# so i got tired of the undersized and overweight bucky skulls...



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

i got tired of using bucky skulls because of their weight for both animations and static props. also wasn't thrilled about only having them the right size if i was going to make a nice pretty petite 5'5" female monster or corpse. sure i like the cute little ones to take home with me....but for my haunt id like to make some larger zombies that dont look like they have a super shrunken skull complared to their 6'2" bodies.

so i made this guy...

as you can see its slightly larger than the bucky skull. also, when looking up pictures of real human skulls, the buckies really dont capture much of the detail that you see in real skulls, so i did what i could to add some of the smaller imperfections that make skulls look real. im planning on making a silicone mold and casting lightweight but sturdy urethane skulls that will have a multitude of uses in the upcoming product lineup.

heres some pictures...if anyone has any suggestions before the mold is made i still can make some changes if something needs fixed. ill let you all know when they are done and ready if anyone wants to get ahold of a few before they go to the product line.


































riley


----------



## Frighteners Entertainment (Jan 24, 2006)

Nice job!


----------



## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

Wish I could do that!


----------



## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

He's quite beautiful in a bony way.


----------



## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

So, you just built up over a Bucky skull to get that size?


----------



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

no, this is started from scratch but using a bucky as a guide pretty much the whole way minus the detail which i tried to look closer at a real skull for.


----------



## HalloweenZombie (Jul 22, 2007)

I agree with what you said about the bucky size. Surprisingly, real life skulls are smaller than you would think. Seeing them in a museum made me wonder if skulls shrink when they dry out. Anyway, the size of your skull sculpt will help to make your props look more intimidating. I really like the way the teeth came out. I like that you gave it a stronger jaw and more forehead room too.


----------



## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

If you are going to make a contact list, put me on it. What kind of price range are we looking at?


----------



## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

Yeah Buckys lack tons of detail. You did an excellent job. It’s true what HalloweenZombie said, skulls are very different in size. I have human skulls (full grown adult) much smaller than the Buckys and some that stood over 6 feet tall. Your new skull would of been a giant! Awesome work. Do you have pictures of the sculpting process?


----------



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

thanks for the feedback guys, yeah, you are definitely right - i did do some research and found that, just like you said, skulls are technically smaller than you would think...however, the thing is, how many people know that? i held this new sculpt up to my head and it still seems smaller than what my skull "should" look like. and i feel that when doing stuff for a haunt or props or whatever, what the person sees and what it is in actuality is two different things. i did wrack my brain after doing the research as to why the skull of a human is so much smaller than it seems like it should be. and after several hours of research, i pretty much came to the conclusion of...what the hell does it matter??? the people seeing it in a haunt setting arent going to be looking for anitimically correct, or at least size wise. they are going to be looking at what seems right to them. and 99/100 people that see the prop probably arent going to actually know that much about skulls. so i guess i just figured that some artistic liscense was in order to give it the realistic "feel" verses what it was in reality. it sure is interesting though doing the research and figuring stuff out like this...learning more **** from sculpting than i am from my damn classes....

sorry scourge, no progress pics but the process i used was getting the rough shape...then pinching off thumbfulls of clay and pushing them into the places that needed higher and using my tools to subtract from the places that needed carved out...i really am just a beginner at sculpting so im kinda learning as im going, dont really have a set technique down pat yet...


----------



## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

No problem, I too am just starting the sculpting thing. I did a skull also, much smaller. What did you use for a sculpting medium?


----------



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

bone dancer...sorry...didn't see you there...umm..not sure as far as pricing yet...ill have to see exactly how much of my casting compound it takes to make one of these babies and pro rate it from there...im hoping to have it around 10$ but i dont know, could be more or less depending on the amount of the compound it takes. ill post a picture of the casting when i get around to it, but ill definitely keep you in mind to let you know when im done.


----------



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

i saw yours and liked it a lot....it was probably harder downsizing than upsizing actually. i used WED. i prefer water based but it dries too quickly. the WED is kinda gummy around details and wants to crumble a bit but its ok. the batch i used for this was actually a lot harder than i like as it was sitting in my basement in a bag for a while and the bag had a small hole in where air was getting in.


----------



## Scary Godmother (Oct 13, 2007)

That skull looks awesome, nice job 1031Fan!


----------



## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

I am trying to track down some WED clay or Chavant locally. Not much luck. So, what will the mold be made of? A plaster? And if so, what are the castings going to be? I am doing rotational casting with plastic for my small skulls.


----------



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

i dont think the price for the WED is bad on monstermakers. chavant i know is a lot more expensive. what exactly is rotational casting? my mold will be made of silicone and the castings are going to be a rigid two part self skinning urethane foam coumpound


----------



## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

Cool, foam should keep the cost down. Here is an example of rotational casting.


----------



## 1031fan (Feb 6, 2007)

thats cool, i did see that kind of a thing before. did you make yours or buy it? what kind of overhead cost are you looking at?


----------



## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

I do not own one yet. I am making new molds for human skulls and then I am purchasing one at the end of January. That was the first video I found so I posted. I am getting a different caster from another manufacturer. Thanks for the tip on monstermakers, I’ll check that out.


----------



## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Hey Scourge,
You might want to check out Oriental Trading for the clay. Last year they put in a large arts and crafts dept. I got some air dry clay there and a fair price. Not sure about the WEB. But it might be worth a look.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/


----------



## scourge999 (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for looking out Bone Dancer. That’s funny, I was thinking about air dry clay yesterday. I will look into that. Since I am new to this, finding what I need is starting to become a challenge. Thanks for the link.


----------



## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

Nice Job Fan.... I too feel that the bucky skull is too small...should be a good mold...if it was me , I would widen his eyes a bit.


----------



## playfx (Mar 10, 2007)

Fantastic job on the sculpt, on the WED clay if you find its to dry you can spray a mist of water on it and if to wet use a hair dryer on it, the more you work with it you'll get a better fill for what it needs. And watch out for the shipping prices if you order the WED, it can kill ya.


----------



## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

On the note about shipping charges, if you get something from Oriental trading make sure you check for free shipping codes. Do a google seach for oriental trading coupons. If the order is over $40 you can get free shipping sometimes.


----------

