District 9 Bunraku

Why can't I come up with sensible cosplays?

I am making a Bunraku of Christopher Johnson from District 9.

A Bunraku is a kind of life sized puppet used in Japanese theatre. Since The Prawns in District 9 are so skinny, they would be impossible to make into full costumes... but put me in a black zentai, and some kind of puppet harness, and I can control him from behind.

Here is a basic sketch of the idea:



I took my design and projected the front and side view to a piece of cardboard, taped the two pieces together with a pipe base to support them, then filled the empty spaces with good ole canned expanding foam.



Once filled, I carved out the basic shape of the Prawn with a knife for a relatively smooth surface to add clay to:



Now to add the clay.... so much clay! OMG I can't believe how much clay! I underestimated the amount of clay I needed my several boxes. Surprisingly, even a small layer of clay around the form turned out to be quite a lot!



I also couldn't always find the same color of clay, so I have a bizarre mixture of black grey and beige T_T



The torso is now fully covered, and I am on to sculpting the details!