| Introduction |
 |
Ah,
the ubiquitous cheap plastic skeleton
in a bag. Also euphemistically referred to as a blucky (blow-mold Bucky). At $12-$14, it's so
cheap that you probably have two or
three of them. The problem is
that it's not very scary to look
at. In fact, it looks kind of
goofy. You can dress
it up and hang it under a black
light. Or...why not corpse it? |
What is "corpsing"?
Corpsing is the art of coating
some humanoid shape (usually a Bucky
skeleton) in such a way as to make it
appear to be a rotting corpse.
There are many different techniques to
try. My particular favorite that
is presented here I call "beef
jerky style". You'll end up
with a very dry-looking desiccated
corpse. Other styles include
"bar-b-q",
and "worm food". These
are my names. I don't know what
anyone else calls them. Gross,
probably. |
|
"Beef
jerky" style corpse
|
|
| Parts
list |
| 1
cheap plastic skeleton in a bag |
Usually
available around Halloween at Big Lots and novelty
stores. |
| 1
quart carpet adhesive ("carpet latex") |
Available
at Home Depot in the paint department. |
| 1
roll of paper towels |
Without
prints unless you like pretty flowers on your
corpse. |
| 1
small can of redwood stain |
Get
the water-soluble kind. Cleanup is
easier. If you want a different color for
your corpse, there's plenty to choose from.
You won't need very much, either, so get the
smallest amount you can buy. |
| Preparation |
| Carpet
latex is tacky. I mean, it's really
tacky. Anna Nicole Smith tacky. I
sprinkled talcum powder over my work surface
before I started and it was one of my better
ideas. I also recommend some latex gloves. |
| Construction |
| The
rest of this how-to is more of a
"here's how I did it" instead of a
hard and fast set of rules. You'll
doubtless discover some other way to corpse
your skeleton that you like better.
That's why these things are fun.
Somebody has an idea and 200 other people
run with it with wildly different results.
Start
off with a (relatively) clean plastic
skeleton. If you've painted it, that's
okay. Mine was painted and it turned
out fine. Wearing gloves, smear a fair
amount of latex onto the chest. Tear
strips of paper towel and push them firmly
onto the latexed area. Smear a thin
coat of latex over the paper towel.
Repeat over the entire torso. Work on
one side at a time instead of trying to flip
the corpse over. |
After the first layer is down, go back and
place a second layer. Use latex to
hold the strips in place, but only just
enough to keep them from peeling away.
You'll discover that with a little practice
you can introduce wrinkles by pushing the
strips around a little as you lay them
down. To create bumps and areas
that suggest a mass of tissue, simply add
more strips. Try saturating a piece of
paper towel, then wadding it up and placing
it on your skelly. Build up the area
and lay more strips over it. For a very sinewy
look, roll a saturated thin
piece of paper towel between your thumb and
forefinger until you have a long
string. Then apply it to the corpse
and smooth it down with a little more
latex. Repeat. |
Click
pix to zoom in
Looks
like a boiled chicken |
The
deformed head that comes with this skeleton
has gotten a bum wrap. No, it's not
100% realistic, but you'll be surprised how
much better he looks after a few layers of
skin. You can opt to put a different
head on your corpse, but don't discount the
potential creep factor of the original.
If
you do corpse the head, try cutting out the
black painted area where the original's eyes
were, then corpse all around the
sockets. Use your imagination and
build up different areas for a more
grotesque look. This one reminds me of
a shriveled up apple. A few strands of
fake hair from a cheap wig make a wispy
hairdo for your gruesome friend.
|
Shrunken
head
|
Position
your skeleton in the pose you want before
you start corpsing. The joints aren't
what you'd call moveable when everything is
dry. There is some room to move
around, but just barely. If you try to
move the joints around too much you'll tear
them.
When
you corpse the joint areas, try braiding a
few strings (described above) together and
anchoring them with a good glop of
latex. Several of these plus a layer
or two of 'skin' over them can make very
convincing muscle structure. Make them
long enough that there's plenty of length on
either side of the joint to apply extra
latex. |
Ready
for stain
|
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