Constructing a Hobby Animal
To help you in your choices I am going to describe some commoner techniques in detail. It should be stressed that this is not comprehensive or definitive.
The Parts of a beast are:
HEAD, FRAME, SUPPORT & HARNESS, COVERING & OPERATOR'S COSTUME, which are dealt with in several chapters.
This chapter deals with that most vital element of character, the Head, with a special emphasis on the Jaw.
Sub-sections: Shaping, Eyes, Wood, Fibreglass, Papier Mache, Rubber Several combinations of construction methods/materials can be considered including.
1) USING AN EXISTING SOLID OBJECT, of which Skulls are the most traditional, usually for 3-leg mast beasts.
(Telephone conversation, ('Ragged Hero' speaking)
'Hello, is that the slaughter house? Do you sell horses' heads?'
'How many would you like, sir?'
'Er ... just one, please.'
'Small, medium or large, sir?'
'Er ... Medium, please,'
'Would you like the flesh boiled off?'
'Yes please'
(Ragged Heroes advise getting the brain removed!)
They used some sort of acidic or caustic pickle to help to remove anything left after the boiling and to keep it sweet.
However, I am informed that both boiling and acid can remove calcium from the bone, rendering it weak and brittle. The preferred method of cleaning the head is to expose it in an isolated tree or other safe place for about six months, and let Nature do its work. Quicker is a 'sea cage'. The results are heavier but more durable than the boiled ones. I'm told that a week in hydrogen peroxide will whiten it beautifully, although traditional horses were often painted black. Some experience suggests that people find white skulls more horrific than black. A point for caution - horn is based on hair, not bone, and may need special treatment.
Be wary of getting something too big. Bone is very heavy, and large-jawed heads are often difficult to mount in balance.
Traditionally, skulls were often given eyes made from bottle-bottoms. You may feel inclined to do some filling-in, particularly in the nasal region - foam supplied in aerosols is good for this. Teeth often drop out and get lost - at the first sign of loosening, extract and re-fix with 'Araldite'.
Why stop at horses - with the whole animal kingdom to choose from you are limited only by size and availability - have you seen the Wart-Hog?! What a chance for the Wbipsnade Morris!
Other possibilities include stuffed heads, which might need a special internal structure for the pole. I once saw a pig whose plaster head may have come from a butcher's window (it was driving a sports-car in Bromyard).
2) SCULPTED MATERIAL such as wood
3) 'FORMED' MATERIAL - plaster, papier maché, fibreglass, etc.
These are built up on a roughly-shaped core which is smaller than the finished product. Good results will require the skills of a modeller or a sculptor who works in clay.
Cores are often hollow and can be made using wire-netting, wicker, a tin can - or several riveted together, or even an inflated object like a balloon.
Solid cores can be removed later. Possibilities range from dense polystyrene foam, which usefully dissolves in petrol, to concrete.
4) MOULDED OR CAST MATERIAL. For this method a full-sized and finished model is made (Plasticine, clay, etc) and a plaster mould made from it Material is applied to the inside of the mould and allowed to set. Very high quality finishes can be achieved. Materials include those listed under (3), and also latex rubber of which more later. An advantage is that as long as you have the mould, repeat copies are easy to make.
5) Other ideas could involve sheet metal or wicker.
Not all methods are mutually exclusive and could be combined. Choice will be affected by the results desired and the skills and materials available.
WEIGHT. How much this needs to be studied depends upon the uses to which your beast will be put. In the case of a tourney animal it is worth noting that to achieve balance, a heavy head may require to be counterweighted at the rear, making lightness doubly desirable.
Before construction, consider the requirements of.
· Firm, strong demountable(?) frame- or mast-fixings.
· Any other demountable features - horns, ears, etc.
· Requirements of any special features - housings or channelling for machinery, pipes, wires or controls.
· Replacement of vulnerable or less-durable parts.
Back to top of section I may have given the impression that I expect you to be able to find an accomplished artist to make your head for you. This of course is the ideal, but you will probably end up having to do the job yourself.
Ideally one should observe the chosen animal, alive or stuffed [OK, OK, dragons!] but children's picture books can he helpful as the animals are usually simplified. It is essential to study the shape of the head and to get it right. Aim for an outline from each of the three directions, the side, the front and the top. The rest is detail, and need not be perfect. Just as some artists - such as the cartoonist 'Haro' - can, with a few pen-strokes, draw an animal and give expression to its face, so one can create a most effective beast using very simple shaping and detail.
A skilled operator can give a great deal of character to a very simple mast animal, but this is harder with the carnival-head type where range and speed of movement are limited by the strength of the operator's neck. The character and effectiveness are therefore likely to be more dependant on the design and appearance of the head.
If the animal is to he worn as a hat, balance and weight are critical. The centre of gravity of the animal head must coincide with that of the operator or severe neck-strain will result
My personal feeling is that mast-beasts should not he cuddly. They do not need to be horrific, but to be effective they should have a hint of mystery and veiled menace. The genre frightens dogs, and children between one and three years, whatever you do.
Back to top of section One sees animals whose designers have not studied the positioning of the eyes. Prey-animals have theirs set to the side in order to cover a large area. The eyes of predators are set forwards to give the best range-judgement and attack accuracy.
Although eyeballs are round, their visible shape is usually modified by eyelids, which may cover the upper part of the iris.
Apart from paint there are many possibilities for eyes. Tradition gives as bottle-bottoms and large marbles. Car lamp-glasses have internal prism structures which sparkle effectively.
My original attraction to eyes lit by electricity was deterred by the weight and cost of batteries powerful enough to produce a brightness effective in daylight. I have since wondered about the sort of warning light used at some road-works which emits a very brief, bright, 'stroboscopic' flash.
If the eyes were translucent and set on the sides, one could drill a large- diameter hole through the head between them so that light shining in one eye would cause a glimmer in the other.
There is a plastic that shows coloured patterns which have a three-dimensional, holographic effect and which makes nice eyes.
Back to top of section An ideal wood for carving is 'Jellutong' the wood of Rubber trees. Much used by pattern-makers, it has negligible end-grain and is soft and easy to work. Try specialist timber-yards.
Balsa is more durable than you might think and, of course, very light and easy to work, but strong fixings can be a problem
It is likely that you will have to build up your head from several blocks. Try to get the grains all running in the same direction to minimise the distortion due to subsequent shrinkage.
If you have access to woodworking machinery, the best faces for gluing can be made with a table disc-sander. Consider whether some of the constituent blocks can be best rough-shaped on band-saw or sander before final assembly. Also, this may well be the time to construct internal channels and cavities, and to insert threaded plates and other fixing points.
Chisels and gouges can be instruments of destruction in the hands of the unskilled like me, and I found that 'Surform'-type tools and a rasp were much easier to use. I also got good results with rotary files set in an electric drill. You need to get the tooth-form for wood.
Back to top of section I have no practical experience with this except what was needed to discover that its use is not as simple as it looks until - as with everything else - you know what you are doing. It sticks to everything except what its supposed to, it hardens while you're thinking about it, and experts can work sickening miracles with it [That should tell you quite a bit about me!]
The material is surprisingly heavy - it is, of course, composed mainly of glass. It does not survive repeated impacts.
A fine scaly reptilian effect can he obtained by covering small-mesh netting very thinly, so that the outline of the wire remains visible.
Back to top of section A lot stronger than you might think - the Victorians made furniture of it. It is lighter than fibreglass, being wood-based, and easier to work with as it does not go 'off'. It must be protected from moisture.
There is a variation of this, beloved of infant-school teachers, in which small pieces of torn paper are built up using paste. This technique, using good-quality unplasticised (Kraft) brown paper and the modern adhesive 'PVA' produces a material of great strength and durability. This slow, reversible build-up of a shape might well suit people who do not have instinctive artistic skills; indeed recommended practice suggests that after each few layers, it be allowed to dry before more is added. As with fibreglass, the application of pressure is important for strength and the use of a roller is desirable. This requires the core or mould to withstand applied forces.
A thin coating of fibreglass, or of its resin alone, could waterproof and strengthen either of these.
Fibreglass and paper are unlikely to take screws or bolts reliably. Plan to incorporate wooden pads, plates with captive nuts etc, during the construction. Reinforcement, especially for potentially vulnerable bits, is also better built in
Back to top of section This offers special qualities which can be very useful. It is flexible and more long-lived and durable than you might think, but not always easy to attach to other parts of a construction.
A female mould is made of plaster-of-paris in a dish shape that will hold the liquid latex which is the form in which the rubber is used. The mould is sprayed with silicone release agent and then filled with rubber which will gradually solidify against the plaster surface. After a time the liquid remaining is poured off, and when 'cured' (i.e., left to dry) the rubber shape - called a 'pull' - is detached from the mould. The longer the liquid stays in the mould, the thicker will be the pull.
This whole idea may seem complex and off-putting, but it need not be so. When I used it I approached our local professional theatre which had a workshop staff. I found someone who designed and made my mould and provided the pulls. I made sure that I bought and kept the mould and ten years later when I wanted more, I contacted them again. I had no trouble in getting more pulls from my mould, which saved me having to buy latex - much of which would have been wasted. You may find theatrical people outside the professional theatre who use these techniques and have access to the materials. Their charges are usually very reasonable. Not only beasts, but also Fools or any masked character, could be made using this method.
If you need to paint it use artists' Acrylic paints from an art shop, as they are flexible and do not crack off.
Back to top of section If the jaw is to open, it is often easier to construct and shape the head as one piece and afterwards to saw the lower jaw free. An exception might be when using fibreglass or similar and you want to incorporate hinges etc. in the material. In this case the jaw could be wholly or partially detached before all the layers have been added.
With hard rigid materials it is difficult or impossible to get a jaw anatomically correct, due to the absence of cheeks. If it is made small to give the natural size of mouth-opening, the jaw angle looks wrong. If the jaw is hinged near to its 'correct' place, the mouth is much larger than in nature. On the whole, I favour the latter because it makes the beast look 'happy' and facilitates money-eating.
Where the appearance of the real animal allows, a realistic compromise can be achieved by having a long jaw working between pendant cheeks which are fixed to the main head.
I have seen long canine teeth which fitted into holes in the opposite jaw, thus disappearing when the mouth was closed. -clever!
Some operators value the ability to close the jaw accurately on small objects, hat-brims, etc., and a jaw which does not reach right to the front of the nose will restrict this.
If the jaw opens by gravity, the hinges need to be very free-moving. Used ones may be better, or you could have to sort through a boxfull. leather is OK, but lacks lateral precision.
Skulls can pose special problems. Either the jaw and the head must he fixed to pieces of wood or metal which can be hinged together, or the natural pivot can he used. In this case a way must he found to effectively replace sinews etc. which originally bound it together.
There are three common ways of operating the jaw:
1) A downward-projecting rod fixed to the underside of the jaw. In this case the jaw need not he hinged at all - or can be hinged loosely to allow lateral movement. This enables the beast to grind its teeth sideways in a particularly horrible way. The disadvantage is that it exclusively occupies one hand.
2) A string from the top of the jaw to the underside of the head in front of the hinge. This then must run through rings or pulleys. Disadvantages are that it is visible in the mouth, and that it may be harder for the jaw to drop freely.
3) A lever projects backwards past the hinge, and a string imparts a downward pull. This is the method which I have used. A variation is to use a rod instead of the string. This can he used to open the mouth as well as shut it, and makes possible a very rapid snapping action.
There are other possibilities which include:
The jaw is held shut by a spring and pulled open by a cord from its underside. This is likely to he visible, but with better mechanicals, the spring-closed jaw is favoured by some.
I have seen a large carnival-headed pig whose jaw was counterbalanced to open and shut randomly with head movement.
'Bowden' cycle gear/brake cable can operate jaws and all sorts of mechanical effects. For anyone unfamiliar with these cables, I point out that not only can the inner wire transmit a pull, but that the outer casing can push.
Money-eating can also cause problems. A critical factor is the angle between the mast and the floor of the jaw or throat. When the mast is vertical, this floor should he horizontal, or better, sloping down towards the back. If it slopes to the front the beast will have to tilt or turn its head right back in order to swallow money. You could try exaggerating the slope of the underside of the jaw in order to improve swallowing ability.
The effective angle of head-tilt needed to swallow money could be reduced by polishing the floor of the jaw to cut friction. Jaw-closing method (3) can also cause a problem by blocking the throat, but I overcame this as follows. A stout wire is bent into a U-shape. The ends turn out and fit into holes in the jaw being retained by staples, or washers on screws, The fabric of the gullet is attached to the jaw at the front and to the head at the back, leaving the sides free to allow movement of the wire. A piece of elastic supports the weight of the operating mechanism.
A simple way to fix the tube is to start it at a hole just in front of the hinge of a long jaw, concealed behind the main 'cape' cloth.
The throat extends into a fabric tube or gullet in which the money collects. This should be long enough so that a bulk of coins do not hit the operator in the face, and not so long as to bring tears to his eyes. It can be loosely tied to the pole to stop it swinging about, and the lower end can be closed with a tape, or a zip which is better.
Do not leave money in the tube during storage, your offerings may include sweets which deteriorate stickily.
Ensure that neither the operator's face nor the head's workings are visible to the public. This destroys any 'mystery'.
For Tourney beasts you could use something based on method (2), or you can use reins. Fix one side to the head and the other to the jaw. Incorporate a short rigid bar in that part held by the rider, and both head and jaw can be worked by the same hand.
If the beast has a very light head on a longish neck, the 'reins' can he supportive bars. The neck can then be a flexible tube. Multiple bars with crafty pivoting can then give subtle and effective control of head movements.
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