Head and Shoulders Corpse

Head and Shoulders Corpse

If your on a limmited buget this is a great prop to do.

The following directions are for making the ‘body’ for the prop pictured above. The rest of the techniques are from these pages on this site.

the head from my skulls page.

the teeth from my teeth page.

the outer skin from my snot rage mache’ page.

and the over all finish from my corpsology 101 page.

Please read all the directions for this prop before starting.

Needed Things

Piece of cardboard box at least 18x8.

Cardboard role from paper towels, foil or even 3 toilet paper roles taped together.

News paper.

Duct tape, the cheap cloth kind.

Pen or marker.

Scissors and ruler.

A head to work with. Like one of the skulls from my skull page or any head you may have around. You could even shape wadded news paper and make a head that way.

Paper mache glue. My Ultimate Paper Mache or any of your choosing. I don’t recommend just flour and water.

STEP 1 On a piece of box cardboard use a pen or marker to draw a shoulder and chest pattern. Like the one pictured above. Make sure your shoulders are at least 16 to 18 inches wide. Cut this out.

STEP 2 Center your tube and mark it’s position as shone. Cut the circle out in triangles. This will help hold the tube in place. Make sure the tub fits. If you break the cardboard where it gets thin don’t sweat it. Everything is taped into place.

STEP 3 Position the tube how you want it and duct tape it in place. For this prop I did mine strait up. You can lean yours anyway you like.

STEP 4 Place your armature on 2 full sheets of news paper. This will be the ‘outer skin’ of the armature and give you something to corpse later. Wad up some news paper and place it on one shoulder. Fold the 2 sheets of news paper over this and tape into place. Your making a shoulder for your prop as pictured below. I used all the wadded news papaer shone to make this shoulder.

STEP 5 Stuff the chest and remaining shoulder using the 2 sheets of news paper as an outer skin to hold everything in place. Use the duct tape to shape the body.

STEP 6 If you want use news paper to make a neck as shone on the armature below. Just wad up a full sheet and tape it around the tube.

STEP 7 (this step is using a paper mache skull from my skull page. If your head needs theeth they should be in before attaching the head to the body. If your using a different head attach it as needed) Wad up a sheet of news paper and place it over the top of the tube. Position the skull over this and use duct tape to attach it to the armature. Use the tape to form the bottom of the jaw and skull as shone below.

STEP 8 This prop is ready to be mache'd and finished. If your not going to use the snot rag technique I highly recommend you cover all the plane news paper and duct tape with at least two layers of paper mache for strengthening. Then apply the finish of your choice. Don’t forget to finish the bottom of the prop as well to help keep moister out.

EASY TEETH FOR THIS PROP.

Cut each jaw line out of cardboard. Use a bit of water to bend the cardboard without creasing it. Tape or glue in place. Cereal box cardboard works great for this. Pictured are bread clay teeth.

I.V.P. PROPOLOGY 101

Ideas and Variations for this Prop.

Angle the head up as in the picture. Now your prop is looking at your guests.

Add a few more details and have a monster coming out of the ground. Make a two headed one!

Stick it on a long pole and put a robe or sheet on it and use it as the head and shoulders of a stand up prop. Even put a shirt on it and stuff the arms. To modify this to fit on my Easy Standing Prop stand use a PVC pipe for your tube. Glue and screw a piece of 3/4 inch dowel rod to fit down in the main PVC pipe for the stand. If you made this prop out of a card board tube and would like to modify it to work try this. Stick a 3/4 inch dowel rod up the tube as far as it will go. Measure no less than 8 inches out the bottom and cut it there. Glue the top half of the dowel rod and wrap it with news paper so it fits snug in the tube. Pull the paper wrapped dowel back out and spread glue on it. Re insurt the dowel and let dry.

You can angle the shoulders by making one higher than the other. Angle the tube as well to make it look like it’s leaning.

Angling the tube back will make the prop look up at your guests. If extra high is needed tape a toilet paper role to the top of the tube. If your prop has a hard time standing upright stick something that will fit up into the tube in the ground at the angle of the prop. Then slip the prop over this.

You are only limited by the laws of physics and your imagination. Have fun with it!