Thread: Realistic Rib Cages in 15 minutes

Tweet

This is my second Post here. Thanks to all that read, learn and share!
So here is the scenario. You have made a corpse of some kind with stuffing, a rigid frame or whatever. You used a store bought, bucky or styro carved (which most of mine are head but you want to have the rib cage revealed so it is ultra gory. But making rib cages takes forever right? Not any more. Here is what you need

Some small squares of Foam rubber. I got a ton of scraps from my local outlet for nothing, and he said I can come back as much as I want and get more. Walmart has it too though, in the Craft Section. It should be about 1 to 2" thick.

A wood burning tool or a cheap soldering iron.
Small air-brush or spray paint.

cut your foam to the size that you want the rib cage to be. You can show just the top few bones around the neck and clavicle or the whole thing.
Heat up the soldering iron and lay it on the foam and let it sear into the foam. Wear a respirator and use good ventilation as this stuff is strong when it melts, so you pretty much can sketch the rib cage if you want and follow that but I just kept moving the soldering iron down about an inch leaving a sternum in the center and then doing the other side.

Then I mixed up some white paint and laid on a base coat in white. Then I loaded the air-brush with black and sprayed it between and misted along the edge of each rib bone. The trick is to shadow it gradually giving it a 3D look. My frameworks are made from PVC so I just wired them to it. I also used a wire (bent coat hanger to create an arc so the illusion was a realistic looking rib cage.

My Vampire Spectre shows this technique pretty well. This pic is not very good, but she is still in storage. I will send a close up or a new demo of this technique first chance I get. It is almost time to wake her for her reign of terror. Any comments or more ideas let me know. If you try this technique yourself send me pics!

Update August 4 2009 - Here is another example of the 15 minute foam ribs. I thought I took pictures after I finished painting them but apparently I forgot. After this stage though I airbrushed on a coat of bone color then went back with black and airbrushed dark areas between each rib and some shadow for depth.
This corpse is going to used in my uprooted speaker box) coffins.

Happy Haunting!
Chris

nice work!

which outlet?

Originally Posted by bretstep

which outlet?

the one behind the refrigerator.

Originally Posted by creeepycathy

the one behind the refrigerator.

now that's funny i don't care who you are....lol...lol...

Originally Posted by bretstep

which outlet?

oops, I apologize for being a smart a$$; thought you were trolling.
I really should read the other posts in their entirety before my fingers start typing.

Originally Posted by creeepycathy

oops, i apologize for being a smart a$$; thought you were trolling.
I really should read the other posts in their entirety before my fingers start typing.

rtflmao