Dinosaur Skull for less than $10 - Bringing a Dream to Life
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- čas přidán 7. 12. 2023
- I made a scale Allosaurus skull from scratch using cheap supplies from the hardware store and I'm attempting to show you the process. While this isn't the first upload to the channel, it was the project that inspired me to create one and I'm excited to finally show you the end result. I struggled with many aspects of the actual creation of the project, learning to edit a video, and learning audio. I have a ton of improvements I want to make for the next upload and I appreciate your feedback.
Here's the skull I actually used (I think the inaccuracy I mentioned is partially user error on my part after further review):
www.thingiverse.com/thing:296...
Here is another model that does seem a bit cleaner and has teeth:
sketchfab.com/3d-models/allos... - Jak na to + styl
All the materials were less than $10, but the real cost was this guy's sanity 😅
Seriously though, amazing work!
Thats art for you :D
I'm not a paleontologist...but I'm a professional sculptor and I can say that you have done a great job. Also that the problems you have had are an absolutely normal part of the profession. Each project is totally different. Congratulations and cordial greetings from Spain.
Thanks for lending some of your expertise! It's been really awesome to hear from all types of professions sharing some of their tips and tricks. Much appreciated!
"dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good" life changing quote right there
this turned out incredible! definitely considering doing this now :)
A few tips which I hope are helpful:
You can use Gorilla glue to stick the foam together. I have used that for making wargames terrain with foam (at least the stuff you stick in the caulk gun), it has a super strong bond.
You can also water down the wall filler, or at least I know you can do this with a product like Polyfilla. You could also try using a product like Sculptamold, which is plaster powder mixed with paper fibers.
14:06 You could try mixing paint with matte Modpodge and brushing it on, again another terrain making trick. That provides a hard surface which protects the foam underneath if you want to spray it afterwards!
Also this is awesome and would love to try making one myself!
These are very helpful tips. It seems this project has a lot of overlap with some tabletop and cosplay techniques that I never knew about and the tabletop community has run into a lot of these issues before. Thanks for taking the time to share some knowledge, it's always appreciated!
The gorilla glue thing works really well but it can displace whatever you’re sticking together as it expands when it cures so you may need to weigh or clamp your piece down.
@@TrionAlpha I think it depends what type you use. I used the stuff in the cartridge that goes in a caulk gun and didn't get any expansion from what I remember. Grabs extremely well too.
@@nozyspy4967 that would make sense. I’ve only used the stuff in the bottle and that definitely expands similar to insulation foam spray.
Plain old PVA glue for wood work will give an excellent bond on polystyrene or construction-grade foam - I like Weldbond, and have used it on many an art project. Dressmaker pins work well for temporarily "tacking" the pieces in place while the glue sets up.
This is unironically one of the best foam prop tutorials on the platform. Great job!
Also this process can definitely be used to make a whole skeleton... ideas
Thanks! Seems like the full skeleton is definitely something people want to see. I'll have to make some efficiency gains but I'm piecing it together in the back of my mind so to speak. No promises :P
Honestly? I would pay you to make a utahraptor skull for me. I don't have the time to be crafty like this. Your allosaurus skull came out amazing!
Exact same but for a baryonyx skull I love that dinosaur sm lol
You can't afford to pay this guy by the hour.
@@tonyennis1787 Maybe, maybe not.
……. Utahraptor costume
@@tonyennis1787you've obviously never seen the amount of money furries spend on fursuits. It would curdle your soul. 🤑
I like how the topcoat actually added to the weathered effect by melting the foam.
same!
me too, to think the holes it created were realistic against the bone fragment you showed on screen.
That's pretty impressive even compared to museum quality replicas. It would be cool to see a lower jaw or a fully articulated skeleton! Great video though! I look forward to seeing what comes next
Thank you, that's very kind
I absolutely love this video. It’s so inspiring to see a total amateur doing something like this and actually showing how painful and complicated things can get but still just keep doing and learning and eventually achieving something amazing 😍
This was great, I am inspired.
Underrated work! Keep up the work man!
Your comment is doing some heavy lifting. Thanks, brother
@@makermeditations gotta show love for an awesome creator
This popped into my feed randomly, and I'm subscribing! I love your voice // voiceovers and the way you take all the downsides in stride, a true "trust the process"
Thanks! I actually really struggled with the audio so the next ones should be better. Welcome!
Same here!!
you just awakened my inner child
i love how honest this video is
It’s been such a long time since the last time I just sat down and watched a video, start to finish focused on only doing that. I take that as an indicator that I really like watching you do whatever you do. So please keep doing stuff!
I did similar with a CNC machine and a T-Rex skull. It took nearly a year to do and required a massive amount of hand finishing - I ended up only doing half the skull and mounting it on a mirror on the wall so that the mirror would give it a "depth" feeling. Great job dude - sometimes we can only get the things we love by doing the long yards!
In some cases it's actually the solvent mediums in aerosol spray products that is melting the foam, so you can try spraying from much farther away which gives the solvents time to evaporate before landing. I've done it with spray paint before and it worked pretty well.
Perfect, came down to the comments to say this
barge cement is made for shoe construction and repair, but cosplayers use it for foam armor all of the time. it sands pretty well, but no adhesive will be perfect.
My favorite "glue" is Great Stuff expanding foam. Pin your pieces together so the foam doesnt expand and push your parts apart, but you can also re-fill holes and gaps with the great stuff, and razor off any flashing.
This is a great project! Foam clay (cosplayers use it a lot) is great for detail work like the teeth, because it air dries, and with something light like your foam skull, it might match the weight and feel a bit better. Plus, you can stick it to many surfaces before it dries, and it stays in place really well.
This is so cool.
My suggestions would be:
1. Replace the foam board with balsa wood.
2. Replace the hand-drawn cutouts with paper cut on a cricut.
3. Use a dremel to make the initial cuts and the bonification bumps.
Love this - mostly because this clearly makes you happy and you managed to put in the hours to complete it. We should all prioritise this sort of productivity. Looks so good as well.
End results speak for itself! One thing i would have done, as some cosplayers do, would have been to print the templates of your cut outs in the scale that you wanted, cut, and then just transfer that onto the foam; opposed to the printed screen shots and grid lining. lol
as far as glueing foam goes, its best to glue foam with foam. Spray foam, and lay your part over. That way there will be no hinder in sanding. Halloween industry for large prop making and car custom bodies do this way.
I really should thank the CZcams algorithm for bestowing upon me this great channel haha 😆
I saw the cat counter video you made and enjoyed it so much I clicked on your channel to see more, and I was honestly so surprised when there was only three videos! I was convinced that you would have a channel full of great videos like that one. I really like the easy going feel of your videos, the subtle humor and the fact that you really show the trial and error process that goes into making this stuff.
I really hope to see more of your videos in the future!
through watching this video i was so surprised when it got to the bit you said it was your first video! the editing, narration, and touches of humor gave the impression that this was made by a long time creator who already had their audience. i came here from the kitty chair video and got the same impression!
Thanks! I still have so many things that I want to improve but the I really appreciate the feedback! See you soon
So you physically did what an MRI scan does . Cool idea ! The result looks great. Thanks for the share. :O)
It only took 10$.....and a week of labor.... and a ton of specialized expertise honed to perfection!
"When your only tool is a hammer, every problem is a nail" - I didn't think I'd ever take life advice from a youtube video but I'm gonna live by that from now on.
Great work on the skull! The wonderful about organic, especially old organic materials is they can be wobbly and bumpy and weird, because that's what nature looks like. Anything that goes wrong is just character!
I really LOVE the use of an existing 3D file without a printer and the fact that it works for larger 3D objects is actually a bonus. Great project with a hack that I will use on puppet builds for sure. Thanks!
Dude, when I clicked I could've sworn you had at least 100k subs, super video, super interesting, can't wait for more! Great job!!
I did a vaguely similar project a few years back. I do fairly elaborate Halloween displays and one year I did Jurassic Yard. One of my features was a 13 ft. Tyrannosaurus skeleton. I spent most of the winter before carving that thing out of insulation foam in my garage. Not anywhere as detailed as your skull. I bought a T-Rex model and used the individual pieces for reference. Your video brought back memories, some good some bad! Great job!
Man, this sounds amazing! Having kids and parents comment on the props is the best. Halloween is such a fun time
Love this! I was terrified when you didn't mention sealing the foam when so many products can melt and evaporate it, but glad it all worked out. It looks good, especially for a first try!
That came out nice! Any time you make something new, it is an adventure. You might do it differently next time, but that is because you did it this way this time. Thanks for sharing.
In my experience normal PVA glue can hold foam sheets together just fine. It does take a while to dry, so there's that. There's also a special glue (which smells like chalk, and looks like drywall filler paste) for attaching foam decorative elements to the ceiling (forgot what it's called), which should work even better
You're amazing!! I'm so glad you started filming this, it was an absolute joy to watch. Thank you!
Your video was so good I created an account on CZcams to let you know. I found it very wholesome to watch someone work on something they are passionate it about. Looking forward to more videos!
That's so kind of you! I really appreciate the gesture and the feedback. Welcome aboard and I'll see you soon!
It's important to note that there's different weights of this foam with different density and strengths. A higher weight foam will sand smoother.
omg, this makes me so excited! I need a hobby that isn't drawing this year and almost all modelling vids I've seen require so much equipment and cash, this is so innovative and encouraging, thank you! If I do get to try this I think I will use pine wood instead to give it a cool look and be a little sturdier (plus I already have enough wood)
Love to hear it, you got this!
Randomly finding this in my recommended is pretty damn neat and to think feels so real when its not its pretty incredible :d
A top tip for getting rid of the stringy hot glue strands. Use a heat gun and they’ll evaporate into thin air
hey, I love your video! Until you said it, I didn't realize you weren't a professional youtuber. Great content, excellent work and very good filming/editing. Keep up the good work!
What a painful process but good on you for persevering because the final product looks amazing! Well done!!
if im honest, i love dinosaurs. my favorite dinosaur is a spinodaurus, and seeing a skull of it would be awesome
I saw the "rocking around" joke coming from a mile away but it still got a chuckle out of me 😅
Dude! Been chipping away at an eva foam T- Rex replica after seeing one at a museum. My brother in adult childhood. Keep it up!
man this was awesome! can't believe its your first big video, the editing felt so natural. hope to see more vids from you!!
So you effectively did manually what a 3D printer does on a larger scale, interesting. For adhesive I would suggest foam-safe super glue (normal super glue will melt the foam). It's a bit pricey but from what I've heard it doesn't inhibit carving much.
Haha, you're not wrong. A CNC machine could crank these things out much better as well. I haven't seen foam-safe super glue before so I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the heads up!
broooo a kintsugi style would be dope. you know, the japanese concept of adding gold to the cracks to fix an item. anyways amazing job and would love to see a spinosaur next time
Right? Kintsugi would be near the top of the list of other finishes to try. Thanks and noted on the Spinosaurus!
A little tip use some more colours than tan and browns to give it that extra depth. I made a sheep horn replica and used alot of deep purples, bright yellows and some reds underneath the browns and tans to create more depth and variance. But yeah great work it looks realy nice.
Your sense of humor gives me hope for humanity. Well done, sir. Great project.
Damn you are so charming and inspiring!! Thank you for sharing not only the ups but also the downs of such a project! Definetly keep putting out videos, you're such a precious add-on for the whole crafty community on youtube 😊
That's too kind, thank you!
"Every tool is a hammer" sounds like a book title oh wait it is by Adam Savage. What a brilliant project, looking forward to more, it's so cool.
man your channel is going to blow up for sure. very good stage presence haha.
when i used to use an airbrush, sometimes i'd turn up the PSI on purpose, like 60 or even 75. Sometimes it just looks better or works better for your project
I mean it kinda makes sense to aerosolize the paint a little more in theory but it's good to hear from someone with experience. Often the best way to do things is just the way that works. Thanks for chiming in on that
dude i vcant believe youre not like a professional youtuber this is great keep at it
As an actual fossil technician whose main job it was to clean and repair dinosaur teeth, yours are surprisingly accurate but for all the wrong reasons XD A lot of dino teeth have breaks in them as they can be pretty fragile and where the outer layer of the tooth cracks you get chips and scratches like your "dino battle damage". Actual wear of the teeth would come in the form of very smooth flat spots just where one tooth was rubbing against the other and the general surface texture is a lot like our fingernails - smooth but with ridges!
This is so insightful, thanks for leaning in. I'm so surprised by the amount of people that are able to lend knowledge from actual experience in the field. The number of people that handled real fossils commenting here embarrasses me frankly but I'm so happy to have the advice.
@@makermeditations No problem at all! It's really interesting stuff and yours are impressively accurate to real teeth you might dig up or buy :D A lot of times they break in half and are poorly glued together on the dig site leading to big cracks and misalignments or they break in your hands while cleaning, almost like popping the cap off a sharpie - so the break line is much less noticeable as you're able to glue it gently and properly. The only dino damage I saw teeth wise was the occasional big tooth mark in a bone somewhere where something chomped down on something else!
I really enjoyed the narration I’ve done a fair amount of the processes in this for tabletop terrain for gaming but the fusion 360 slicing was something I would have never thought of before.
I could see this working for tabletop terrain for sure. Horizontal or vertical slices could be cool (vertical easier for overhangs or tall terrain). Its just a sketch of a bunch of lines that get negatively extruded through the model. Good thinking, also thanks!
My red flag is thinking I could do something this impressive so easily. Also it is insanely impress that this is one of your first videos, because it has the exact same feel as the Blacktail Studio table guy. Amazing work
Absolutely love it. Thank you for sharing the fails. You must be a very patient person
Damn! It's the exact same process I used to make my dragon skull for the dnd room. I did print the horns and teeth though,I don't think I got the patience in me to work the teeth out like you did.
Amazing work!
10:00 get you some gloves. Then hold the teeth by the sockets, and paint them individually. An airbrush is not a rattlecan. But after 66m years in the ground, you can brush-paint the teeth.
dude i hope you keep making videos, you have a great personality for youtube and this was a great video
Great video. I like how at the end you give some suggestions on personalizing the skull. How-to videos are always better when they show the maker's mistakes and how they got fixed. I've watched your entire channel now, and really looking forward to seeing your feature content. Keep up the momentum!
Thanks! It's good to know that people appreciate the process and not just the end result. More to come soon and I appreciate the feedback!
Well, this definitely made its way on to my "to do"-list.
Great job with the video, I enjoyed it a lot.
You can seal the foam before gluing it can help to stop the foam from dissolving while gluing and painting you can use pva glue or plasti dip as it is a spray
I feel lucky to have been recommended this. Good video!
Saw your cat counter video and now I need more content😭! No but for real, I really enjoy your video style and humor!
Well I'll say... seeing the skull at the beginning of the video you really had me fooled, I thought you knew what you were doing! Honestly it was great and I'm glad you showed most of the whole process, the video was entertaining and you had me enthralled from the beginning. Didn't even realize this video was 20 minutes long, I watched the whole thing and genuinely enjoyed it. I would love to see what else you come up with in the future, so I'm subscribed along for the ride... Hopefully it has to do with more large carnivorous animals. Also dragons, dragons are cool too. ;)
This is brilliant! Thank you CZcams algorithms for showing me this channel, instant sub!
bro hit me with the golden eye reference and then basting a turkey within seconds
Damn, man, I thought your channel was BIG from the video. Subscribing to be part of the first of many thousands.
Greetings from Brazil!
Thanks! It's so cool to have people from all over the world sharing tips and positivity. Happy to have you on the journey.
Brother I've got three words for you
Foam
Safe
Superglue.
Also is you add the smallest amount of dish soap to your washes it helps break the surface tension of the water and the wash flows into the details a lot better. Awesome build man, the end product is stellar.
Hey, that's a good tip. Thanks!
Man this video rocks! Hilarious narration i loved the ups and downs and super informative, the project turned out amazing man 👌
Looks pretty good to me! I love some of your humorous descriptions.
Dude if This is your first time filming your self damn good job. Looks fantastic and the comments are som funny hope to see more from you 👍🏻🔥
That is so damn cool, and I love how realistic it looks. That is so easily recognizable as an Allosaurus skull, and if I ever get the chance, I am 100% making one of these. Very very well done. Also with the first time video, I would never have guessed that if you hadn't told me that.
as someone who loves these kinds of projects but has no idea where to get started, this is really cool to see. (also i love dinosaurs) So thanks for filming and for showing us it's okay to make mistakes!
Thanks so much for this video. So inspirational. Such a perfect mix of computer technology and hands on creativity!
I would love to see you make some more skulls if you have room for them (and the desire to make more). This was wonderful to watch. Perhaps a pterodactyl or other pterosaur skull? or whatever else rocks your boat.
Great Work!
In my world I would try a glue that isn't elastic.
Since I'm from Germany, my selection of products is probably a little different.
I would try the following glue...
- Ponal Express Holzleim (apply it on both sides and press both sides together with a higher contact pressure, wait 5 min) - Holzleim is working with Styrostuff and you can sand it.
There could be two problems:
1) the smooth surfaces of the styrostuff are too smooth for the glue.
The adhesive surface could be not very resilient, particularly if you apply pressure to it.
2) water-based color can have problems with adhesion, but other colors usually have no problems.
Awesome method, really friggin' sweet. This could help with building large animatronics that need to be light
That's fantastic. It'll come in handy, as i have to help my nephew make some jurrasic park stuff.
Awesome video. I would definitely watch more. ❤ Great script and your editing pacing turned out really great. I enjoyed hearing about all your failures (that sounds meaner than I meant it.) I think all those happy accidents turned out great.
This is my goal. I've done smaller simpler projects, fossils, neolithic tools and weapons With similar results. But I started a sabortooth cat skull and didn't get very far due to my lack of carving skills. My tech skills fall quite short to create a computer model. So the skull sits on my "wait" shelf. But your museum quality is absolutely fantastic! I dream of attaining that level of craftmanship in the not to distant future...
Weathering and imperfections covers a multitude of sins for old weathered asthetics...
This is freaking great! You had better be ready to make some more videos like this and be commissioned to do some others. I’m sure we all would love to see another. Maybe how you would tackle doing a lower jaw.
Did the same with papier mache and plaster. 70 cm long skull. Love your version. Like that paintjob on it.
That awesome! Sounds like the end result was pretty imposing. Thanks!
4:10 I feel so validated, the skull looked really wide to me!
That looks so cool! I love seeing the whole process. I bought a miniature t rex skelaton once that was made out of pvc. It was kinda white with a bit of green and a paint job made all the difference. A full sized skull would be so much cooler. I really like your approach with the 3d model and cutting it out of foam. This is a project for on my wishlist
Killer, I always wanted a life-size dino skull. the model is doable, I wouldn't have the patience to make the pattern. I'd buy a pattern in a heartbeat though. Fantastic work!
You know what you should have done..
Exactly what you did, good job
Damn thats awesome! You should turn it in to a business, I'm sure people will pay plenty for a skull like that!
I don't know how I found your channel, but I'm so very glad I did! 😊 I've just watched each of your videos and I loved them all. Great projects, great videos.... And I love your honesty and humor. Keep posting! I'm happy to be a new subscriber. Cheers and love ❤️
Welcome I'm happy to have ya! I just watch some of your videos and Benjamin is so cute and handsome! I can't wait to see more of him!
@@makermeditations Aww, lol... Thanks! Benji's our baby! Your next project idea: making some kind of giant tortoise lift!! 😅 He's over 100 lbs already at 11 years old and will keep growing... Meanwhile my husband and I are getting older and weaker. (We didn't think this one through when we adopted him 3 years ago) 🤣🤣
I had no idea that tortoises were filled with lead weights, that's a solid boy! You guys are going to need a furniture dolly with a strawberry on it, or maybe a forklift.
@@makermeditations 🤣 Exactly!!!
I did basically the same thing. I wanted to make a large model but didn't want to pay the 3d print price. I cut the stl into 24 blocks then ran every piece through a slicer designed to make models out of corrugated cardboard. I then printed these out onto paper and cut them out and traced them to cardboard. It would have been a lot easier if I had a laser cutter but I didn't 🤷🏼♂️. I then hand cut all the cardboard pieces and stuck them with liquid silicone and then using a glue gun to stick the 24 pieces together. I've plastered the model and I'm currently at the stage of sanding and replastering until I get the finish I want. Great video and great job, I think I'll try foam sheets next time like you did.
That sounds awesome and definitely very similar. What software were you using for the cardboard slicing?
@@makermeditations it's called Slicer for fusion 360.
I've been telling myself for years that someday I'll try and make one of those, and thanks to your experience I think I will soon :) thanks for the inspiration !
I love to hear that! Please let me know if you do
What you can use to glue the foam together is gorilla glue, you just need to take extra care to weigh the 2 layers together, like place heavy flat things on top of the 2 foam layers so that they're pressed together as the gorilla glue cures. The gorilla glue expands, so it'll force the pieces apart if not pressed together. And I recommend duct taping the pieces together on the sides as well to decrease risk of it shifting sideways. Because if there's weight on top, but it tries to expand, it'll possibly push the pieces sideways, because it's similar to air hockey where the only way the forces can move to cause sideways movement. It takes like 40 minutes to cure for the most part, but you can also just leave it like an hour and a half to be extra sure. That glue doesn't destroy foam, I had to use it for one of the most sensitive foams there is for a project. And it'll sort of sand off since it becomes hard and not rubbery. I would advise to scuff up the surfaces first though, maybe add some mini slices/scratches into the 2 surfaces before gluing, just to ensure it has EVEN BETTER grip than just on flat.
Good tips, thank you! A couple of other people have suggested gorilla glue but no one mentioned the sideways movement when you constrict the vertical. Seems like experience speaking
@@makermeditations Yup, I tried gorilla gluing 2 big foam pieces together once, and I had them pre-cut to the shape I wanted. I put some books on top to make sure they'd stay together. Then I come back after an hour just to see that it shifted to the side and were permanently bonded, and I had to start from scratch. I found out that duct tape helps quite a lot, so on top of stacking heavy things on top of the gluing objects I also tightly duct tape the sides, but if you can somehow add more restrictions that's even better, like heavy objects on the sides (obviously it depends on the foam you use since you're going to want to avoid the tape ripping away foam layers/chunks after removing).
Part of why the spray adhesives and clearcoats eat into the foam could be because acetone melts polystyrene, which this foam seems to be made of. A Polyurethane foam doesn't have the same problem, and comes in different densities for holding details.
As for the spongy stippling surface in bones, those often occupy areas where more muscle attachments occur. Normally when we paint casts of Allosaurus skulls, we use a black base coat (fossils in the morrison formation tend to be this color) and build up a bit of color with browns. Teeth also fossilize a bit differently and have a glossy sheen compared to the rest of the skull (enamel doesn't fossilize the same way, but it turns black)
There is a lot of useful info in you comment and it's clear you have some real experience. If I do this again I'll probably upgrade to higher density urethane foam and something like bondo for the outside, though the budget for that would be considerably higher. Thanks for lending some expertise, it's much appreciated.
@@makermeditations for sure! We use a lot of bondo in our fossil restoration process, too. I think some other shops use plaster for sculpting every now and then, but bondo cures faster and tends to be a lot more durable
Wow first video what a banger, you are a natural please make more!
This is awesome. Would love to see more of these videos in the future. Keep them coming bro!
cool video! congratulations for 1000 subscribers!
Thank you!
That's impressive, dedication is incredible