Carving From Foam

[Koss1959]

After gawping at a number of incredible sculptures here (namely LordTrilobite's), I am desperate to give this a go.

I would like to use foam as it is cheap and easy to work with. I would be looking at making skulls. And one day, as my skills advance, hopefully a complete skeleton.

How do I go about starting this? What kind of foam do I use and where can I get the resources? I'm not too clued up on dinosaur anatomy.

[anthracite31]

Hi Koss. I haven't tried any of the carving, but I've seen these guys exhibit at Haunters Conventions.

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/

They usually use the pink rigid foam from Home Depot. It can be glued together to creat thicker blocks. Now I need to see what LordTrilobite is doing

[Koss1959]

Thanks. Do you (or anyone) have any suggestions on what skulls to start on? Considering doing life models maybe. Ie, not skeletons. Would it be wise just to start on isolated bones or teeth to get a feel for the material? I guess that would save possibly wasting a lot of foam.

[anthracite31]

Sorry, I'm new here and have just started fossil collecting. Good luck.

[LordTrilobite]

Hey!

I'm glad you like my sculptures. I'm really flattered.

I'm by no means an expert myself. I only started carving foam like this last fall, trying things out as I go along. But since you also asked me specifically how I go through my projects in my Gorgosaurus thread. Of course I can give you some tips on how to start.

To start, this is the site where I get the foam from: http://www.opitec.com/ They're based in Germany but it looks like they ship to England as well. If you search for "Roofmate" you'll find the foam I use for carving. I think its actually isolation foam but they sell it as sculpting foam. It's fairly hard but still easy to cut. I would also suggest getting a can of spray Polyurathane foam which can be used to glue separate pieces of hard foam together. Though normal hobby glue also works for smaller surfaces. As far as materials go, that about covers it.

Then you need some good tools. I find that an ordinary kitchen knife can work wonders. Provided it's sharp enough. Having it as sharp as possible works. Personally I use a medium sized kitchen knife of about 13 cm or 5 inches and a smaller hobby knife with a blade of only 2.5 cm or 1 inch. the larger knife is good for the rough shape while the smaller knife will be really useful for detailing. Another good tool, is something like a pencil or pen that is not too sharp but still pointed. the perticular foam I work with while fairly sturdy, can be easily dented. So with a pen you can litterally draw dents on the surface. If you want to make the subtle sutures in the surface of a skull, drawing them on the surface this way is really easy. You can also use sanding paper to give the foam a more smooth look.

When I first tried out carving foam like this. I started with a small mosasaur jaw as practice to get a feel for the material. Having finished that I started on a baby Parasaurolophus skull. Which I think is a fairly good size for a project to start with. What I did first, was print out some useful reference of different angles of the actual skull and some reconstructions, life size. I cut out some of the prints so I could lay them over the piece of foam and draw over the outline of the skull so I had a starting point. I think aspecially for Dinosaurs this is a good way to start since many of them have long but narrow skulls. Since the skull was fairly small the medium sized knife was more than enough for cutting out a lateral profile. After that it's mainly a case of always looking carfully at the reference and making sure you don't cut away too much. Being careful probably takes most of the time. The baby Parasaurolophus skull probably took me three months worth of weekends since I was at college during the week.

I think that's about it. I hope this helps you in getting started, can't wait to see what you come up with.

One more thing though. For a starter project one or two basic knives will probably do the trick. But I found that for concave shapes, straight knives are not optimal. I couldn't find any tools that fit the function I needed. So my dad helped me to ruin/bend some straight knifes by heating, bending and cooling the blade over a metal pipe to create a weird sideways curved blade. As it turns out this was exactly what I needed for my Gorgosaurus skull for the more tricky parts. Incase you also decide to also make such a curved blade, be mindful of the direction it curves. I'm left handed and the first knife we bended was curved the wrong way. Only after ruining that knife did I notice that I needed a curve that went the other way for my left hand.

And if you want some photo's of my complete toolset, just ask.

[Koss1959]

This is fantastic thank you! I was thinking of a full size velociraptor model. Fleshed out, not skeleton. I think this would be somewhat easier, while still presenting it's own unique challenges. Skin texture, colour come to mind. I think because there have been plenty of fossils found and it's such a famous dinosaur, dimensions shouldn't be too hard to find.

[Auspex]

Practice carving feathers, and you won't have to worry so much about skin texture.

[Koss1959]

This has been something that's bugging me. It's certain raptors had feathers. But no way can I do feathers. And I prefer the scale look anyway, but I also want to go for accuracy.

Do I pick another dinosaur? Ceolophysis? Compsognathus? I want to do a small (no bigger than five and a half feet long, half a meter tall) theropod. Any other ideas? I also want it to be life size.

So here's my requirements: (if you don't mind suggesting a few...)

Theropod

Life size

No taller than 0.5 meters

No longer than five and a half foot

Must be plenty of reference and information about the dinosaur

No feathers!

Edited August 17, 2014 by Koss1959

[LordTrilobite]

Well, it's likely that most Theropods had feathers. If you want scaly, your best bet is most Ornithopods. though some of those were fuzzy as well. Hadrosaurs and Ceratopsians had scales for sure though. But even Ceratopsians had quills in some places.

But if your heart is set on Theropods and still want to make them scaly. I think anything outside Coelurosaurs is still mostly featherless. Maybe basal Theropods, Abelisaurids, Allosaurids, Spinosaurids. but most of these are pretty big.

How about a Ceratosaurus head? Sure it's not small. but not huge either. And it was more likely scaly than most Theropods. It's a cool animal too.

[Koss1959]

Thanks for the advice. Ceratosaurus is an ugly beast, isn't it? I've been looking at a 1:18 scale Rex. Quite keen as it's a Rex. There should be lots of reference for it, being the most famous dinosaur ever. However, it does seem the go to and I kinda want something more original.

Actually, I'm just gonna stick with the raptor but without the feathers. Where can I get measurements from?

Edited August 17, 2014 by Koss1959

[Koss1959]

Changed my mind again. I think a Rex Skull would be a good idea. I forgot I have access to a full size anatomically correct Tyrannosaurus Rex skull, that should answer all my questions. Plus there is lots of information around about it Rex skulls in general.

[Koss1959]

It's started!

Finally settled on a project. Her name is Sue. Sue is the most complete (80%) Tyrannosaurus Rex found to date. Her skull is distorted but due to the fossil being so famous, it wasn't hard to find correct measurements for her. I chose Sue because she is well documented, there is a shop down the road with a full size, anatomically correct Tyrannosaurus Rex skull in the window which will be used, I happened to stumble across the perfect scale picture of her skull and because it's a Tyrannosaurus!

I have never done this before and don't expect it to be easy. But I'm quite hands on and somewhat artistic, so I have high hopes. I will be documenting the process throughout and will happily take any advice given.

The details:

I wanted to make a 1:3 scale. However, I found a basic scale diagram of Sue's skull somewhere between 1:3 and 1:4 scale, so I'm going with that for ease.

I'm not expecting it to be 100% anatomically correct, but I'm going to try and get as close as is practical.

I will be using blue insulation foam and some craft knives. Neither of which I have yet. I should hopefully have the foam by the end of the week. Hoping to have regular updates.

Here's the blueprints I'll be using. The scale is just under a foot long (27cm).

As I said, any advice is greatly appreciated!

Foam and craft knives ordered!

Edited August 18, 2014 by Koss1959

[Auspex]

Just cut away anything that does not look like a Tyrannosaur skull, and it will come out great!

[Koss1959]

You always offer the best advice.

[lissa318]

Good luck and can't wait to see it!!!!

[Koss1959]

Thanks!

Fantastic news. I went down to the shop to see the full scale Rex skull and couldn't believe my luck when I realised it was actually a cast of Sue's skull. So if I ever get stuck, I have a full size reference available to me five minutes away. Here's some pictures of the cast I'll be using and then some reference pictures. The skull on Sue's actual skeleton is also a cast as the original is distorted and far too heavy to mount. The following pictures are of both the mounted replica and the real skull. But firstly, the replica in the shop.

Inside of the opposite jaw

Side on

Pathological holes which identify the skull as Sue's.

Basioccipital and back of the skull

The real skull/ mounted replica

Edited August 19, 2014 by Koss1959

[Auspex]

The old girl has been through a lot.There is conjecture that at least some of the damage to her skull occurred during her 'murder' by another T. rex.

[Koss1959]

From what I've read, she's had several broken bones which have have new bone growth meaning she lived through her injuries. The holes in her skull are thought to be parasitic, I think.

[LordTrilobite]

Wow, those are really great photos. Here's another link you might like. You can download a 3D pdf file in which you can view a T. rex skull from all angles.

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/dbms-witmer/Tyrannosaurus-rex_3D-PDFs.htm

Those scale drawings look really good too. But I would suggest getting ventral and caudal views to scale as well.

And I honestly don't think a craft knife like the one in the picture is not going to work well for large shapes. This is because the handle will get in the way. I would suggest getting a knife with a much longer blade as well.

Another small tip. If you have a really big piece of foam. It can be easier to just use a regular saw to get a really rough shape to start with.

[Koss1959]

I have a proper set of craft knives on the way plus a variety of kitchen knives I already own. The knife in the picture is just for size reference, I won't be using it haha. Thanks though.

I've found some good caudal and ventral views of a juvenile rex skull but getting one to the same scale as my diagrams has been proving difficult. I'll keep searching though.

It's pretty difficult to find. I might have to estimate it.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Koss1959

[LordTrilobite]

Ah okay.

Btw. That mounted skeleton is obviously Sue, but isn't that skull in the close-ups Stan?

http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/dbms-witmer/collections/Theropods/tyrannosaurusstan.htm

[Koss1959]

Ah man, it is, isn't it? To tell the truth, I saw the holes in the skull and didn't really take time to properly compare them. The full size skull is still going to be very useful though, regardless. I believe Stan's skull is considerably smaller than Sue's. So the full size replica isn't as big as Sue's skull. Man, that thing must be huge. But thanks for pointing that out. And thanks for that other link, that will be useful too.

I can't get the pdf to load unfortunately. I've downloaded it several time but it just comes up blank. My foam still hasn't been dispatched yet either, getting really eager!

[anthracite31]

Another tool to try is an electric carving knife. Not sure how it does on the polyiso foam, but it's worked great for me for cutting softer foams.

[Koss1959]

Thanks. Before I invest in any more tools and materials, I'm going to work with what I have. Then if I come across a problem that needs a new tool or type of material, I will invest in such things. But for now, I have no need for them. I haven't even got started on the model yet as the foam and knives aren't here. I appreciate your suggestion regardless.

[Koss1959]

Not an update but I now have the best reference for the teeth that I can get