Starting the draugr head armature

It looks kind of cute.  Don't worry though, it will be all icky and zombified soon.




My foundation for this project is a paper mache'd balloon.  Balloons aren't the best thing to paper mache over because they shrink while the paper is drying, causing it to crumple a bit.  But if you don't need a perfectly round armature a balloon will get the job done, and you can inflate it to whatever size you want.  



The other advantage of balloons is that they're lightweight and easily hung from the washing line to dry.


The resulting round shape is good for the back of the skull, but heads are actually oval.  That means I have to build the forehead and facial bones.  To make the forehead I've cut around the front of my balloon armature, folded it upwards, and held it in place with cardboard strips.








I know, I know.  It doesn't look much like a zombie yet (or anything else really), but remember this is just the top and back of the head.  Once I add the upper jaw and eyes, you can start to see where I'm going with this.

I've just used cardboard strips to make an armature for the face.  It's exactly the same principal as making a wire-frame model on a computer.







The cardboard I used I is from a beer box, but it could be a cereal box or any other type of box.  One of the really nice things about working with paper mache is that you can do it very cheaply with materials you have around your home.  You can wake up one morning and say to yourself "I really want to make a zombie head", and be making a start on that zombie head before you've even finished your breakfast coffee.  Obviously you do need to have time to do it, which is why I'm making just the head and not the whole zombie.

That's it for today.  Next time we'll probably take a look at the detail inside the draugr's mouth.

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