Rivetdale

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making a skeletal hand

I wanted to make something to use as a clasp for the Warg Rider costume so I found a great tutorial on 102 Wicked Things to Do and adapted it to what materials I had on hand. I used speaker wire twisted together and paper tape to wrap the wires, then covered it with paper mache-I use glue, a little water and a bit of joint compound mixed in for strength. I built up where the joints will go and the bones in the hand itself. Next I used apoxie sculpt rolled out thin & sculpted the joints , looking at a sample (I bought a whole bag of bones from a anatomical supply company)
As you add clay I found the best method is to roll it thin between 2 sheets of waxed paper while the clay is still very soft-for apoxie sculpt this is right after you mix it. I use a very thin mylar ruler(some freebie worthless as a actual ruler) to lift the edge after rolling it out. The 1st couple of fingers I tried to cover and start sculpting the joints as well.
The clay then got too firm to roll out thin and I ended up unable to use it (but made claws with it-waste not!) Next batch I just worked covering the fingers vey thinly-don't worry if some paper mache shows here & there and I didn't cover the under part of the fingers as much as the top-I already know whats going to show the most and it keeps weight down. I have now completed adding all the clay, a few lessons learned-do work on no more than 2 fingers at a time, that way if you need to hold on to the project while smoothing you don't mess up already completed clay, letting it dry overnight gives you more options. You do not need to cover all the paper mache. Don't obsess on perfection at the clay stage, you can sand & dremel it when completely dry. Real bones have imperfections, especially if they're taken as a battle trophy.If some tells you this or that isn't accurate loftily reply "who said it was human?"
Now that the hand was completed I sealed it with a waterbased sealer. If you are going to be using a prop outdoors you want to use exterior latex or a sealer that's waterproof. After waiting for all those layers to dry it was quick work to put a base coat down(dry in 2 hrs.) add some contrast and then a brown varnish-wipe on wipe off. I added a little bit of yellow for age and it's done! Attached attached to the Dragoncon costume! see picture

skel hand materials

wrapped in tape

veining n joints

apoxie sculpt n tools

scuplting joints

finger bone comparison

fingers getting there

clay complete

hand completed no paint

seal it

first layer paint

white layer done

contrast added

Finale

skeletal hand on costume

mini-Audrey 2

A friend was doing the play " A Little Shop of Horrors" and wondered if I could do a Audrey2 mini , I wondered too so... I used 2 of those half styrofoam peanut packing shells and covered them in apoxie sculpt. After drying I sanded them down and started the paint job, then things got a little more tricky, they were tiny, smooth & slippery. I decided to do the the tongue, then add the tiny leaves. The tongue does look kinda obscene at this stage and even worse when painted.
To put the halves together I used apoxie sculpt and a half of a hair pin inbeded in the clay for strength. Doing the tiny vining was another obstacle to overcome, I waited till the rolled out vining-on waxed paper so it didn't stick- was half set but still flexible and used a tweezers to pick up and place. Many swear words went into the placing of these vines. I finally figured out that mashing the ends down so it would stick then carefully pushing gently with a flat toothpick into place worked best. I also found a plastic piece, no idea what it's from, would hold mini-Audrey with minimum wiggle. This made everything much easier. I finished the painting and dry brushing as well as some touchups which again was fairly difficult because of the tininess of the work but managed it. I did paint everything I could before I secured the two halves but still needed to touch up paint and paint the vines which meant even more touchup. I need to find something to mount him on so I can add a pin back. You could also do a tiny terrarium, miniature teacup or some other thrift store find to nestle him in. Once I get the mount done I will add some tiny leaves around the back. Update! Eureka, he (yes Audrey turned out to be male) is complete! I couldn't find a brooch back I liked so I made one out of apoxie sculpt and antiqued it and added the pin. Audrey attached with a tiny branch and a few leaves, in the side view you can see the tiny vining made of sugru(silicone clay) and a bit of moss. Pin added, he's ready to face the world(or eat them)

humble beginnings

workshop

watermelon colors

tongue drying

2 halves of the whole

frog mouth

vining added

painted 1

side view detail

compared to a quarter

completed!