The Monster Hunter

Purebred Photo teamed up with artist Alex Pardee to create a series of "Monster Hunter" portraits. While the final images look great, I found the construction details of the swamp creature and the set far more interesting. The portrait page has links to the various stages of prop construction and is loaded with interesting details.





The teeth of the monster were sculpted from Crayola Model Magic , a very lightweight air drying compound. It has a very soft, spongy texture and is ideal for adding details to larger projects. The wonderful finish on the teeth is the result of multiple coats of paint, florists tint, and gloss varnish.



The skin of the beast was formed from a light fabric applied over a chicken wire armature. The result is very lightweight, and I suspect it's comfortably breathable. At least until you start adding all the texturing details.



The set buildup is filled with useful techniques, from building trees out of cork bark to creating reeds with bear grass. The one detail that really jumped out at me was using mylar film to recreate the look of water. Just brilliant.



Via Boing Boing.