# severed head sculpt



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

hey guys - sorry i havent been on in FOREVER - i have missed you all - if your wondering why i havent been around i will post a messege on my "wall" that we aparently now have. nothing major - just so much trash that keeps me from what i really want to do - anyway - enough chit chat - i started this guy 2 days ago and have maybe 3 hours into him - hes ok - but i want to make it better because im going to be making a mold out of him and making a bunch of severed heads in the same fashion as i did in the old old post of mine - "cheap head" - i know he doesn't have any texture, good wrinkles, stuff like that - i just wanted to make sure all the proportions and facial structure stuff was good before i got too much detail - its been a while since i sculpted and was a tad harder than i remebered it being lol - so go ahead and rip him up - tell me what i need to change - please!


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

Looking good 1031fan! You are on the right track with him....add in your textures and he'll look great.

Good to see ya back on the forum!


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## HalloweenZombie (Jul 22, 2007)

Very realistic. Nice work.


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## Lauriebeast (Feb 27, 2007)

Wow Oman, I never realized that you could sculpt! He's looking very nice and it's good to have you back around.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Man, am I envious!


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

thanks for the compliments guys - im still just not feeling him - i dont know - somthing doesn't look as good or as real as some of the other stuff ive seen on here - like playFX for instance - maybe its cause i did him and cant make the jump from clay to a real living breathing person in my head - i dunno - but as always - criticisms are MORE than welcomed - heres a few new shots with a tad more detail


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## Lauriebeast (Feb 27, 2007)

I think he looks pretty good to me. What did you use for eyes and is he going to have teeth?


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## Bloodhound (Oct 16, 2007)

He look's incrediable.


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

thanks  umm - eyes came with a monstermakers kit i got a while ago - just little half circles - i actually think theyre a little small but since hes kinda wincing its ok - - teeth - i was considering it - but i was kinda lookin at myself in the mirror as a reference to some of the detail features and i actually couldnt see any of my teeth - my tongue covered the bottom ones and the tops were way up inside the mouth - too much of an undercut to sculpt in - but what do you think? it doesn't matter what the hell i look like - if he needs teeth to look right i will put them in - what would you do? thanks for the advice


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

I'm not the sculpting guru, but the only advice I would gice would be to rake down the head to get rid of some of the lumpyness, and work on his left ear a bit. Other than that it looks good to me! Seems like if his head will be severed, there shouldnt be much "life" in him anyways. If anything, it should look deader.


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

haha good catch on the ear doc - the back middle needs pinched in a bit like the right so the rim is closer to the ....middle thingy. and yeah!!!!! i KNOWWW!!! LOL his head is lumpy as helll!!! i was laughing at that earlier today. i was meaning to do that before i took the pics but didn't - thanks man - i just need to find a rake somewhere - lol - all i used was **** i found - toothpic - paperclip for a loop tool - and paintbrush handles....maybe i should just bite the bullet and spend 2 bucks lol - thanks for the help doc - much appreciated


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## midnight_moon (Apr 28, 2008)

Nope! forget it, it's all wrong! take all down.
Just kidding! I think he looks great!!
I wish I had your talent!


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## Lauriebeast (Feb 27, 2007)

1031fan said:


> thanks  umm - eyes came with a monstermakers kit i got a while ago - just little half circles - i actually think theyre a little small but since hes kinda wincing its ok - - teeth - i was considering it - but i was kinda lookin at myself in the mirror as a reference to some of the detail features and i actually couldnt see any of my teeth - my tongue covered the bottom ones and the tops were way up inside the mouth - too much of an undercut to sculpt in - but what do you think? it doesn't matter what the hell i look like - if he needs teeth to look right i will put them in - what would you do? thanks for the advice


Well, you know me....I really like teeth in a sculpt. It will add quite a bit more time though. I also like to put them in before I finish the mouth for ease of access. Just do whatever you would like, he's a terrific sculpt even without teeth.


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

1031, It really does look good. You asked for criticism, so here it goes (I KNOW you'd do the same for me...lol)
The expression bothers me. It doesn't seem to capture any sort of mood, imho. I mean, it just looks like a guy with no particular thought in his brain with his mouth wide open. Think about what is going on here...the dude just got his head chopped off!...oh the terror, oh the humanity. (astonishment, surprise, agony....anything.) You have done a great job with the physical features, but to me it lacks something, and the only thing I can think of to describe it is "emotion". Perhaps something could be done with the eyes to reflect this?...not really sure. 

It really is great to have you back!


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## trishaanne (Aug 20, 2005)

I think it looks great with no teeth. The eyebrows made me do a double take...mine NEVER look that good when I sculpt. If you're not happy with it and want to start again, I'd be happy to give this guy a home!


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

Wowee!


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## playfx (Mar 10, 2007)

Great job!


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## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

Wicked awesome! Life size, slack jaw. That's what it should look like. Just make the eyes looking up and over a bit. Not looking forward. Killer job so far, if you sell em', I'll take one. Very impressed!


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

thank you for the great responses everyone - they are all very much appreciated!

laurie - i agree with you - teeth do a really nice job of making it realistic - ive always liked your teeth - you also bring up a good point about the doing them before the mouth for easy access. i even had some trouble doing the tongue inside because of my lack of forsight - i think what happened is i was just roughing in the shapes and really liked the way the mouth was and didn't want to tear it down to do the inside tongue - and just never got around to it - unfortunately i think im gonna have to leave this guy toothless

DtheD - - first off - much thanks for the constructive criticism - you know how much i really love hearing that and you always do a good job at being straight up with me  - - and as usual - nail on head man - your exactly right - when i started the sculpt i was thinking in my head i wanted a "generic male severed head" cause i wanted to just have a "base" head if you will so that i can rip up the latex pull and slash it whatever else and put one of my foam skulls on the inside - this way i can use the one mold and make many many different heads so they dont all look the same - and while im still doing and like that idea, i came up with just that - a generic - somewhat boring expression on this poor dudes head instead of a really interesting sculpture. and i think thats what im having a problem getting over - like with some of the other sculptures i was talking about they can tell a story just by looking at them - you know what im talking about DtheD cause you do this very well yourself - and my guy is just somewhat plain. so...now that the troubleshooting is taken care of - what measures should i take? the clay unfortunately is just water based and is getting close to leather hard so drastic reforming isnt really possible - would more wrinkles/bunched up muccles help at all? i think what really should be done and im just afraid to at this point because of the thinness and stage of the clay is the eyes need to be more squinty - when i was looking at myself in the mirror i was making a face but my muscles kept relaxing and thats what i sculpted - the relaxed muscles vs. the tense ones that would give it that expression - very good eye dave.

scourge - yuppers - your right - the eyes will be rolled up in his head or glazed over or even gouged out depending what i do with that particular pull - and yea - im hopefully planning on selling these depending on how well the mold turns out - and youll have plenty of options as far as finishes so we should be able to come up with something youd like.

thanks again all and stay tuned to see how this guy turns out 

Riley


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## dave the dead (Jan 31, 2007)

It is weird about that face....I tried looking into a mirror to do the open mouth expression you have going and kept making the same type of face you sculpted....frustrating really because I do alot of mirror reference when I attempt to visualize expressions in some of my sculpts. The only thing I could do to make a difference and make what I perceive as a "severed head face" was to droop my eyelids. Try letting them close up just a bit and see if that suits you. Also keep in mind that your casts will not have a finished eyeball looking back at you...I think that was throwing me off a bit too looking at a naturally open eyelid with a very good "alive" eyeball.
As far as wrinkles go, now that you have explained your intentions for this guy, I'd leave them out. You will be getting quite a bit more character when you have a finished and painted product.
Really good job 1031fan...even if you change nothing it is a great piece of work!


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## Evil Queen (Mar 8, 2008)

I love it the way it is. That is if you are going to use it as a living head. As for a severed head you have to remember there would be no muscle contractions at all. Everything would be slack. The skin would hang on the face since there are no muscles pulling it up. The lack of forehead muscles would not allow for the slight scowl that is showing in his eyebrows. I like the look of the mouth without the teeth, drop your mouth open and allow it to go slack, do your teeth show? Maybe just the very tops of the lower teeth. The tongue would slide forward more and cover the teeth. Depending on if you are going to use the head upright or on it's side or tilted you would want the tongue to fall forward or to whatever side the head was laying on. The skin would also tend to slide to whatever side the head was laying on. The jaw would slide down and back if upright or to whatever side the head was lying on. No eye muscles would allow the eyes to roll down or each eye could be in different positions. The detail of the ears is incredible with the exception of what has been mentioned before.


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Truthfully, I like some artistic liberties on sculpts rather than sticking to real life. I understand the basics of no muscles, but I find it more creepy to see some sort of expression like your sculpt has.


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

all good points unless you will have hair on it and pulled up like its being held by someone..
I think it looks good and all these options will give you an excuse to make different expressions on another couple heads.
Good Job


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

heres an update on this thread - heres just the standard head painted up with a little gore at the bottom - still playing around with some color schemes - this ones mainly gray tones
eyes are glazed over with some 2 part epoxy mixed with a very small amount of paint to give it that milky appearance


































-Riley


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## Spartan005 (Mar 13, 2007)

That looks nearly photo realistic. Seriously, you are extremely talented and as for criticism goes, I really don't have any. there are a few things you could do painting wise (like there may be too much black on the ear) but honestly, who the hell will ever notice that when this is put in a dim lit area in your haunt. 

Fan-Freaking-Tastic


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## Bloodhound (Oct 16, 2007)

This one's? You mean to say that you have more? I for one am digging the gray tones and the brusing and swelling, the milky eyes and the lumpy head! Awsome for gore!


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## cerinad (Jun 23, 2008)

Very Nice!!!


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## Aelwyn (Jul 7, 2008)

Awesomely gruesome!


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## lkal32 (Aug 3, 2008)

Your work seems to keep getting better and better! Nice job! How much would one be to buy and do you do custom paint jobs?


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

thanks guys for the compliments!!!

- im pretty happy with the way these guys are turning out - thanks to my buddy lkal32 - by the way - welcome aboard man! - i put this guy up on ebay a few days ago and it was a little higher than what the other junky manufactured mass produced stuff was goin for so no one really looked at it much. so instead of wasting the money to put it up for auction i just decided to take a pretty big price cut to see if he sells. would have liked to get more for it since its much better than the heads in the same price range but o well. and i figured if it was going to go cheap id rather have you guys get it. so anyway...its starting at 34.99 here http://cgi.ebay.com/Halloween-Sever...70|39:1|66:2|65:12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318

anyway - sorry for the little advertisement - just figured this was a better place instead of starting a whole new thread just to say that.

and yeah - theres gonna be more of these guys with different paint schemes - thats the beauty of a mold! workin on some freshly severed ones right now that have more od a real skin tone and bloody stump - hopefully eventually i might be able to get up a little step by step on my painting if anyone is interested in some airbrushing techniques/tips

riley


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## Silent Requiem (Feb 17, 2008)

just going back to the begining with you saying
''oh,yeah, i jusy threw this together in three hours, critisize away" 
and i'm going 
"gnh? wuh? th-three HOURS? and...and...you did THAT? and...and.. they say'oh i'm not feeling it, critisize my mistakes' and..and... mygod! I'm never sculpting again." 
jeez! my best sculpt ever doesn't look as good as your rough draft!


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## Sickie Ickie (Jun 20, 2006)

Have you thought about the skin as a matte texture instead of shiny?


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

yeah...thats where im headin with em sicki - i just had that can of gloss on me and really dont know why i coated it so much - plus, it takes away from the shine of the mouth and eyes as well.

heres a new one im workin on - dont have the eye are done yet

FRESH KILL

































more to come...


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

With the new paint job ..I like it..
he looks like he was saying "oh ****" and the off ripped his head and his face froze.
Then thrown in some kind of liquid.
Excellent job ...

i c it is sold already..better get going and make some more


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## ubzest (Jul 1, 2008)

omg! creepy creepy creepy!


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

okay - heres a picture of the eyes - a horrible picture taken with flash - cringes - but a picture none the less. does a pretty good job at making the whole piece pretty unbecoming but it was the only way to see the detail of the eyes - painted - then a coat of epoxy with the slightest bit of white pigment mixed in for a hazy/milky look










riley


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## Samhain (May 28, 2007)

Looking really good Riley! Agreeing with Silent Requiem about the 3 hours rough draft thing. Hateful amount of talent and all that...
The only crit I can think of for the most recent paint job is I can see a seamline running up his neck and above his ear. There may be a slight bevel along the join of your mold, or I may just be being picky. Also, have you considered smoothing out his eyebrows and punching hair in? It'd be a ball ache of a job but would really add that extra realism. (Obviously that's really easy for me to say as I wallow in my pit of laziness doing absolutely nothing, but you get my drift!)
Either way, great job dude. Adore your work!


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

thanks for the crit samhain - yeah, the seam is visible at the side of the head. thats the thing with casting in latex though, i dont really know any good ways to get em down like you can do with foams or resins. im all ears if anyone has any. the majority of even the "pro" props that ive seen have some visible sign of where the break in the mold is. really is a tricky thing especially with a light colored head and no blood to mask it. and i agree with the punching hair, would def add to the realism, but thats gonna have to wait till after the haunt season. those 6,000 square feet of open space would kick me in the ass if they saw me punching eyebrows for an hour lol. anyway...heres prolly what will be the last of the heads painted up till after the season. really has been a fun sculpt to play with and very versitile.


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

more to come as always....

riley


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## Devils Chariot (May 23, 2007)

Guh-ross!!!!


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## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

I just got my severed head yesterday. He looks great. Here is a picture of him chillin' with some other heads in my office. Nice job 1031fan!


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

glad you like him scourge! im sure hell have a great time hanging out with those two

riley


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## Samhain (May 28, 2007)

Wow, I love the one with the melted eyes. Yikes that looks gross! I would love one of these heads, mainly just to leave on the coffee table when people come round :devil:


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

I think the left nostril is slightly larger than the right . 

Hell I think he looks great. Did you use Sculpey? I have a brother-in-law that can do that kind of work. He made a Bettie Page statue for me recently. Me on the other hand have no artistic talent what so ever, unfortunantly.

I'm envious.


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## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

samhain...if you want one sometime just send me a PM and we can work out the specifics.

spooky1 - no - no sculpey here. the first page shows the beginning stages of the sculpt - i used WED clay and made a ultracal mold and cast it in latex


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