[Oak Lane Cemetery]

This will be the 4th or 5th hot coal effect prop I've made. As I've made each one I've tried new things and improved each one I've made. A few things I do a little different are - building on top of a foamboard base for weatherproofing, sculpting the surface of the foam a little for a rougher texture, using steady burning led strings combined with flame effect LED bulbs, and adding charred wood pieces made from foam. Of all the things I do, I think the charred pieces add the most impact to the realism of the prop. Here are a few photos from the coal bed I am currently working on...

I posted these photos on Facebook and had such a huge response to them with many people asking for a tutorial on how to make the charred pieces. Super simple to make. Here is the tutorial for them...

 

[DandyBrit]

I really enjoyed watching this. Made my first hot fire/coals prop last year and it was OK but needs work. This tut will get stored away in the back of my head now.
I was wondering if someone didn't like using Great Stuff could they use the grey foam insulation tubes for water pipes by cutting it in half and flattening it a bit with a heat gun blast and some weights. Make the sides irregular and then treat it the same as you did with the foam. I know when I used expanding foam last year I had to throw away a pair of trousers. But I am a very messy worker. If I can get covered in gunge then I usually do.

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

I really enjoyed watching this. Made my first hot fire/coals prop last year and it was OK but needs work. This tut will get stored away in the back of my head now.
I was wondering if someone didn't like using Great Stuff could they use the grey foam insulation tubes for water pipes by cutting it in half and flattening it a bit with a heat gun blast and some weights. Make the sides irregular and then treat it the same as you did with the foam. I know when I used expanding foam last year I had to throw away a pair of trousers. But I am a very messy worker. If I can get covered in gunge then I usually do.

Could work, but the pre-made pipe insulation is a lot less dense than the great stuff is. Eva foam would probably work better. Like the exercise mats are made from.

 

[DandyBrit]

^Yeah it is. Just wondered if anyone found some of it for free if it would be worth having a go.

 

[xredge]

But I am a very messy worker. If I can get covered in gunge then I usually do.

I'm worse than that, I'm just a plain dirt magnet. Growing up if going someplace mom would put me in a chair and say stay there so I wouldn't get dirty still did. Still no better at my age now, can try to keep cleaner but seems to never work out. So if at home usually wear clothes that I do not wear out at as somehow I'm going to get them dirty and maybe even stained.

@Oak Lane that is great, your work and ideas are great.

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

^Yeah it is. Just wondered if anyone found some of it for free if it would be worth having a go.

It's ALWAYS worth trying something. lol How do you think I figure these things out?

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

I'm worse than that, I'm just a plain dirt magnet. Growing up if going someplace mom would put me in a chair and say stay there so I wouldn't get dirty still did. Still no better at my age now, can try to keep cleaner but seems to never work out. So if at home usually wear clothes that I do not wear out at as somehow I'm going to get them dirty and maybe even stained.

@Oak Lane that is great, your work and ideas are great.

Yall see I'm wearing gloves and a work apron in the video, and the amount of crap all over my work apron. lol Never fails to find a way around my protective measures though. I'll do something like finish up and take the gloves and apron off, then lean up against some wet paint, then stick my hand into a blob of wet foam. Wind up with a ruined shirt and stick stained hands anyways. I have no decent clothes anymore between work and hobbies. Just clothes I can still hide stains on to wear out.

 

[SamhainPropworks]

That effect is amazing Oak Lane! You also informed me that spray foam comes in different colors!!! Thanks for the great tutorial!

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

That effect is amazing Oak Lane! You also informed me that spray foam comes in different colors!!! Thanks for the great tutorial!

Wait till yall hear what color firestop great stuff is.... orange!

 

[SamhainPropworks]

Wait till yall hear what color firestop great stuff is.... orange!

Propmakers get excited by the weirdest things. "Look at this!! This spray foam is black!!! Do you know what implications this has!!!" lol

 

[Oak Lane Cemetery]

Propmakers get excited by the weirdest things. "Look at this!! This spray foam is black!!! Do you know what implications this has!!!" lol

Yea. Spend hours experimenting with lights and foam sculpting to get a realistic effect, place the perfect sticks in the perfect place for extra realism, paint it all using photos of a real pile of coals and embers to be sure it looks as close as possible and what everyone got excited about was the little charr pieces I made for it. That take about 10 minutes to make. And the black foam. Lol