Realistic Feathered Raptor Costume--In Progress, Looking for Tips!

[ArtisticThingem]

If your hand is already in the Raptors head, why couldn't a finger do the blinks? In a puppet, the blink mechanism can just be a key ring on a string you slide a finger in and pull down when you want a blink. This way the blinks become more of the performance rather than just automated and mechanical.

Otherwise, if you want to use servos, Stan Winston has a series of videos "How to Build an Animatronic Head" that could be really helpful. I think the second one covers eye mechanisms. When I am trying to learn tips and techniques, I think Stan Winston videos are amazing and well worth the cost.

It's a shame that the Adam Savage videos are down. I was learning a lot from them.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your progress! Your project is very ambitious!

Ah, i knew i should just draw a picture:

As you can see, my hands will be occupied with being hands XD One of my coworkers happens to know of a local maker space I might be able to tap into for resources regarding my mechanical questions, so that part of things may essentially be taken care of! I might also contact one of my local libraries, which not only has a maker space but should be able to direct me to others which might be a bit closer to where I live. So, more things to look into, but I feel like I have a direction to go in.

And yeah, 'ambitious' is one word for it, lol. I've had this idea since late middle school and have been slowly piecing it together ever since; it's definitely been a slow burn project. It's going to be so cool when it's done though, and that's what keeps me going! I'm glad other folks think it's cool too ^^

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Build the string system into the hard hat situation, so it can be operated by opening and closing your jaw. Unless you already have something you plan to use your jaw movement for. Just a random thought.

Btw: if you plan to be in that position for long, you need to think about back support. You want to take as much strain off your back and hips as possible.

 

[ArtisticThingem]

Build the string system into the hard hat situation, so it can be operated by opening and closing your jaw. Unless you already have something you plan to use your jaw movement for. Just a random thought.

Btw: if you plan to be in that position for long, you need to think about back support. You want to take as much strain off your back and hips as possible.

Yeah, the jaw will be operated by my jaw, so, that's not an option. I emailed the maker lab at the local library about my magnet idea as well, but they didn't actually address it, just gave me other suggestions that... aren't what I'm looking for either. ._.;

And, yeah, I'm concerned about that too of course--I don't want to hurt myself trying to have fun! So some kind of back brace and maybe exercises to help my endurance, and I'll definitely have a handler or two with me in case I get into trouble. It's also why I'm not going for a fully horizontal pose, but more of a birdlike angle that won't be quite so severe.

I worked a little on the body today, and then laid out the head next to it to check proportions--only to discover the head i've made is too small, which is a bit ironic considering dinosaurs are typically known for having small heads compared to their bodies. But raptors were trending towards the bird end of things, so they have proportionally large heads. Unfortunately, if I want this to be accurate, that means I get to build another head. One step forward, two steps back as they say... But it gives me a chance to update the shape, and it's just cutting out EVA foam and hot-gluing it, so it's not so bad. I might keep working on the body in the meantime, now that I have a better idea of how to shape it. Also slowly getting an idea for how I want to construct the neck, so while there's not much to show off at the moment it's not for a lack of progress.

As always, thanks for reading!

 

[ArtisticThingem]

Finally made some good progress this weekend--I ended up making a new "skull" that'll be in proportion with the rest of the body, and made a set of eyes that can be swapped out for more detailed/blinking ones once I figure that aspect out. I also went ahead and started making the pattern for the 'skin', and that's always exciting because it starts looking like an actual thing and not just an armature. I'll get pictures when I have better light.

Biggest things I still need to work out are how I'm doing the understructure of the neck (thinking some system of rings, exact form uncertain atm), and seeing if I can get the teeth printed at my work--I probably can but it's a matter of logistics.

I may be submitting the head to a paleoart award thing, but the deadline is coming up so we'll see how fast I can work XD