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[zelda3k]

Hello everyone! I am making a toriningen beak and i'm kinda stuck.

I have a cardboard base for the bottom and top:
(that was stuck to my face with masking tape)
I want to finish it with paper clay but i don't really know how i'm going to go about it.
like it's gonna be attached with elastic for the top and spirit gum for the bottom.

How would i make it fit?

Does anyone have any tips to make it actually functional because i'm shit at clay and stuff.

Thanks in advance!

[StabbityBlkMage]

I would suggest using Apoxie Sculpt by Aves instead of paper clay. I think the weight on the 2 is the same, but Apoxie Sculpt is WAYYYY stronger.

In any case, some tips would be to get some sculpting tools. At the very least a smoother and a scraper, you can find some on Amazon for cheap or at an art store. Additionally for precision smoothing of paper clay or apoxie sculpt you can wet your hands (in this case fingers) and get it as smooth as possible that way. Then once the clay has cured you can go in with a sanding sponger to knock down all of the (inevitable) bumps and weirdness.

I've done all of this with foam and clay (apoxie sculpt) for my Monster Hunter armor horns. All of the white horns and the small blue one on the sword are made using this method.

However I think that a fiberglass & bondo method might work better, but I don't know if you're feeling quite that adventurous.

Full WIP http://junkerscosplay.blogspot.com/2...s-monster.html

[zelda3k]

thanks i'll try it out!
do you have a good idea for attaching the mask?

[StabbityBlkMage]

I would just use elastic. Attach the elastic to the mask and wrap it around your head. Your wig should be able to cover most of the elastic and the stretch in the band should give you ample room to move the beak around.

[verdatum]

I am not familiar with this franchise. To clarify, what do you mean by "make it functional"? You mean like "can be used to dig worms out of the ground and regurgitate them later to feed my young"? Because that's just weird.

Apoxie sculpt is indeed stronger, and also easier to smooth, but it is more expensive than paperclay. Also you have a limited working time before it starts to harden up. So if you're like me and sculpt really really slowly you might want to take that into consideration. Paper clay is a bit lighter than apoxie sculpt once dry, so that might be useful.

The trick with paper clay is to not worry so much about sculpting it smooth; just focus on getting the form right. Then you let it dry completely and sand it down smooth. You start and around 80 grit. The highest grit you sand to is sorta up to you here, since you probably want the surface to have a little texture.

With apoxie, you have the ability to give it texture during sculpt time. holding a bit of orange peel at your fingertip and rolling it along the surface is a quick easy way to give it a nice bit of a flesh texture. Other techniques involve lightly slashing whole bunches of cross-hatches along the surface using a cut up piece of a metal cat brush, and then softening the effect by running a moistened finger over the surface.

When you paint, you probably want to use at least two colors in order to give the surface a more organic feel. So like you paint a base coat, and then mix a small touch of red with the basecoat color and mottle it on lightly with a stipple sponge (assuming you don't have access to an airbrush)

[StabbityBlkMage]

Originally Posted by verdatum

Apoxie sculpt is indeed stronger, and also easier to smooth, but it is more expensive than paperclay. Also you have a limited working time before it starts to harden up. So if you're like me and sculpt really really slowly you might want to take that into consideration. Paper clay is a bit lighter than apoxie sculpt once dry, so that might be useful.

I think we're talking about different materials. I'm talking about Aves' Apoxie Sculpt, and it has a 4-6 hour working time. Unless you think 4-6 hours is really short?

[verdatum]

Originally Posted by StabbityBlkMage

Unless you think 4-6 hours is really short?

Aves lists the working time as 2-3 hours. Regardless, I wouldn't say that 4-6 is really short, but sometimes it is insufficient. I mean, it's fine for most tasks, but when you want to be particularly exacting, or you can't quite make up your mind about just how you want something to look, it can be nice to be able to wrap up your work, sleep on the matter, and come back fresh the next day.

[Penlowe]

To clarify, what do you mean by "make it functional"? You mean like "can be used to dig worms out of the ground and regurgitate them later to feed my young"? Because that's just weird.

this totally cracked me up!

[Chipface]

For the beak I think rigid wrap would work to add strength to it and then a thin layer of paperclay for a smooth surface.

[animenerd93]

i wouldnt use rigid wrap unless u only need one or two layers. that stuff gets heavy fast.
as for attaching to ur face, def go w clear elastic.

[Chipface]

1 or 2 layers should be sufficient enough for a beak.