[Terra]

Yippee, I finally finished her! Thanks to the patient tutoring by LaurieBeast I was able to sculpt my first prop. Thank you Laurie!

Terra is DMX controlled and the idea was born when my rotating Christmas tree stand started to sputter. If you remember, I started a thread asking everyone how I could use it for a prop. Ta Da! Terra is my icon for the haunt and this year she's been transformed into a post-apocalyptic vampire.

I took loads of pictures during her build and if you want you can check out this video to see a slide show:

 

[Terra]

OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! SHE IS FABULOUS!!!! LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT HER!!!! You are sooo talented!!!
Cathy, aka self-appointed President of Terra Fan Club

Oh, you are so sweet. Thank you so much for all the encouragement you gave me during this build. Loved building the tank. That was the easy part. heh.

I am so proud of you Terra! She is absolutely STUNNING! You stuck with it and now look at the result. Adding the animation took her to another level....something I have not even attempted yet. I stand and applaud you sweetie....awesome, incredible work!

Laurie, what can I say. Vampiress Morbida just knocked my socks off. When I realized that I had to build a realistic person for my idea, your 'The Bride' tutorial was the exact road map I needed. Then for you to hold my hand during her build....wow, am I lucky. Thank you, thank you, thank you This sculpt was H.A.R.D and through the experience I've learned to appreciate your talents even more.

You sculpted that!? Wow, she looks incredible! Great job. I think you just found your new specialty.

Thanks, but right now, doing another one of these monster (heh....get it? monster) projects is way off my radar. I sort-of-goofed. For my first sculpt I should have picked an unrecognizable monster. But noooo, I pick a beautiful vampire. She nearly killed me.

Excellent result! Well Done.

i can not begin to tell you what a amazing job you did ......WOW

WOW!!!!!Talented is a understatement!

Thanks so much

Amazing. Tell me, what makes the finished sculpts so shiny looking?

I used a matte top coat which I thought made her look alive (not flat) but not shiny (like plastic).

Wow, that sculpt is amazing!

Thanks.

 

[Terra]

Terra, I bow to the "Master" wonderfull job indeed!

Stunning.....just..absolutely..blow..you..out..of..the..water..stunning. And to have begun as a simple wig head..I don't even know what to say, it's beautiful Terra! Amazing talent, artist's get rich doing work like that!

HOLY....?!? Wow!! This is just INCREDIBLE!!! I am in awe, truly!

Oh my god Terra she is absolutely fantastic looking , for a first sculpt you sure did an amazing job , WOW she looks incredible , great job congrads , i am 100% sure the people visiting your haunt this year will think she is a real person ......your very talented bravo

oh
my
god

That is nothing short of phenomenal!

Absolutly Wicked!!

Thank you so much. I didn't really announce I was working on her because I wasn't confident at all on how she would turn out. Your compliments mean a lot to me.

There's no way that can be your first sculpt! She's absolutely amazing and I had to come out of lurking just to tell you so!

Rob

Oh neat, Terra's power of seduction is complete!

Awesome job Terra! Very life like. Your husband should be nervous, now that it looks like you could replace him. LOL.

Heh. He first got nervous last year when I asked him to turn around and I took his measurements for a coffin.

OMG that is FANTASTIC!!! You have such talent.

Thank you

That is just incredible!!!! Can I get your autograph now before you become famous?

Exactly why I got one of your skellies before you are. By the way, did you see him on the sculpting table in the construction video? Love him.

Terra, I couldn't wait to see the results (since I couldn't see her at work), fantastic is an understatement at best. Wow, and your first sculpt on top of it all!

Thanks Johnny so much.

 

[Terra]

All I can say is, that's freaking awesome!!

Thank you so much.

Terra, she is beautiful -- absolutely incredible! Its just amazing how you created the whole person, down to sewing the costume. I kept waiting to see a prefab mannequin body come out but, of course, I saw custom created bodyparts being made and then assembled into a beautiful human form. This is just amazing. Your work is stunning.

You know, I tried hard to find pre-made parts so I can save some work on her. But surprisingly, I had a heck of a time finding ones I liked and were inexpensive. I did cheat a little. The hands looked way too daunting for me so I got a pair of Blucky hands to give me a bone structure to start with. If I do another sculpt, I will also get a skull instead of the foam head. If you notice in the slideshow, I had to keep going back and carving down her face. That foam head is really off proportionally.

Fantastic prop, Terra!! I love the way she looks and you should be very proud of your awesome accomplishment!
Isn't it such a great feeling when you finally complete such a long term project like this?
I'm bound and determined to try my hand at this sculpting thing sometime. Maybe Lauriebeast can teach a "Sculpting 101" class for the prop building group sometime. That would be cool.

Oh, by the way is it possible I could rent Terra DMX for a while during the off season??

I can't tell you how happy I was to finish her. She was fun to work on the first two months but the last month I was itching to work on other props. By the way, what would you plan on doing with Terra when you rent her?

Wow, Terra you have come a long way in such a short time. Excellent Work!!

I have never been so passionate about a hobby before. I get super excited when I have a day that I can work on props. I'm like a kid on Christmas morning.

Yep Terra she is fantastic...... Such detail.
One of these days I will have to spend TIME on a skulpt. So far I can only make a fairly crude sculpt... Next year I'm determined to NOT change our haunt all around so I may have time do do a real work of art like this !!
Great job!

Sculpting is very addicting and fun. You should do it.

Wow! You are turning pro for sure!

And take all the fun out of it?

BUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This thread needed to be back. OK I hadn't posted before, because I didn't want to be the first to say this, but that is going to be a HUGE hit with the teen boys if you know what I mean(OK the dads too).

Heh, heh....exactly my plan! Her total design was created with teen boys in mind. Those are always the most vexing ToTs and what better way to have them completely set-up for a distraction scare...Muh ha ha haaaa......

 

[Terra]

Thanks again everyone


Dave, I'm watching you!

 

[Terra]

Thanks again.

I think she's getting a little ticked at me now though. I've had her in the tank for three straight weeks. But, I feel safer with her in there.

YHJ: Yeah, I'm thinking of getting a few security cameras to record the reactions of the haunt this year. I want to see the dads really getting the heck scared out of them while they are 'checking her out.' Serves 'em right! Heee!

 

[Terra]

I will marry this prop, if its the last thing I do, mark my words.

HA HA! Yeah, she definitely seems to be your type

That is going to be cool! Don't forget to post or I will pout. LOL

She worked exactly as planned. People were just staring at her and was totally set up for the air cannon to the left of her. Here's a vid...it's a bit long but entertaining

YouTube - Halloween 2009: Castle of Terra - Vampyr Reign

Terra I have always been amazed at the quality of the work you do but this is way over the top! She is absolutely beautiful.......congratulations on seeing this through till the end. I can see from the construction photo's that this was a long & tedious project. Its just incredible.

Thanks Muffy, you really helped support me on this endeavor.

I can't even begin to say anything more than whats all ready been said here. !!!
Words cannot describe how incredible she is....... and your skills are!!
I can't stop looking at the video and trying to figure out how to start something like that!! Can you please tell me what you used to sculpt her with?? I'm sure you've probably answered that a million times but I would love to try my humble hand at this!!!
Also would love to know what you used "inside" of the arms/wrist to attach the hands. Wish we could drive down and see your whole haunt. You are soooooo incredibly talented. Thanks for sharing what you do with us!
DD'sGF

I am so sorry I didn't see your post before. First of all the basic tutorial I used was LaurieBeast's The Bride tutorial. Her head is a styro wighead and then Celluclay and Paperclay. Her spine is a metal pipe with PVC arms and shoulders. Her frame is made of formed hardware cloth and then coated with Celluclay. Her skin was either Paperclay or DAS clay. Sealed with Sculpt or Coat and then gesso'd. Finally I airbrushed her skin with latex paints and finished with detail paints.

I attached her hands two different ways. For the hand that hangs down...I drilled two holes in the wrist and matching ones in the hand. Then I wired it together. Used Celluclay to fill in the gap and then a coat of Paperclay. For her hand that is up...I put some bent coat hanger wire in the forearm (it's hollow) and then drilled a corresponding hole in the hand. Fit it on and then again used Celluclay to fill in gaps and then Paperclay.

Just watched the video and that is by far the best prop tutorial video I have ever seen she is gorgeous! I think you just found your new calling amazing

She is my proudest prop. I think now and again about making a male companion but it's a big, big project....