# B.Y.O.B.: (updated) Make your own skeleton



## UnOrthodOx

*UPDATED METHODS POSTED HERE*

Build Your Own Bob. 


For those of you who may not know, Bob was my answer to a problem I had in that I don't care for blucky's and couldn't really afford a Bucky, plus I wanted something light. 

THIS thread, however, is going to not just include how I built BOB, but also the (many) lessons I made from making Bob, and improvements to the process that have come about. 

This will also not be mechanical in nature, but just a nice, static skeleton. The intent is for something simple enough for anyone to follow.

Now, I am in the process of building the new Bob, but, given the proximity to Halloween, and the number of requests I've gotten for this info, I decided it was best to post-as-I-go, then do a full write-up at the end. For those that want to start. I have an hour or two a night to work on it, so it might take a little while, but we'll get there. I'll focus on the 'difficult' parts first. 

__________________________________________________________


As mentioned, Bob is made from Paper Mache. There are as many recipes for paper mache as there are people who use it. If you have any questions, I would refer you to the Stolloween basics article. 

For the purpose of this guide, "Mache" will refer to strips of paper layered with the paste, while "clay" will refer to paper mache clay. 

If you want my recipe for Paper Mache paste, it is located here. It is certainly more involved than most recipes, but has a unique property of being somewhat flexible when dried. 

___________________________________________________________


What you are going to need for this project:

Cardboard (minimum 15" x 33")
A stick (spine) ~36" (doesn't need to be exact)
Newspaper torn into strips
Paper Mache paste
Paper Mache clay
Tape Measure
Pipe insulation
tape (preferably duct tape)
Zip ties
scissors
paint of your choice. 

Strongly recommended items:
Wire clothes hangers (dozen or so) *Or equivalent wire
Construction Adhesive of your choice (I am using Loctite Power Grab)
Wire cutters for that wire 
exacto knife

Nice to have items:
Plastic tarp for work area
Fan/hair drier to help dry the mache
extra time.....

Alrighty then. I'll be back with some measurements and pics as soon once I figure out how to get them off my wife's camera.

Edit: Seems she took the camera with her tonight...might have to wait till tomorrow.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Alighty. 

Now, one could argue the 2 most difficult, and important, parts of building a skeleton are the chest, and the skull. 

We'll be addressing the chest here first, as there's plenty of skulls one could attach if they don't want to make their own. 

First, we need to make the spine. I apologise that I do not know just where on here I read this technique, it's not 'mine'. 

So, take your stick. I'm using EMT conduit because it's cheap, light, and hollow (for rebar), but virtually ANYTHING could work....broom handle, tree limb..... And, cut your pipe insulation to about 30". Wrap that around the center of your stick, leaving a couple inches at the top and bottom for the skull and pelvis to be added, respectively. (Though, if you just want a torso, or a headless skeleton for some reason, of course don't bother with those)

Then take you Zip ties and cinch them down, spacing them every inch or so to create the spine. 










Now we need to make a template for the ribcage. 

So, get out your tapes. 

Non of these need to be exactly precise, so don't fret too awful much. 

If you're using the wire, as recommended, we need to cut lengths of:

12 1/2"
17 1/2"
21"
24"
2 pieces @ 28"
2 pieces at 33"

Now we need to take our cardboard. First thin we're going to do is draw the breastplate center. This is 7 1/2" long, just freehand a rough long skinny oval shape in the center there. 

Next, place the 12 1/2" piece of wire across the top of this, and trace it with a magic marker. OR, if you are not using the wire, draw a line 12 1/2" for the top rib there. 

Now, from each end of of this line, we are going to measure down 14", and make a mark. This will serve as a guide for where the BOTTOM of the ribcage will be. 

Now, simply place the wires on the cardboard/measure each line in order from shortest to longest. You want approximately 3/4" space between each at the breastplate, and about 1 1/2" space between them at the ends. This means they each need to progressively bend more. By rib 6, you should have something of a notch in the center. 

Rib #8 does not go all the way to the bottom, however, we will freehand that one by measuring approximately 2" from the breastplate, then drawing that rib to the mark at 14" we made earlier. 

When you are finished, you should have something like this:










If you intend to corpse your skeleton, and wish to hang it later, save one of the hooks from the hangers, like I have pictured. You can mache it straight to the skull, the snip it off once corpsing is done. 

It took me approximately 2 hours to make this template and cut it out, but I was distracted by kids, and measuring and photoing everything for this, so I'ld guess at an hour for someone without such distractions.


----------



## Dragonomine

Awesome! I'll be following this!


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Now for the fun. 

So, you've got the template measured, drawn, and cut. Take a moment to say to yourself, the hard part is over. Really, I promise. 

If you are using the wire, you will want to tape each wire to the respective rib to hold them nice and firm in place. 

Our next step may be obvious. We need to attach the ribcage to the spine. 

This is simply a matter of taping the ends of the ribs back to the spine. If you're using the wire, bend the wire to fit. It CAN be done without the wire, since my first Bob didn't use the wire, but it makes the mache slow going. 

Make sure you start a couple inches down from the top of your spine, to allow for a neck. 



















Yes...that's electrical tape instead of duct tape. I'm ignoring my own recommendations... I'm apparantly OUT of duct tape, so was making due. 


It might be usefull to make/find a stand to hold the thing upright while you mache. I'm reutilizing an old spiral christmas tree stand I saved from the trash for just such things. 










Now, go to town with your mache. 

I like to start at the spine and work to the front, myself. With the wires, it probably doesn't matter quite as much. If you didn't use the wire, I'ld say that's definately the way to go. 

It's probably going to take me several days to get this ribcage finished, however, so we'll be back with the collar bone and shoulder blades once that's done. 










This is where fans and hair dryers will help speed the process.


----------



## Baron Samedi

Great how-to so far, Unorthodox..
I am interested to see how you will be forming the pelvic bones.

If i may be permitted to give credit where it's due, I believe the zip tie spine idea was first posted here by the ever ingenious Herman Secret.


----------



## Terra

This is a neat idea. You've just started and it really looks like a skeleton already.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Baron Samedi said:


> I am interested to see how you will be forming the pelvic bones.


Me too....

Heck, I'm making this up as I go.  (not totally, there is some kind of plan)



> If i may be permitted to give credit where it's due, I believe the zip tie spine idea was first posted here by the ever ingenious Herman Secret.


Thank you, I was hoping someone could remember. 

There's so many things here I read, learn, and file away. I remember the techniques, but can't find the things again to give credit once I use them.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Well, I just stuck in a movie last night, and finished off the ribs. 










While I'm waiting for this to dry, I'll post the next, rather optional step. 

If you want nice smooth ribs, and your mache has left a lot of crinkles (my bob 1 did, Bob 2, I left a lot more space between the ribs and he's nice and smooth), You'll want to grab your clay now. 

I'm still working on a recipe for my paper clay, so I'ld refer you to Stolloween again for ideas on that. 

Anyhow, just got over your ribs with the clay to make them nice and smooth. If you'll allow me to use a bit of that cooking show "here's one I prepared earlier" picture (again, different bob):









If not using the wire, you'll want to take this a little at a time. With the wire, go to town. 

We have a lot of smaller bones to make now. I hope to be able to get to that this evening, then we can begin assembling them by Sunday. However, my 3 year old has come down with something, so I may be preoccupied.


----------



## Baron Samedi

Looking good...
Although with all the work you put into the ribcage, I was sort of expecting a somewhat scarier face...or is it modelled on Johnson724's member's photo..

http://www.halloweenforum.com/picture.php?albumid=1316&pictureid=17977


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Baron Samedi said:


> Looking good...
> Although with all the work you put into the ribcage, I was sort of expecting a somewhat scarier face...or is it modelled on Johnson724's member's photo..
> 
> http://www.halloweenforum.com/picture.php?albumid=1316&pictureid=17977


The original Bob's big grin is a great big joke. It always cracks me up knowing that is under his current visage. 










Other hidden quirks include green eyes, a pink 'heart' drawn on the ribcage, random doodles over his arms (my 3 year old colored all over Bob one night...), and the word "truth" etched into his forehead (homage to the original reanimation (golem) stories, for the lab).


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Alrighty then.

Scapula and Clavicle templates (shoulder blade, collar bone)

For the Scapula, we need to measure out a triangle at 6.5" sides. Then, I just freehand a rough shape into the triangle:










I do want to note that these need to be fairly heavy duty, so add a couple extra layers when you mache. The original Bob suffered only one break during corpsing, and it was the clavicle/scapula. 

Next, the clavicles are just a straight 7" strip. 

However, when you mache, you want to curve them, just a tad. 










There's really nothing preventing you from going on to make the rest of the bones all at once, I just don't have time myself. 

Attaching the Scapula and Clavicle...I'm pulling out my construction adhesive. 

There's really no reason not to mache them in place, other than I'm lazy, and I suck. 

So, a little glue here, a little there, and tada! 










You want the ends of the scapula/clavicle connection to be about even with the widest portion of the ribs. The painters tape there is probably superfluous. The glue has a highe enough tack to hold them just fine, but just in case the cat come to 'investigate'...

With the powergrab, and a little water, you can smooth out the glue easily. Can't really coment on other brands of adhesive. 










With my chest now done, I'm at a crossroads. Arms...or legs? Both present the builder with numberous decisions.


----------



## Winklesun

More Please!


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Yeah, sorry. I took Sunday evening and Monday off from Bob. 

We are at a crossroads where you, the builder, need to begin making some decisions on how you want your skeleton to work. I'll outline the means I've come up with to accomplish a number of tasks, however. 

First, the Humerus, Radius, and Ulna (arms):










The Humerus (upper arm) measures 10" long, 2" wide at both ends, and 1" wide in the middle. 

Just use your tape to shape the things. A ball at the shoulder, a cylinder in the middle, that flattens out at the elbow. Then, mache on over it. 










Now, the Radius and Ulna (forearms), there's 2 means. If you are going to want your wrist to rotate, you'll want to make them seperate. And we'll discuss how to accomplish that after I get pictures of it on Thursday. 

However, if you are going to have a static pose, for a groundbreaker, or something similiar, there is really no reason to make this more difficult, and just make one template for the both, and glue the hands right to it. 

In any case, these measure 9" long, and 1/2" wide. You want a slight bow to each, or if you want to get REAL technical, the Ulna has a slight "s" shape to it. We're not going quite that accurate...though I had been considering it, but it was getting complicated with the hands...this project has given me a whole new perspective on skeletal design...

Anyway, back to the tutorial. Agan, tape to form the bones, then mache over them. 










Or, the easier single template design (with hands glued on):










Speaking of hands, I cannot do any better than this tutorial here. Just using your mache clay. I just trace my own hands for measurments. 

From here, if you know a pose you want the arms in, it's just a matter of glueing it all in place. I'll be articulating Bob's arms on Thursday, a day to dry, probably be able to post the process on Friday night. 

Meanwhile, I'll be starting on the pelvis and legs.


----------



## Winklesun

No need for apologies... just really enjoying your step by step, detailed instructions. 
(trying not to be impatient) 
Something that includes all the measurements has been great.
THANKS!!


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Oh, I felt bad taking the break. I really did. I just needed a break from Bob Jr. here. I worked on OTHER things for a couple nights, but it was always in the back of my mind I really SHOULD be getting around to more Bob.

I'm glad you're finding this usefull! 

Keep on me and don't let me get too sidetracked. I sometimes need that push. 

I am going to be slowing down with the legs, however, as the original Bob still lacks them, so I'm making 2 sets at once. But, the good news is plans have changed for this evening, I should be able to do some articulation tonight, and work towards getting the pelvis and legs, if drying time goes well, done this weekend!

Tidbits:

Up to now, Bob has consumed:

1 Diapers Box salvaged from the recycle bin
1 Sunday Newspaper.
1/2 roll electrical tape because I'm out of duct and didn't bother to go to the store.
small amount of painters tape again, 'cause I'm too lazy to go shopping for duct...
1 cup of flour (I make my recipe in half-batches these days)
3/4 tube of Power Grab. 1/2 for the mache paste, 1/4 for the shoulders
8 clothes hangers. 

He's easily under $5 in construction costs.


----------



## Winklesun

Don't feel bad!! You are doing US a favor! 
Was not trying to pressure you. 
Is your little 3 yr. old feeling better? 
(you said in an earlier post they were coming down with something.)


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Shoulder articulation:

If you are wanting to articulate the shoulder, here is a means I come up with that gives pretty decent range of movement. 

You will need ~3" lengths of your hanger wire. 

We are going to bend and glue one in place with your construction adhesive right at the shoulder so it makes a more or less straight bar across the gap:










Then, bend another piece to fit to the Humerus. This is where I'm not even sure how to describe what's going on...but I'll try to get the point across. 

The wires will just hook together. 










This allows some rotation between them, but there are limits. You want to make sure to set the limit where you want that rotation to be. The best way to do this is to set one extreme first. 

For me, I am never going to want this arm to come back behind the skeleton, so my limit was to have the elbow on the table, flush with the spine. Then arrange the wires so they could not rotate 'back' any more before glueing it all in place. Does that make sense, I hope? 


(See how the wires cannot rotate any further clockwise...)











(Glued in place with the humerous)










Shoulder limit arm down.










Shoulder limit arm up. 










This is a fairly decent range of motion, but not perfect. The wire blends in fairly well, and should be easy enough to cover up when aging or corpsing. 

Elbow articulation option 1. 

Elbow articulation can be accomplished by much the same means. Wire hinges:










Glued into place at either end, you have a quick and easy elbow. 

(pic from original Bob using the easy forearm template, not current one)










In fact, by attaching a seperate radius and ulna each by a single such joint here, then another single such joint at the wrist, some wrist rotation could actually be accomplished. 

I have a plan to better accomplish that using guitar strings in place of this wire at both the elbow and wrist, but that is going to have to wait for a while. I was informed my plans need to really accelerate on my laboratory this year, so I need to get cracking on that. 

The good news here, though, is I need to make Legs for the original Bob (huge part of the lab) anyway, so we'll just be focusing on the legs here until that is done, then we'll go back and catch up the rest.


----------



## HappyScientist

Beautiful work so far. Looking forward to more.


----------



## Uruk-Hai

This is a great tutorial - so many uses beyond just a whole skeleton. I'm going to follow your instructions to make a bunch of bones for a bone chandelier I want to make. Thanks!


----------



## UnOrthodOx

We hit some crappy weather this weekend which really impacted my drying times. Especially since my hair dryer finally gave out in the middle as well. And I had some family commitments which left me with less time on this than I would have liked. So, not quite as far as I had hoped. 

And, some 'mistakes' have been made. (not really, but well, I'll explain later)

So, the Pelvis....

this really comes down to 3 bones, and I'm still at work with it. I came up with 2 differing methods on the pelvis bones. I'll post them both, and you can determine which is going to work for you. 

The tail bone, first of all, though. 

I'm just going to post this here. This is my tracing of a portion the pelvis (I decided on 2 templates to make a pelvis bone), followed by measurements on the tail bone, femur (thigh), and tibia (shin). The Tail Bone is in the upper right hand side there. 









Since it's hard to read, it's 3" wide. It's 4 1/2" long, and the straight notches on either side are 2" long. So, you could draw a rectangle 2" x 3", then measure down another 2 1/2" in the center there, and draw a triangle. Sorry for not getting a better pic of the thing. 

Now, this has a curve to it, and a cross section of the bone is shown on there as well, so once curved, it should be 3" long. 

The thing is rather angled where it will connect to the pelvis as well, so here is a photo of how mine is attached to Bob:










This is where my 'mistake' was made. While this angle at the top of the tailbone is VERY accurate with the angle a real tailbone hooks to the spine, a real spine is not straight, it bends. This is making this Bob's pelvis look rather odd right now. I'll probably just add a lumbar bend to my spine when I'm done, since it's EMT conduit and I have a bender, but I'ld recommend, were I to do it again, to just make the angled portion of the tailbone nearly parallel to the spine and bend the 'tail' portion more backwards. 

On to the pelvis template. 

There are 2 ways to do this, so, METHOD 1: 

First, by my tracing above, you can see it's 8 1/2" Long, 4 1/2" wide. That widest part comes 4 1/2" down from the top. 

An easy way to accomplish this is to measure that 8 1/2" line. Measure down 4 1/2", and measure to the side of that mark 4" on one side and 1/2" on the other, make yourself some triangles off these marks, then freehand the shape with those triangles as a guide:










You'll need 2 of these, then we mache them together. 










This is when method 2 struck me...why not do them together in 1 template? 










As a side note here, I VERY MUCH PREFER the case of soda cardboard here to the corregated for this particular bone. 

The 1 1/2" in the center there corresponds to my tracing, but I'ld probably shave that area to 1", myself, and likely will, since I have not quite gotten around to that particular area with the mache yet. 

I did get this attached to Bob, but it was still wet, and no pics just yet. 

The femur templates, again, above, bottom center. 
16" long, 3 1/4" wide at the hip, 1 1/4" wide in the center, 3 1/2" wide at the knee. (4 legs for my 2 Bobs)










As with the Humerus, it's a ball at the hip, a cylinder in the center that flattens out towards the knee. If you really want to get technical, you can add a slight 'y' at the knee for super accuracy. 

I have not gotten around to my tibia's yet, but you can see in the pic above the general shape top center. They measure 14" long, 3 3/4" wide at the knee (this actually takes into account the fibula at the knee as well for simplicity of the knee joint, so you want to lopside one side. ), 1" wide in the center, 2 1/2" side at the base (again, this accounts for the fibula for simplicity of the joint, so you want that lopsided to one side)


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Uruk-Hai said:


> This is a great tutorial - so many uses beyond just a whole skeleton. I'm going to follow your instructions to make a bunch of bones for a bone chandelier I want to make. Thanks!


I very much would like to see that project! 

I'll be putting these techniques for less than full skellies into a Yaga Baba bone fence as well next year. I foresee many a ribcage being made for any number of things, actually.


----------



## TK421

Forgive me if this seems a gullible question, but are those *REAL* teeth???


----------



## UnOrthodOx

You'll have to ask my dentist...


(no, they're denture samples he had stuffed in a drawer)


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Well, I got home last night to discover one of our cats decided the pelvis would make a good bed. 

Since it wasn't fully dry before that, one side tore a bit, and the rest dried a bit lopsided. 

I fixed what I could, but it's a little lopsided still. Ah well, these things happen...

I need to make some more paste tonight, will try to get to the second part of the pelvis and snap some pics.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Ok, so the now-lopsided pelvis. 




























Ready for step 2 of the pelvis?

We need two little strips, 3/4" wide 7" long. DEFINATELY want to go with the soda-box cardboard here, not the corregated. 










I'm not sure how to describe how to attach them, so I'll show....



















Then, go to town with the mache. 










Looks like I need to prop that left side up just a bit while it dries...


----------



## Dragonomine

LOL Bad kitty!! Seriously though, this is truly amazing. Even w/ the tutorial I wouldn't even attempt it. Maybe in a couple years. I'm loving seeing your new posts.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Dragonomine said:


> LOL Bad kitty!! Seriously though, this is truly amazing. Even w/ the tutorial I wouldn't even attempt it. Maybe in a couple years. I'm loving seeing your new posts.


I've been debating whether this is good or not...perhaps my tutorial is not simple enough...

Really, TRUST ME. If I can do it, you can as well. It's not so complicated as it is tedious. I do thank you for the kind words, they do make things go easier. 

Anyhow. The mache was dry this morning, so time for the hip joints. 

Again with the hanger wire in a joint that you should recognize from the shoulder. However, I'm going to mold in the little socket around it as well. 

I have no good reason not to mache this in place, and sculpt the thing with the clay other than I'm lazy, I suck, and the power grab was ready to go. So, I'm using power grab to sculpt this section, but it could easily be done with clay. 










A little water on the finger, and smooth it out...










These should be dry by this evening, so I should be able to apply the humerus and build my tibia.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

The obvious step of adding the Femur. 










Attaching much the same way as the shoulder mentioned above. 

"Back" limit on the hip articulation:










Forward limit on hip articulation:










I did manage to get 2 tibia done as well, so we can keep going. Measurements are above. 










Not pictured are the pelvis and 2 femurs for the original Bob. 

Hope to build some feet tonight.


----------



## Dragonomine

Don't forget the laundry in the background!!


----------



## Winklesun

Now you did it... too busy doing laundry!!
Actually, I have my eye on the project and don't even notice such things.
Forget the laundry I don't care!!


----------



## halloweendarkangel

* Looking Good!*


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Doh! Laundry!  

Actually, nothing much new to report since the tibia were not dry last night OR this morning. So, I caught up on the Femur, tibia, and pelvis for the original Bob last night. We got near 100 temps today and tomorrow that should keep the drying swift, I can set it out to bake in the sun. 

Feet, kneecaps, hands (though the tut for them is already linked to), and skull to go. We're almost there!


----------



## alucard

Bobs looking great! Can't wait for some paint and finishing touches. Excellent work, my friend!


----------



## Pennywise

HOLY CRAP THIS IS AWESOME! I have struggled with making hip bones forever and now, with your tutorial, I can make them easily....well, I better get to building


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Ok....Busy weekend. 

Feet!

Now, I know some out there are going to be disappointed in me here. And, if someone really wants to go making the 26 bones in a foot, more power to them. I'm cutting it down to 16, eack. 

So, in a modification of that hand tutorial linked to above, A bucky's foot, heel to toe measures 9 1/2". So, I cut 5 wires that length for each foot. Then, made a "heel/ankle" bone out of tape. This heel/ankle measured 5" long, and 2" tall. 










Then, of course, the mache. 










Next, just take your clay and make some 'toes'. These are FAR from anatomically correct, but one looks at it and says "that's a foot", and they would be FAR easier to corpse than a anatomically correct set...










I was worried about the clay sliding off the wire, so I coated the entire thing with Mod Podge once the clay dreid, to hold all those toes together. 

Attaching them, I'm sure you have the wire hinges down by now...

I put 2 such hinges at the base of the tibia (left), and one long bar across the foot (right). 










Next up comes the kneecap: No template, just cut out an egg over your knee. 










My mache on that is still drying, but I see 2 means of attachment: The Bucky method of a hanger wire attached to the tibia holding the kneecap in place, or some fishing line attaching it to both tibia and femur. 

Finally....on to the skull....


----------



## UnOrthodOx

As I said in the beginning, I believe the key features of a skeleton are the ribcage and the skull, with other things coming in secondarily. 

Now, I would probably just sculpt me a skull, but that really doesn't do for this tutorial. And, shuffling you off to the Stolloween templates in his Ancient Skulls section wouldn't yield the measurements...

What is a guy to do? 

Well, first off, grab a 5" styrofoam ball, and slap it up top. Well, I have no good reason not to make this out of tape and paper, other than I'm lazy, and I suck, and it's cheap. 










Now, mache that into place. NOW IT'S TIME to find you a skull. 

Hmmm.....









"This one scareder"









Yes, I'm afraid, you'll need a skull to start with. I'm using "Prop skull 1" from FX supply. It was $17.50 4 years ago,but has spawned more than 400 skulls in those 4 years. Great investment. 










Now, just aluminum foil over it as detailed as possible. 










And, mache over the front half of the skull. About to the ears. Do not cover the teeth. Once dry, you can carefully pop it right off. 










Do the same for the lower jaw. 










These templates will tape/mache RIGHT onto that 5" ball, and allow you to fill in the rest of the details with some clay. I'm not quite there yet, we'll cover teeth soon...


----------



## UnOrthodOx

In the mean time, while I started Bob here to be as generic as possible for the purpose of making the tutorial, I'm now starting to think on just how I want to use him, myself. 

I've kinda got this idea to have him standing behind a sign for the lab, one hand on the sign, the other holding a flask. Labcoat, "my name is bob" tag. 

The other idea I have is to make a reaper out of him, and do some waterproofing tests, leaving him up overwinter...

I'm open to suggestions... 

Anywho, in preperation, the 'sign' hand was quickly made. Not sure I'ld be able to get this finished up in time, however. (2 weeks!)



















Again, the hand tutorial is here.


----------



## Dragonomine

I REALLY want to try this next year.


----------



## Winklesun

I'm doing it this year but getting a slow start. 
Bouncing like a rubber ball from one project to another.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Backtracking a little here. 

I had talked of an idea for a way to get better flexion and rotation at the forearm/wrist with the seperate Radius and Ulna. 

It's looking like it will work admirably. 

At the Humerus, 2 loops of fishing line. At the Radius and Ulna, our trusty wire hinges. 










The amount of motion this gives is pretty decent. 










As you can see in that last photo, I've started some painting (would have finished, but ran out). We'll finish that up tonight. 










"But Uno, he's got no hands, jaw, or teeth!" 

The hands....are coming. You're going to LOVE this idea I come up with (quick release hands for multiple hands! allows multiple uses of the same basic body in different props from project to project)

The Jaw is here, but I don't want the teeth stark white, so we need to paint before the teeth, and it's easier to do the teeth with the jaw seperate. 

I'm just noticing I forgot the kneecaps, though. Doh!

What's more, preliminary tests are showing I may have found a super simple water-proofing means for paper mache. Bob here will eventually be sacrificed to the elements to see if it withstands the test of time. I'm going to use him on the sign for the lab first, though. (11 days!)


----------



## dwdoadrummer

*how tall is BOB?*

pretty starght foward question....npot exact...but at least a rough estimate.

cant wait to see the finished product


----------



## savagehaunter

the ribcage looks very convincing. I( like it alot.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

dwdoadrummer said:


> pretty starght foward question....npot exact...but at least a rough estimate.
> 
> cant wait to see the finished product


He's roughly 5'10", judging by my own 6'1"... 


I've got wrists, teeth, and etc all finished up, just need to get some time to add the pics and type it up. Hopefully tomorrow, but Tesuday at the latest. Going to try to finish up Bob's use #1 tomorrow.


----------



## dionicia

This is great. Thanks for posting this.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

UnOrthodOx said:


> He's roughly 5'10", judging by my own 6'1"...
> 
> 
> I've got wrists, teeth, and etc all finished up, just need to get some time to add the pics and type it up. Hopefully tomorrow, but Tesuday at the latest. Going to try to finish up Bob's use #1 tomorrow.


After getting him propped up flat-footed yesterday, I'm thinking he's more like 5'8". That actually makes a lot of sense as well, since the measurements are taken from a 5'6" bucky. Lack of spine curve and various other inconsitencies can easily account for the 2"


----------



## UnOrthodOx

*Wrists!*

Ok, then. I had a big long post here that got eaten up into whatever void lost posts go to when the internet connection goes bonkers...so, in an effort to minimize that risk on my wonky connection this morning, I'll be doing 2 smaller posts. 

I got this idea for the wrists when debating what to do with Bob here. I had 2 ideas, each required differing hands, then I thought...Why not do both? 

So, how does one make your hands swappable? 

Barrel swivels. (Fishing department, in case you don't know)










These come in an assortment of sizes, and all have a handy little hook on one end that opens and closes with a safety pin styled mechanism. 

Just glue them into place on the Radius and Ulna.










And, glue a couple loops of fishing line onto your hands. 










In my few tests, this setup, coupled with the elbow attachment spoken of earlier, gives near perfect articulation of the wrist, elbow, and forearm. 

However, there is a dark side to all this articulation as well: getting it to stay in a pose is difficult. 

I've posted all the means here, but I'ld urge you to consider which joints you really NEED articulated prior to doing them all, or be prepared to build armatures to support all the articulation.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

*Teeth!*

Ah, teeth. Is there really anything more aggrivating than making good looking teeth? 

Well, I have a couple solutions to offer you:

1. Either purchase, or obtain free from your dentist, some acrylic denture teeth. 

My dentist gave me some samples for use on the original Bob. 










2. I'm seeing this morning our very own devils chariot has a great teeth tutorial up in this thread over here. I'm partially wishing I would have seen that before...

3. Rocks. 


Yes, rocks. My daughter is ALL ABOUT ROCKS lately. Picks them up wherever we are, carries them as if they were precious gems or something...


Anyhow, she got ahold of some of my aquarium gravel the other day, somehow. And, when I confiscated it, I was surprised to see just how tooth-like it was. THIS, I thought, could be useful. 

So, I headed to the store, not wanting to use our dirty gravel from the tanks. (wasn't sure it would glue well) 










First off, let me say, not all aquarium gravel is created equal. You have your assortment of colors. Some are more jagged than others, etc. I stopped at petco because we were heading to Lowes right next door...and this is about all they had that was not some neon color. But, I was far too lazy to go make another stop. 

Do yourself a favor and go to petsmart. They have 2 different 'natural' rock mixes, a lighter one, and a darker. The lighter mix is what I have in our aquarium, and would work better. This here is a jumbled mix of the two, slightly leaning towards the darker end. 

ANYHOW. 

Just sort through and find yourself a set of choppers. 










I take my utility knife and cut a groove into the jaw to fit these 'teeth', and super glue them into place. 










Again for the lower jaw, then attach it. 

I'm doing nothing fancy with the lower jaw here. It would be possible to articulate that lower jaw with the hinges we've discussed all over this tutorial if you find a need. For me, I'm just gluing in place, and taping to let it dry. 










Bob is in serious need of a dental cleaning! 

I'll get some pics of Bob all propped up in his current assignment tonight. But, it was well into the dark of night before I finished it last night.


----------



## Terra

OK, that's two terrific ideas right there. The barrel swivels would be great to hang up my fabric walls on hooks and the gravel for teeth. Thanks!


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Let me just preface this by saying, there's a whole lot that could be done with a Bob in the way of corpsing and/or painting to 'spice' it up a bit. And, this is, by far, the most 'vanilla' thing I have ever posted...or really ever done. 

But, it's for my mother-in-law, and fits the purpose. 










(You can tell my daughter "helped" with the zip ties...that mess has since been cleaned up)

Holding Bob up:










All that articulation made this arm more difficult than it would be if you just glued the joints. I tried just hanger wire to hold it, and it wouldn't quite cut it. (would have without the beaker in the hand), so EMT conduit.











Now, I'm going to take a wee little break from Bob. As you can see, I got a couple days to prep the lab, and there's a bunch of finish work to get done, 2 costumes to make, and one new project I'ld like to get done beforehand.


----------



## Dragonomine

Fantastic job!


----------



## GhostlyWhitePumpkins

Wow! That's amazingly good. Almost so good is scary.


----------



## Winklesun

The pelvis on my bob is crooked and I don't even have a cat!!


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Well, then you're missing the fun of BATHING said cat covered in mache glue...

(I'ld love to see pics of your bob)


----------



## Winklesun

Too bad I don't have a cat to bath especially since most of them love water so much! Not!
Not quite done my bob but I will try to remember to post pics when he is. (if you promise not to laugh) His pelvis is not only crooked, it may be on backwards?
You did an amazing job on yours and mine can't even come close!
Oh, how did that new waterproofing method work out? Has it rained on him? 
What should I use? 
Thanks!


----------



## Dragonomine

New waterproofing method? I must have missed that. what is it??


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Oh, it rained, and he's standing. Water did not even TOUCH it. The SIGN, however, whose letters were covered with a clearcoat polyuerethane is absolutely toast from the same storm.

But, I'ld rather leave Bob out for a year before I go hailing it as problem solved.

If you just need a 'pretty good' method, though, and are not worried about it getting absolutely SOAKED...my new method was simply a special spraypaint. 

RustOleum.com

It runs about $7 per can (yes pricey), and took me 2.5 to give my bob a good solid coating. The stuff makes a killer coating. Had just a piece of carboard that I had been using to catch overspray survive a sprinkler cycle, made me try this stuff for Bob. Happy so far.


----------



## Winklesun

Thanks! That is good to know. Have to try it.
We probably won't need to worry about rain... more like snow but it is still WET!


----------



## Dragonomine

UnOrthodOx said:


> Oh, it rained, and he's standing. Water did not even TOUCH it. The SIGN, however, whose letters were covered with a clearcoat polyuerethane is absolutely toast from the same storm.
> 
> But, I'ld rather leave Bob out for a year before I go hailing it as problem solved.
> 
> If you just need a 'pretty good' method, though, and are not worried about it getting absolutely SOAKED...my new method was simply a special spraypaint.
> 
> RustOleum.com
> 
> It runs about $7 per can (yes pricey), and took me 2.5 to give my bob a good solid coating. The stuff makes a killer coating. Had just a piece of carboard that I had been using to catch overspray survive a sprinkler cycle, made me try this stuff for Bob. Happy so far.


Which one did you use?


----------



## UnOrthodOx

I used White Satin on Bob, then discolored it a bit with some oak wood stain. 

On the cardboard, I 'used' copper hammer finish. 

The hammered finishes definately leave a thicker layer, but I'm not happy with how they color. Have not tried the others as yet.


----------



## Dragonomine

Oooh well crap. I can't spray it over the painted projects.  No clear, eh?


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Unfortunately.  Maybe they'll come out with it later?


----------



## Winklesun

*here he is finally*

Here is my paper mache skeleton. 
I called him Bone-Apart because he had a few "issues".
Thanks for the tutorial, I could never have done him without it.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Thank you so much, that made my day! 

Mind if I put that pic on my blog?


----------



## Winklesun

You're Welcome!! I would love to have him on your blog.. just don't look too closely at his little oopsies. (through no fault of your great tutorial) 
I guess I should have chosen a better picture. Notice he is on major tilt in his throne from possibly having one too many?
(must have been later on in the evening) 
Thanks again!!


----------



## Mad Mad Mark

*A great tutorial*

A very good project. Thanks for taking SO much time to share it with us.


----------



## Hauntcast

Nice tutorial. Fantastic work on the ribs.


----------



## hallorenescene

unorth, that is fantastic, now, if you do the secret reaper next year, can you have me. i'd even be happy with one of your shrunken heads. as always, good work


----------



## Bobamaltz

Thanks, great tutorial and it gives me a ton of ideas.


----------



## savagehaunter

You did a great job on the Skelly.


----------



## wolfang

Unholy cow.... that is amazing. I've been trying to convince my hubby to let me buy a bucky, but I think I might just make one meself. You did a fantastic job with him and inspired me~! Thanks a billion~! =D


----------



## spookywooky

As Always *Awsome*
You are so smart! I love your work!
Spookywooky


----------



## GraveCaptor

I am going to give this a shot. I cant see spending so much for a bought skeleton right now so I want to see if the labor outways the price. I might try corpsing it if it turns out. gonna be good practice.


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Good luck, and let us all see your progress! Don't hesitate to ask any questions. 

I'm thinking of making another as well, if I can ever get finished with projects from my kids...


----------



## UnOrthodOx

I've been debating whether to start a new tutorial or update this one. 

Since a good 80% of the process is the same, I've decided to go with the easier to deal with update. 

In this day and age of $30 wally skeletons, frankly, Bob was not worth it to spend $20 and a week or more to build. Something had to give. It had to be quicker, easier, cheaper, or some combination thereof. 


So, we have a new shopping list:











Yep, that's it. 

flroal wire and plaster wrap. 

The Floral wire was $2 for a spool that is good for a dozen or more skeletons. 

The plaster wrap (you want the 8" wide stuff), however, with a 40% michaels coupon is $6.50 per roll (maybe a little off depending on your state tax) It'll take 2-3 rolls to make a skeleton. (figure on 3 for your first one, but as you work with it, it's easy to get one done in 2 rolls.) 


The recycled parts you are going to need have also been modified:

No more corrugated cardboard, 1 case of soda is what you need.










Measure out all templates at once, mark and cut. The soda cardboard is infinitely easier to manipulate than corrugated. 

You'll also need some scrap paper/newspaper/plastic bags to form your bones. 

Reasoning:

Cost improvement:

Cheaper wire and less construction adhesive being used provides a small cost benefit to the new procedures. If you wanted to do straight paper mache, this would be even bigger, and there's nothing stopping you from doing paper mache, but I've found the $13 cost of the plaster wrap more than makes up for it in time saving. 

Time improvement: 

Every aspect of this change was made to save time. Easier cardboard to cut, easier wire to manipulate, and the move to plaster wrap means any piece you make is dried in 20 minutes. Pieces can even be attached with more plaster wrap instead of waiting for construction adhesive to dry. 

Procedural improvements:

Working much the same as outlined in the former Tutorial, noteable changes/improvements:

No more insulation on the spine, just form vertebrae out of plaster wrap. ($ saving, and better structural stability)

Cut your wires 4" longer, and just wire the ribs in place on the spine, no need to fight tape there. 

Articulating joints can be done easier by simply running wire between the two pieces and securing in place with plaster wrap. Such a joint will eventually wear out, at which time you repeat. 



Working with plaster wrap:

For those new to plaster wrap, the best means to working with it:

Cut the roll into ~1.5" strips. Dunk a strip in water.










Keeping hold of the ends, sqeeze the water out of the strip.










Wrap around your form.










Then, smooth the top layer to get the finish you want.











I'll get some more pictures when I finish assembling my project. (I've made all the bones, but need to wait before assembling for what I'm doing)

happy to answer any new questions as well.


----------



## tenman

Hiya UnOrthodOx,

I have read your post and am thrilled to give some of this a try (I only need the right and left arm (up to shoulder) and hands to give the illusion that the arms and hands are "holding up the casket lid"). I understand your post on the arms part however when I try to follow your link for the hand tutorial it shows and invalid page. Would you happen to have an updated link you could share or thoughts?

thank you very much for your tutorial.

-Tenman


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Oh, hand tutorial went down, huh? Guess that's what I get for trying to give credit where credit is due. 

Alright, let me look around if I can't find one I'll make one. Would very much like to see your work, have any pics?


----------



## UnOrthodOx

We are in luck. Terra's wonderful Beloved tutorial uses a very similar hand method, and I'm pretty confident it won't be going anywhere soon. So, I will direct you to her hand tutorial here:

http://www.halloweenforum.com/membe...e-picture-hand-she-will-resting-her-head.html

I would sculpt them in paper clay, and then seal them with mod podge or something similar. Without some sealing, I've found the bones have a tendency to work off the wire. Sealing it all together just keeps it whole.


----------



## tenman

UnOrthodOx said:


> Oh, hand tutorial went down, huh?
> 
> Alright, let me look around if I can't find one I'll make one. Would very much like to see your work, have any pics?


I am just going out in a bit to get the materials and will be starting first thing in the morning. I figure I'll have to do a couple to get them right but will be posting up pics as I go for feedback and thoughts. Thank you very much again for the tutorial.

-tenman


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Just realize I forgot to mention over here. For my latest project utilizing this tutorial, you can follow along in it's project thread: http://www.halloweenforum.com/hallo...e-unorthodoxs-2012-theme-open-discussion.html


----------



## tenman

tyvm Unorthodox,

Last night I read Terra's post and some more of yours. I'll post up some pics soon. Thank you again.

-tenman


----------



## tenman

Howdy Unorthodox,

I am about to start on my hands tomorrow. I did use the pipe cleaners to frame the hands as Terra's tutorial suggested. I have my clay to work with but I was wondering since I don't want to use drylock for this application and would like a real bony look should I use the plasti gauze and wrap them then paint or would you recommend heavy glue to cover the clay then paint? If you still think glue is king what type do I use for this application?

I plan to post some pics tomorrow night after my progress.

Thanks in advance.

-Tenman


----------



## UnOrthodOx

Oh, sorry. Just saw this tonight. 

I if it were me, I'd use mod podge, but I have a serious addiction to the stuff of late. Look forward to the pics.


----------

