Starting Davey Jones...

Oh man this is gonna be great, looking forward to progress

How to make animatronic tail/tentacle part1 - YouTube

Check out this method here.
Built this style on a larger scale for Halloween one year.
Very fluid, very little force to move it.

Also, if I could suggest that you give "split wire loom" as the "tubing" a shot.
Thin and very flexible.

usajdm said:

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How to make animatronic tail/tentacle part1 - YouTube

Check out this method here.
Built this style on a larger scale for Halloween one year.
Very fluid, very little force to move it.

Also, if I could suggest that you give "split wire loom" as the "tubing" a shot.
Thin and very flexible.

Thanks for the advice!

Yeah, I thought about using the "vertebrae" method, but the Stan Winston school videos didn't provide any shortcut ideas on that. They basically MADE / MACHINED their own metal vertebrae. I didn't have the tools for that.

Hmmm....split wire loom...looks like that's the stuff that you organize computer cables with. I gotta run to Walmart later this morning, so I'll pick up one of those and test it out.

But for the benefit of other readers, I wanted to mention that with the vinyl tubing I'm currently using, I did cut out slits / notches on each side of each tentacle, in the direction I wanted the tentacle to bend. Now, that said, perhaps a lower WEIGHT tentacle would indeed be easier to move.

Also, I did try using some of that FireLine fishing line instead of 1/16" diameter wire rope. But the FireLine had a tendency to, when relaxed, get itself UNDERNEATH the hack saw blade, which often made the tentacle pull in the OPPOSITE direction of what I had intended. That doesn't happen with wire rope.

Thanks!

-= Dave =-

UPDATE:

OK, I did go out and get some of that "split wire loom" this morning. Walmart sells white 1/2" ones, whereas Lowe's has black in three different widths. I chose 1".

I quickly cut a piece about the same length as one of my test tentacles. I did a "rush job" of slicing off a wedge of material from one end, so as to make it taper at the end, like a real tentacle. I used duct tape to fold the edges over and hold the thing together as a single "tube".

I then did a little test. I duct taped each tentacle... the nylon tubing one and the split wire loom one... to my work-bench (an ancient thing that came with our house and is in sore need of a new surface).

I then took my wired-up hack-saw-blade "skeletal bone" and shoved it down each one about as far as I could push it. I then pulled on the brake cable and did my best to hold that in place while reaching over and grabbing my camera to record the "full pull".

Here are the pictures. First, two of the tentacles "at rest":




And now, first, the one made of the semi-rigid nylon tubing, with wedges cut out of it on two sides:



It actually can extend just SLIGHTLY more than that, but it takes a good deal of "pull" on my part to achieve that. And it was hard for me to try to hold that and then go and manipulate a camera at the same time.

Now, here's with the split wire loom:


Seems like a lot more curve achieved with less pull-force needed. So this certainly looks like the way I should try to go now.

My only concerns are:
1) Having to duct tape the entire length of the "slit" that each split wire loom piece comes with. (Will that duct tape hold over time? Should I just wrap each tentacle entirely in one or two full layers of duct tape? Would that add too much weight? )

2) My original plan in my head was to use rivets (or just short nuts, bolts, and washers) to attach each tentacle (and that central steel skeletal "bone") to leather straps. Will this thinner, less strong material (split wire loom) hold up over time at those connections? I'm thinking, probably, if I use washers at the connections. ??

3) What am I going to cover this with to make it look more "tentacle like" ?

4) This split wire looming material is almost impossible to completely straighten out (with the nylon tubing, you can just take a heat gun to it and straighten it out nicely...and it keeps its shape. Will that end up being a "pain" during some of my later tentacle work? Or will that be an asset?

So, looks like I need to get myself back to Lowe's again today to pick up more of this split wire loom (my busy work shift starts tomorrow).

But now I'm going to clear off my bench and see if I can drill holes through my hack saw blades. I'm thinking each blade needs two small holes in it near the "base" of each tentacle... in order to hold it to whatever strapping system /mask I come up with.

When I get those holes successfully drilled, then I can start experimenting with attaching test-tentacles to the various pieces of leather belts, cloth straps, and other belting material that I've collected. And that will require no tools, so I'll be able to test that stuff out anytime and almost anywhere...in my spare time.


Thanks!

And a big thanks to "usajdm" for pointing me to this split wire looming material!

-= Dave =-

........... got more to add.

Covering... heatshrink.
FRYS.com*|*Context Engeineering

Comes out to about a $1 a foot at 1".
Slide your loom in there.
Heat the end you want tapered.
Some PlastiDip over the heatshrink should do the trick.

usajdm said:

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........... got more to add.

Covering... heatshrink.
FRYS.com*|*Context Engeineering

Comes out to about a $1 a foot at 1".
Slide your loom in there.
Heat the end you want tapered.
Some PlastiDip over the heatshrink should do the trick.

Ah, thanks for that! Yeah, I think I'm going to have to order that. Noticed this morning that the duct tape on my first tentacle (which was quickly hashed together) is coming undone / pulling away. So that wrap should help keep the tentacles together.

So this morning, I figured I'd take two tentacles and try to attach their bases to a small leather belt. The idea being that this belt would strap across my mustache area and hook around / connect at the back of my head, possibly being held in place by an additional over-the-head strap.

Now, I've been using bicycle brake cable as the central "wire" of each tentacle. Of course, you'd expect that I'd have to use a cable with some sort of housing. That just makes sense, if I'm planning on running the cables under my costume, down my harm, and to my left hand.



But I'm encountering two unexpected factors that are affecting the "performance" of the tentacle.:

1) I've discovered that if I take a smaller-diameter flexible tube... and wrap it around the wire WITHIN the tentacle, but ABOVE the hacksaw blade, this greatly improves performance. Or, rather, I discovered the opposite: In my original post above, the photos show I was using some of this material near the outer end of the tentacle. I tried assembling my tentacle totally without it this morning and was rather surprised to see the darned tentacle barely twitched, when I pulled the wire. So now, I've added sections of that tubing back in. I don't really understand why this inner tubing is necessary. The long video I watched from the Stan Winston school didn't really suggest or show this sort of thing.





2) It seems to me that if you bend the bicycle cable housing at all, even in a gentle loop, you increase the amount of force you need to pull the wire / make the tentacle move through its full motion. And it doesn't take very many bends to make it take way too much strength for a single finger to potentially provide. So, since this wire is going to have to bend... coming out of the tentacle... going across my neck, down my arm, to my hand, I'm really thinking this current cabling isn't going to work for me. I'm tempted to come up with some wider-diameter tubing around some of that 1/16th" wire rope I have lying around. But I don't have any tubing like that here, really. Need to figure out what I can purchase quickly to test this with. (The tubing I have around the wire near the hack saw blade is way too stiff. I've had to cut notches in it to use it there.)


Any thoughts or comments?

Thanks!

-= Dave =-

OK, I think I'm on the verge of a small breakthrough. While at the hardware store the other day, I looked at the largest springs they had on-hand. I found some that are about 16 inches long and are very easy to bend... it requires very little effort. (I'm thinking these springs must be used for old-fashioned screen doors.)

Initial tests suggest that this will be a better solution than the "hack-saw-blade-spring-steel" method, in terms of the amount of force necessary to "flex" each tentacle to any given degree of curvature.

However, this seems to come at the expense of a loss of control. It's going to take a bit of effort to ensure the spring flexes in the direction I want it to.

My big issue now seems to be: I think I need to attach the spring to the tentacle base at two different points, maybe 1 inch apart, in order to make sure the tentacle flexes in the direction I want it to. But how? How does one attach a spring firmly to a piece if thin plastic tubing (split wire loom)?

I'm guessing I could take some stiff wire and stick it around the wire of the spring in two spots and then wrap that through holes in the tubing. But the tubing isn't very strong and I think even then, that method might allow for slippage. ??

Any thoughts?

I'll admit, after last weekend's experiments, I felt kind of set-back on this whole thing. It was demoralizing. But maybe these springs will provide me with a solid solution....and then I can focus on building the mask.

-= Dave =-

Greetings all!

I just thought I'd post two photos and a quick video today.

The photos show one of the screen door springs that I am experimenting with for the tentacle build. It also shows one of the brake cables that I am attaching to it.

Then, the video shows how this spring is working to make my test-tentacle flex. It takes about 7-10 lbs. of force to get it to flex like that. That seems to be significantly less (though I have not measured the exact amount) than when I was using a hack saw blade for a central "rod".





http://www.davidraasch.com/images/da..._work_vid1.AVI


I'm not satisfied with a few things about how this is currently working:
1) I've attached the cable housing to the spring with duct tape. I need to think of some more solid, permanent way of doing this.

2) The cable is attached to the belt by way of a screw that is inserted through the back of the belt. While having the screw head potentially against my face is better than having the nut-end there, it's a bit tricky to thread the bolt through the spring and attach the nut. Of course, I want to be able to take this apart easily for repairs. But it seems like there must be a better way of doing this, since I'd like to have two connections to the belt for each tentacle, to provide more solid support.

3) I'm wondering how I'm going to attach the cable housing to my body / arms/wrists so that the housing doesn't move at all ?? The force of my pulling on that cable threatened to pull the housing out from under the duct tape at the point where I had it attached to that divider-top for testing.

Gotta run.

Thanks!

-= Dave =

basicly your building a think like this right?
Animatronic Tail. by Artharis - Thingiverse

i think this design is quite good and might work better for you simolyfied in an easy way

Darkside said:

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basicly your building a think like this right?
Animatronic Tail. by Artharis - Thingiverse

i think this design is quite good and might work better for you simolyfied in an easy way

I'd seen the animatronic designs before. I really didn't want to go with the "design your own spinal cord" method, because I didn't want to have to custom build those pieces (time involved) plus I felt that that would add a lot of weight.

Viewing the Stan Winston school video on tentacles showed that you can make tentacles that are much simpler in design using at least two different methods.

The simpler the design, I figure, the less parts to possibly fail on me when I'm wearing this in public.

Plus, I only need the tentacles to move in one direction each, not two, so that method is a bit of overkill.


As I work on this in my spare time today, I have one tentacle that now pulls very easily. Having trouble getting the second one to pull quite as easily. Just swapped out the springs and I'm getting the same results. Then I noticed that the brake cable is slightly smaller in diameter than the one that works really well. Guess it's time to try cable swapping and see.

Using duct tape to connect the cable housing to the springs seems to be holding up better than expected. So that might no longer be an issue. We'll see.

Greetings All !

Here are some fresh photos of my recent progress on Davy Jones:

1) I'd hired a lady at my church who does sewing on the side to build Davy's coat and vest. The materials cost about $50 total. I had purchased a pattern off of Ebay (Simplicity # 4923) for her to work off of. My only request was that she make the coat go down to my ankles. This is so I might use an extra piece of material to help "disguise" my real right leg behind a "fake crab peg leg" in the future.



Yes, this just barely fits me. I'm trying to lose weight before Halloween... at least enough to take 2 inches off my waist. <sigh> My weight is a never-ending battle, it would seem.

And please pardon my cats, who, for some reason, took a sudden fascination with what I was doing and decided they had to be in these pictures.





My wife likes how this coat turned out SO much, that she's arguing that I should NOT cut it / shred it in places / distress it !! She doesn't even like the idea of my gluing sea shells to it!

Which brings me to a couple of questions for the crowd:

a) What do you think I should be using to glue shells onto this coat and vest? My seamstress lady said that fabric glue would work better than hot glue. I just don't want shells flying off as the result of my movements. I've purchased a bunch of various small-sized shells from Hobby Lobby (plus a fake plant that looks a lot like sea weed). I bought "Fabric Fusion" permanent fabric adhesive by Aleene's. I'm hoping that will do the trick.

b) Barnacles. All of the photos of Davey show him covered mostly in barnacles. But where to buy some fake ones or how to make a ton of them with ease?




2) This morning, I finally sat down and started sculpting Davey's face, with the idea of creating a latex mask by brushing multiple layers of latex over the final sculpt.

Here is my sculpt so far:





Keep in mind I've never sculpted anything before (well, at least not since Play-Dough days!)

a) I'd welcome some advice from folks who may have built or even just painted some masks before on this whole thing ?

I'm not sure just how much detail I need to do before I start layering on latex (after covering it with a layer of petroleum jelly first). It would seem to me that if I were to say, decide to put in a wrinkle, I'd need to make it a very deep one, since 10 layers of latex would probably reduce the level of detail you'd see on the outer layer.

On the other hand, if I look at SOME of the up-close photos of Davey's face, I don't see many wrinkles. His skin and tentacles tend to look tight and smooth. Still, other photos seem to have some wrinkles in there.

I guess what I'm saying is I'm not sure at what point I should stop sculpting and start latexing?


b) For the painters: How would you advise that I paint something that looks relatively close to this?:

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__...the_parlay.png


I currently have maybe a pint and a half of flesh-toned liquid latex here... left over from when I did the Terminator. So, I'm thinking I need to order some more.

I'm wondering if there's something like a "mostly transparent" latex? If so, I'm thinking layers of that, interspersed with layers of flesh-toned latex, plus maybe a layer or two of a light green or yellow? (I see just hints of that in the photo.) I thought it would be kind of cool to put a layer of some sort of glow-in-the-dark paint on somewhere just below the surface too. I really need to read up more on painting latex.

In any event, I'll have "fun" sculpting and painting from here on out, because the suction-cup stand that was holding up the foam head in those photos snapped / broke shortly after those photos were taken. <sigh>

I had just gotten to the point where I was tired and needed to take a break. So I put that foam head / sculpt inside of two plastic bags, to retain moisture, until I pick it back up again, which probably won't be until tomorrow.

I'm anxious to do some work now on the claw, the crab leg, and then start covering my hat with material that matches the coat.


Thanks for taking an interest!

-= Dave =-

Quick photo update: I put in a bit more work on the sculpt. Moved the tentacle bases a bit so that I could add one more on each side (after finding a better reference photo with a side-view). Reworked the eyebrow area, added more clay to the top and rear of the skull.

I then layered the sculpt (after taking these photos) with a thin layer of petroleum jelly. Added three thin layers of flesh-colored latex so far. (But now I'll be stuck working 12-hour shifts for the next several days, so I'll be lucky if I can add a layer each day.)





I'm about to order some latex, plus some paint that's specially-made for latex masks. Also about to order some barnacles and barnacle pieces from a supplier online (though I have a ton of tiny shells here that I can start gluing onto the vest and jacket immediately).

I also may hunt for some sort of styrofoam hand online, as I haven't really thought at all about how I'm going to make Davey's strange, tentacled right-hand. And it occurred to me that using the same method as I'm doing for the mask seems easy enough to do.


Thanks!

-= Dave =-

Wow someone built my claw! Looks fabulo.us. Can't wait

to see it finished

This is a great endeavor, i cannot wait to follow till your final product.

to the fact that you're doing this in latex, I'd recommend using Flexinol Actuator Wires for your tentacles.

tk1055 said:

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Wow someone built my claw! Looks fabulo.us. Can't wait

to see it finished

Well, I'll have to post some updated photos of that claw. I decided to modify it a bit. And I also have now made it hinged, using some Chicago screws I had lying around from another project. I'm not to the point of fiberglassing it yet, though.

Tigerblood said:

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to the fact that you're doing this in latex, I'd recommend using Flexinol Actuator Wires for your tentacles.

Please elaborate a bit?

I just wanted to be sure you understand where I'm headed at the moment: I'm NOT planning on using any servos. My prototypes are using bicycle brake cables, complete with the normal cable housing they come with.

What advantage would Flexinol Actuator Wires offer? Wouldn't I need to have them sheathed in some sort of housing as well?

Right now, I don't believe my limiting factor is the cable (though perhaps, there's some added friction whenever one arcs the cable into a turn, something that I will have to do as I "snake" the cable over my shoulder and down my arm).

It seems to me the "bottleneck" right now is the spring core of the tentacle: the weight of the spring and it's resistance to bending. And it seems like the springs I've found are pretty light and bend quite easily. Granted, I'd love to go lighter and less resistance, but I think I'd have to find some sort of plastic springs to go any lighter.

I do plan to experiment with that a bit further, but it won't be for several days, at least.

Thanks!

-= Dave =-

Flexinol wires contracts like a muscle when you put a current on it so if you actually have the wires molded in or glued all the way down the tentacles and controlled by a program, you can actually have the tentacles moving around. Plus you're going to save a lot of weight. You can also find these as nitinol wires or ribbons.

Tigerblood said:

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Flexinol wires contracts like a muscle when you put a current on it so if you actually have the wires molded in or glued all the way down the tentacles and controlled by a program, you can actually have the tentacles moving around. Plus you're going to save a lot of weight. You can also find these as nitinol wires or ribbons.

Hmmm.... 5% compression doesn't seem like much, but it may be okay. I'd rather not have to go to using some sort of micro-controller on this. I'd much rather rig up a simple circuit for each tentacle and use manual buttons in my claw to pull this off. The few pages I've read so far suggest that it takes a lot of power to do this. So, I'm going to read a bit more and see if this is something I could just rig up with some batteries, resistors, wire, and switches.

If so, I may just order some today (and try to put a RUSH on the order)!

Thanks for the tip!

-= Dave =-

Re: the mask sculpt - that short little tentacle/valve on the side, that he would blow air or whatever out of - he only had it on one side, not both. It was on the left side of his face.

Otherwise, looking great so far.

Zeppo said:

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Re: the mask sculpt - that short little tentacle/valve on the side, that he would blow air or whatever out of - he only had it on one side, not both. It was on the left side of his face.

Otherwise, looking great so far.

Ah, good point. Didn't notice that in my reference photos. Had assumed symmetry. I suppose I could chop off the swelled-end of the right one and "make it longer" later. I THINK that's a full fledged tentacle on the right.

I do like to be accurate.

Sorry it's been so long since the last update.

Here are some photos of my progress over the last few weeks:


1) The Vest:
============

The vest is basically done. I used fabric glue to attach a ton of small sea shells to it. Granted, I went a bit overboard!:



It's rather heavy. And yes, I'm sure some shells will break and fall off as they make contact with other shells and other objects. But overall, the fabric glue does an excellent job of keeping the shells adhered!


2) The Pants:
=============

The pants received the same treatment, though I did attach a bit of seaweed and a plastic star fish. Note that I did not attach shells along the top few inches of the pants, because I expect that the vest should extend down that far.



I also tore up the bottoms of the legs. With the right one, I left the leg long in the back, but short in the front, with the expectation that I'll be putting my crab peg-leg in there.

Shortly after cutting that, I suddenly realized: Hey, wait, I should probably put my REAL leg ENTIRELY BEHIND that grey pant leg... in ADDITION to putting it behind a long flap of blue material that will attach to the coat -- that was my original plan for hiding my leg.

So now, it would seem I need to cut a large hole in the rear of the right leg of those gray pants... for slipping my real leg through. And then, I'll need to wear some sort of black thin pants and socks to further hide that "real leg".



3) The Hat:
===========

The hat is basically finished, though I could always add a few more shells if I feel so inclined later on:








As you may recall, the original hat was a black hat with a wide rim. I had trimmed its sides, then attached thick cardboard to it, so as to make those "horn-like tips" to the hat.

Well, in the past few weeks, I cut, glued, and stitched some blue material to the hat. This material is very, very close in color to that of the coat, but I'll admit that I purchased it later (we simply hadn't bought enough "extra" material when doing the coat). We had some left-over gold trim from the coat, so I was able to use that for the hat's gold border.

One thing I worry about is the fit: This hat just BARELY fits on my head. It is quite tight. Now, if I'm wearing a latex mask as well ?? So, I may have to figure out how to perhaps pull the hat upwards off my head just a few millimeters, and yet still keep it firmly attached ??



4) Mask and Right Hand:
=======================

No photo updates at this time. I'm still layering latex onto them. It's been slow going. I haven't been layering multiple layers per day like I'd like to. But we're getting there.

My "mask-making latex" arrived and that is significantly thicker than the flesh-colored latex that I had been using.

One regret I have is that I coated my sculptures with vaseline before applying the latex. Maybe using cooking spray would have been a better option. What happened was, after a few minutes of painting vaseline on with a brush, I'd get annoyed and impatient: the brush was effectively "clogged" instantly, so I ended up just "pushing vaseline around" on it, as if I were using a squeegy. This resulted in me probably using a bit too much vaseline.

So, when I finally applied latex, it seemed that little tiny "balls" of latex showed up in the mask. I'm thinking they're balls of excess vaseline. I've cut some of them off with an exacto knife. Some of them just may give the mask a bit of "character". Not sure.


5) "Muscle Wire" Tentacle Test:
===============================

I think I have to admit to myself that I'd been intimidated by using this "muscle wire" stuff. It's awfully thin! And with my fat fingers, that means it's difficult for me to work with.

So, I only just "got around" to testing it today.

Here's a short video (apologies for the quality!!):

http://www.davidraasch.com/images/da..._work_vid2.wmv


To test this, I took one of my previously-built test-tentacles...and removed all duct tape, so that I could separate the whole thing down the center again.

I then stuck two machine screws from the outside inward, one at each end. On the inside, I put a washer over each screw. I then attached the "muscle wire" and lowered a nut over that. Then I took a piece of electrical wire and attached it over that, with a second nut on top.

I then quickly taped it back up. I didn't have any switches lying around, so I just figured I'd attach the battery manually for a few seconds.

(Now, I was using 20.5 inches of their .010 wire. The math said that this should take 11 volts to "work". Now, keep in mind that my "two wires" aren't really touching each other. There's a nut between them. I figured that, with that additional resistance involved, a 9 volt battery wouldn't even be enough to make this move !!)

I think you'll agree that it actually looks pretty cool! It looks very "organic", if you ask me.

Now, I put the two "attach points" in what I thought was a straight line from each other vertically. However, when re-assembling the tentacle with tape, I think this sort of "went out of alignment".

So, my issues at this point (with this method) appear to be:

a) How to make sure my muscle-wire connections are FIRM and do NOT loosen? (Keep in mind each end is between a simple nut and a washer right now. Any suggestions? The manufacturer includes some tiny "crimps" for attaching muscle wire to other wires. But frankly, the damned things are practically MICROSCOPIC !!)

b) How to assemble these in such a manner that the "at rest" position appears natural and then the "bend" points in the direction I want.

c) How to attach these / assemble these THROUGH the mask? (The intent would be to run wires down to switches that will be hidden in my claw. Plus, I may want to make sure that I can detach and reattach these tentacles, in case of need of repairs or replacements. In fact, I might want to make a few "spares" to keep handy in case of break-downs.)

Overall though, I think I can safely "throw out" the idea of using bike brake cables on this and proceed with using the muscle wire!



6) A NEW Burden:
================

So, months back, when my wife and I were talking about our costumes and Halloween, we agreed that we'd make sure to attend our church's "Trunk or Treat" event. And at the time, I said hey, wouldn't it be neat to turn my pickup truck into a pirate ship?

I hadn't really thought about the idea since then...until about 2 weeks ago, when my wife started pushing the idea to me.

So now, I've got the beginnings of a pirate ship wheel here. I've got a 10 foot piece of PVC pipe that will make a great mast. Got a rope. Got a ship's bell (go figure). Would LOVE to get a stuffed sea gull and a cannon! ( My stepson suggested I build a "candy cannon". Yeah, riiiight !!)

My wife is urging me to just get some canvass to hang from the sides of the truck and then we'll just paint those in a pirate ship design. But I'm half-tempted to get some cheap paneling (you know, the kind that looks like it's fake wood)...and cut it to the shape of a pirate ship.

But of course, I've got a TON to do yet on this costume !!!

So, at this point, I'm just buying or grabbing related items if I'm out-and-about shopping. We'll see.



Thanks for taking an interest in this project!

-= Dave =-

looking good!