tend to give a smoother finish and allow you to work around angles.
A creature of darkness tired of working for death. He sought an existence the opposite of the world he knew.
Love.
But what is it? How to attain it? The living held the secret. So he studied their literature and observed their courting behaviour. He understood he needed a fiancee to shower in gifts (including the key to his heart). And in order for her to love him, he started gathering all the human elements of love: lips for love's first kiss; an ear where sweet nothings are whispered; a tongue that professes love; a nose to breathe in pheromones; fingers that caress; eyes to stare longingly; a brain for daydreams and romantic thoughts; a heart to give to her, and an extra in case the first should "break".
He found a house in a quiet neighbourhood which conveniently had a wife living in it. In his limited understanding of human custom, he grasped she couldn't marry him if she already had a husband unless he was given something called "divorce papers". He created a crude version with a simple statement and added his own wax initial (a gesture to make it official) though by that time, the marriage was technically over since the man no longer lived (better to be safe than sorry, he thought, apparently divorce indicates an ending to love while death has strange lingering romantic thoughts surrounding it).
A very quick peek at the last of the large prop makeovers this year.
After this, I hope to start snapping some official images of every character in its place and tell the story of this year's theme.
We have here a 6 ft hanging ghoul with a blue complexion. His detailing is pretty wonderful for a hanging prop which is what caught my eye. That and his almost gleeful expression which works well in my story (coming soon). But blue isn't what I'm looking for, so it was time to give him a quick paint job.
For the record, this prop could easily be taken out of the box, hung up, and with a good spotlight be ready to go. I just needed him to look a little different. Plus, I wanted those eyes and teeth to pop.
All I did was paint black around the eyes and mouth (image below, left). Then I used dark brown to paint the deep creases and shadows (below, middle). And finally, light grey/beige and white dry brushed highlights (with white for the eyes and teeth).
Finally got to finish her today and I've written up the second part of the how-to with some close up images for you to get a good look at the subtle changes that make a huge effect.
Before I did my Rip Van Winkle routine and dropped into slumber for days as my body wrestled with a virus, I had time (and energy) to work on another piece from buycostumes.com. This time it was a radio.
I liked the old fashioned shape of it, and the idea that a skull presses out against the black screen of the speaker.
While not for me, some people might like the feature that when you turn it on, lights flash red and blue. The skull moves forward, pressing against the screen, and then there is a recording of a voice speaking spooky sayings.
For my display, I turned the radio off just when the skull was sticking out the furthest, freezing him in place.
The drawback to the radio is it comes in a light milk chocolate colour, almost like toffee (see images below).
The colour draws attention to the fact it's made of plastic, and since there is no contrasting colour on the main body of the piece, you can't see all the great grain detailing on the face of the radio.
The brass look of the buttons are fine, and the colour of the mesh at the top half of the radio is perfect.
I grabbed black, white and brown acrylics, and a can of black spray paint.
As you know, every year I choose a different theme for my Halloween parties. Based on that theme, I assemble a collection of ghoulish goodies to display: some I make from recyclable items you find around the house; some are store bought items that have been given a makeover of some sort.
The folks from buycostumes.com have sent me a box of haunter treats to play with.
Five items, to be exact. And they've arrived.
Two will be getting a simple paint upgrade.
And the other three - including two larger items - will receive more attention as they will be the stars of this year's theme.
What is this year's theme? You know I won't reveal that just yet. I will say it's more like a scene telling the story of a lost soul. And an unfortunate soul.
For this Misgivings Day Weekend, why not make one of these? It's super simple to make. And I mean, who doesn't need a Skull Candle Holder?
Closer to Halloween, I will be adding webbing (using a webgun), but for now here's the (almost) finished image. All you need is a skull (the ones from the dollar store work great), PVC pipe (or you could use a paper towel roll or tall can), hot glue gun, paint, and whatever you want to attach your skull to (I used fake books).
Most of the skulls you find at the dollar store look like they are from the the dollar store. But if the shape of the skull is good, then you can easily spruce it up with some paint.
When I first bought the foam skull, it was yellow (see the side-by-side image below). I took some watered down black paint (a wash) and added more shadows around the jaw, the eyes...basically anywhere there was a contour.
To simplify my life this Halloween, I picked a theme (Halloween in the Black Lodge - a Twin Peaks reference) that would not involve a lot of large scale prop building. There would only be one big one. Sounds simple, yes? I mean, I usually build numerous props for a theme, so one should be a breeze.
A creature of darkness tired of working for death. He sought an existence the opposite of the world he knew.
Before I did my Rip Van Winkle routine and dropped into slumber for days as my body wrestled with a virus, I had time (and energy) to work on another piece from 
