Starting a Jim Carrey's Grinch Build

DR4296

Well-Known Member
Greetings All !

Say, I've started building Jim Carrey's Grinch and I'm definitely needing advice in certain areas.

I decided up-front that this build wouldn't be as intense as some of my previous costumes, since we spent most of the summer prepping to put our house on the market (and it's up for sale right now).

So, after researching what fur material folks commonly use for such costumes (Mongolian Olive Green Fur), I bought 5 yards of it. I then bought a sewing pattern for a sort of generic animal costume (one that, again, I'd heard was commonly used... Simplicity Pattern 2853).
2017-08-28 18.16.03.jpg

But the majority of the actual "work" on this build, of course, is all in the face. I decided that I would build a latex face prosthetic, but would probably end up with a partial hood covering my ears and the top of my head. I had made my first (and only) latex face prosthetic about 5 years ago (!), so I started repeating that process.

I bought some water-based modeling clay and a Styrofoam man's head... and I started sculpting.
Here are photos from after my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sessions working on it (about 1.5 - 2 hours each time).

2017-09-07 18.15.25.jpg

View attachment 2017-09-12 19.05.10.jpg

View attachment 2017-09-25 19.15.19.jpg

(Please click on the links and don't just rely on that one small image. That was the first session. My apologies for the photo quality. Must be something about selfie-mode... the same camera took all of these photos.)


So, my intent is to have maybe one good solid session where I smooth things out a bit, and carve in a few more details. Honestly, here's where I have a serious weakness: It still looks kinda crappy to me at this point. And I'm aggravated that, just when I seem to get one area smoothed out and looking nice proportionally, it seems like some other area gets chips / scratches / tiny dents in it. But I could easily see myself spending another 8-10 hours on this thing, trying to get it "perfect"... when, really, I don't think it has to be. I'm not going for that kind of perfection with this build. Just something that looks good!

After that hopefully-final session of sculpting, then, I'll put a thin layer of petroleum jelly over the clay... and then start layering in liquid latex.

I have purchased an EVA foam mat and intend to cut that into pieces in order to build some "red elf shoes" (around a pair of old sneakers). I already have some special foam spray adhesive left from a previous costume build lying around, so I'm sure I can get a strong bond onto the shoes themselves.

I intend to build the hands / gloves out of scraps of left-over green fur... complete with some foam inserts to make the fingers longer.

That just leaves the Santa suit, which I already ordered off of Ebay. The darned thing said it had a chest big enough for a 52 inch chest...and it had a zipper in the front. Sounded good. But when I tried it on, well, yes, my chest fit with plenty of room to spare. But the ARMS were a few inches short and definitely too tight, especially back near the shoulders.

BUT, I have some help on that part...and on the green suit as well: I engaged a retired lady at my church who has extensive sewing experience to help me on both. She's already had me try on the green suit (sorry, I didn't get photos yet -- she was just double-checking certain measurements). We'll have plenty of red material in the Santa pants that we won't be using in order to add material to the jacket. Hopefully, we'll have enough material left for me to cover the shoes in red as well. (Otherwise, I was gonna probably coat the shoes in Plasti-dip and red spray paint.)

OK, now, to my questions and concerns:

1) Color theory. OK, on the one hand, I look at all these reference photos of Jim Carrey and I see that his skin and the prosthetic appear to be ONE color... and it's just a shade lighter (I think) than the fur that covered his entire body (except maybe for his eyebrows and some accent hair colors on his head). So, part of me says I need to somehow magically match the color of a decent quantity of liquid latex to go on the mask... and whatever makeup goes on my skin. But another part of me says that this has gotta be the wrong approach.

2) Heat reduction. My last costume was a velociraptor that was made mostly out of foam. I boiled in it, mostly because of head heat. (I took the head off frequently. Couldn't see in it anyways. <grin!>) Now I'm going to be wearing fur all over, including around over half of my head. Any thoughts? (Thankfully, one of the events I will be attending will be outdoors at night.)

3) I'm really second-guessing this sculpting bit. I feel like I'm really winging it and don't have enough talent to make it much better than whatever I can do in the next 2 hours of work. And then the other voice in my head says "but you don't HAVE to make it better, it just has to be adequate". What do you think?


Thanks!

-= Dave =-
 
Here's an updated photo, following tonight's session:

2017-09-26 19.37.49.jpg

I watched a couple of youtube videos today that talked about using small tools, brushes, and water to "clean up" the sculpt / smooth it out, plus start adding details and textures in. So, I've done some smoothing here and have added some key wrinkles. Note: I realize that the head / forehead isn't as large as the actual movie Grinch's head was. I don't intend my prosthetic to extend THAT far up the head. I will probably use a hood (possibly stuffed with some sort of cone-shape inside) to help extend this. And the hood would be covered with the green fur as "hair". I'm also thinking I should be able to use extra fur to create some longer hair on-top... to create the sort of mohawk that the movie Grinch had.
 
Last night, right after I went to bed, I suddenly had more clarity on something I recall from a few years back, when I was making a mask this way:

I had decided NOT to go with making a plaster cast of the sculpt and then pouring a crap-ton of latex into it. Making a mold when you already have a sculpt of what you want seemed like a burdensome extra step (and a very messy one too). Plus, it'd require a lot more liquid latex ($) than I really wanted to pay for.

SOMEWHERE, I had read of a method where you simply painted very thin layers of latex over your clay sculpt (after putting a layer of vaseline over it so that the clay wouldn't stick to it so aggressively) to form your mask. Yes, it requires, like, at least a dozen layers, and you have to allow for drying time in between each layer. But it works.

A key problem with this method, as I recall, is that any details that you put into the mask will be... reduced / smoothed-out a little by each layer of latex that you add. This doesn't happen when you use the plaster mold method. So, if I remember correctly, one needs to EXAGGERATE the wrinkles, pores, and other minor facial details a bit, to compensate for this.

Last night, I would carve a wrinkle by "digging a trench" with the rear tip of a paintbrush, angle the edges of the trench a bit, and then take a slightly-wet brush and brush over the edges so as to round them out. However, I now believe I need to go back and make such a wrinkle a bit deeper /wider / exaggerated.

I think once I do that, and add a few more details to the face (including those tiny holes / pores on the snout), then I should be ready for the petroleum jelly layer and then ready to latex this.
 
Found this video, which takes a similar approach to what I'm recalling from a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjZNebhbskE

It does not use a foam head, though. She did point out a few things I didn't remember or know:
1) Soaping one's brush to get the latex not to stick. I remember I just used a box of cheap brushes from Harbor Freight and threw one away with each layer.

2) To add fine details, she said to layer the latex UP instead of adding them to the sculpt. Hmmm. Interesting. I wish she'd have shown an example of this work.

3) The way she color-tested the paint mixes to get the right shade. I want / need to start working on this ASAP. She was mixing the paint with the latex, though. I had THOUGHT that back when I made my Davey Jones mask, I just took my latex paint and painted OVER the latex. Not sure. (Guess I need to check the directions on my paint.) If the way she suggests is indeed the way to go, then it seems to me that this makes coming up with the proper color recipe that much harder... and will suck up a bit more materials.

4) Oh wow, she shows adding hairs to it individually during the painting stage. Fantastic! I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to handle adding the Grinch's bushy eyebrows.

5) Interesting. She attaches the mask to the wig itself, forming one piece. I hadn't thought about actually attaching my hood to this piece I'm building. I think maybe it'd look better if it attached to my face. But I'll admit, I then need to somehow make sure that hood looks like it is "one" with my face. I need to go back and check my reference photos of Grinch costumes that OTHER people have done on this.

Just wanted to mention: I had briefly thought about finding some sort of WIG to use. But then I'd have to somehow dye the hair of the wig to match the olive green of the fur I've purchased for the rest of me. I have no idea how I'd do that with any sort of color accuracy.
 
Key issue that's still bugging me: OK, let's say I paint the prosthetic in a way where it has some different shades of color built-in for shadowing and highlighting.
What the heck do I do about then making this blend with my face? I mean, the primary shade of the mask should hopefully match whatever makeup I end up using / whipping-together for my face, right? Should I then just trust that the natural light shadowing of my skin will be okay, while the mask may have some slightly-different colors showing up? Perhaps I am over-analyzing this.

I need to see if I can find some prosthetic painting tutorials instead of mask painting tutorials, I think.
 
Well, THIS is a pretty cool tutorial and pretty "close" to what I'm wanting to do: Zombie Grinch Prosthetic painting !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwtRqEiU9Xo

The major key difference is he's using "foam latex", which I'm not familiar with. And since he talks about sealing it or the color will bleed into the material and dilute, I'm thinking I probably shouldn't ASSUME that I can use the same materials / paints that he does. Still, painting techniques should help me.
 
I didn't have any time to work on the sculpt yesterday. But I did check on my paints, which I'd purchased several years back.
I have "Latex Mask Paint" from Monster Makers. Yellow, Green, and White. All are unopened. (I do also have some glow-in-the-dark paint / overcoat that I used just a bit of years ago.)

2017-09-27 16.36.28.jpg

First of all, I'm wondering if I should even use this Latex Mask Paint.

It'd be nice to use something that I could put on the mask AND put on my skin. But hey, I realize I'd want it to wash off my skin but NOT wash off my mask. So, maybe that's wishful thinking.

But even if I did use this stuff, I would think I should buy some red (to help make brownish shades, if necessary) and black.

BUT, then I read just a little bit about PAX paint?? (I thought at first this was a brand name, but it seems like you can mix up your own.) Apparently, it's a 50/50 mix of acrylic paint and adhesive (Pros-Aide) ?? And you can use it on prosthetics AND skin (just need to use Pros-Aide remover to get it off your skin) ??

Need to read up more on this today. I'm thinking, I have plenty of acrylic paint... those little bottles that you can get at Walmart cheaply (like $2.25 for a small bottle). I'd just have to get at least 2 oz (or more ???) of Pros-Aide, I would think? THAT part could get a bit pricey quickly, I think.
 
Status update:

OK, after looking into PAX paint and watching some demos online, I decided against using it. Part of my reason for that was my grasp of just how STICKY that stuff apparently is. You have to adjust your painting techniques to account for that. I didn't like that idea. Plus, also, I already have several colors of Monster Makers latex paint. (I just ordered a few more colors too.)

That meant that I have to come up with some makeup for my skin, something I can mix or blend easily to come up with custom colors and shading. I may not end up needing very much of it, though... only for a few edges, around my eyes, and whatever part of my neck ends up getting exposed. (The longer I went with my research and sculpt, the more I grew to want to use a large piece for the prosthetic "forehead". I have a big forehead myself anyways.)

So, yesterday, I ran over to U.S. Toys, which, oddly enough, has a Magic Shop and Costume Shop in it. I knew they had a variety of makeups. So, I talked with somebody there and purchased three different colors of cream makeup.

I also bought some crepe hair for making the eyebrows. No, they didn't have any green. So I'm going to have to research and perhaps test how you can paint or dye that stuff. My plan is to either glue it to the mask using Pros-Aide or using the liquid latex itself that I am using to build the mask.

After buying all of that stuff, the lady who's been building my fur suit and hood asked me to stop by for a fitting-check (mostly on the sleeve and leg length). So, I had my wife snap some photos:
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She and I are discussing what to do about the hood. I guess the more I work on this, the less I like the "hood look". But she's really proud of her work on the combined neck piece and hood. (It isn't actually sewed together yet, just pinned together).

I've seen some info online that suggests I could attach pieces of this fur like a "mane"... to the almost-a-full-face-mask-anyways appliance... on three sides, pointing the fur rearwards... and then overlap whatever front-edge of the hood that we come up with. This means I could / should definitely enlarge the opening of the hood. In fact, I'd like to make it so that if you face me head-on, you wouldn't really see the hood. But I may need experiment. The hood should, of course, still definitely cover my ears. But I want more neck and forehead revealed. That might raise the issue of how to keep the hood ON.

I thought about possibly ATTACHING the upper edge of the appliance TO the hood itself in some manner. But then, if somebody tugs on my hood or it gets caught on something, it'd be ripping at the appliance. Nope, don't want that.

I've started with my multiple latex coats to the sculpt yesterday. Hopefully, I will be able to fit in another few coats on it today. (Not sure, I have a ton of other stuff I have to do today.)

I also did some measurements and cut out a posterboard template of the hand (with extra long fingers), which I intend to use to with the fur pieces I have to construct two gloves. I'm sure I can find some foam around here to use to build interior finger extensions for the gloves.

And I've got my roll of EVA foam unrolled in my basement with boxes stacked on it right now, hoping that'll be enough to make it straighten out. This is the stuff I'm doing to cut, shape, and then glue around a pair of old sneakers, to help make my "grinch shoes".

That's it for today!

Hope everybody's having a fantastic weekend !
 
looks a bit Kermit but its getting there :D

Yeah, I didn't really want to take a photo with that hood on, at first, because I'm aware of that issue. Seems to be a common thing with most homemade Grinch costumes out there. It looks like they actually made Jim Carrey's prosthetic cover the entire top of his head, giving it that pear-shape.

I'm hoping I can compensate for that by exposing more of my forehead (and the prosthetic forehead), plus styling that hood-hair so that it's flat on the sides and a sort-of mohawk on top.

Thanks!
 
had another look at him, he has a very egg shaped head. if possible you could add a foam piece on top of your head to give that egg shape plus should lift the fringe area upwards.


found these if they help

2rese20.jpg 7f830910c270c005c7cefc42bc56096e.jpg e83iw2.jpg ff61c948da0cf8fd43cade4e20820829.jpg
 
had another look at him, he has a very egg shaped head. if possible you could add a foam piece on top of your head to give that egg shape plus should lift the fringe area upwards.


found these if they help

View attachment 763312 View attachment 763313 View attachment 763314 View attachment 763315



Yeah, I thought of that foam piece idea... but my concern is basically ROASTING TO DEATH inside this thing. I've always heard that covering your head in winter is important because your body loses a boat-load of heat via your head. Plus, when I wore my raptor costume a few years back, which had a MASSIVE foam head, I really, really roasted... unless I took the head off.

So, I'm wondering if I can come up with some LIGHTER foam, something more airy, yet sturdy. I thought about basically using cardboard, but of course, you'd want something that'd be sturdy. Heck, if it was the right KIND of foam, I might be able to pre-glue the appliance to it and then attach it to my head with glue as well (well, at least on about 50% of the way around it).

And although my sculpted-head is rounded, I have been extending the edge of the latex quite far up and around the sides of the head, as I layer it, so I'd have plenty of extra material, if I needed it. Well, I think with a few discrete slices at the sides of the forehead, I could then take the rounded piece and extend it upward, maybe flare it out a bit, onto some sort of egg-dome top.
 
2017-10-04 06.25.08.jpg

Just thought I'd add a pic I took this morning when adding another latex layer. It's wet in this photo, of course, which is why it looks so white.
You know, he does look a lot like the cartoon Grinch, now that I think about it.

Haven't had time to get much done in the past 48 hours. Last night, I used a cardboard template to cut out material pieces to make the gloves. Four pieces, one for each hand-side. Made sure to have the fur flowing in the direction of the fingertips too. That's pretty important, I think. Gotta come up with some foam in order to shape some fingertip inserts. Then I should be able to at least pin the parts together to prep for sewing.

Hopefully, I'll get a lot more done this weekend.

Oh! I did buy a set of "Tinsley Transfers Zombie Teeth" from Party City. http://www.tinsleytransfers.com/teeth-fx/ (Did I mention that earlier?) I had emailed the company, asking what kind of paints I could apply to the teeth, but so far, no answer. They say you shouldn't wear the teeth over dental work and you shouldn't eat or drink in them. I can understand not eating, but not drink? I have one cap on one rear tooth. I can't see how wearing these teeth over that cap would be an issue, though.
 
Status update:

As we head into the weekend:

1) I've painted at least 12+ layers of latex on my scupt. It is starting to appear mostly white when dry. I noticed that the back of my sculpt, which had only been covered with a thin layer of petroleum jelly... well... the clay there has cracked apart. The cracks appear to extend up to go underneath the edges of where my latex ends, so the latex is apparently helping to hold things together at this point. This means (after a few more layers) when I remove the "mask" this weekend, the clay underneath will probably fall apart. <sigh> The only fallout from that I foresee, really, is, that I'll have only the smaller styrofoam head underneath to support this mask when I want to paint it.

2) Hands are cut out, foam fingertip inserts are rough-cut, but will probably need a bit of resizing later. Ready for me to start pinning parts together / prepping for hand sewing.

3) For the shoes, other than having my tennis shoes on-hand, I haven't done much. I cut two long bands of foam out, about 6 inches in width. When I tried sort of sizing them up with the shoes, it seemed to me that I'd be able to cut the rough shape I want more easily if I could attach the entire bottom edge of the foam piece to the lower edge of the sides of the shoe. Not sure if the two clamps I have here would be adequate for holding the foam on, once I've applied the foam glue, but I will probably give that a shot outdoors or in the garage tomorrow.

4) I did the fitting of my FX Teeth just a few minutes ago. It involved warming the inserts in boiling water, sticking them into your mouth for a few minutes, to get the basic U-shapes of your upper and lower teeth correct. Then, you take them out and put some heated-up plastic beads-rolled-into-a-worm in each appliance, and bite down into them to help "custom fit" the shape. It took a couple of tries in order to get the upper ones to feel like they would stay in-place. (You can reheat each appliance if you need those beads to become pliable again.) I still feel like there's a slight chance that the top ones could fall out. Half-tempted to look for something to make them stick a bit more.

I should have no trouble wearing them in terms of comfort, because I wear a sleep apnea appliance, which is very much like a souped-up version of these teeth, to bed every night.

I'm wondering if ACRYLIC HOBBY PAINTS could be used to paint these teeth?? Would the paint flake off as I wore them? Would it be basically poisonous if I swallowed such flakes? Not sure. I've tried a few googles but have come up empty so far. And the company never responded to my email (which was sent using their own website's form... figures!!)

5) Hopefully, my seamstress friend is working on enlarging the rear shoulder and arms area of the Santa coat that I got off of eBay. She seemed to have the strong urge to finish the hood, but I've asked her to hold-off on that.

With regards to adding "enhancing" my build with a more egg-shaped top of my head: I think doing this would be a bit risky. In retrospect, I should have seen this from the beginning and incorporated it into my sculpt. (But I didn't actually see any video of Jim Carrey undergoing the makeup and prosthetic process until after my sculpt was made.) I guess I was influenced way too much by existing build photos that I've seen online, where everybody just seems to go with their normal head size.

And even if I could find foam piece to add to my head, I'd have to figure out how to attach it firmly...and then there'd always be the risk that a sudden adjustment on that thing (say, if somebody tugs on it or bumps their hand into it hard)... could pull the appliance off my forehead.

Since I need this thing to basically survive at least two nights of use, I think it'd be better just to emphasize my own massive forehead. <grin!>

Also, I did find a photo online this morning where somebody had used a fur hood, but they DID style the hair in such a way to make the top of the head look more egg-shaped. You could still see the edges to make it obviously a hood. But I think that maybe I could counteract this by gluing a hair over the edges of the prosthetic (yet leaving enough of a bare edge for me to apply prosaide to.

But any advice about all of this would be greatly appreciated. My deadline is October 21st. Two weeks.
 
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