Things are coming along nicely

[MacPhantom]

And...

[NeverMore]

.
Eek! It had to be clowns..... [shiver]....

[adrian]

the clown on the roof is my favorite

[jadewik]

How do you do your pirates, Jadewik? Mine is just a thin costume over pvc, so when the wind blows he doesn't look that great. He kind of needs to be padded out. And I'll post some pics or a vid of the fountain when I"ve filled it and start it running.

I just get a bunch of people to dress up as pirates... I'm not one for a HUGE yard display. Unfortunately, I'm terribly lazy when it comes to decorations-- I leave Halloween up inside the house year-round so I don't have to spend time setting up and taking things down. I also set up for Halloween quickly in the garage or on a table in front of the house every year. By the morning of November 1st, I'm sooOooOo tired I don't even want to think about cleaning up. Wouldn't be so bad, but getting my husband to help with anything that isn't fun is sometimes like pulling teeth... I'm all grumbly at him for not building my lone prop yet. Grrr.

[Spookymufu]

I think this one looks the most "natural".....I hate clowns!

[adrian]

it is the most natural of them all looks like a real clown lol

[Spookymufu]

I mean the way it's standing, the placement of the feet, the way the hands are positioned, looks like it could be a real person in costume. A lot of people dont give any thought to the way the figure should stand or basic anatomy, so they are bent in funny positions, hands are usually all stiff and un-natural looking and so on......

[adrian]

i know what ya mean lol it does look like someone could be in a costume.. which is what i meant by "real"

next year i'm making my life size characters out of pvc pipes so they'll for sure stand correct then entire season.. its important to give your characters a good skeleton

[MacPhantom]

I mean the way it's standing, the placement of the feet, the way the hands are positioned, looks like it could be a real person in costume. A lot of people dont give any thought to the way the figure should stand or basic anatomy, so they are bent in funny positions, hands are usually all stiff and un-natural looking and so on......

I know exactly what you mean, and it's the biggest problem I have with my props. I worry that I go too much for quantity and not enough for quality. I did a quick head count, and I have over twenty monsters, and they're not even all up yet.

When I build out of pvc or wood, I always measure arm lengths and joints and so forth against my own body. I try to keep things proportionate on most props, but I tend to exaggerate size (don't most guys? ). What I mean is, I'm 5'11", pretty much average height, but many of my props are built well over 6' to make them more imposing. I try to keep joints at natural angles, and to round off shoulders when they're made out of 2x4's, but I'm also working on a tight budget, so I don't have money to spend on rolls of padding, fancy hands. Most of my creatures' hands are monster gloves stuffed and stapled on to wooden arms, or screwed and taped onto pvc. They look great in the dark, but in daylight it's pretty clear they're just props.

Which of the props I posted pics of do y'all think look the most unrealistic? Which could use some work? Any tips or suggestions on how to improve them?

I think I mentioned it before somewhere on this forum, but it is pretty much impossible to offend me. It's a birth defect. Politics, religion, appearance, personality, prop-making skills or spelling abilities; no matter what you criticize, I won't take it personally and I can't be offended. So suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Spookymufu]

if you want to invest in about 3-nights worth of work, it's pretty easy to make decent looking corpse hands.....all ypou need is some 3/4 inch PVC, metal hanger wire, duct tape, yellow masking tape, paint, and news paper....liquid latex is helpful but not needed. If your interested I can explain more

[MacPhantom]

I am... Please do...

[joossa]

Excellent job, MacPhantom. Your ToTers sure are going to be lucky to see what you have in store for them.

[adrian]

his corpse hand is REALLY good too!!

[Spookymufu]

I am... Please do...

I'll send you as PM with it because it's kind of involved to write out....Then if you decide to make some YOU can put it in the tutorials area for everyone

[MacPhantom]

What is "PM"? I'm used to seeing it on clocks or preceding "S" or following "Tylenol", but none of those uses make sense in the context of your post.