Descent into madness! My first big public self build - fossil angel!

hydin

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
So

I have decided to get off my ass and actually build something interesting that isn't crystal related, or just tiny (i.e. bullets, etc).

I recently watched The Prophecy again, and I have always loved that fossil angel that is shown in the beginning. I decided I would suck it up, and attempt to make my own.

I am NOT making an exact replica of the angel itself, cause a: I am not that talented and b: dvd screencaps suck cause it's not in focus.

I will instead be making my own version, and hopefully I will have some awesome pictures to share in the eons to come while I build this thing.

The plan!
- Get 4 big sheets of blue insulation foam. (no store has the thick stuff locally, or anywhere in the south)
- Double them up, side by side to give illusion of base and rock. Need some depth for this to work.
- Trace outline with sharpie of skeleton laying in pose I want
- Dremel or somehow cut out a "pose"
- Insert skeleton into place.
- Mod out skeleton (cut off sections of bones to make lay flat, build wings, etc). Insert into the pose cut out.
- Use something like foam in a can to spray around the edges of the bones to give it that "fossil" look, where it seems to be half buried.
- ?????
- Profit!

Things I don't know, need to work on, need to figure out!
- Can foam in a can be used on blue insulation foam without melting it?
- Can foam in a can be sanded?
- What makes a good "dirt"? Possibly water putty? Gotta dent/score/etc the foam to make it look less like foam and more like rock.
- What sort of setup I need to make the brace so the skeleton doesn't fall out and ruin my sanity or floor.
- "Naked" bones, or armor? (probably armored because it makes my life easier in hiding the frame)
- How in God's name am I going to make the wings? Or the feathers?

Needless to say, this is going to be a pretty long project. If anyone has any tips or ideas, feel free to share em. I don't have a set start date or finish date, just a "Maybe if I do this publicly I can shame myself into finishing a project finally" motive :lol

I already have the skeleton, so that's not a problem. I have a secondary skull as well, so I can mod it out kinda easy. It's going to be on the small side but hey, who said angels gotta be huge?

Once I get my camera (i.e. find the damned thing) I plan to snap some pic and do this as a WIP thread. The goal is a nifty looking "prop" that I can use as a wall decoration in my front room, which I am "dehoardifying" cause it's filled with crap I don't need/use anymore.

So, anyone have any questions, tips, etc?

Chris
 
I know you can sand the expanding foam that comes in a can but you have to let it set for a while before you can do anything with it. I was making a Moltar helmet (from space ghost) when I found that out.

The foam looked and felt hard on the outside after a few hours but when I started sanding and cutting, it wasn't quite set in the center and lost it's shape and therefore turned into a pile of poop. Derp!

I would definitely try a test before adding it to your nice sculpt hehe.

Can't wait to see progress pics!
 
Yea, I gotta leave it setting for a while before I touch it. Learned that the hard way when I was making a meteorite (or attempting to anyway) and it sorta... failed horribly.

It's not going to be really packed in there though, so I think after a week or so it should be dry enough to think about sanding/filling.

I think I will go over the foam with water putty and seal it after it's all dry, and that way I should at least have the stone/bone/rock look that I am going for.

Who knows, if I plan this right, I can mold it and sell copies and become a rich man :lol

Times like this I wish I lived closer to rileyreplicas. Dude's a wizard when it comes to foam and sculpting!

Chris
 
Okay, I'm back. Can you post a screencap? I actually don't think I've ever seen The Prophecy (I know...Walken...and I haven't watched it...Heresy!!!) I would love to kind of get more of a feel as to what you are planning. I Google'd around some and couldn't really find anything much.

Thanks!
 
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I am going with a more human look, less.... destroyed? I guess more of a "fell to earth after a battle" kinda idea.

Since I am still in the planning stages (technically the "ooohhooooo lemme doodle" stage) any advice is greatly welcome.

Chris
 
Actually it's going to be closer to the simpsons instead of the screen used one :lol

Chris
 
I have been thinking of doing something similiar to this but more of a fosilized demon, inspired by THe Exeorcist: Dominion, I think. I'm actually considering planting it in my back yard, I dont know... I'm going to use plactic so it will not ruin.
 
So


Things I don't know, need to work on, need to figure out!
- Can foam in a can be used on blue insulation foam without melting it?
- Can foam in a can be sanded?
- What makes a good "dirt"? Possibly water putty? Gotta dent/score/etc the foam to make it look less like foam and more like rock.
- What sort of setup I need to make the brace so the skeleton doesn't fall out and ruin my sanity or floor.
- "Naked" bones, or armor? (probably armored because it makes my life easier in hiding the frame)
- How in God's name am I going to make the wings

So, anyone have any questions, tips, etc?

Chris

I bet you could do a lot for both rock and feathers with aluminum foil. My dad used it on a diarama to make a cliff face. Seems to be an old model train trick.
-Crumple up the foil
-then flatten it back out some and shape
- Paint desired rock color

I bet you could not only use it to build up rock over bone, but flatten it out in a way that implies feathers were once present near the wing bones
 
Yea, the feathers are the current "drive me crazy" portion of the build. Haven't really figured out a way to mount the skeleton to the foam board without it weighing too much for the wall either.

Might end up going the molding/casting route, but I hope not. That's gonna be crazy expensive for something this big.

Chris
 
Nope.

Not sharing pics till I get a little further along, cause right now it looks like a skeleton blew up in a Home Depot at the moment :lol

Chris
 
Hey!

Art takes time :lol

I have had like 15 false starts too, which gets a little annoying after a while. Nothing like burnout on a long project.

Chris
 
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