House of Shadows

The weather here is miserably cold so Christmas shopping will be delayed until the severe weather warning for our area is lifted.  I’m beginning to feel like I’m living in Victorian times.  We have been keeping one room in the house warm and turning the heat down in the rest of the house to conserve.  Our old house still has an oil furnace, not a good option since the war  started. But in the long-term, learning to do a better job of conserving is a good idea anyway.

This is an excellent time to focus my time on continuing work on The Immortal Pumpkin and preparing some skulls for molding. Like everything I do, I decided I wanted to explore options for painting the skulls once they are cast with foam.  It seems everyone has their own preference of materials and techniques. Some people use a combination of different colors of Minwax, others use acrylic paint.  The painting techniques below are adapted from  information posted on Grimvisions. As I discover other techniques that appeal to me, I will post them for your information.  I think it’s always good to study more than one technique before beginning a project.  You may end up using a process that is uniquely yours, but it’s good to know why you make certain decisions along the way.  The best way for me to learn is to dissect the work of others.  So here is one way to finish a foam skull:

Supply List:

• White Glue
• Brushes
• Black spray paint
• A foam skull
• Acrylic paint of various colors
• Matte sealer

Painting Process

1. Start with a 2 part urethane foam skull that you have cast, or purchase a quality foam skull
2. Coat the skull with white glue, thinned with a small amount of  water so it brushes easily onto the skull.
3. Make sure to apply a good; even coating and let it dry.  This helps seal the foam and gives it a better texture.
4. When the glue coat is thoroughly dry, spay paint with a layer of flat black paint
5. When the black paint is dry use a bone colored acrylic paint to paint the high areas of the skull randomly, you don’t want total coverage ( tip: one way to do this is use a sponge and if the coverage is too much quickly blot it off with a paper towel)
6. Be sure to leave some black showing in the deep recesses.  An airbrush can be used to apply this coat if you have one available.
7. After the bone colored layer dries, go back and highlight the lines and cracks with a watered down black. Then using a watered down burnt umber blot on some dirt-like spots here and there to add some antiquing near the eyes, jawline and mouth.
8. Let the paint dry thoroughly; at least one hour, then lightly dry brush the entire skull with original bone color paint.
9. Paint the teeth. Using watered down acrylics, or inks.
10. After the teeth are done, go back and very lightly dry brush the highest points of the skill with the base bone color mixed with a bit of titanium white (the brush should so dry that you can hardly detect any paint in it)
11. The final step is to spray the whole thing with a matte sealer to reduce the shine.

Thank you viewers and subscribers.  Your interest means a lot to me.

The picture of the aging tombstone above is one of my favorite examples of what an old stone would look like in a heavily shaded, abandoned cemetery. After years of exposure to the weather the stone erodes and gives a foothold for the moss to take over.  Admittedly, I am addicted to color and texture so I’m drawn to this picture.  I’m not sure if I want to go that extreme with my finishing details but it is a possibility.

There are so many ways to build tombstone props from Styrofoam and a  wide variety of finishing techniques offer you many choices.  Think about the overall look you want in your cemetery before beginning the building process.  Give it a history and the vision begins to drive your decisions.  I have posted some links that provide excellent examples of the possibilities.

Keeba’s Tombstones provides a comprehensive tutorial for  both building and painting tombstones.  Merlin’s Celtic Cross is excellent, but the Reaper is truly phenomenal.  The Rat Popin’ tombstone is an incredible, but advanced project.  I listed this link because it shows the potential for what can be accomplished with Styrofoam and a lot of talent.  The builder of this project carved some of his ornaments, but there are many ways to find objects that are ready made.  My husband laughs at me because I’m always looking at things  with an eye for the potential to cast it for a project.  I recommend Thurston James book “The Prop Builders Molding and Casting Handbook” as a reference if you are not experienced molding and casting.  The book is listed in my store; you can find a complete review by clicking the link in the listing.  The picture of the stone in the Mourning Cemetery is an exceptional example of how to add a lot of texture to your project.  These are only a few examples, but they can give you an overall reference that will get you started if you are a new builder, or perhaps show you some different  methods if you are more experienced in building Halloween props.

Keeba’s Tombstones

http://www.hedstorm.net/HAUNT/instructions/tombstones/index.html

Merlin’s Celtic Cross

http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/MyCelticCross.asp

Merlin’s Reaper
http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/reaperstone.asp

Rat Popin’ Tombstone

http://usersites.horrorfind.com/home/halloween/chrisscrypt/graves_01.html

Mourning Cemetery

http://www.mourningcemetery.com/Projects/crane/index.htm

I hope you will enjoy viewing the work of these home haunt builders.  Until next time …

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows.  We hope to see you again soon!

Vampiress Morbidia

©2008 Laurie Franklin

“Twilight Becomes Her” is the seventh and final article in the series featuring the work of Laurie Franklin on her 2008 sculpt, Vampiress Morbidia. If you want to read all related posts in this series click the link for Vampiress Morbida in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

Finishing touches prepare Vampiress Morbidia for the celebration of her first Halloween with the Children of the Night. Here are some of the finishing touches that bring the haunting beauty to life.

Laurie began dressing Morbidia by making a petticoat using a layer of heavy satin-like fabric in slate blue for an underskirt with a layer of navy blue nylon tulle on top. These layers were gathered separately and then attached to the underside of the torso using hot glue. Tulle was used to build up Morbidia’s hips and girlish curves and the heavier underskirt was made to hide the pole by blocking light from shining through her lightweight skirt. The skirt is made of a navy blue fabric with a silky finish.

Morbidia’s blouse is made of a silky material in green. Laurie made a lace-up bustier using a medium weight damask fabric in navy blue to shape her waist. Fitting Morbidia’s corset was a challenge for Laurie because Morbidia doesn’t “have” a waist and she refused to lift her arms for Laurie. But nothing stops Laurie when she has a plan in mind.

I think the red cape was a crowning touch. It pulled the look together and emphasized Morbidia’s facial features. Not one to let details slip by, Laurie wanted to add a necklace. She created Morbidia’s necklace out of two separate pieces.

Laurie’s finish work is so complete that one member of the Halloween Forum needed to know if Laurie even gave Morbidia bad breath. Well…no bad breath, but I could swear if you watch closely you can see Morbidia take a breath every now and then. I can’t wait to see what Laurie stirs up for next year!

Here are some final facts about Morbidia.

• She stands an imposing six feet tall
• It took Laurie approximately 100 hrs. to build her
• The estimated cost of the project was $150 - $175

Laurie’s recommended reading list:

• Facial Expressions by Mark Simon
• The Portrait in Clay by Peter Rubino
  
• Modeling the Head in Clay by Bruno Lucchesi
• Modeling the Figure in Clay by Bruno Lucchesi
• Molding and Casting Handbook by Thurston James
• Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck

I have added all of the titles from Laurie’s list to my bookstore. You may purchase them by selecting the Books page tab at the top of the post; click on the title of interest to read more about it or make a purchase. You may also shop for any item available through Amazon by using the search box on the side bar. Purchases made through links on my pages help support this blog and are very much appreciated.

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows!

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Vampiress Morbidia

©2008 Laurie Franklin

This is the sixth article in the series featuring the work of Laurie Franklin of Diamond Bar, California. If you want to read all related posts in this series click on the link for Vampiress Morbidia in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

I often think about ways to build props in ways that could hide their hands. Then I look at Laurie Franklin’s tutorials and she makes sculpting realistic hands looks so easy. Of course I know it’s not an easy task at all. Sculpting requires practice, just like any other skill. But how do you know if you have what it takes….

Here is Laurie’s advice to Halloween Forum members who asked about how to make realistic facial features: “The only tips I can give on making the nose and ears is to look at pics. Then blow the pic up to the approximate size you want the sculpt to be. Get yourself some oil based clay and practice, practice, and then practice some more. I must have spent at least 20 hours over several days just practicing on one ear. However, once you get it right, the other ear is much easier. The nose is practiced in the same way as the ears. Look at pics and practice with some clay. I used a small board to practice on which was very convenient.”

I suppose it would be somewhat difficult to use your ears or nose as a model unless you want to keep looking into a mirror. But at least your hands offer the advantage of being easy to look at for reference as you work. So let’s take a look at the steps Laurie uses to sculpt hands and fingers. The first step is to make outlines of right and left hands as reference. Then cut pieces of wire the length of the fingers, plus extra to push into a piece of foam shaped like the palm of your hand. The gage of the wire you use doesn’t really matter, as long as you can bend it into the shape you want.

Next, position the fingers and begin adding Celluclay to build them up. Depending on the gage of wire used, you may want to use a bit of foil to build the fingers up before adding the first layer of Celluclay. The fingers and the rest of the hands are then covered with DAS or Paperclay.

After the hands dry and all the fine tuning is done (shaping, knuckles, acrylic fingernails, cuticles) it’s time to attach the hands to the arms. Pictures in the previous post, “What Lies Beneath”, show a piece of wire that runs the length of the arm and comes up through the armature pipe where the head goes. The wire is bent at the top of this pipe to hold it in place and the lower portion that extends through the arm is inserted into the foam of the hand along with a piece of wood. Then position the hand and place tape around that joint and cover it with Celluclay. When the Celluclay layer is thoroughly dry; cover it with DAS or Paperclay in the same way it was applied to the arms. Our beautiful Vampiress Morbidia is now ready to reach out and touch someone.

I was thinking about a prop I want to make this year, while thoughts of positioning her hands in a way they would not show were still running through my mind this afternoon. But I came downstairs to write this article and my stash of oil-based clay sat staring at me in the studio. It’s time to apply Laurie’s best advice and begin practicing, practicing…and practicing some more.

Tomorrow will be my final post on Vampiress Morbidia. We will see the final steps of her transformation and I will list Laurie’s recommended reading list along with links to more resources.

I want to thank my readers and subscribers again for your positive feedback on this series. And of course, I can’t express enough gratitude for Laurie’s permission to feature her work. Each time I study the pictures of her works in progress I learn something new. I sincerely hope your knowledge of what it takes to give birth to a vampiress is much greater today than it was before you read this series. If you have any questions, please feel free to send them to me at the House of Shadows: mail@houseofshadows.net.

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows.

This is the fifth article in the series featuring the work of Laurie Franklin of Diamond Bar, California. If you want to read all posts related to this series, click on the link for Vampiress Morbidia in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

Now that Vampiress Morbidia has a head and torso it’s time to look at the support structure and techniques Laurie uses in assembling the body parts. The stand is constructed using ¾” galvanized pipe. A flange to anchor the pipe is attached to a base made of two pieces of ¾” plywood that are glued and screwed together. Laurie adds caster wheels underneath to help move the prop around.

What I have described is the finished support system. You will notice in the pictures that often time’s supports appear to be made of PVC. Laurie uses the PVC supports during the sculpting process but the finished prop is put on the sturdier galvanized pipe structure. The working, or PVC support system does not have wheels, you don’t want the prop to move around while you are working on it.

Laurie finds it more comfortable to sit while she sculpts the head so she places the foam wig head on a 1” dowel and clamps it to the work bench so the head is at eye level. You could also use an adjustable vice to hold the dowel. The important thing is to have a way to adjust the height and angle of the head as you work on it.

So now we should be at the point where the head is attached to the torso and it’s time for Morbidia’s creator to add arms. As you can see in the pictures below, Morbidia’s head and torso are completely covered with Plastic to protect work that has been finished so far. The basic shape of the arms is formed with aluminum rain gutter wire, duct tape and Celluclay while the armature is temporarily attached to the body. Once the Celluclay is dry, Laurie adds Paperclay to get a rough finish on the arms.

The arms are removed from the torso for finish work as a precaution, because the seam where the arms attach is a weak point in the structure. When the work on the arms and hands is complete Laurie attaches the arms in their final position using bolts with rubber washers, both inside and outside, to protect the body. DAS or Paperclay can be used to cover the bolts and seams on the outside giving the sculpture a seamless appearance. This step was especially important with Vampiress Morbidia because her dress is planned to be an off-the-shoulders style.

As you look at the pictures below notice the use of foam to fill in vacant areas and protect the sculpture from rubbing against the metal. You want the sculpture to be well-supported at stress points to protect it from cracking.

I apologize for the brief delay in posting for this series. Madame Turlock’s back was being cranky and expressing some displeasure about sitting at the computer. Tomorrow we will look at how Morbidia’s hands are sculpted and attached…

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows.

We took a drive to Sleighbells in Sherwood, Oregon today. It’s a fabulous Christmas shop that is open all year “and” it has a room dedicated to Halloween collectibles. So far my short description doesn’t do justice to this shop. It is a HUGE farmhouse that would comfortably house at least four or five families, stocked full of every kind of Christmas collectible you could imagine and ornaments of all shapes, colors, and sizes. They have a counter where they sell homemade fudge, in a variety of delicious flavors, and a cute little café where you can enjoy lunch and rest your weary bones after all that shopping. But wait there is more. The shop sits in the middle of a U-Cut Christmas Tree Farm with the most well-groomed trees I have ever seen. Customers are transported to various cutting areas in a tractor-pulled hay wagon and come back to a fresh cup of hot chocolate in the shed while their personally picked tree is wrapped for a safe trip home. If that isn’t enough to make you wish you lived close enough to visit this shop, here is something else… they have live Peacocks who love to strut and show off their colors. Very close in proximity was a pen with turkeys, so homely in contrast to the Peacocks. I think perhaps we should go back after Thanksgiving and check on those fat turkeys. So if you find yourself in Oregon, near Portland, a trip to Sleighbells might be a fun side trip Website: www.sleighbells.biz.

Vampiress Morbidia

©2008 Laurie Franklin

This is the fourth article in the series featuring the work of Laurie Franklin of Diamond Bar, California. If you want to read all posts related to this series, click on the link for Vampiress Morbidia in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

Today we will take a look at the process Laurie used for applying Vampiress Morbidia’s hair. Her hair is made of a product called Silky Yaki Weaving, 20” long that can be purchased from Sally Beauty Supply. It is 100% Toyokalon, which is cheaper than human hair and does not easily tangle. Laurie uses a vent brush on the hair and says it draws through quite easily. The hair is sewn onto a binding material and is attached to the sculpture’s head with Super Glue. As you can see from the photos below, Laurie just started wrapping the strips behind one ear and ending at the other. She continued to add more hair strips until she reached the crown. After all the hair was applied, Laurie cut the bangs. Laurie used 3½ lengths of the product at $6.99 per length to give Morbidia the nice full head of hair you see in the finished pictures.

Tomorrow I will post more details about the support system for the sculpture and the process for making the arms…

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows.

Vampiress Morbidia

©2008 Laurie Franklin

Morbidia’s transformation continues in today’s post. If you might want to read all posts related to this series, click on the link Vampiress Morbidia in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

Even bald, Morbidia is an imposing figure. She will stand six feet tall when completed so let’s take a look at how her body is formed. Laurie uses a dress form to shape the torso of her sculptures. She begins by wrapping the dress form with saran wrap to protect it. The next step is to shape wire mesh over the lower part of the neck, the shoulders and bust area. Laurie uses aluminum rain gutter mesh that you can purchase at any home improvement store. The mesh is covered with a 3/4 ” layer of Celluclay both inside and out for the underlayment.

When the Celluclay is completely dry, Laurie uses a paint brush to cover the form with a slightly thinned down coat of Sculpt or Coat. The purpose of this step is to seal and protect the mache. If not sealed, the mache will pull the water out of the DAS clay causing it to dry too quickly. When dry, the form will be rock hard.  At this point, the form is removed from the dress form while it is still flexible enough to give just enough for slide over the cures of the form.

The next step is adding DAS clay on top of the sealed Celluclay. Laurie likes to think of this layer as her skin. She tries to keep this layer about 3/8” thick and spreads it on with her thumbs, a wooden potter’s clay tool, and a paintbrush. She also uses plenty of water to keep the clay lubricated and to keep the tools from dragging too much. Once the “skin layer” is dry she coats the torso with another layer of Sculpt or Coat to seal the DAS clay. Next she starts adding details like clavicle, tendons and upper breasts.

While sculpting Morbidia, Laurie experimented with Paperclay. She used DAS clay on one side of Morbidia’s body and Paperclay on the other side. She found that Paperclay shrunk about 15%, was much easier to spread with her thumbs, sanded a bit easier and dries lighter. The final step at this point was to sand the completed torso with 100 grit sanding screen. Laurie uses sanding screen because it lasts longer than sandpaper. The reason she does the sanding at this point is to see how the details and form are looking, if necessary she can still take appropriate steps to make adjustments.

Sanding DAS or Paperclay is a very dusty process. If at all possible it’s a good idea to sand it outdoors. I have a large covered porch which works well unless the wind blows the rain in under the porch. Because we live in such a rainy area, my husband installed a vent fan in my studio. However, I still prefer sanding outside because the décor in my studio is“black and white”. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but sanding clay is still dusty even with the vent fan running. It’s a good idea to wear a dust mask when sanding DAS or Paperclay because the dust is superfine. Admittedly I’m not good about wearing a dust mask and someday I may pay the price if I don’t correct that behavior. So as my mother would say, “Do as I say, not as I do”.

In the large photo of Vampiress Morbidia at the top of the page Laurie has added eyelashes and more eyeliner around her eyes. The lashes were inserted individually with a pair of tweezers and a tiny dab of Super Glue in small holes made with a push pin. In the picture at the bottom of the page the damage from Morbidia’s tragic nose dive has been repaired. All the work you have seen so far had been completed when the sculpture fell over on Laurie’s studio floor which has commercial type carpeting with no padding covering a concrete base. Laurie had to back up as step at this point, use clay to repair the damaged areas and repaint. She referred to the accident as a SLIGHT SETBACK and reached out to friends to support her request for a “blood transfusion” for Morbidia. A good sense of humor is certainly the best defense to get you through difficult times.

Halloween Forum members had questions about how long these sculptures will last. Here is Laurie’s response, “As far as how long the clay will hold up? Really only time will tell, but I would expect these sculpts to last for many, many years if properly displayed and cared for. I take great pains to make sure that everything is sealed and NOT exposed to exterior conditions, with the exception of dry conditions outside for a few hours. I think they’d hold up just fine if in a covered area even though it’s outside and wet. That’s one of the reasons I seal everything really well with Sculpt-Or-Coat and flat plastic varnish.”

Tomorrow I will continue with Morbidia’s progress and show you how her hair is applied. You will also notice that her repairs included not only a nose job, but breast enhancement as well! It made me giggle and I told Laurie if my body was in such skilled hands as hers I would go for the package deal too. More tomorrow…

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows. Please come back soon!

As a side note, I have added new books and movies into the store. Every time I add more to the book list, my personal wish list grows longer so I’m leaving notes where Santa can find them while there are still enough days to get on the “Nice” list.