Styrofoam head

[jnjoker100]

im looking into starting clay modeling for helmets and such.
Im wanting to see how accurate the sizes of the foam heads that you can purchase cheap.

Something like this Male Styrofoam Head With Face


Anyone have any wisdom using this method or something similar. I dont care about keeping the head so purchasing a hard foam armature isnt necessary


Thanks in advance rpf'ers

 

[Joseph C. Brown]

While I have no experience with the type of sculpting you are discussing, given the low price I would consider purchasing one of these heads to perform basic size measuring upon. Namely, pick a hat of your own that is a tight fit, and try it on the head, and see how accurate it is. And if it not useful, then use it to hold up other hats or masks that you have.

This technique was used the way that you describe to re-create headgear from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey:

2001 Spacesuit - Pan Am

 

[El Visitor]

Not sure about that exact one from that supplier but i've seen these or similar with the same face at feztivals and markets.
They're a tad smaller than a real man's head, more like a boy's head.

I've seen manequin heads for sale on the web somewhere... Maybe ebay, i'll drop you a line if I spot them again. They're spot on for an adult head.

 

[tgk]

Styrofoam heads a quite a bit smaller than a human head. While they cost a good deal more monster makers sells a full sized head armature for mask making. Also if you look around you can find tutorials here on the RPF as well as Instructables and Make for making armatures from heads and hands all the way to full body. Good luck with your project.

 

[Ozymandius]

For helmet sculpting, I like these head armatures from Monster Makers.

It's a more accurate adult size and gives you a much better idea of how the helmet will actually fit.

At $55 they are more expensive than the cheap foam ones, but that's really a false economy. If you make a helmet that no one can wear, then it's not really a bargain, IMO.