Fauno Pan's Labyrinth full body sculpt -- FINISHED, final photos in first post+end

booksandcorsets

Sr Member
Hi everyone! I have a full build thread that I've been working on since May, and I wrapped this up in late August. I'd love to enter Fauno into the Halloween contest.

(So you need a proof photo, eh? Pardon the craziness.)

proof.jpg

Fauno from del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth has been a white whale of a sculpt for me ever since it hit the screen. This year, I decided it was worth taking on as a personal project for Dragoncon 2013. There are multiple different versions of this character in the movie. The one I decided to make was the old Faun, or the first version the movie’s main character meets.

The scope of this costume was a bit overwhelming. I sculpted, molded, and cast every part of the costume over five months on weekends and evenings. It ended up being 21 different molds (some large, some small). To keep the costs down, most of the final pieces are out of latex and were created in an Ultracal 30 mold.

However, some pieces needed to be either flexible or more durable. The horns were made out of Smooth-on’s Flex-Foam It X; legs were skinned with latex then filled with Flex-Foam It 3, and the hooves were made out of Foam It 3. Eyes were created out of Smoothcast 325.

10750813393_3916be9f43_h.jpg


I started sculpting in 2011 and first used plaster just last year, so attempting a full body sculpt of this magnitude was really for two reasons: 1, I really, really wanted to do this costume, and 2, I was sure my skills in mold making as well as sculpting would get a heck of a lot better over the process.

To start this project, I made a list of the sculpts I thought I would need to create and assigned mini-deadlines to myself to keep myself on track. This schedule gave me the month of August off, as I was to finish “on schedule” July 31st. Alternatively, I penciled in “PANIC.” (Of course, I was working on the project right up to the moment where I walked onto the convention floor!)

This whole process got kicked off with the creation of two items to sculpt upon: a livecast of my head and a cast of my body. For the face, this needed to be super accurate. For the body sculpt, exact accuracy was not necessarily needed. I chose to make a rough shape for the body piece; it just needed to capture my rough dimensions as Fauno’s would also be much different than my own. Since the final piece was going to be in latex, it didn't need to be an exact fit as the latex shrinking will take care of some of it.

Before I got too far on the sculpt, I tried to determine how I would treat the feet, as resizing this beast would mean I would also need to fiddle with proportions elsewhere.

I hemmed and hawed over this for a long time. I would have liked to create digitigrade feet, but Fauno’s legs were at a very extreme bend. After considering how massively uncomfortable (overheating) and blind (those eyes do not line up with real eyes!) I would be, I eventually chose the safest route: giant platform shoes. I had also planned on incorporating these above the hoof (like del Toro’s original), but scrapped this at the last minute to give myself a shorter (but less obtrusive) silhouette.

Before I get too far on the making of this costume, here are some prettys.

9335490595_97ab41d63c_c.jpg

9283741797_9cce9d78da_h.jpg

9001043401_6916fe4d3b_b.jpg

8847555913_8222e1a472_c.jpg

1240147_424983984289642_477516001_n.jpg

My helper gluing me in:
1456677_10200638907160728_937076352_n.jpg

1452184_451760751611965_438015227_n.jpg

10671810895_1c309c4e69_o.jpg

10671873236_b950977928_o.jpg

I VISITED A PETTING ZOO WITH GOATS #flail Better photos of this meetup to come.
goats.jpg
And for scale!!
604004_614608028577616_616275075_n.jpg


So! Most of what will follow will be assorted photos of sculpts in various processes. I thought what would be most useful for you lovely readers is a rundown of the materials I used, why I chose them, how to use them, and some tips I picked up on the way. This way you can use my build to make something else entirely. I understand not many people actually require a how-to on creating a 7-foot faun.

CLAY.

I’m a big fan of oil-based clays like Chavant, but am more recently a even bigger fan of Monster Clay. It’s half oil, half wax, which results in a really nice combination that is reusable (I used the same four blocks of clay for this entire project), as well as can be melted down in a microwave. It’s still a BIT soft for my preference, but is otherwise the ideal material. AND it’s sulfur-free, so pairs nicely with platinum silicones like Rebound 25.

PLASTER.

I chose Ultracal 30 for this build. It picks up better detail (b/c the grains are finer) and dries a bit harder than plaster and costs only pennies per pound more. It also wicks moisture away better, which means its ideal for latex masks. The step by step below can be applied to plaster as well as ultracal and hydrocal, so keep that in mind.

FOAMS.

Fauno’s horns are giant: four-feet in span from tip to tip. Since I needed to wear these on my head, I needed them to both be lightweight as well as soft and bendable (yet keep their shape) in case I accidentally ran into someone. Smoothon’s Flex Foam It! line is my go-to for that criteria. The horns were created out of the self-skinning X (oh, and I back-filled the lower legs with polyfoam too: this time, Flex Foam It! 3).

SILICONES.

The pieces I needed to create out of foam (see above) were best suited to a glove mold, so I used my favorite Rebound 25. Super stretchy, yet pliable and a brush-on which keeps cost down.

LATEX.

Oh man, I used so much latex this time around. I now RAVE about Monster Maker’s RD-407 latex. It’s fantastic. I generally would brush in one coat, close the mold, then “seal” the fit by either pouring in (and then pouring out) latex, or just reaching in and brushing a second coat. The gloves were done with the former method and turned out super thin yet super strong.

MOLD MAKING

Simple two-part instructions for complete plaster novices follows!

First, plan out where your seam line will go. In the case of the gloves, it needed to split top/bottom evenly on a classic part.

Create a mold wall. You have a few options for mold wall: metal shims, clay (NOT of the kind your mold is made out of), and even playing cards will work. Yes, you will need to push your mold wall into the sculpt a bit. Where necessary, you can cut the shim or cardboard to fit. You will need to create about a 2-3 inch flange on the place of where the mold wall is.

5.jpg


TIP: In addition to the mold wall, it can come in handy to create a support wall for where the plaster should stop. This is super useful when you’re fighting gravity and putting plaster up on a vertical surface. I'd suggest clay for this because it doesn't need to be super neat or exactly straight.

Once you have the mold wall up, you'll need to create registration keys. This is how your mold will fit into itself. Heads up: I HAVE skipped this step in the past b/c I have had complicated shapes/curves and I knew it would snap right into place. However I don't suggest doing that until you're comfortable with the material.

23.jpg


There are a couple types of keys that I've seen used. Above, you can see a simple circle, but I’ve since moved away from that to doing another shape: wedge or a cylinder. Whichever you choose, you’ll need to create this shape in your original mold wall.

Finally... get ready to plaster. I highly suggest hitting the whole thing with some ease-release (the spray release that's essentially a spray vaseline) and wait ten minutes before going in to this step. Many people also seal their sculpts with clearcoat (like Krylon’s Crystal Clear) which will also aid in removing your clay from your finished molds.

Your first layer of plaster is your print coat. You need to mix your batch of plaster until it's the consistency of pancake batter (congealing on your fingers but definitely mostly a liquid). Then you paint your plaster on the side that you are doing using a paintbrush. I’ll put this up in caps: YOU ONLY DO ONE SIDE AT A TIME. Sometimes it will take a while for the plaster to "attach," so be patient and go over it a few times. This should take about 5-15 minutes.

24.jpg


Wait about 30-40 minutes. Then, mix up your next batch of plaster, which I’ll call the "sludge" layer. This can be thicker, more of a cake batter. During this step you’ll cover all of your mold with this until the plaster is about 3/8" all around. You will ALSO be coating your edges (mold walls) up to the very top. You will need every bit of those 3".

7.jpg


Now, wait again for another 30-40 minutes. This final step will require about 3-4 layers of burlap. Mix your plaster up to cake mixture consistency, then coat strips of burlap in plaster, and layer then all over this. Get your edges where the mold walls are really thick, I'd suggest going in with rolled up burlap as support until it looks more like an incline rather than a wall.

See this below? This was NOT ENOUGH burlap on the edge. It's clearly still a wall and not an incline. Because of this, I got cracks in the mold that I had to wait to fix in post.

21.jpg


Again! More waiting, this time for about an hour. Now, you’ll go and remove your mold walls and registration key pieces. (Keep your support wall up though, and if you haven't already put up walls on the other side's cheek/face/neck/whatever, do so now. And now you'll understand why.) Take a paintbrush and carefully remove any plaster dust/chips that have appeared near your seam line. Go in and wherever possible, fix the inevitable smudges that will have occurred. I've found the rubber-tipped sculpting tools are the best for this.

9.jpg


TIP: Add pry keys. I'd suggest one every 3-4 inches apart. These are little squares of clay on your mold wall that will allow you to chisel the mold open a LOT easier at the end. Be careful to have at least an inch between the edge of the pry key and the edge of your sculpt. This is also why you want to have at least 2-3 inches of edging material on the sides of your sculpt. It will minimize chips and messy edges.

8.jpg


Note: A thing I've been doing on my last few molds which I found super useful was actually adding a tiny bit of clay to the edge of my first half's mold wall. It was basically puttying the mold wall's edge so I would have no chance of the plaster halves conjoining. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of this!

Once you've done all that, it's time to vaseline. THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT. Take vaseline and liberally slather up your mold wall. Anywhere your first mold will touch the second mold, you need to vaseline that or the plaster will attach to itself and you'll get a solid piece instead of two pieces. I'm not saying to make a LAYER of vaseline, but the whole thing should get your hands sticky. Alllll over.

Now, repeat the plaster process (print coat, sludge coat, burlap coat). Wait for it to dry.

23.jpg


26.jpg


Once everything is dry, remove the clay bits you can get to. If you edged your mold wall, remove that. Remove the clay in the pry keys if you can get to it with your fingers, and if not… It’s time to get out your heat gun and chisel and hammer.

TIP: A heat gun works wonders to soften oil-based clay—but you wouldn’t want to do this with a water-based clay. For Monster Clay or Chavant, this will greatly help with the removal.

Carefully heat up your mold in sections. Go slowly. Prepare to sweat. Carefully insert your chisel into your pry keys and hammer. Wiggle a bit. Move to the next pry key, repeat. Do this until you start to feel it loosen, and remember to use your heat gun to warm up both sides. Eventually you will feel part of the mold loosen. THEN STOP. Move to the side that ISN'T loose and work on prying that open. If you force it, it will crack, so go slowly.

Once one of the sides pops off, set it carefully to the side. Clean out your mold. (Depends on what clay you are using to do this; there are different techniques!)

11.jpg


12.jpg



FINALLY, I've documented the last 8 days of this build, which covered the second thigh, both lower legs, painting the latex piece, and piecing it all together in a videoblog. Please take a look and if you're up to it, subscribe to the channel :)


I'll be loading a photo of Fauno up into the contest gallery this weekend; there's a shoot on Saturday!

PLEASE NOTE: There's a lot MORE build photos/progress, etc in the build thread that follows. What's above is a very condensed version of the 5 months of this build :)

ORIGINAL POST BELOW:

Already planning for Dragoncon 2013 :-/

I have always, always wanted to do Faun from Pan's Labyrinth. Doug Jones = the man. The reference pics below are from this site.

528669_260942407360468_1433236365_n.jpg

247838_260942374027138_775662087_n.jpg

560497_260942324027143_2085616266_n.jpg

422723_260942307360478_26627938_n.jpg

408886_260942274027148_989857243_n.jpg

578349_260942207360488_1913292411_n.jpg


I intend to do this using two main techniques: flexfoam It! for the legs, horns, and chest, and silicone for virtually everything else. The legs are a challenge but I'm working with a friend who has some great ideas.

Meanwhile, this past weekend I started the sculpt with the chest and will mold this in two sections (front and back). This thread is going to take right up to DCon 13 to be completed but I WILL get it done!

408622_262454757209233_164587088_n.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 10750813393_3916be9f43_h.jpg
    10750813393_3916be9f43_h.jpg
    976.8 KB · Views: 115
  • 10750813393_3916be9f43_h.jpg
    10750813393_3916be9f43_h.jpg
    976.8 KB · Views: 104
  • 9335490595_97ab41d63c_c.jpg
    9335490595_97ab41d63c_c.jpg
    137.7 KB · Views: 104
  • 9335490595_97ab41d63c_c.jpg
    9335490595_97ab41d63c_c.jpg
    137.7 KB · Views: 101
  • 9283741797_9cce9d78da_h.jpg
    9283741797_9cce9d78da_h.jpg
    201.6 KB · Views: 113
  • 9283741797_9cce9d78da_h.jpg
    9283741797_9cce9d78da_h.jpg
    201.6 KB · Views: 100
  • 9001043401_6916fe4d3b_b.jpg
    9001043401_6916fe4d3b_b.jpg
    184.3 KB · Views: 94
  • 9001043401_6916fe4d3b_b.jpg
    9001043401_6916fe4d3b_b.jpg
    184.3 KB · Views: 125
  • 8847555913_8222e1a472_c.jpg
    8847555913_8222e1a472_c.jpg
    292.4 KB · Views: 98
  • 8847555913_8222e1a472_c.jpg
    8847555913_8222e1a472_c.jpg
    292.4 KB · Views: 85
  • 10671810895_1c309c4e69_o.jpg
    10671810895_1c309c4e69_o.jpg
    356.9 KB · Views: 1,205
  • 10671810895_1c309c4e69_o.jpg
    10671810895_1c309c4e69_o.jpg
    356.9 KB · Views: 134
  • 10671873236_b950977928_o.jpg
    10671873236_b950977928_o.jpg
    320.4 KB · Views: 111
  • 10671873236_b950977928_o.jpg
    10671873236_b950977928_o.jpg
    320.4 KB · Views: 97
  • 5.jpg
    5.jpg
    90.1 KB · Views: 117
  • 5.jpg
    5.jpg
    90.1 KB · Views: 123
  • 23.jpg
    23.jpg
    48.2 KB · Views: 106
  • 23.jpg
    23.jpg
    48.2 KB · Views: 109
  • 24.jpg
    24.jpg
    30.4 KB · Views: 114
  • 24.jpg
    24.jpg
    30.4 KB · Views: 124
  • 7.jpg
    7.jpg
    44.4 KB · Views: 115
  • 7.jpg
    7.jpg
    44.4 KB · Views: 112
  • 21.jpg
    21.jpg
    49 KB · Views: 114
  • 21.jpg
    21.jpg
    49 KB · Views: 119
  • 9.jpg
    9.jpg
    35.5 KB · Views: 107
  • 9.jpg
    9.jpg
    35.5 KB · Views: 118
  • 8.jpg
    8.jpg
    27.4 KB · Views: 109
  • 8.jpg
    8.jpg
    27.4 KB · Views: 114
  • 23.jpg
    23.jpg
    48.2 KB · Views: 113
  • 23.jpg
    23.jpg
    48.2 KB · Views: 106
  • 26.jpg
    26.jpg
    56.9 KB · Views: 105
  • 26.jpg
    26.jpg
    56.9 KB · Views: 105
  • 11.jpg
    11.jpg
    47.5 KB · Views: 97
  • 11.jpg
    11.jpg
    47.5 KB · Views: 141
  • 12.jpg
    12.jpg
    45.1 KB · Views: 128
  • 12.jpg
    12.jpg
    45.1 KB · Views: 114
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: Faun, Pan's Labyrinth, full body sculpt

Looking great. What clay are you using?

Are you by chance following my other thread? ;)

This is Monster Maker's clay... but it's not their current formula. It was purchased a few years ago and it's as hard as wax when at room temperature, but has all the other qualities of MM. (Just HARDER!)
 
Re: Faun, Pan's Labyrinth, full body sculpt

Great work so far / as always, Alyssa !!! Keep it up!!! :p
 
Re: Faun, Pan's Labyrinth, full body sculpt

Between my first post on this thread and the first real update on this project I will have completed three other full costumes, one mask on commission, and a prop on commission. Yargh.

I start work on this behemoth March 30th. Here are some of my plans.

I've broken it down into about 18 different planned sculpts/molds. Those I've STARRED below I will be doing in FlexFoamIt! X for the weight; those in bold will be done in Dragonskin Pro; the rest will be in latex.

1. Under-face-sculpt (for placement of fake eyes) --- ACTUALLY NOT SURE WHAT MATERIAL TO USE HERE
2/3. Ears 1 and 2
4/5. Horns 1 and 2***
6. Face and horn base
7. Neckpiece
8/9. Hands 1 and 2
10. Upper bicep (one sculpt to be used twice)
11. Chestpiece (front, which includes shoulderpieces)***
12. Backpiece, top***
13. Stomach and lower back sculpt
14/15. Thighs 1 and 2
16. Hoof (one sculpt to be used twice)
17/18. Lower legs one and two

I will be attaching the following pieces of above directly to a bodysuit:
10. Upper biceps
13. Stomach and lower back sculpt
14/15. Thighs 1 and 2

The gloves will be easy on/off to allow for easy cooldown.

The chestpiece/backpiece will be pieced together and go on over the head (and the shoulder pads will have industrial velcro under their pads to attach to the undersuit).

The neck flap will tuck in under the chest piece and be glued to my chin. Next goes on the under-face, which will be further attached to a head-piece that has screws/bolts placed for the giant horns. Then goes on the face; then the horns will get screwed on.

I expect I'll want to put on the giant feet last because as of right now I'm planning to do this thing with my feet slung behind me, and walking on my knees. I need to get about 14-18 inches on my current height to get these dimensions correct, and I don't think I will be content with the green-screen approach taken by the film makers. Also I'm 9" shorter than Doug Jones, so I have a deficit and need to catch up.

Here goes nothing!
 
Re: Faun, Pan's Labyrinth, full body sculpt

I've started. Two sculpts are done and will be in plaster by this time tomorrow:

Hoof and upper arm. Both of these are "doubles" that I can use interchangably. The hoof will actually have the lower leg fall on top of it, so only the under hoof is visible. It makes sense in my head. This is 8" tall, which is a big jump in the extra height I need.

526451_349133001874741_628055590_n.jpg

603914_349132981874743_800207157_n.jpg


One of my hands was sunk into alginate to create the base of the arm sculpt. This is such a creepy stage:

522535_337206253067416_624178634_n.jpg


And I enlisted some help to create a body cast for myself to sculpt on. Since it's going to be in latex, it didn't need to be an exact fit as the latex shrinking will take care of some of it.

This is polyurethane casting tape to create a body form to sculpt on for Fauno. I couldn't move (literally) so at one point today I felt the pain of the T-Rex. TINY HANDS.

558902_348697355251639_979246229_n.jpg


I needed a straw for my scotch!

374405_349132985208076_1259774817_n.jpg
 
Re: Faun, Pan's Labyrinth, full body sculpt

this is quite an undertaking, and it looks like it will have an amazing turn out.
 
This thread is more than 9 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top