# Ghost armature help



## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Hi, got a little issue here for a prop I am thinking of. I want to make a static ghost that will be hovering either near my house over some bushes or into the yard above the cemetery. 

Since its static and I will probably have to mount it into the ground, black pvc at an angle from behind it, it needs to be pretty stable. What Im thinking is this, I make a mache form for the upper torso with a pvc attachment in the back on the spine, real basic, paint it totally black and then cover it in either cheese cloth or tulle. Then it will be black lit from below, maybe the black light will be concealed by a tombstone in front of it.

Do you think that would work? Too heavy? I was thinking maybe chicken wire but I have never worked with it. I want it to be a realistic looking ghost, whispy and not too cartoony, kind of an ethereal feel to it. Would the black form underneath be visible when it is lit by the blacklight? 

Thanks for any tips, greatly appreciated.


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## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

It should work no problem. I did somethng very similar only I used electrical conduit painted flat black.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

I have made several ghosts putting RIT treated cheesecloth on mache armatures. Check out my blog for details, I have had a lot of luck with the approach.


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Thanks for the replies, Ill check out your stuff Johnny.


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Damn, those are nice, thats the look I am going for. Im bookmarking your blog. Do you like the cheesecloth better than the tulle? I guess its probably the same thing. One other quickie. Since this is going to be outside should I use more than one blacklight? I plan on buying one from home depot with a shop light enclosure. I heard that was a cheap way to go, It seems like that would get the most bang for the buck rather than buying one from a halloween store. Thanks again.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

Thanks, glad I could help. I have never used tulle, but I am happy with the effect I get with the cheese cloth. My experience is that a single 4' blacklight gives plenty of glow. The glow is more dependent on treating the cheese cloth with brightner. I always have a black light handy in the shop to check progress, and I keep some untreated cloth around to compare to.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

GrimleeFeindish said:


> Do you like the cheesecloth better than the tulle? I guess its probably the same thing.


Tulle is a fine netting that tends to be a bit stiff since it's often starched. Cheescloth is very loosely woven. I've heard of both being used for props, so the choice would depend on application. Cheesecloth is more likely to give a very soft, drapey effect you would want in a ghostly figure. I also expect it costs less per yard than tulle.


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Thanks Roxy, that makes my decision much easier, I like cheaper and I like more of the flowing look. cheesecloth it is.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:Hey! Good luck, I like your idea. Check out this website http://www.hedstorm.net/HAUNT/instructions/FCG/index.html because this is where I got the "how to" on my flying crank ghost. I made her in 2004 and she is my prize prop because she is "home made" and she puts the purchased props to shame. EVERYONE that comes to my house in October raves about my FCG. Her name is Lily and she is the widowed ghost of a sea captain who was sadly, lost at sea. She pined away for her beloved until she too died. And now her transparent figure haunts my house. Their plan should work for a static ghost as well because Lily looks good even when she is just hanging. You will not be sorry if you use their ideas. They are AWESOME!!!!:jol: Good luck and happy haunting.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

Pumpkin5 said:


> :jol:Hey! Good luck, I like your idea. Check out this website http://www.hedstorm.net/HAUNT/instructions/FCG/index.html because this is where I got the "how to" on my flying crank ghost. I made her in 2004 and she is my prize prop because she is "home made" and she puts the purchased props to shame. EVERYONE that comes to my house in October raves about my FCG. Her name is Lily and she is the widowed ghost of a sea captain who was sadly, lost at sea. She pined away for her beloved until she too died. And now her transparent figure haunts my house. Their plan should work for a static ghost as well because Lily looks good even when she is just hanging. You will not be sorry if you use their ideas. They are AWESOME!!!!:jol: Good luck and happy haunting.


P.S. I did use the "modeling wire" and a styrofoam wig form with an upper torso to form the wire around. It worked like a charm and my 'Lily' is completey see through. A more transparent and realistic ghost form, you won't find. I promise. Hedstorm is the BEST for sharing!:jol:


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## ouizul1 (May 22, 2010)

Those are nice ghosts, Johnny. Thanks for sharing the link.

Grimlee, I hope you post a pic when you get your ghost finished. I've got a huge, very dark portion of the backyard goes to waste. I wanted to put some ghosts back there, but they need to be at least 5 feet in the air to be seen properly. Tried hanging one in the trees, but wind issues kinda made it not worth it. I'm thinking your idea will be perfect.


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Thanks for the replies and link. I am a little worried about the durability of the cheesecloth. I think I read on Johnny's blog that he used fabric stiffener. Is that like starch that you spray on clothes to stiffen them? I guess Ill go to a fabric store and check them both out to see what the best option is, being an outdoor prop I worry that the frayed ends of the cheese cloth will get tangled in the wind. Thanks again!


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Thanks pumpkin 5, that mesh wire looks cool, and it looks like the stuff I need to get the fabric hard is called 'stiffy'. Ill avoid the obvious humor here.


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## heresjohnny (Feb 15, 2006)

GrimleeFeindish said:


> Thanks for the replies and link. I am a little worried about the durability of the cheesecloth. I think I read on Johnny's blog that he used fabric stiffener. Is that like starch that you spray on clothes to stiffen them? I guess Ill go to a fabric store and check them both out to see what the best option is, being an outdoor prop I worry that the frayed ends of the cheese cloth will get tangled in the wind. Thanks again!


The results are harder than starch and will hold shape unless it gets wet or you force it. Using smaller peices that have some frayed ends gives a very good effect. Stiffen will also not affect the glow under UV light.

If you don't mind the money you might try paverpol , it is supposed to dry very hard and be water resistent. I do not know if this will subdue the UV glow or not.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

GrimleeFeindish said:


> Thanks for the replies and link. I am a little worried about the durability of the cheesecloth. I think I read on Johnny's blog that he used fabric stiffener. Is that like starch that you spray on clothes to stiffen them? I guess Ill go to a fabric store and check them both out to see what the best option is, being an outdoor prop I worry that the frayed ends of the cheese cloth will get tangled in the wind. Thanks again!


:jol: Hey, I did use the fabric stiffner, but just on the head and torso, the rest of Lily is swaying in the breeze. Definitely use cheesecloth, it is cheap and after 7 years, Lily is only getting better with time. I display Lily on a covered porch, but she is gets damp when it rains, blown by the wind, etc. and she has lasted fine. The wire mesh forms helps hold her shape just great so over the years she still looks spooktacular.) Do use the fabric whitener though, like Rit Brightener, it will make it glow under black light and look fantastic. I dip all my ghosts (store bought or home made) in the Rit and it has my whole graveyard glowing. I think I posted a picture of my ghosts over my graveyard last year on my profile page. My graveyard is going to be bigger and better this year, with more tombstones, more ghosts and more blacklights! Because, More is MORE! (whoever wrote that whole "Less is more" crap is crazy) :jol:


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## GrimleeFeindish (Jan 23, 2009)

Do you guys routinely re-spray your ghosts with rit each year to maintain the glow? SInce they are not able to be soaked in a bucket or tub at that point can I just spray them with watered down rit? Thanks again for the answers, sorry if this has been gone over ad nauseum.


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

Most fabric looses it's vibrancy through repeated washings, especially with warmer temperatures (like hot and warm cycles) because hot water loosens the fabric fibers. Fabrics can also fade with repeated and constant exposure to sun. 

Cheesecloth is a natural white fiber, so from my experience, it glows under black light without any additional help. (I did an entire black light display last year and learned a lot about what will glow and what won't.) But putting a whitener such as RIT on your cheesecloth will only strengthen the effect is my guess. There really shouldn't be any need to redye the ghost at a later date. Unless your keeping your ghost out year round and being exposed to all the elements and even then, it will probably still glow under black light. Synthetics on the other hand don't seem to glow as well under black light, I have to test everything. 

If you're really concerned, you could spritz it with a whitener or even a fluorescent dye, just keep in mind cheesecloth is super porous (as is tulle) so the dye could be distributed unevenly compared to soaking it when you first make it.

I'm sure this will look amazing, be sure to post pics!


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## Dixie (Feb 18, 2009)

Acid PopTart said:


> Most fabric looses it's vibrancy through repeated washings, especially with warmer temperatures (like hot and warm cycles) because hot water loosens the fabric fibers. Fabrics can also fade with repeated and constant exposure to sun.
> 
> Cheesecloth is a natural white fiber, so from my experience, it glows under black light without any additional help. (I did an entire black light display last year and learned a lot about what will glow and what won't.) But putting a whitener such as RIT on your cheesecloth will only strengthen the effect is my guess. There really shouldn't be any need to redye the ghost at a later date. Unless your keeping your ghost out year round and being exposed to all the elements and even then, it will probably still glow under black light. Synthetics on the other hand don't seem to glow as well under black light, I have to test everything.
> 
> ...


Damn, that's a lot of good info, APT, thank you!


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

Dixie said:


> Damn, that's a lot of good info, APT, thank you!


Hahaha, anytime girl! Glad I could finally offer some help, usually I'm like "what the hell am I doing?" Fabric... dying... clothing....wigs & weaves... beauty (not sfx) make up tricks I know! Mould making? Silicone? Pneumatics? (Unless we're talking about my nail gun, I <3 my nail gun) I don't know anything, although trying to learn.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Rit brightener makes a HUGE difference in how brightly a ghost glows under blacklight. Spooky1 tried this with the FCG he made last year. In this video, he used a fluorescent spray on the material - not bad but not great:

FCG :: MOV02643.mp4 video by SpookyTJ - Photobucket

In this picture, he soaked the cloth in Rit brightener - considerably brighter:










There is some discussion of refresh techniques in his thread here:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=23701&highlight=whiter+brighter+ghost

From what some folks said, the original application can last quite a while if the prop does not spend too much time in the sun.


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

Amazing difference RoxyBlue! I figured a whitener/brightener would only strengthen the effect. I have so much regular white that glows blue, I'm always trying to get more green glow going on.  

Has your ghost been holding up and glowing that brightly for awhile? I think that's what they want to know, if it needs to be "freshened" up. I'm thinking not, as once the whitener is in there and as long as it's not washed or left out in the elements for you know, a year or more, it should be glowing that terrifically as your picture shows.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

LOL, I was adding information on longevity as you typed that, Acid

The ghost is only a year old and we won't know how it held up brightness-wise until we pull him out of storage. He's strictly an "inside the house" ghost, so he didn't get much in the way of sun exposure last October.


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## Acid PopTart (Oct 29, 2007)

Well he looks effin' great! Talk about lighting up a room! (wow, that was a BAD pun!)


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

GrimleeFeindish said:


> Do you guys routinely re-spray your ghosts with rit each year to maintain the glow? SInce they are not able to be soaked in a bucket or tub at that point can I just spray them with watered down rit? Thanks again for the answers, sorry if this has been gone over ad nauseum.


In Spooky1's thread I referenced above, both dynoflyer and Desmodus mentioned applying diluted RIT to an already made ghost to refresh the glow, so it appears that will work.


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