# Wolf



## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Next job was the eyes. I bought some glass wolf eyes from a taxidermy supply shop. They weren't actually large enough for the prop, but they were the biggest I could get. Pretty expensive, but I always find that the eyes are the main focal point of a prop and it's worth it to get them as good as possible.

Made a surround out of leather and glued it to the eyes, then set them into the head.

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Time for the fur. Just started laying it up as smoothly as possible and gluing it down using hot glue. Looks really shaggy but the fur was double layer, meaning it had both underfur and guard hairs, so I was able to clip it short in the proper areas. Sorry, not many pictures of this process, but it was kinda difficult and once I got going I forgot to stop for pics.

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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Moving on to the legs for the moment. Same construction, styro over plywood, glued up and carved out.

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Now the separate pieces get attached using blocks of wood, cut to the appropriate angles, as spacers. The individual parts are bolted through the main body silhouette using angle iron brackets. Once everything was positioned correctly I filled out the body by stapling on chicken wire and covering it with a large fur section, which was wired in place.

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You can also see the face and leg fur have been clipped down showing the underfur.


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Here's couple more head closeups. The ears were made by cutting forms out of plastic coffee can lids and covering them with fur. They were then glued into place. He also has a tongue made of thicker scrap leather, dyed red and varnished glossy for the 'wet look' Doesn't really show in the pics.
The tail has a metal rod core, with a layer of foam rubber to bulk it up. I then glued on a layer of fur. Toenails are black Fimo clay.

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I wanted him to look mean, but he's pretty happy looking  Oh well, I told you I was no artist !


Finally a couple of shots of the finished product. I never set him out by the grave digger after all; we though he looked better in the yard. Not the fierce mean looking critter I was hoping for, but people seemed to like him, the kids liked petting the fur, and he was a fun project, so in all I guess he was a success. 


Cheers
Don


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## Nightmare-Dude (Jul 24, 2010)

That is INSANE


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## ShadowLady>XI< (Jul 1, 2010)

Wow! He's awesome! I'm wanting to make a wolf (or werewolf) this year as well....And you've certainly helped me alot with the photos you showed of your process!

Thank you!

-Shadow


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 30, 2008)

excellent!
I'm equally impressed by your construction process as by the final product


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## Terra (Sep 23, 2007)

Wow, he is so real-looking and the details....! The leather around the eyes is pure craftsmanship. I first thought you did that in clay but leather...wow!


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## FirstSpartan (Aug 7, 2008)

very very impressive! WOW!


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

Love it! Excellent wolf prop!
The thing looks REAL!


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Here's more pics of our wolf prop. 



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Cheers
Don


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

WOW! That is awesome! Looks very realisitic. I'd love to have one of those in my graveyard!


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## CobhamManor (Aug 5, 2010)

Great!


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## mementomori (Aug 19, 2009)

Sa-weet, that must scare the pants off the kiddies!


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## Scruffywolf (Sep 2, 2008)

That is an A+ Job Don. Very impressive work indeed. I noticed the "Timmy's" can in the workshop and checked again and "Voila" another Canuck........


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## Terror Tom (Nov 3, 2008)

Very awesome.


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## Chaserbug (Oct 7, 2009)

That is the best wolf I have seen! I wish I was that creative!


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## blackfog (Oct 9, 2008)

Beautiful job on him Don. Thanks for posting the link of the how to.


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## Uruk-Hai (Aug 31, 2008)

WOW!! That's an awesome looking wolf! And at 48" he certainly won't be mistaken for a dog - that's huge! Great job on the sculpt and fur - looks really realistic.


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## obcessedwithit (Jul 13, 2009)

good BOY!!!!! beautiful !!!


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## BooBoo (Jun 14, 2010)

Who walks him & cleans up after him? Looks Great!!!


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## Tsukirei (Jun 9, 2008)

That is amazing! 
The way you trimmed the fur around his face is so realistic!


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## BeaconSamurai (Nov 5, 2009)

Looks great. Thanks for posting the how to. I will use your techniques to make my Christmas decoration of a full sized Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.


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## kittyvibe (Oct 27, 2008)

I love him! With the right lighting and maybe a few bodyparts laying about people can see hes a meanie. (and not a cuddle monster in day shots) :3

Thanks to you I know what kind of hair I need because I wanted to shave the face down too on one I want to build and thought my cheapy fabric wouldnt work out. Now I know what its called and I can look for it online. 

Im also inspired by your construction of this guy, and wondered what you used to cut the wood? A jigsaw or circular saw? Maybe something else? I dont have these tools and am looking into something I wont potentially cut my hand off with but get some nice curves in the wood for prop building.


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

Absolutely amazing prop! 

(I'm merging your crossposted thread from the props section... just wanted to keep it all together! I edited the prop post that got merged to remove the link since it is now all together too...)


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## alucard (Dec 1, 2008)

What a realistic looking wolf! Most impressive!


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

kittyvibe said:


> Im also inspired by your construction of this guy, and wondered what you used to cut the wood? A jigsaw or circular saw? Maybe something else? I dont have these tools and am looking into something I wont potentially cut my hand off with but get some nice curves in the wood for prop building.


 Thanks to everyone for the kind words, I really appreciate it!

Best tool for this type of work and many others is a simple hand held power jigsaw. Try to find one with variable speed, it makes it much easier to control as you can cut more slowly. Very safe saw, don't have to worry about lopping off digits  
I used a handsaw to cut the larger blocks, but the jigsaw would do those as well. That and a cheap power drill and you are good to go for most projects.


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2010)

Mr_Chicken said:


> excellent!
> I'm equally impressed by your construction process as by the final product


I agree with mr chicken!

Awesome! Very impressive!


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## kittyvibe (Oct 27, 2008)

Frosty Don said:


> Thanks to everyone for the kind words, I really appreciate it!
> 
> Best tool for this type of work and many others is a simple hand held power jigsaw. Try to find one with variable speed, it makes it much easier to control as you can cut more slowly. Very safe saw, don't have to worry about lopping off digits
> I used a handsaw to cut the larger blocks, but the jigsaw would do those as well. That and a cheap power drill and you are good to go for most projects.


Thanks Frosty! /does a happy dance


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## aintnohusker (Apr 24, 2009)

I gotta agree with everybody else. That wolf is cool!


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Found some additional construction pics on the camera. The chicken wire was stapled to the wood, and the fur was attached to the chicken wire using small pieces of wire. The body fur was one large piece and was not cut to fit, only folded under where the edges met. 

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## kittyvibe (Oct 27, 2008)

arrg...hmmm.. what was the supplier of the fabric you bought? All I can find online is "fun fur" type faux furs.  I may have looked at some with the underhairs features but the listings never mentioned it.

Any suggestions for the fur thats shavable?


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Sorry, can't really help with that one. 

I bought the piece I used out of a bin mixed with all kinds of other fabric at a mill end store. They just sell ends of rolls, scraps and stuff, so no information on the material itself. I did see the same material at a fabric store and it was being sold in bedding sizes, I presume for a bed covering, but it was stupid expensive!

The stuff I used had two distinct layers. An underfur, and an outer fur and it was so dense, you could not see the backing no matter how hard you folded it. I wish I could tell you more. I looked for a couple years before I stumbled on the stuff. 

I don't suppose it would matter too much if you had cheaper material. The key is to clip it down in the proper areas. Only problem with cheap stuff is that when you bend it over tight curves , like the legs, the backing might show through. Kinda ruins the effect.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, I'm not much of a fabric guy. Perhaps someone here has more info, hopefully they'll post.


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## LadyAlthea (Sep 11, 2008)

whoa. best wolf i have seen on here and fantastic tutorial. puts my lame reindeer wolf to shame!


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## kittyvibe (Oct 27, 2008)

Frosty Don said:


> I don't suppose it would matter too much if you had cheaper material. The key is to clip it down in the proper areas. Only problem with cheap stuff is that when you bend it over tight curves , like the legs, the backing might show through. Kinda ruins the effect.
> 
> Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, I'm not much of a fabric guy. Perhaps someone here has more info, hopefully they'll post.



Maybe if I build an underlayer and paint it the color of the fur? If its the fabric still showing and painting the base figure doesnt fix the problem maybe spray painting the backside will help? 

I havent remotely begun, so Ill be sure to make note of that. Thanks for the tips!


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## Cortney from the coven (Aug 27, 2010)

This wolf is just incredible! What talent! I want one! Now, gotta go find my husband and get my out my 'honey do' list!


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## Jaege (Sep 21, 2009)

Nice. Really a good job on that. How will it fare in the weather?


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## Mistress of the Abyss (Sep 21, 2007)

Now that is one amazing looking wolf!! You did such an awesome job. He looks so real!


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Jaege said:


> Nice. Really a good job on that. How will it fare in the weather?


 I figure he should be OK. It won't hurt the fur, probably make it more realistic actually, and the body is made of outdoor grade plywood and styrofoam so no problem there either. I only put my props out for the big day anyway, so whatever happens it won't be exposed for long. I pretty much start taking things apart the next day, so if there was bad weather I would start with the wolf and at least remove the fur so things could dry out.


Kittyvibe:
I don't really know if painting would do the trick. I looked around for a couple years before I found the fur and it was only then that I started the project. I think the right fur is the real key to this type of prop, and it would suck to do all the prep work only to be disappointed with the result. If you keep looking, I'm sure you'll find it online somewhere. I just built it last year and the fur was available in the local fabric store, albeit as a specialty item, and I don't live in a big city.


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## creeperguardian (Aug 22, 2011)

now thats awsome wicked its like a stuffed animal


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## Drayvan (Sep 22, 2009)

Very impressive work, The attention to detail is awsome.


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## Hallows (Sep 12, 2010)

damn..superb wolf Don


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## James B. (Oct 8, 2009)

This is the first I have seen this thread and all I can say is wow! The leather for around the eyes was a brilliant idea and the quality of the prop is amazing.


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## mickkell (Dec 27, 2008)

I'll have to agree with everybody,WOW.Did you name it?


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

No I haven't named the big fuzzy fellow. I suppose it's high time to put him back together for the big day.
Thanks for all the nice comments folks! 
Cheers
Don


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## gunfighter77 (Oct 15, 2011)

Nice wolf construction. Everything is pretty spot on! Though I am a little surprised that face ultimately ended up happy!?! During the construction of the teeth, nose, and eyes..It did look really mean. Perhaps you did too perfect of a job smoothing out the facial features. Perhaps some wrinkles around the eyes and upper snout? will give it a more vicious demeanor.


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

gunfighter77 said:


> Nice wolf construction. Everything is pretty spot on! Though I am a little surprised that face ultimately ended up happy!?! During the construction of the teeth, nose, and eyes..It did look really mean. Perhaps you did too perfect of a job smoothing out the facial features. Perhaps some wrinkles around the eyes and upper snout? will give it a more vicious demeanor.


Ya, I tried for mean, but I'm no artist. Too late to change anything now as I have no more of the material and in order to redo anything I would have to destroy what is already there. Ah well, maybe he's just happy that there's so many tots to eat! LOL


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## lollypopholly (Sep 7, 2009)

I am going to tell you something...you many want to sit down...you are so wrong about one very important thing...HOLY HALLOWEEN!, you are so an artist! Say it after me...I am an artist! VERY WELL DONE! I also built a full sized horse, rearing up on his hind legs and I wish we could have brainstormed together. You set your eyes in that soft leather...that my friend is brilliant. I set mine into, first, plastasine. That melted and the eyes fell out. Then I had to rebuild the face and I could only think of using clay. Well, now this year we have had a lot of rain and the eyes are falling out again. Your idea is how I am going to fix my problem with my horses eyes. Thank you, ARTIST. May I call you Art for short? haha Beautiful beast!


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Heh, well thanks for the kind words Lolly. Glad you found something in the build that you could use. I used leather from an old jacket but similar thin stuff is used alot in purses. Second hand stores are great for that sort of thing. I saw the pic of your horse, and it sure looks awesome! 

Cheers
Don


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## lollypopholly (Sep 7, 2009)

Did you see the build pictures? It all started out very simular to your wolf but you glued pink foam to your plywood, I used great stuff and foam from a bed topper. All the same, great minds think alike Have a happy halloween!


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## RiverBoarder (Oct 9, 2007)

"I am by no means an artist and I just looked at a lot of pictures to try to figure it out."

You figured it out and now please consider yourself an Artist!


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## JammerG (Oct 19, 2008)

Very cool!


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## jollygorilla (Oct 10, 2011)

Thats the coolest thing ever! looks more real then my husky.


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## peagreen (Oct 26, 2011)

Perhaps slightly modfiying his stance would give him a meaner demeanor. 
Widen the stance at the feet and lower the head to below shoulder level. That would only require modification of the framing rather than re-shaping the foam head.


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## deoblo (Apr 9, 2010)

that is awsome man thats badass !!!!!!!


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## ScreamingSkull (Oct 21, 2008)

Nice work. I'm going to do an animated version of a similar beast; I need a "guard dog", and have seen an awesome clip of a prop that I'm going to try and replicate, and will need some air and electric & some kind of prop controller.
This one will be pretty ambitious, so I REALLY need start early.


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## ScreamingSkull (Oct 21, 2008)

Don, did you find that the hot glue worked well for the fur-on-foam attachment?


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

Love your wolf !! So many good ideas . I am sure your wife is proud of you and her wolf. LOL


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

Woah! How did I miss this fabulous wolf thread?! I've bookmarked and will be revisiting.


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## Frosty Don (Nov 25, 2005)

Hey, haven't been back to the forum for quite awhile, so thanks to all who have checked out the build and for all the nice comments. 

For ScreamingSkull, the hot glue has held up very well and made the build much easier. It holds great but still allows removal and adjustment if necessary.

Ya, my wife Cathy is pleased with how it turned out, and it does seem to be a popular prop on Halloween.

Thanks again
Don


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## mandamaker23 (Oct 20, 2012)

Looks great I was inspired by a picture I saw on flicker and made a german Shepard Zombie Dog from a reindeer body

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I wrote a blog post on how I made him,http://thriftycraftoholic.blogspot.com/2012/10/diy-zombie-dog-from-christmas-reindeer.html.


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

He looks creepy! Great work!


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## McBernes (Mar 10, 2015)

That is just BRILLIANT! I really like the idea of making him so he can be taken apart for storage.


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