Cornelius from Planet of the Apes

Fantastic job, Jessica!! I can't wait to see more pics! Your work is definitely an inspiration and I'll be starting a Cornelius too as soon as I get some spare time.
 
Hi Jessica, I have a technical question. From studying your Zira build it looks like you're hot foam casting the entire space between the sculpt mold and your life cast, so I'm guessing that the upper and lower muzzle and brows are solid foam latex. I've only worked with liquid latex in molds myself... so this is new ground for me.

QUESTION: Do you know how similar your method is to John Chambers? I ask because in the Roddy McDowall home movie there's a portion where he's sniffing or sucking in and the upper left portion of his muzzle collapses as if it is hollow underneath (see below):
MOD EDIT: Link removed due to a virus alert

I'm planning ahead as to exactly what method I want to construct my own Cornelius. What do you think of the idea of doing a build-up on top of the life mask to allow for some concavity inside the muzzles when its cast? This might add to the "expressive" range of the prosthetic. With some concavity in the upper muzzle you could also drill some sinus tunnels, as I imagine that being able to breath through your nose would make being under the goo for all those hours that much more bearable. Just a thought. Any feedback that can be provided would be great!
 
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I have not seen the back of a John Chambers mask. I am assuming, based on what I have purchased from Apemania, that the foam is solid behind the muzzle and the brow ridges. The sinus tunnels are actually behind the top muzzle...I just snip it out with scissors...but I think the next mask I make I will set the tunnel on the positive mold before I actually sculpt on top. I think that's the best way to do it. I think the more surface you can glue down on your face, the more expressive it will be as long as the foam is soft. I wish I knew the answer to your question.

God...I am so dying to get under the goo again. I wonder when the next time will be?
 
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Thanks Jessica, that's very helpful to know that the more of the prosthetic is glued to your face the more expressive it is - it definitely corrects the way I was thinking of doing it. Also the sinus tunnels, a very practical solution, and truer to the screen used look where there are no actual holes in the ape nose.

micdavis said:
If was Phantasmicon 1980, and no pics sorry.

There was a guy at the con and for $50 he would do you up at an ape. He had been an assistant on the TV show and had molds of all the characters. So all the appliances were beautiful. Loved it so much I wore it for three and a half days and he touched me up every morning.

I wore all my other costumes with the make-up. Star Wars Ape, Star Trek Ape, Sandman Ape.

Wish I had pics.
Click to expand...

Hi micdavis. We're wondering what the back of the John Chamber's appliances look like? Do you recall anything about the back side of the appliances that you wore from Phantasmicon 1980? Thx!
 
I found a nice link that's in line with this thread. It's the page of Dan Morgan and Tom Rubalcava, and shows Dan Morgan going through the application and makeup process for Cornelius. Their work is basically an homage to John Chambers, and their technique seems very similar to yours, Jessica.

Blended Edge - cornelius slide show

This was the same duo from the 1982 Creature Features segment
Creature Features - Planet of the Apes Cornelius - YouTube

One photo shows the back side of the nose and upper muzzle. The muzzle appears solid except for a rectangular trench coming off the nose for a breathing tunnel. Here's a link to the image:
http://blendededge-fx.trubalcava.com/cornelius/images/IMG_1477.jpg

Good stuff!
 
Did you know that Dan and Tom are my neighbors? They even tried to take a lifecast of my face but it was a bust. So the Zira sculpt I have made is sculpted from a positive of the Apemania plastic face that comes with some of their ape appliances. Wish I could sculpt on a lifecast of me, but that didn't happen, and you know how when you get going and you just can't stop...

Someday I may resculpt Zira but I really love the second one I made. It fits just really well for me even though it was not sculpted on a lifecast of me. Too bad but anyway I am happy with it.

And when I first sculpted Zira, I had Tom look over my sculpt before I took a mold of it for hot foam. The second sculpt was basically to correct the flaws of the first one. But that was before I saw a photo of the breathing canal...so now I cut that out with very sharp scissors and it's fine.

When I bumped into Tom and Dan on the internet, we were to go ape together at Wondercon since they were local to me, but Dan's health issues made it impossible...so basically unless my friend drives up from San Diego, I am the only ape in town....unless I take my boys but they want to go to Wondercon to explore and not dress up in ape gear. They were not able to see any of Wondercon when they came in attendance with me because of the crowds wanting to take photos of us.
 
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That's great that you know Dan and Tom and have access to their expertise... but too bad Dan's health doesn't allow him to go to Wondercon. I'm sure as more people see your work on this forum, however, more costumers will get the bug and "go ape", and the Wondercon ape population should increase!

That's surprising that your sculpt is from a generic lifecast and yet it fits you so well, what good luck!
 
Love the video - Zira playing Simon and Garfunkel!!! You should think about video taping some of your mold and hot foaming process, that would be awesome!

Two quick questions, do you find that using human hair is a big advantage over synthetic? I only ask because when I think of all the work involved ventilating the lace... ugh!

Also, I was curious as to whatever happened with your Urko sculpt (below), that was looking really good!
Jessica said:
dsc04564m.jpg
dsc04565.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Human hair is better than synthetic because it takes higher heat better--doesn't burn, easier to style. I think it holds curls better...then again, take that with a grain of salt because nobody has shown me how to really style/curl synthetic hair. I just go with what I have tried. When I used synthetic hair for my gorilla kids, I already picked something that had a slight wave to it and there was not really that much styling involved. Zira hair is just really hard to achieve I think.

Also, it has a natural sheen that is unmatched by synthetic hair--this is more obvious in photos.

Urko made it to the UK. Martin wears him on occasion.

I am too embarrassed to videotape my ghetto hot foam layout.
 
Idaho Jones said:
Don't be, I'd love to see how its done, as I'm sure many others would too. :thumbsup
Click to expand...

I agree with the Tusken Raider; your work is fine art as far as I'm concerned!

I'm tempted now to sculpt on a generic head instead of getting a lifecast done (since I can't do that on my own). Back in the 1920's when I was a teenager and really into mask making I'd sculpt the appliances directly on my face... which was pretty nutty when I think about it...
 
Jessica said:
I was searching through YouTube and found this post VERY informative. I've only gotten through a few pages...reading the book by pausing through the video. I am taking notes that are important to me before they take it down:

FOAM LATEX Manual 2 Part 1 - YouTube
Click to expand...

Very good find! I also found Part 2 and a second book posted on the same channel:

Donna Drexler's Foam Latex 911 The Emergency Manual PART 2
FOAM LATEX Manual 2 Part 2 - YouTube

Foam Latex Survival Manual by Donna Drexler
FOAM LATEX Manual 1 - YouTube
 
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