# Sculpting Help



## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Well I need to make some zombie heads. My wife has me mixing insulation with glue and water. I have finally managed to get my wig head covered. It actually looks great right now. The trouble is I am not doing a toxic scene or trying to make a burned victim. I have about a 3/8 to 1/2 inch coat on now. Got the nose built up and the eye area started. But what to I need to do to get a coat that I can start to texture. I am thinking if definitely needs to dry before I move on. But any help would be appreciated.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Do you have some pictures of what you have so far?

Personally, I'm a great fan of using plain old paper towels and papier mache paste to make a textured skin surface on pieces I've done. Here's a shot of my graveyard goblin so you can get an idea of how it works for me:


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

That looks great RoxyBlue. Here is a picture of where I am.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Here is another. I can't do any more now. It will just cause it to fall off from the weight. But I got texture!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

He's got tons of texture And the "dry out between layers" part is definitely important, but you already have that figured out.

Looks like all he needs is a little more building up around the eyes, nose, and mouth so those features will be clear and distinct.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Thanks RoxyBlue. We were looking at this thinking we how did we mess this up.


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## morbidmike (Sep 11, 2009)

I ues the mixture you speak of but after it dries you can use a paper clay mixture or drywall mud to make it smooth but make sure you use a clear sealer paper clay is finer than the celuclay your useing ....I have heard of people putting the insulation in a old blender until its powder then make your compound ....This is only things I have done and I'm no pro


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Thanks Morbid Mike, the blender would have made it easier I think. Where I don't know what I am doing. I started on the top of the head. Let me tell you that didn't work very well. By the time I reached the nose area. It was falling off, quicker then I could put it on. I jumped to the neck area and got a base to hold it up. That worked much better. I assumed this stuff would stick to the wig head. Well it didn't when it was wet. What is paper clay?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Paper clay is basically paper pulp mixed with water. You can buy the dry pulp at places like Michael's, Check out the basics discussion on Stolloween's site here:

http://www.stolloween.com/?page_id=209

I've not tried corpsing a wig head yet, but you might try on the next go-round putting a single layer of newspaper or paper towel mache strips on first, let it dry for a day or two (depending on temperature and humidity), then go with the next layer of the mix you used. Multiple thin layers work better than trying to put on too thick a layer all at once, which can lead to sagging.


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

Paperclay over Celuclay works very well...It also saves money, as the Paperclay is expensive compared to the cheaper Celluclay. I just apply a thin layer over the Celluclay:








then add texture:








Then Paint:









Make sure you use thin layers of Paperclay, or it will crack when it dries. If that happens, just repair it with more Paperclay.


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## DeathTouch (Sep 6, 2005)

Boggie Balls! Those are awesome!


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Watcher, I make all my heads out of mache (celluclay) and all I do is put on a layer, then use water to smooth it out. I then place it in front of a fan for about four to five hours, depending on how thick the clay is and it usually dries out enough for me to put on another layer. After that I'll add another layer and rough it out with clay sculpting tools to get the desired result. I then start working on building up around the eyes, the mouth, raising the cheekbones, and adding any details like wrinkles around the mouth, forehead and neck with the clay tools. Once the detailing is done, I'll put it in front of the fan again and let it dry out completely. Then I'll add the final details like adding teeth, tongue or anything else it might need. I think the texture you want is for a corpse right? If it is, the clay sculpting tools will give you lots of different ways to come up with different kinds of texture. On my demon head all the detail are made with the clay tools, and they made my life much easier.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Thanks RoxyBlue, my wife was look at Stolloweens page giving me instructions. Imagine that.

Thanks for the picture Doc, I can see the base under it. So at least I was completely wrong.

Dt them Boogie Balls had me pulling my hair last night.

Thanks Jack, I have some clay tools I bought. A friend of mine told me I need to start making my own heads. He said be cause I change things around it will save me lots of money.I don't want this one to have a corpse look, as much as some one who was bitten and just changed. But If I can't do this . Then He will end up being one of those things with the long tongue. 

I really thought I was better prepared. But I guess I forgot everything I have read about it. But I hope this post will help others as well. I will put a list of what I learned on the end of this to help others save time.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

The Licker would be an awesome prop!! Super scary too!!


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Jack you know I am going to make a licker. Here is my 2nd coat. I tried to start building up the features. I did the 50/50 glue water and insulation again. Next time I will try the paper clay. I really want to thank you folks for your help.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Now we're starting to see a face there And see, it didn't take a lot to really start giving his face character, either.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Nice job Watcher, once you start to mache it all the features your working on now will start to really pop. By the way, the Licker on R.E. is my favorite bio-weapon!! Remember when you make it, that it's about twice the size of a regular human!! They're freakin HUGE!! Good memories there...lol.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Well I haven't surrender yet. I picked up some cellu clay about a week ago. So yesterday I tried it out. This is what I got right now. He probably want get to keep this wig. But I wanted to get some kind of a idea what he could look like. My wife says he doesn't look scary. More like he is scared?????? Great moral support! It is a shame I wasn't going to do a vampire. I could really work this then. But I do have a picture in my head. I just can't get it out!!!!


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## tot13 (Jul 25, 2007)

I work with a newspaper paste so my suggestions may not work for your materials. MM is right - gotta use that blender for a smoother paste. Also. I always start with 3-4 layers of newspaper strips mache; the paste holds better to it so no sliding off. 

Again, I work with newspaper paste, not celluclay or insulation. I found out the hard way that I have to make sure the previous layer is completely dry before I put the second layer on. I now have one bust that is soft in places even after I left it out in the sun for days. I guess it'll never completely dry on the inside.

A while back I had too much time on my hands, so I started sanding some of my mache heads. They turned out very smooth but now I'm having to build up portions of the head because they're too small. So now I have a smooth face and a textured head, which I think turned out pretty cool. I'll see about getting a pic for you tomorrow if you're interested.

Edit: for some reason I thought that the only posts on this thread were on the first page - didn't realize how many replies there have already been. I must really be getting old . . .
And oh yeah, I love to pick up wigs at Goodwill, usually for $3-4 each.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Sure TOT13, I would love to see them. This is the first time I ever tried this. So I can use all the help and ideas I can get.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

The Watcher said:


> My wife says he doesn't look scary. More like he is scared?????? Great moral support! It is a shame I wasn't going to do a vampire. I could really work this then. But I do have a picture in my head. I just can't get it out!!!!


You just brought up one of the biggest challenges an artist faces - getting the picture in the head translated to a physical medium It can be truly difficult, but you get better with practice.

As for scary, it's a little hard to tell from the picture, but I think you only need a relatively minor tweak to get him to look more menacing than spooked. Think about what most mammals do with their facial expression when they're angry or threatening - teeth are bared and brows lowered. Here's an example with the graveyard goblin I made last year. The first two pictures are early in the process but you can clearly see the change around the eyes.

Not scary:










Getting scary:










Finally scary (with blue lighting for added effect):










A wide-eyed look is always "scared" rather than "scary". Give him a scowl and nasty teeth, and he won't be called "scared" by anyone.


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## tot13 (Jul 25, 2007)

Watcher, here's a pic showing the difference in the sanded and un-sanded newspaper paste:










And yes, I get the "he's not scary" all the time. I tell them to wait until he gets his eyes, teeth, and a killer paint job, lol.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Roxy I love the way that guy looks.

tot13 That is one cool prop you built.

This has been pushed back since I have been working out of town. But Took to day and did some yard work and played catch up here at the house. So I got him painted. Decide to use this one as a pop up from a toxic barrel. So figured it would be better with no hair.


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