# Detailing a body



## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

I have a vintage ambulance that I restored a few years back, and for Halloween we always try to have some fun with it. Last year I purchased an unpainted body and the goal was to get it painted and detailed to display in the back of the car around Halloween. We were pressed for time, so the body ended up stuffed unpainted into a cheap Halloween store body bag so we would have something back there. (A body bag that was actually too short for the body.) This year I'm really making an effort to get the body painted and detailed and looking better. I ordered 2 different styles of real body bags so I have something that looks better to display the body in as well. I was finally able to set aside some time to work on the body itself earlier this week. So, I proceeded to beat it up some. My goal is to have it looking realistic and detailed enough that you can view it in daylight without it looking too terribly fake. I understand it wont be perfectly real looking, but I'm starting with a lifecast figure, so the body itself is pretty decent to begin with.

I'm waiting on an order of perma-blood to really detail the wounds, but its pretty well bruised and battered up now. I'm going to be adding some other little details like eyelashes and eyebrows. (Which really make a difference in how real it looks) Once its done, it will be going into a bio-hazard grade body bag. (It has 2 flaps. One sealed clear flap so you can see into the bag without opening it, and then a solid black top flap to close it for transport.) I'm planning on displaying the body in the car on the stretcher with the top flap open and the clear flap closed to protect the body while still leaving it visible.


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In the hotel room after we picked it up. Unpainted and untrimmed.








Beaten and slashed.








That's going to leave a mark.

This is the first time I've tried to paint and detail a body like this. And for working on it one evening, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I'm in the process of putting together a tutorial on how I did the bruises. Its actually pretty easy. I used paint for this project, but the same techniques could be used for makeup as well.

I'll add more photos when I get the blood and the additional detailing done.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

The paint job looks good so far. I'll like to see how he looks with eyebrows.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Very realistic look to that bruising.


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## Hairazor (Mar 13, 2012)

Ouch! Looking good!


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## Joiseygal (Sep 3, 2008)

I love the bruising! I think maybe shadow some areas where the neck is and under the eyes. I agree with Spooky1 about giving it some eyebrows. I would leave the bruising because you nailed that in my opinion. Great job!


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

Very nice job with the bruising.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

Really a great job on the body. If your planning on doing makeup for the face, you might check into getting makeup that they funeral homes use, when they prepare bodies for viewing. (just an idea) Of course I'm sure normal makeup from a store would work just as well, and might cost you less. Anyway, you did a super job on the bruising. It looks real!


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## doctorgrim (Jan 12, 2012)

Where did you get the body from? It's quite awesome


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

doctorgrim said:


> Where did you get the body from? It's quite awesome


The body is from Dapper Cadaver. They have several options with wounds, and a bunch of different undamaged bodies. This one is a lifecast body, so it looks really good. Its not cheap though. Even the unpainted ones are several hundred dollars. They are amazing quality though. Dapper Cadaver does props for the movie and TV industry out in Los Angeles and they have done shows like Bones, CSI, Dexter, and a ton of other things we all watch on TV. The quality and detail is excellent, and the folks that run the shop could not be nicer. They do have less expensive foam bodies available as well. It really depends on what you want to use it for.


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## epoweredrc (Aug 6, 2012)

WOW that is killer looking.


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

My order of blood arrived and I've done a little more detailing on the body. I'm still waiting for eyebrows to arrive. (apparently it takes 3-4 weeks to mail out a pair of eyebrows these days) I have one more large wound to do on the body, and some little detailing here and there, but its getting there. Overall I'm pretty happy. It looks pretty horrible in person, wet and sticky and pretty nasty.


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

Wow, that looks great Count!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I see he's appropriately attired with what appears to be skull-and-crossbones boxer shorts:jol:


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

I'd like to see the ambulance..................


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

Here you go.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

^Nice!


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

I have posted a tutorial on DIY Bruises for anyone interested.

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=32822


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## scarrycher (May 30, 2012)

wow, both awsum props..bruising looks so real


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

I finally got my hands on eyebrows and eyelashes for the body! Its a little detail, but it makes a *huge* difference in how real the body looks. Even in daylight it looks seriously creepy now. I cant wait to get it into the back of the ambulance with some mood lighting... Should be fun this year.


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## The Halloween Lady (Aug 18, 2010)

I just saw your bruise tutorial, thanks for sharing. However from the looks of your patient, I think he is in need of a hearse not an ambulance!  Nice job!!!
Oh, sweet ambulance too.


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## CountZero (Oct 8, 2006)

Thanks for the kind words. I just hope the tutorial helps someone out with a project. I don't claim to be an expert, I just wanted to pass on what I learned on this project.

I have a hearse too.  The only problem is with a hearse you have to hide a body in a casket. When things go horribly wrong, they still have to transport the bodies. For Halloween I can either unzip the body bag, or put him under a sheet on the stretcher and pull it back when I want to freak some folks out. And ambulances have lights and sirens, which are always fun..


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

CountZero said:


> I finally got my hands on eyebrows and eyelashes for the body! Its a little detail, but it makes a *huge* difference in how real the body looks. Even in daylight it looks seriously creepy now. I cant wait to get it into the back of the ambulance with some mood lighting... Should be fun this year.


 You've got to be kidding me! That looks so freakin' real! You're going to have some great times with this guy!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

What jdubbya said - holy crap!


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