Thread: Need help for prop build 2010

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I would like to add a mermaid to my scene next year. I would love some ideas how to make her tail or make her look real. What should I use? Also it rains at least 1-2 days a week in October it seems so something that wouldnt fall apart (paper mache). I really would love her to be a dead mermaid but kind of pretty in a creepy way? If that makes any sense. And life size
HELP any insight would be great.

I guess you have a few options but to keep her lightweight i'd sculpt her out of foam. You could Mache her and just seal it with a couple of coats of resin.
But really foam with a coating of wall joint compound, sealed with (cheap walmart) primer, painted with acrylic paint on top of that and then a coat of clear sealer should do the trick.
I'm sculpting Sally from TNBC out of foam but i might (cloth) mache her dress.
I'll let you know how it goes and i'll post pics.

The foam with the sealant will keep even in the rain and elements? That is my biggest concern. And what about her tail? Want it to look lifelike

Paper maché would still be a contender if you waterproof it. Pumpkinrot and Stolloween's creations are well waterproofed and able to withstand most weather conditions...

STOLLOWEEN Search Results waterproofing
Link from Stolloween's site:
Papier Mache - Articles - Waterproofing Papier Mache

He recommends spar urethane, latex paint and a top coat of clear urethane sealer. 3 levels of protection on paper maché that if applied well (both to the underside and the outside) should make any prop built out of paper maché more sturdy than most plastic/latex props.

Paper maché has the advantage of being cheap, easy to work with and pretty forgiving in resculpting. The sealants are the expensive part, but would be worth it if you have a piece that turns out well in the end since you'll get years of usage out of it. (and most of the containers are large enough to use on many more props, so it helps offset the cost).

Another time saver would be to locate some old mannequin arms and head. You could attach them to the torso wireframe, and form maché around them, saving you the detail work involved creating arms and head, and seal and paint all of it as a cohesive unit. Even a foam wig head would be a bit of a time saver since you would have a decent base of the right proportions to build off of.

To build a lifesize mermaid, you'd need to build a pretty decent wireframe and I'd figure on using strip maché to build up the surface, then pulp maché for detail work. Celloclay or paperclay is also good for the details - check out LaurieBeast's sculpts as well to get some ideas. (her Bride and vampiress are incredible and look like they could walk away from you they are so life-like).
"The Bride" completed

That should be water proof enough.
For her tail i'd buy 2 vinyl table cloths. Cut them to shape, glue them togther (making a tail pillowcase), fill it with batting, then take the second table cloth and cut all the scales out and glue them on.
you could cut them out in strips like shingles.
Going from the largest scales at the waist to the smallest scales at her feet.

I just looked at the bride and holy smokes it looks like a real living person did she do that out of mache? NO WAY It looks real

Those are great links thanks for posting them.

Have you thought of trying to find a mannequin and just adding your own touch to her ? I found this one on Craiglist for $ 50 bucks.
Halloween Forum - bobzilla's Album: Pirates - Picture

Bobzilla - only you would be able to find a mannequin for $50...
This is definitely a good option - saves you TONS of time and frustration if you've never sculpted before or are fearful of being able to pull it off without looking like a 1st grader's art project (and I put myself in this category even though I've supposedly got artistic talent )


Follow-up to sealing maché:

I haven't done a ton of paper maché so make sure to check with the sites that do give instructions (and see if other more experienced posters on here can help)...

But in my experience, if you're using acrylic or latex paint, letting it dry completely and then sealing it using a urethane sealant, then it won't mess up the paint job. You would need to look for the sealants that are clear like this (Minwax® Fast Drying Polyurethane Satin Quart - 63010 at The Home Depot - it comes in shiny and satin finishes).

You can't use paints that would smear if exposed to liquid (like tempra paints) so you would have to make sure you were using latex (the acrylic category for house paint type paints) or acrylics (in the artist's tubes for fine arts applications) - they are basically the same thing. Acrylics are a type of paint that are formed from a polymer. That means that even though they are able to blend/dilute and clean-up with water, once they are dry, they are basically a thin coating of plastic polymer and no longer water-soluble.

Latex/acrylic paint creates a coating of pliable plastic that technically would be waterproof if the coverage was complete and wasn't thinned out too much in the painting process (basically if you can't see through the paint layer, it's good). The urethane topcoat sealer is both an extra layer of waterproofing AND protects the paintjob as well (from sun and weather damage).

Using the undercoat of spar urethane (used for marine builds so it's super waterproof) is a really good idea. Basically create the mermaid, let her dry, coat her top to bottom, inside and out and all of the nooks with spar urethane, paint her using acrylics/latex for the color and shading and let that dry and then seal...

I went on Craigslist and no mannequins around here are for $50 more like $150. You do have the golden touch though.. I have NEVER sculpted in my life!!! I dont know if I could pull it off. Maybe I should do a tiny teeny mermaid first and then see if I can do it bigger? I dont want it to look like a kindergarden ash tray.