# Medusa re-do



## beelce

I had a lot of fun with my Medusa last haunt, but I could not get enough snakes to finish her, so she just ended up with kind of a snake Mohawk...I got lots of compliments on her, but this haunt she will get a total re-do...I will post a "how to" as I go along.....so this is how she looked in 2006-



















Here she is at night with my friend Sonny- Sonny and Don and my self built the "snakey stick" body for her one weekend...2 years later and the stick body still stands in the same place.










I made her teeth with poly clay...and her eyes are clear plastic balls with green vinyl decal material.The eyes had green LEDs in them that are programmed to slowly fade off and on as if she was blinking.










here is a shot of the skull before I started the build-


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## beelce

The first thing I did was to strip off the snakes and give her an eye-ectomy










Here I am fixing the busted jaw that plagued me during the last haunt...a little glue and 2 popsicle sticks


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## beelce

So here is my fresh palette.... ready and waiting for her re-do...


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## ScareShack

thats pretty wild looking......the teeth are great....cant wait to see the re-do. good job!


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## hawkchucker

I like it! Really good work and very imaginative!


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## Frighteners Entertainment

Nice and creepy, well done!


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## Sickie Ickie

I was just thinking the teeth are my favorite feature right now, too!


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## Lilly

I really like the tree/root body that is cool.
nice teeth


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## Silent Requiem

yeah, the teeth rock!


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## skeletonowl

awesome so far! The new version defiantly gonna kick butt!


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## Cassie7

Polyclay is the sheet, isn't it? I love it. Those teeth are fantabulous.

Plus it's nice to see another home haunter that knows the proper use of a dining room table


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## beelce

Thanks everyone!!....I'v got some new pics that I'll post soon..
Cassie, polyclay comes in little square packs...cost about $2 each...you roll it out and make the shape you need then bake for about 15 min...It ends up just like a piece of plastic..It's a great product for this type of object..

Yes Cassie, the dining room table is sort of a sore spot in my house....I claimed it since we don't use it too often, the wife wants it back....I'll let you know how that turns out.


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## Lilly

Okay I admit i also use th etable and what ever else is available haha

what material are you going to use on those cages?
(but I really like the wood legs)
Is that one of those giant skulls, I have too one it's huge.
A medusa head just might be what it needs..otherwise it just sits out looking pretty


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## beelce

OK folks....here is the new progress-










I wanted her face to look much more wicked, so some sculpting is in order.... I sliced off the upper corners of the eye sockets to make room for the additional material.










Here you can see that I glued in a few nails into the skull to give the celluclay something hold on to...(actually I used "FAST MACHE" quick hardening instant paper mache from Activa)...you can see the pencil marks where I drew in the new brow ridge










So here she is with her new meaner eyes and brow ridges...I also added some mache to help support the jaw


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## Cassie7

Oh, I know what polyclay is, when I said 'It's the sheet', I was avoiding the ****z word hehe.

She's looking awesome!


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## beelce

Oh..sheet....my bad Cassie.. what do you like to use poly clay for?


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## Sickie Ickie

I love the new brow. Looks so much better than the original!


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## beelce

Thanks Sickie....check out the chin work...she needed something stronger and bigger


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## beelce

Lilly...you must be talking about medusa's body frame...sure, I plan to use tomato cages to build the snake part of her body....they fit together well and have the right taper to make the snake tail for her, and they are nice and light, but big. As you all my have guessed, large is better for me. When I get a pic of that I'll post for you.


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## Lilly

Beelce ..yes ..iwas wondering what covering you are using on the cages....
just cloth material ?
monster mud?
bubble wrap..might look cool painted up snake like


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## ScareShack

yeh.....that thing is just pure evil lookin.
I really cant wait to see it re-done...already looking great.


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## STOLLOWEEN

Very cool. The new shape of the eye sockets and brow is very wicked. Like the teeth as well, very impressive.
-scott


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## beelce

Lilly, that is a good question...I'm not sure just what to cover the frame with...I am not a fan of monster mud, I like the way it looks, but I like materials that will last a long time out in the weather...bubble wrap could have possibilities, that's a good suggestion..or some type of snake skin printed fabric...I will need to play around with and see what works best...PLEASE SEND MORE SUGGESTIONS...I need ideas on this one


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## Cassie7

beelce said:


> Oh..sheet....my bad Cassie.. what do you like to use poly clay for?


I've used it for a ton of different things like repairing chipped or broken items, I've made ink stamps, it's good for scratch-building models, it's uses are as limited as your imagination


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## Sickie Ickie

landscape burlap body with peeks of flesh underneath?


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## beelce

Thanks scareshack and stolloween..she is starting to look much more like the beastly, stone hearted woman that she is known to be.


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## beelce

Sickie...I like the burlap idea....what color flesh are you thinking about


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## Sickie Ickie

Don't really know. Could be snake skin fabric showing through, or maybe pool noodles painted white to look like skele ribs?


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## dionicia

She's coming along nicely. She is going to scare many a TOT.


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## BlinkyTheHouse Elf

beelce said:


> I had a lot of fun with my Medusa last haunt, but I could not get enough snakes to finish her, so she just ended up with kind of a snake Mohawk...I got lots of compliments on her, but this haunt she will get a total re-do...I will post a "how to" as I go along.....so this is how she looked in 2006-
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> I made her teeth with poly clay...and her eyes are clear plastic balls with green vinyl decal material.The eyes had green LEDs in them that are programmed to slowly fade off and on as if she was blinking.
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> here is a shot of the skull before I started the build-


Have you ever noticed the ORb over your friends head in the night pic?


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## beelce

Hey Blinky/ Rock Bottom Cemetery-- Sorry, I just saw your post....yes I did see the orb above Sonny's head...For some reason, that area of my woods always has orbs in the pics....sometimes there are more than you can count...I'm not sure what that means... Do you have any info on orbs?


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## Silent Requiem

orbs can be three things: dust particles, sun spots, and ghostly presences.I get tons of all three.


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## beelce

And here are some more pics----










Medusa gets Grilled-- I needed to mask her teeth and there was a piece of aluminum foil sitting there ready to go so....










A nice quick coat of light green...










and a little med green










and here she is with a brand new paint job...
You can also see the new eyeballs that I have been working on


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## Lilly

what kind of color if any on the lighting?


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## beelce

At this point Lilly, she will have green LEDs behind her eyes....I will most likely use white and green lighting on the scene


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## dionicia

She looks great.


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## Sickie Ickie

does she glow under UV?


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## Nancj

I love it! those teeth are flipp'n creepy! what kind of paint did you use on it? also where did you find the skull? is it styrofoam?


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## Lilly

kool..beelce


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## beelce

Hey Sickie...at this point she does not glow under UV...however I may use a clear spray on UV GLO paint...depending on how she looks outside with ambient lighting

Thanks Nancj... Yes the head is huge and Styrofoam...The skull came with a really thick topcoat of paint that covered most of the skull....A few spots that had no primer did melt away a little bit when I sprayed on the solvent based paint (rust-oleum)

Thanks Lilly...nice to get a "kool" from you!










....here is a shot of the paint I used


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## Bloodhound

I can't wait to see this when you are finished. Beelce so far it is just freaking me out. Great rebuild


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## Lauriebeast

That's one wicked looking prop ya got there, I love it!


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## beelce

Thanks bloodhound and lauribeast....love to get all these good comments!


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## beelce

Here are some more pics of the new eyes I'm working on



















This is a plastic ball from Hobby Lobby that was the perfect size for the big skull










I am working in photoshop to design the new eyes...I will print these out onto translucent decal material that will stick to the outside of the eyeballs and will allow light to shine through when the LEDs blink on and off


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## Sickie Ickie

If you put it on the inside of the plastic, would the plastic help to protect it from the elements?

You gonna make your artwork available to us? :googly:


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## beelce

Hey Sickie...the material and ink that I use are completely weather proof on their own, also it is much easier to attach the decal to a convex surface than a concaved surface... my plan is to top coat the covered eyes with multi layers of clear epoxy to give it that deep look that others have had much success with. I will be happy to share the eye art with anyone who wants it.


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## Sickie Ickie

good idea with the clear epoxy. I'm sure there's people here that will take you up on your generosity of the eyes!


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## Lilly

since you have green and yellow in the colors of the head will you be using a contrasting eye color?
those eyes look awesome...did you make those up ?
nice puter set up too btw


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## beelce

Lilly...you can see that I have been playing with the eye colors...I'm not sure at this point which color will works best...what do you all suggest?...I'm partial to green because that is the original color I used last haunt, but all colors are possible...Yes this is a photo of an eye that I took and just played with it in photoshop...I like these eyes, but I will play with them some more before I decide.


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## Bloodhound

I like this eye...


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## Lilly

I like all of them its hard to say without seeing, im gonna play with your pc to decide..but i'm partial to the blue or red so far I think.

okay after playing around with your eye colors I like the blue best..then red..then green
Try to invert the colors once too that is pretty cool looking option also

that's another cool eye bloodhound


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## scareme

I like the green/yellow eye bloodhound came up with.


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## beelce

the red ones seem to be getting the most votes around my house...I do like the eye from bloodhound also...at this point I may be going in a new direction...stay tuned for new eye pics-


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## beelce

Here are some eyes that I like...might just go this way...


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## Lilly

good ones beelce...


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## Bloodhound

Here is one more, although I do like the red and yellow too.http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/lenssolutions_1994_9422348 This is called Green Dragon. (color is Red and Green)


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## Daphne

Wow! She is looking incredible! I can't wait to see how she looks when you get done! As cool as her brow is, those teeth rule!

If you are making your eye sheets available, I would like to get on the list. I have photoshop but haven't found/created anything I like yet for my werewolf. I bought the same plastic domes at Hobby Lobby for it's eyes and was apparently thinking along the same lines as Sickie (wonder if I should see someone about that ha, ha). Anyway, I bought a baton at the Dollar Store that had clear plastic spheres on each end. I was planning to glue a translucent eye to that and then put the dome over that to protect it.

Where did you get the material you are printing on. I've never heard of anything like that.

Thanks for showing us how you are doing it as you go! Extremely educational!


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## Dr Morbius

beelce, fantastic prop so far! It's come a long way since I first saw this thread, I like the way this is going. Keep it up!


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## beelce

Thanks Daphne and Dr M!! You aint seen nuttin yet...

Daphne, the vinyl decal material I will be using is the standard for the sign making industry...made by folks like 3M...I will print on this material with solvent inks...this will make a totally weatherproof print that I will stick on to the eye lens with permenent adhisive...check out http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=10308 
It's not a material that you can buy anywhere like Hobby Lobby...etc, but if you now a sign guy I'm sure that you could get some vinyl to play with. You can aslo find it on e-bay.


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## Sickie Ickie

of course you still would need the solvent inks...


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## Lilly

beelce said:


> You aint seen nuttin yet...
> 
> but if you now a sign guy I'm sure that you could get some vinyl to play with. .


I wanna seeeeee!!!!

hmm now where could we find a sign guy???


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## beelce

I don't know Lilly...sign guys are hard to find.


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## beelce

I have started working on Medusa's snakes...I could not find a good poseable snake, so I altered these.

















Here you can see that I wired each snake so I can pose them any way I want









I think this should enough...maybe not ...hmmm


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## Lilly

looks good beelce ,
did you cut out the ribbing? thats a good color too for on the yellow and green.
you may need a few more that head is pretty big isn't it, and maybe some to have them squirming on the body or on arms if it has arms...LOL


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## beelce

Thanks Lilly...I used a hole punch to punch a small hole in each rib so that I could slide the wire thru...Don't get used to the snakes color...the dark brown is nice, but I think that Medusa should be a red head (kind of goes with the red eyes)...so I am experimenting with red paints now...I like the idea of a few snakes on the body or the arms... should be no problem, I have 2 dozen more snakes just waiting to used.


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## Lilly

leave some brown for highlights LOL


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## scream1973

Can't wait to see it all finished its looking fantastic


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## Nancj

Can't wait to see the finished project, looks great so far. How are you planning to hold the snakes into place?


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## beelce

Thanks Nancj...My plan is to pull the snake wire thru the skull bend it over and synch it down with a cable tie that goes back up thru the skull to the snake. Hope it works!!


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## beelce

I have been out of town for a while, but here are some new pics...









As you can see Medusa looks a bit different after I applied the "B" Skin



























I'm still working on her eye inserts, and they are looking good


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## beelce

Here I cut the skin to size









The skin is glued on and pushed and pulled into the shape I needed









Same side after drying for 24 hours


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## Bloodhound

Nice Job!!


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## Lilly

Looking really Kool..
That skin looks fantastic
Is that rice paper? ( the edible kind)
Can't wait to see the eyes and snakes on the head.


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## PirateChris

She is looking fantastic BeeIce. What is the skin made of? I may have to play with that.... =)


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## midnight_moon

Looking really cool!
What did you use for the teeth?
The skin looks like rice paper?


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## Sickie Ickie

skin a bald cap?


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## beelce

Thanks all-
-Thanks BH
-Lilly...it's not rice paper (good idea though)
-Chris....I call it "B" skin
-MM...the teeth are made of poly clay and glued into the foam skull
-Sickie...not a bald cap...I'll have to play with a bald cap now just to see how it will work

Thanks for all the interest and good comments-
"B" skin is a new process I'm working on, but it still needs some refinement...Medusa is the first real project I tried "B" skin on, and I got mixed results. So let me fine tune the skin process a bit more and I will publish a "how to" for everyone.


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## Lilly

great beelce...interested in what that is your using for your "B" skin..
looking forward to the how to


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## beelce

I've been working....Got 12 snakes planted so far...pics this weekend


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## Cassie7

The "B" skin looks a lot like silk screen to me.

She's looking great. Can't wait for your pic update.


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## Lilly

half the weekend is over ...LOL 
still waiting , pacing back in forth
tap tap tap.....j/k 
Hope it's working out


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## beelce

Here she is Lilly- What do you think of her hair color?









About 20 snakes










She looks a little crazy here










This is Molly holding Medusa with the first 5 snakes...It looks like when I'm done, she will end up with about 36 snakes


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## beelce

No Cassie.... not silk screen


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## scareme

I've had my hair do that on bad days.


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## Lilly

looks great B...
good color choice..
so since you still need to add about 18 snakes, will you have a couple hanging towards front of face or no?
have you started the body covering yet?
can't wait to see the eyes in her and lit up.


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## Bloodhound

Wow B, Medusa is looking great!


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## Sickie Ickie

I like how you cut the snakes at angles to appear to be growing from the scalp.


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## beelce

Thanks Lilly...sure I will have the snakes positioned towards her face, and no the only progress on the body is still in my mind...the eyes however are almost done.

Thanks Bloodhound...I'm just realizing that medusa kinda looks like your avatar

Right on Sickie...making the snakes look as if they grew from the skull was a priority, and I am glad that you recognize that...thanks


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## Daphne

That looks great! I can't wait to see it finished!

Hmm, my money was on rice paper too...

I would love to put that on my head and walk in my kid's bedrooms when they won't get up for school in the mornings! I bet that would wake them right up! (of course they would then sleep in my bed until they were in high school!)


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## beelce

Daphne...Thanks for the compliments! nope, not rice paper. And your parental hummor actually made me LOL.


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## Revenant

Ooooh she got a Harryhausen brow! Sam Raimi would approve! And I love the reptilian green... tasty... goes so well with those wicked teef... I have to admit I kinda like the snakey-stick body but with the new paint job you definitely need to give her a more reptilian bod. She's lookin' ace! Very much looking forward to seeing the progress on this baddie!


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## beelce

Hey thanks Rev...I am inspired by Harryhausen...(aren't we all). Some of the 20 something's around her say that she looks "Klingon".. Yes I liked the stick body as well, but after 2 years in the woods, the weather and critters have taken their toll and the old stick body has collapsed...I will find something to do with it somewhere in my haunt.


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## Lilly

And here I thought you had an update beelce...
that's what I get for thinking.

make a nest for medusa with the sticks?


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## beelce

wow... I like the nest idea Lilly!! Sorry no updates yet...I am working on her, just not as fast as I want


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## Lilly

Y I know what you mean......


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## beelce

Ok...here is my final eye art (designed in photoshop)...they are being printed at 1440 dpi on 3M translucent vinyl with solvent ink (totally weather proof). I should get them early next week...I'll let you know how it goes after they come in.


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## Lilly

WOW
Those are kick ass Kool eyes 
Well Done Beelce
they will look perfect


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## Sickie Ickie

your art? wonderful eyes!


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## beelce

Thanks much Lilly and Sickie...Yes my art (with a nod to Anubis Grey), so if they look good or bad, it's on me.


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## Bloodhound

Nice job on the eye's! I can't wait to see them in/on Medusa!!!


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## Silent Requiem

the EYE sees all! do not look into the palantir!


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## Bilbo

That is some just incredible work on Medusa! I was disappointed at first to see the bright green paint job, but should have known it was just the start.

Quick thought... if you did put the eye decal inside the plastic globe, that would give you a bit of the depth you were looking for right off the bat, with fewer layers of clear coat/epoxy, etc..., wouldn't it? Kind of a newbie here, but thought this may be of use.


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## Nancj

Love the eyes, they look veiny. your Medusa makes me want to redo my whole Halloween costume. I was Medusa last year, very hard to find a nice medusa costume and making it never comes out exactly how I want it. you have definately inspired me to work on it again for this year, hope it turns out as creepy as yours!!


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## beelce

Thanks Nancj...My eye prints came in and I have done a few test, but you will have to wait till I get back in town to see the pics.


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## Lilly

you teaser you.....
have a good trip


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## beelce

OK...I could not stand to wait...


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## skeletonowl

those eyes rock!


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## Bloodhound

*Nice*!


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## Daphne

Wow! That thing is scary in the daylight! People will run in horror at night! The eyes look wonderful!


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## Moon Dog

Great work! She's really coming along!


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## Lilly

I knew you couldn't wait b...
very kool she looks great
can't wait till you get her body on now and in her proper place in the woods.
tick tock....LOL
L


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## Daphne

Bilbo asked "Quick thought... if you did put the eye decal inside the plastic globe, that would give you a bit of the depth you were looking for right off the bat, with fewer layers of clear coat/epoxy, etc..., wouldn't it? Kind of a newbie here, but thought this may be of use."

I was curious about the exact same thing. I would be curious if the plastic globe would degrade/yellow/crack after a few seasons though...


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## Sickie Ickie

awesome job! put something in the pic to show scale


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## Silent Requiem

i agree, i can't tell how big it is, and the eyes--WOW!


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## beelce

Hey Daphne..it would be almost impossible to apply the decal on a concaved surface...Yes the plastic would add a lot of protection, but with this material I don't need it. So I went the path of least resistance and stuck the decal on the convex side of the eyeball

Sickie and SR each eye print is 3 1/2" in diameter...I'll post a pic with a referance object soon.


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## beelce

I was not happy with the color on the eye prints, so I had a second set printed. Here are the new medusa eye decals. They came to me printed on 3M cast vinyl decal material....printed with solvent ink and a clear coat of uv liquid laminate. This combination of materials are completly weather proof with a 5 year outdoor warrantee. Just rough cut the shape










applying the print is a bit tricky...I want to have as few wrinkles as possible










Trim the excess, and stick it in the eye socket


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## beelce

This is my process to install the LEDs behind the eyeballs



















Plastic tube helps secure and aim the LEDs










These are awesome little LED eye sets...they have 6 different programs that make the eyes blink any way you want...I get them here - [email protected]










from the inside...just used double sided foam tape to hold the battery case in place










Decals have not been installed in this pic...


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## AzKittie74

How did I miss this thread???????????

really great work Beelce!!! I love this one!


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## Bloodhound

WOW! Beelce, I have been waiting to see those eyes installed for how long now? They look awsome!


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## Aelwyn

Awesome!!!! Looking frighteningly fabulous!


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## Sickie Ickie

B, this keeps getting more and more awesome! I love following what you have done in this thread!


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## Lilly

Decals have not been installed in this pic...[/QUOTE]

beelce,
she willl be most wicked wicked wicked looking.....

ps has she been to the dentist? looks like she had a booboo
or did you decide to take a few out?


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## Daphne

Wow! This looks amazing but we simply must have a picture with the leds and the eyes installed. She looks killer as is, I can't wait to see her with the eyes in! This looks exactly like what I want to do with my werewolf. I am even using the same domes so I'm guessing our eyes are the same size.

Can I get a copy of the eyes you created? I have played around in photoshop but nothing I have done is anywhere close to what you came up with! I also don't know any sign guys or where you get solvent ink so is the place you had this done a "for a favor" place or can you share the name where I could get mine done there also? 

She looks incredible!


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## beelce

Lilly, you are so observant....I did knock several of her teeth out as I wrangled the 38 snakes on to her head...I had to keep putting my hand in her head to tie the snakes off and just busted out a tooth here and there....No worries, hope to have all the teeth back in and new paint on her gums this weekend.
Also my Medusa crew will be here on Sunday, and I hope to make a dent on the snake body/tail...she will stand 10' at the top of her head. We will also start to build the bonfire structure...it will also be huge


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## beelce

Daphne...I sent you a PM


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## beelce

Azkittie - Bloodhound - Aelwyn - Sickie - Lilly - Daphne
Thanks for all the kind words...If all goes as planed , you will see much more Medusa re-do


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## Lilly

woohoo
huge is good
I want to see the bon fire structure too


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## Daphne

Got it! Thanks!

We'll be watching for the updates!


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## cerinad

That's awesome!!!


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## Ghoul Friday

That is absolutely hard core. Well done. I'd tip my hat if I were wearing one.


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## beelce

OK folks it's been awhile since poor Medusa got any attention, so here I go.... Medusa gets a hand job...er.. I mean I did her hands...ahh...whatever!









Here is a before and after...I got these hands at Big Lots
I cut all the fingers at every knuckle and added an inch of flexible vinyl (3m controltac) at every joint









You can see that I used copper electric wire in every finger so that they will be totally positional, so she can hold stuff









This is just to show you the size...BIG
A little Krylon H20 (which is flexible and sticks well to the vinyl)....and we got game.
I will be adding "B" skin to the hands, just like I used on her head.


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## darkrosemanor

OMG, Beelce!!! She is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!! Can't wait to see more!!


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## beelce

Thanks Dark Rose...I will post more pics as I get them...have a great halloween


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## Cassie7

I've been following this from the beginning and have been eagerly awaiting your progress. She's amazing! I wanna see more! 

Do you think she'll be ready for Halloween?


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## Lilly

B...So glad you took her out to work on her.
Love the hand job so far !!


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## beelce

Thanks Cassie and Lilly...she will be ready for halloween 2009...I had to sit out this year


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## Daphne

Beelce, that is the best hand job ever!


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## beelce

and the beat goes on.......


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## Monk

very, very nice


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## DarkLore

She looks great.


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## Chrysaor

B,
She is amazing, Im in awe of your work!
Medusa being a favorite of mine from Greek Myth.
Love the work you have put in, I cant wait to see more updates of your work!!!!!!

*thumbs up!*


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## Joiseygal

Holy Crap Awesome! You really changed her original look. She looked good before, but who would of thought how much better she would look.


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## Daphne

My gosh she looks incredible!!! Bravo! You did a simply superb job!


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## Spooky1

That's one amazing makeover. I can't wait to see pictures of her in action. 

I may want to borrow that eye pattern for our ghoul hounds from last year.


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## fick209

WOW - it just keeps getting better and better. You did an amazing job.


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## billman

holy crap!! another excellent thread I have missed. geez, I got to keep up.

Beelce your stuff always rocks!!! I hope one day to reach your level!....


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## Lilly

Yowza Medusa is so Creepy..
Those snakes look sharp
Great job b


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## beelce

Thanks much everyone!! 
There is a lot more to come....I just need some time to get the new Medusa stuff posted....


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## rottincorps

OK now its time for me to step it up........Fantastic job. I need to do some hands like that I already have the hands now I see the possibility......GREAT JOB!


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## DeathTouch

How did I miss this. This is awesome!


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## Toktorill

She's Gorgeous! An amazing, inspirational piece of horrific art!


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## debbie5

Thanks for posting the eyeball design! I am going to have the local bakery print them out onto edible paper and put them on a cake! Medusa look awesome. Looks like wrangling & gluing those snakes was tricky.


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## Silent Requiem

my god...i think i'm in love...


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## beelce

Well folks........
It has been a long process, but at long last, I am going to finish this thread...
Here are the last steps of my MEDUSA re-do .... how-to









A nice thick layer of 5 minute epoxy on the eyes to give them a deep wet look









I used a small bead of epoxy clay to seal the eye ball....later, I painted the epoxy with acrylic paint to match the face color









This is an all purpose glue that drys clear, to give her gums the wet drippy look









As an added bonus that I did not plan on,....this stuff is black light reactive


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## beelce

Tri-pod frame system....notice holes in foot pads for staking to the ground


















Spring tension joints to allow for posing my girlfriend....
Look here for more info on the spring tension system.. http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=14638&highlight=articulated+form









Shoulder and arms









Here you can see that the arms are pose-able


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## beelce

This is a proportion test....She looked too tall for the size of her head, so I ended up cutting off about 12" off the frame


















Here is a light test for the LEDs behind her eyes


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## beelce

Because their shape was round, and they are easy to cut and bend,......I used 3 different sizes of tomato cages to build the tail frame


















This is shrink wrap plastic to help cover the wire frame of the tail


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## beelce

This is the point where time and money constraints made me go in a different direction than I had envisioned.....
I had wanted to have a large piece of fabric printed with a photoshopped "snake skin" to wrap her tail, arms, upper torso....
But, I had to move to plan B........









I ended up using bubble wrap and fluorescent paint to make her skin









Green on the front......Orange on the back









This is how the snake skin looked under black light









Wrapping the skin around the tail frame









After we hung the bubble wrap we wrapped the whole tail with stretch wrap


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## beelce

I used sheets of foam form Hobby Lobby to build her belly scales









And....just to add a little conversational controversy to my haunt,......some big foam breasts!!
which I later trimmed down...









I used a pair of GoodWill paints for her sleeves


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## beelce

Installation day with my #1 volunteer and haunt forum member.... "Purulent Exudate" aka "Dangerous Don"









Here is Medusa installed in the woods on the "Trail of Blood"



























Here is the full progression....foam skull...first appearance...latest appearance...

SO.....It was fun for me, and I hope that all of you forum folk had a good time too....
Thanks for checking MEDUSA out.
Beelce


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## samhayne

Great inspiration!! it look really nice.
thansk for sharing


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## fick209

Medusa turned out awesome! I like how you made her tail. I wouldn't want to stumble upon her while out walking in the woods


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## RoxyBlue

Beelce, she turned out fantastic! The details for her head in particular are just gorgeous in that scary way - eyes, teeth, snaky hair. Well done!


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## Daphne

My gosh she is simply amazing!!! The bubble wrap/foam pieces turned out perfect (I would have never thought to try that!) but that head in unbelievable. I can imagine lots of folks with rather damp clothing after running into her in the woods! 

The glue looking perpetually wet AND light reactive is sweet! Wouldn't mind knowing what brand you used.

You did a super, super job!! I bet she is even cooler in person!

Thanks for sharing how you made her!


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## tot13

Beelce, beautiful and awesome work! I'm curious to see what you're next project is for this year since you got the gf finished so early, lol.


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## The Watcher

I am glad I found this. She is a thing of beauty. Really enjoyed the how to.


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## Fiend4Halloween

Incredible job! To use bubblewrap as snake skin, green "scales" on a orange body, using both sides, orange/green, is genius. The face, the size...the BOOBS..lol, you really did a great job, kudos.


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## Joiseygal

That is genius to come up with bubble wrap for skin. Do you think it will hold up in inclement weather? I think the Medusa has transformed so much and keeps getting better and better. Great job!


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## niblique71

Just WOW!!!


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## beelce

Thanks soooo much everyone!!! I ended up working on medusa for 4 years, and I don't know how many hours or how much money, but as they say, it was all worth it.
Who knows, I may just keep updating her till I get what I want...


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## Girl of Vlad

one of the best props I have seen yet. Those eyes are hypnotic~~~~


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## ELH Erin Loves Halloween

I cant believe I just found this! A very detailed and great tutorial and the piece is amazing. I love the eyes and the snakeskin turned out perfect!!


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## nixie

Very impressive!! I'm working on a Medusa prop for my daughter. Thanks for the inspiration!!


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## PirateLady

Great job... love the snake skin look on her tail...Thanks for the show and tell on this project...gives me some good ideas .....


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## beelce

Thanks to all of you for the good words.......Medusa was a fun project..
I would like to re-do her snake tail next year if I can find the time. I want to use a printed snake skin and fix the lumps in the armature, maybe change her proportions a bit......or maybe not.
Good luck at those of you building their own Medusa...PLEASE post pics!!!


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## tot13

beelce said:


> Thanks soooo much everyone!!! I ended up working on medusa for 4 years, and I don't know how many hours or how much money, but as they say, it was all worth it.
> Who knows, I may just keep updating her till I get what I want...


So what you're saying is, she hasn't turned out to be a cheap date? Isn't that kinda like being married?


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## beelce

HA ha ha.....your right about that Tot!! Thats why most of us never keep track of the money that goes out for our haunt hobby.


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## Spooky1

She turned out great. You did a wonderful job on the update. You wouldn't recognize her from the previous incarnation. I love the scale effect (and such a simple method too). She's going to get some good scares.


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## Rahnefan

Mighty creative. Very cool prop. She is scary.


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## lisa48317

OMG, I am on my knees bowing to you! This is SO awesome! The whole thing is just beyond words - the teeth (LOVE the teeth!), her size, the eyes, tail, everything!
WOW.


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## Cassie7

She came out absolutely amazing! She was definitely worth the time and work.


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## 7500Blizzard

She's definitely an amazing prop. Did you ever post anything about your B-skin? it creates a very unique effect.


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## beelce

Thanks much Cassie...good to see you back around!!!


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## beelce

7500Blizzard.....
I have not added anything more about "B" skin, but I need to do that for a few others who asked me also....
thanks for asking.....I'll try to get you some info..


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## Cassie7

Thanks beeIce. I've been around, just not posting. We're in the middle of moving this month so we have to take this year off sorry to say. We saw this move coming for months so we knew not to embark on any prop building.


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## 7500Blizzard

Thanks beelce


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## punkin

Wow! She is incredible!!


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## LAKE OF THE DEAD

19 pages !!! i have to see the ending ...what about the "b" skin???


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## HauntCast

Sweet! I have a few props that need face lifts and you've inspired me to give them a make over.


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## beelce

OK ....

Everyone that asked about the "B-SKIN". I have added another How-To here....http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=26449


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## Dixie

Glad you did the B-Skin tut, which brought me back to going through this thread from page one all the way to the end. Kinda like watching an entire season of The Walking Dead without commercials, one right after the other. Really cool all in one sitting.

Oh, and one other thing. Keep changing it all you like, til you get it exactly how you want it - *but* if you change one little snake on that head, one tiny little wrinkle or spritz of color on her face - I will... I will..... be really mad at you. LOL. (Hard to make play threats online where you can't hear the laughter in my voice!)


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## beelce

Thanks much Dixie.......Guess I'll have to ask your permission before I can fix her up again. Jabo is she always so such a control freak?


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## Acid PopTart

That is quite the epic Medusa/Echidna (fun fact, in Greek myth, Echidna was the mother of all monsters!) prop you have there - and best use of bubble wrap EVER!! How did you not manage to pop all the bubbles? Or is that just a temptation for me? 

The re-do really made it come to life, and those eyes, wow!


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## beelce

Thanks TART........I love your work also........!!!


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## The Halloween Lady

What a fabulously unique creation! Your use of materials is amazing, using the plastic bubble wrap was totally ingenious. She is truly beautiful. I absolutely love her!


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## beelce

Thanks much Hlady.........this year Medusa was displayed as a disembodied head floating in a 6 foot tall green fire.


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## divinedragon7

Amazing work, i love the way you built up the skull


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## Evil Elf

I'm sure it's all been said already, but I'll say it again. That's incredible!


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