Need help from sculpting experts (or amateurs) - base form

[TxBabyHuey]

So I am going to start on my Gillman from Monster Squad and the last sculpt I made I bought a head bust from Hobby Lobby and piled on foam pads and duct tape until I had a base I was happy with which worked, albeit kind of ghetto.

But this time I need to get the shoulders and want a respectable base even though you won't see it afterwards anyway.

I was wondering if I did a skeleton out of pvc pipe and another $5 Hobby Lobby foam head, that if I used spray on insulation foam like a mousse spray can from Lowe's if I can carve that foam with a electric turkey cutter or shape it easily with an electric sander.

Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[ChickenHaunt]

You can pretty much use anything as a sculpting armature. If those are the materials you have on hand, go for it. You just want to think about creating a surface that the clay will tend to grip onto, rather than fall off of. And, if you're using water-based clay, you want to seal materials that would tend to draw moisture away from the clay.

 

[TxBabyHuey]

I am using Monster Clay which super easy for me to work with, so I think I will be ok. But I just wondered if anyone has ever tried sanding away from or cutting that spray foam.

 

[DizzyStrmtroopr]

my last costume was 90% expanding foam. youll have to spray on more than you need, I use a cheap electric turkey knife from walmart to shave it down. it looks all smooth on the outside but when you carve it theres a bunch of bubbles like a kitchen sponge so after you have it to shape wrap it in aluminum foil before you put the clay on

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

I actually did this when I was working on a Batman cowl a while back. Worked perfectly fine. I've also done it to fill lifecasts and add necks and shoulders.

A tip, don't build it up too thick all at once. Do a layer, let it expand, do another layer. I built it all up at once when I did mine and got some pockets of uncured foam.