My 'Walking with Dinosaurs'-style Utahraptor costume
- Thread starter Keith D
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mycraig111
New Member
Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles, Coupons and More Online Shopping | eBay
probably gonna grab one oh these cheaper than I can make it
probably gonna grab one oh these cheaper than I can make it
mycraig111
New Member
mycraig111
New Member
I believe the musles are all black sections of pantyhose or tights filled with styrofoam packing beads, anyways thats how I'm doing mine...I figure the whole build is going run me about $2000 to $2500 , I've already purchased the fiberglass tape that I'm going to use to make the rib cage/body form and neck rings out of and a 8' x 13.5' inflatable raptor(from E-bay ) that I'm going to cast those pieces from. I'm about $500 in already so I'm committed at ths point...lol keep checking this thread I'll get some shots of the casting process this weekend
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Dynofiend
Well-Known Member
Might I humbly suggest using bamboo for the framing inside. It's light, strong and cheap, can be bent to shape and bonds well to most things. It also seems like as well as stockings or mesh filled with polystyrene beads, that foam pipe insulation is also used to form a realistic 'musculature' for under the skin.
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The Stan Winston School just posted this video a few days ago: JURASSIC PARK - Evolution of a Raptor Suit with John Rosengrant
EDIT: Looks like Kim Graham's WetaLegs are now available as DigiLegs. Might be useful for a raptor.
EDIT: Looks like Kim Graham's WetaLegs are now available as DigiLegs. Might be useful for a raptor.
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Love it! Saw one of the pics somebody posted, and tried to make some suggestions with these below:
Utahraptor alone:
With user inside:
Beginning to design some inner structuring:
As seen by audience members:
This enables the user to walk upright.
A wireless speaker system could be set in the head and worn by the user, allowing him/her to make noises (or even speak!). the mouth and head are primarily controlled by the user's head and hands. If the material over the head were somewhat transparent but painted, the user should be able to see out while not being seen by the audience because of any light differential.
The teal horizontal stripes could be light plywood or even some sort of bendable plastic, allowing the user to move the raptor while still giving the animal structure.
The purple straps, you'll note, do not attach to the person on their joints exactly, but on non-jointed points (such as the thigh, midsection, under the arms around the ribcage, or forehead) which DO correlate to the joints of the animal...making for a smoother look in the kinesiology by allowing the user to manipulate the animal with their whole body. Black spots are locks for the straps to velcro together or snap in.
For the teak "cage" over the shoulders and the back of the wearer -that part of the construction which is bearing the brunt of the weight- I would recommend looking at the Boblbee backpacks, particularly the Megalopolis style. They're constructed ergonomically to carry great amounts of weight with less discomfort for the wearer, particularly for the lower back.
The arms of the animal would either be adhered to the pants or, be loose enough to be slipped in and out temporarily by the user's arms for effect.
You'll also note that the body of the animal is mostly empty, allowing for a lightweight construction.
I'd really like to help with this project in any way. I've messaged you via Facebook. Let me know if I can assist!
Utahraptor alone:
With user inside:
Beginning to design some inner structuring:
As seen by audience members:
This enables the user to walk upright.
A wireless speaker system could be set in the head and worn by the user, allowing him/her to make noises (or even speak!). the mouth and head are primarily controlled by the user's head and hands. If the material over the head were somewhat transparent but painted, the user should be able to see out while not being seen by the audience because of any light differential.
The teal horizontal stripes could be light plywood or even some sort of bendable plastic, allowing the user to move the raptor while still giving the animal structure.
The purple straps, you'll note, do not attach to the person on their joints exactly, but on non-jointed points (such as the thigh, midsection, under the arms around the ribcage, or forehead) which DO correlate to the joints of the animal...making for a smoother look in the kinesiology by allowing the user to manipulate the animal with their whole body. Black spots are locks for the straps to velcro together or snap in.
For the teak "cage" over the shoulders and the back of the wearer -that part of the construction which is bearing the brunt of the weight- I would recommend looking at the Boblbee backpacks, particularly the Megalopolis style. They're constructed ergonomically to carry great amounts of weight with less discomfort for the wearer, particularly for the lower back.
The arms of the animal would either be adhered to the pants or, be loose enough to be slipped in and out temporarily by the user's arms for effect.
You'll also note that the body of the animal is mostly empty, allowing for a lightweight construction.
I'd really like to help with this project in any way. I've messaged you via Facebook. Let me know if I can assist!
SajaRawr
Active Member
Im not quite sure about this suggestion i mean it would make the raptor looks like if he had 4 legs, and its going to be hard to control the rest of the body since he will not be able to see the suit behind him
Love it! Saw one of the pics somebody posted, and tried to make some suggestions with these below:
Utahraptor alone:
With user inside:
Beginning to design some inner structuring:
As seen by audience members:
This enables the user to walk upright.
A wireless speaker system could be set in the head and worn by the user, allowing him/her to make noises (or even speak!). the mouth and head are primarily controlled by the user's head and hands. If the material over the head were somewhat transparent but painted, the user should be able to see out while not being seen by the audience because of any light differential.
The teal horizontal stripes could be light plywood or even some sort of bendable plastic, allowing the user to move the raptor while still giving the animal structure.
The purple straps, you'll note, do not attach to the person on their joints exactly, but on non-jointed points (such as the thigh, midsection, under the arms around the ribcage, or forehead) which DO correlate to the joints of the animal...making for a smoother look in the kinesiology by allowing the user to manipulate the animal with their whole body. Black spots are locks for the straps to velcro together or snap in.
For the teak "cage" over the shoulders and the back of the wearer -that part of the construction which is bearing the brunt of the weight- I would recommend looking at the Boblbee backpacks, particularly the Megalopolis style. They're constructed ergonomically to carry great amounts of weight with less discomfort for the wearer, particularly for the lower back.
The arms of the animal would either be adhered to the pants or, be loose enough to be slipped in and out temporarily by the user's arms for effect.
You'll also note that the body of the animal is mostly empty, allowing for a lightweight construction.
I'd really like to help with this project in any way. I've messaged you via Facebook. Let me know if I can assist!
I understand those challenges. But the idea of one person in a suit hunched over for any extended period of time, in a repetitive environment (like a show) is simply not feasible. A costume needs to be ergonomic.
The legs of the person could be camouflaged depending on the background and lighting to a degree. And the control of the body would depend on the internal structuring of the costume as I've left a great deal of room in sketch #3.
Additionally, by leaving the costume's body open, it's much more lightweight and breathable, and might actually make the movement more realistic, depending on the backbone structure, similar to a mobile.
Dynofiend
Well-Known Member
FWIW I would imagine the best solution has already been reached by the engineers who worked on the walking with dinosaurs production. They have probably already been through multiple iterations of the 'human within dino' puppet, and the result they came up with (as seen in the youtube videos) was clearly the best.
Westies14
Master Member
Yeah, you gotta sacrifice for your art a bit in this case. The performance would suffer so much standing straight up in the head like this! The motions of your legs would never translate well to the Dino - you'd probably need to add wheels to complete the man-dragging-around-dinososaur-body effect. Even if you did manage to get the thing to lift each foot in succession and put one in front of the other, the balance of the thing would be impossible. You're pulling 12 feet of body and tail, and it'd still be really heavy. God forbid you have to steer it around corners or through people! The suit is hollow in the previous iterations as well, just as light - but the wearer is under the center of gravity. They've got a lot more control and much better balance. Besides all of that, you can't have a human body blocking the suit from the front view - it'd lose so much of the effect!
Walking with dinosaurs got it very right. I'm sure it's hard work, but that's a suit worth making and worth wearing!
Walking with dinosaurs got it very right. I'm sure it's hard work, but that's a suit worth making and worth wearing!
Well, yeah, but not everybody's got access to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of technology and a team of hundreds of people to put into creating a home-made-version of the costume. We're trying to give advice to one man making/hacking the costume on his own.
If you look at the scale in the new model, it's much smaller, only about 6'. And since the entire body is hollow and the center of gravity has been relocated forward, it'd be MUCH lighter.
Hello!
At the outset I would like to write that I'm Polish, and also working on the same project as the only pan that my dinosaur T-rex is under construction reminiscent of the movie Jurassic Park. perhaps the most proportionate silhouette
He wanted me to ask how the project goes mechanism for head and neck for me is the slight problem: (
I look forward to your questions and answer
I greet
my e-mail ozyrys274@wp.pl
At the outset I would like to write that I'm Polish, and also working on the same project as the only pan that my dinosaur T-rex is under construction reminiscent of the movie Jurassic Park. perhaps the most proportionate silhouette
He wanted me to ask how the project goes mechanism for head and neck for me is the slight problem: (
I look forward to your questions and answer
I greet
my e-mail ozyrys274@wp.pl
I'm still on the project! Just got an Arduino
It's been quite a while since I've posted or done much with this project, but school's been keeping my busy. But my girlfriend is very excited about the project and wants to encourage me to keep at it, she bought me an Arduino starter kit for Christmas. I know I'm getting a little ahead of myself by thinking about electronics but I've started tinkering (I have basically no experience with programming or Arduino but I want to learn). Ideally I'll be using it to have the eyelids blink (maybe eyes move), maybe nostril flare and breathing with a small fan.
It's been quite a while since I've posted or done much with this project, but school's been keeping my busy. But my girlfriend is very excited about the project and wants to encourage me to keep at it, she bought me an Arduino starter kit for Christmas. I know I'm getting a little ahead of myself by thinking about electronics but I've started tinkering (I have basically no experience with programming or Arduino but I want to learn). Ideally I'll be using it to have the eyelids blink (maybe eyes move), maybe nostril flare and breathing with a small fan.
'Running Blade'-style foot extensions?
Thanks to westies 14's spark of bringing the scale down and hunching a little more, there's been lots of ideas floating around Thanks for the input everyone!
I've been going over a couple more ideas for the legs, seeing the hunching as a possibility. I know it may be a little less comfortable, but I have a feeling there will be some ways I can accommodate for that later on.
I was looking into 'running blades' a little, like the ones that olympian Oscar Pistorius wears. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqy6LMVEX6c
I wonder if I were to make my own version that straps to the bottom of my foot. It would give the extra 'corner' (it wouldn't be a moveable joint) that I need to fit my leg into the shape of the raptor's leg. In the picture below I'm hunched, but If I were more upright the raptor would just be more upright (not problem really. If I want to be in 'running' or attacking position I'd just have to bend over). It would take some learning to walk this way, but I think it's a possibility.
Thanks to westies 14's spark of bringing the scale down and hunching a little more, there's been lots of ideas floating around
Thanks for the input everyone!I've been going over a couple more ideas for the legs, seeing the hunching as a possibility. I know it may be a little less comfortable, but I have a feeling there will be some ways I can accommodate for that later on.
I was looking into 'running blades' a little, like the ones that olympian Oscar Pistorius wears. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqy6LMVEX6c
I wonder if I were to make my own version that straps to the bottom of my foot. It would give the extra 'corner' (it wouldn't be a moveable joint) that I need to fit my leg into the shape of the raptor's leg. In the picture below I'm hunched, but If I were more upright the raptor would just be more upright (not problem really. If I want to be in 'running' or attacking position I'd just have to bend over). It would take some learning to walk this way, but I think it's a possibility.
GotWookie! I just read your message about Kim Graham's stilts! haha I just posted about a similar idea. Too bad Christmas is past or I'd have asked for a pair of those.. great design idea though, thanks for the tip!
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