Idea For Feet

[Lflank]

I'm gonna try out an idea I had for making feet and see how it goes. The plan is to use a thin pair of socks and coat them with latex, and cut the fingers off a set of Halloween "monster gloves" and stick them on the latexed socks as toes.

Has anyone ever tried this before? Anyone think of any potential problems I should look out for?

I'll post the results when I'm done.

 

[munson]

The only area that I think you might run into is latex shrinkage and the feet maybe a bit too small. Other then that, you put out some great work and am anxious to see what you come up with.

 

[Lflank]

The only area that I think you might run into is latex shrinkage and the feet maybe a bit too small. Other then that, you put out some great work and am anxious to see what you come up with.

My plan is to wrap a pair of stiff leather moccasins in a plastic bag (to keep the latex from sticking to them) and place them inside the socks. I'm hoping that will give me a good shape to work on as I cover the socks in latex layers, and also that it will make the latex feet a wee bit too big, so if it does shrink a bit it'll still fit me.

I should perhaps note that I won't be adding any platforms or anything to the feet to make me taller, since I use my costumes for fan films and use movie-magic to make myself look bigger. If I were to use it for conventions and such I'd have to add platforms to the finished feet.

And I think the particular pair of feet I'll do first won't be Pred feet, but space-alien feet for a character I need for a fan film--and maybe I'll make them in such a way that I can re-paint them after filming and use them as Xeno feet.

I was thinking very seriously about making digitigrade stilts for this character, but I think instead I'll make the feet a little long in the heel area and walk on my tippy-toes, to give it sort of a digitigrade look and to change the gait into something that looks less human-like.

I'll start slopping latex this afternoon. We'll see how it turns out.

(BTW, thanks for the compliment--I'm just an entirely self-taught amateur and am flattered if anyone thinks my work is even halfway decent. )

 

[Double H]

even if you managed to avoid latex shrinkage, the shoe you wear the sock over would have to be a decent size to compensate coz the socks will shrink and set to the shape (aesthetically) of the shoe you use. Therefore if the shoe is small then the end product will be small. Same for slim, bulky and wide shoes.

Not saying if wouldn't work, it will probably look awesome like the rest of your costumes have. Personally expanding foam - sculpting - and covering in latex works better for me and its relatively cheap.

Good luck all the same, looking forward to the outcome.

 

[xjk5]

what size is the best for feet in your opinion?

 

[xjk5]

two of my friends have diferent feet sizes in costume: one has too big, and the other one too small, and no one have the perfect size...

 

[Double H]

Depends on their height - meaning that the feet should compliment their height AKA not too big and not to small.

I'm 6"2 and I sculpted the expanding foam so that the toes start at the end of my shoe (from shoe to pred toe tip being about 1 inch from the shoe)

Hope that helps

 

[Lflank]

what size is the best for feet in your opinion?

Anything I can walk in comfortably and safely.

 

[Double H]

Anything I can walk in comfortably and safely.

True, true

 

[Lflank]

Good luck all the same, looking forward to the outcome.

Almost have enough latex on to remove the shoes and see how they hold their shape . . .

 

[Double H]

Cool, how are you going to pad them out to fit your foot? Foam filler, furniture foam etc

 

[Darth Pinhead]

Either keep the shoes in for a couple days to allow the latex to cure or stuff them with recycled plastic grocery bags. I would consider the latter, because you MAY be able to further form them once stuffed. Also, check out George's thread on Seaming & Filling Latex to better tie the whole piece together. Good luck. Looking forward to pics!

 

[Lflank]

Cool, how are you going to pad them out to fit your foot? Foam filler, furniture foam etc

I'm hoping I won't have to pad them at all--I'm hoping they'll fit my foot pretty well.That's why I'm using my own moccasins to size them.

I'm hoping I can size them just like a Halloween mask--if they're too small I'll cut a slit in the back to loosen them, and if they're too big I'll pinch the back a bit to tighten them.

 

[Lflank]

Either keep the shoes in for a couple days to allow the latex to cure or stuff them with recycled plastic grocery bags. I would consider the latter, because you MAY be able to further form them once stuffed. Also, check out George's thread on Seaming & Filling Latex to better tie the whole piece together. Good luck. Looking forward to pics!

Thanks for that link. I'm not in any hurry, so I was planning on letting them sit for a few days to dry thoroughly anyway. Then I'll start attaching toes.

 

[xjk5]

thanks!

 

[Darth Pinhead]

Another tip I was recently given my George and Gene, is to use BARGE All Purpose Cement to glue latex to latex. Spread it down on both pieces of what you're gluing, Activate the glue on both pieces with some heat and get it tacky. Line up the pieces and press together. Just MAKE SURE they are lined up correctly.


Also, to prep the latex, get your hands on some citric acid off eBay (Comes as a powder). MAY be able to find it at a specialty cooking store. Dump some in a sink of warm water and scrub them up a bit and it will clean up the latex. It also reactivates the pours in the latex, so that when you GLUE them the glue creates a stronger bond. At least that’s the theory, lol.

 

[Lflank]

Photos of the feet:

It's painted to match the skin on a space-alien costume I need for a fan film. When I'm done filming, I think I'll add some tubing, paint it black, and use it for the xeno costume I'll be working on.

It fits snugly but not too tight (but the opening was too small to put my feet inside, so I had to cut a little slit along the top). In one foot, the latex stuck to the plastic bag I wrapped the moccasin in, so the bag remains inside as a liner; on the other foot, the bag came out and I had to pour some talcum powder inside to coat the latex and stop it from sticking to itself.

I deliberately offset the rear toe a bit so I could tell the left from the right. Although it's hard to see in the photo, there's no "big toe"--the two outside toes are about the same size and splay a bit outwards to both sides. I used "Shoe Goo" to attach the toes, coated the whole thing with a layer of latex, and painted with ordinary Krylon spray paint.

I used a sock for this set of feet because I wanted to be able to walk tippy-toe without a shoe sole showing, but I think it would be lots easier to make by just coating a pair of slippers or thin moccasins with latex and then attaching the toes. I think I'll give that a shot and make a pair of Pred feet. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[Double H]

Hey, that actually looks pretty cool. Yeah, that would defiantly work as xeno foot.

Give the pred feet ago - you know you want to ....

Awesome work fella

 

[Lflank]

Hey, that actually looks pretty cool. Yeah, that would defiantly work as xeno foot.

I'll have to add lots of tubing to give it that xeno bio-mechanical look. It'll be a while before I do that--I haven't finished a script yet for "Stormtroopers vs Aliens", and I want to shoot the "Predators: The Hunt" project first before I start on the xeno costume.

Give the pred feet ago - you know you want to ....

Yeah--once I get an idea in my head, I can't ever let it go until I at least give it a try. I'm looking for suitable slippers---not fuzzy, kind of stiff so they hold their shape. I'll post pics when I'm done.

Awesome work fella

Glad you like it. I'm not entirely happy with the positioning of some of the toes, but once the Shoe Goo meets the latex, it's on there, so you have to get the positioning right the first time. You don't get a second chance.

 

[toddslightning]

thats a really good idea