I have seen several pictures around where people have crafted plastic Halloween skeletons into very elaborate corpses. This is done primarily using latex and cotton. So naturally I wanted to try this out. Many of the designs I had seen were just individual body parts, I had bigger plans however. I knew I needed to start small first. As a test, I bought just the skull at Target and went through the process. It turned out okay, but there were definitely areas where I would pay more attention on the real thing. I just needed more cotton and a lot more latex.

The process is fairly simple to achieve the right texture. Brush on some latex. Lay some cotton down. Brush on more latex. I used cotton strings to make tendons in some areas. In the process, I broke his arm and I had to fabricate my own shoulder socket.

I left the bone sticking out in some areas. I used several paints and brushed paint on, then wiped it off. I did this all over to give the burnt flesh look.

The cheap plastic skeleton ended up breaking an arm during the assembly. A more articulable skeleton frame would have been nice to have. Maybe next time.

Overall, it turned out great. I’ve used Corpsy as decoration for several years now, and other than a broken back from carrying the weight of the Daniska team, he’s still in great condition.