Bellatrix Lestrange's bird skull pendant

Calliopeia

New Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #1

Did this over the weekend for my Bellatrix Lestrange costume! It's a silver bird skull necklace that I attempted to replicate with Sculpey. It's only my second time working with Sculpey (the first being years ago!) so helpful tips and constructive criticism will be appreciated!

Close up of the bird skull worn by Helena Bonham Carter.

Started off with some clay tools and a bar of chocolate (oops I mean sculpey).

Hours just to figure out the best way to make it.

Almost like a nose piercing!

Baking...

And success! And yes I made 2 in case one got destroyed somehow.

I'm going to paint it silver tomorrow with acrylic paint. If anyone knows how to get that glossy silver shade do gimme a shout out!

 

Contec

Master Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #2

after baking it, you should use sandpaper to make the beak smooth before painting.

 

Maelstrom

Sr Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #3

Contec said:

after baking it, you should use sandpaper to make the beak smooth before painting.

Click to expand...

I agree. And you should also pan down a little further on that Helena Bonham Carter photo.

 

Contec

Master Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #4

Maelstrom said:

I agree. And you should also pan down a little further on that Helena Bonham Carter photo.

Click to expand...

yes....missing loads of interesting details

and she has huge.... tracks of land

 

Contec

Master Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #5

Wow.....Ain't this the one they have in the movie?
£ 130
Did a simple googling for bird skull pendants and found it.
Medium bird skull pendant - Bird skull pendants collection from our online bird skulls jewelry store by CRAZY PIG DESIGNS

 

superDrool

Sr Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #6

I don't think so. The screen used one is more weathered, no shine and has more detail in the brows/forehead area. Maybe that was used as a base, but the end result is not the same.

 

Maelstrom

Sr Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #7

superDrool said:

I don't think so. The screen used one is more weathered, no shine and has more detail in the brows/forehead area. Maybe that was used as a base, but the end result is not the same.

Click to expand...

I think you are just looking at it out of its original content...

I think if you were to go over the skull portion with some steel wool/fine sandpaper to rough it up some, but leave the beak shiny. Then maybe a light black wash on the head part and paint the inside black it would be pretty spot on.

 

Maelstrom

Sr Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #8

Admittedly the scupley route will probably be a lot more cost efficient.

 

Calliopeia

New Member

• Jul 4, 2011

• #9

Lol!

Wow nice find, contec! I'm positive they used that as a base! Unfortunately my wallet doesn't quite agree with that £234 pricetag so I'm gonna stick to a $5 block of sculpey.

Anyway updates. I've sanded it down. I was just gonna do light sanding for the paint to 'stick' but it makes sense to smoothen the beak too. Gonna do more sanding tonight when I get home. And hopefully start painting as well. Photos later!

 

juno

Sr Member

• Jul 5, 2011

• #10

I think you did a great job. I like the one on the left the best. I made my first Bellatrix necklace in Sculpy. If you're going to spraypaint yours, I really like the Colortool Floral Metallics in brilliant silver. It's meant for flowers, but it gives great coverage and has a fantastic gloss. You can get it at Michaels for about $7 a can. I'd paint the inside of the eyes and nose black first, so you don't have to worry about spraying in those spots.

 

Calliopeia

New Member

• Jul 8, 2011

• #11

Juno - Hey I actually used your webpage as reference for my skull! I think yours looks really really cool! And aw thank you.

A couple more photos. After some sanding, I gave it a black base and silver on top for that metallic look. Colour is not spot on accurate, but I'm quite happy with how they turned out. Tomorrow I'm gonna sand one back down, remove all the acrylic paint and attempt to chrome paint it. *fingers crossed!*

 

juno

Sr Member

• Jul 8, 2011

• #12

They turned out great! I wonder how one would look with silver rub-n-buff.

 

obrotherracing

New Member

• Jul 8, 2011

• #13

WOW! Those look fantastic! Are you thinking about offering them up?

 

Maelstrom

Sr Member

• Jul 8, 2011

• #14

juno said:

They turned out great! I wonder how one would look with silver rub-n-buff.

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Those do look great! I would rub-n-buff the beak to see how that comes out as it seems to be a lot shinier than the head on the orig. prop.

 

Calliopeia

New Member

• Jul 9, 2011

• #15

Ooh rub-n-buff? I'll see if I can get some of that in our local stores. And thanks for the comments!

obrotherracing - Thank you! Um no I haven't really thought of it. I haven't perfected it yet haha! But I'd be happy to make more if there are requests.


Onward! More progress yesterday. We stripped the paint off one of the skulls and airbrushed chrome. Might be a bit too shiny now compared to the actual prop, but I think it looks beautiful nonetheless!

Special thanks to Jediguy for the airbrushing work!

 

Mara Jade's Father

Master Member

• Jul 10, 2011

• #16

superDrool said:

I don't think so. The screen used one is more weathered, no shine and has more detail in the brows/forehead area.

Click to expand...

Agreed. But did you check out the "LARGE BIRD SKULL PENDANT"

Bird skull pendants collection from our online bird skulls jewelry store by CRAZY PIG DESIGNS

The details are much closer to the prop and not much difference in the size between medium and large.


And BTW: Your project is turning out great.

 

Last edited: Jul 10, 2011