I have always wanted an alien corpse prop. One that looks decayed, like it has been rotting in the desert for some time. I have seen a few nice ones for sale on Etsy but understandably so, they are beyond my price range. A prop like this takes a lot of time, hence the high prices. When it comes to Halloween do-it-yourself, there are many tried and true methods out there for turning a skeleton into a corpse. This is one that I like to use.
Since the 1980s I have used cotton balls, paper towels, and rubber cement to make the “skin.” I have found that this method is very cost-effective and allows for a lot of creativity. It molds to the skeleton nicely and you can create all kinds of effects and textures. Taking it a step further you can add things like dry cereal (corn flakes, Rice Krispies, and even oatmeal works well) to create more details. Acrylic paints also adhere nicely and you can achieve some great detail with dry-brushing.
Seen above is the results of using this method on a mermaid skeleton I did last year using Oriental Tradings Company’s 6 Ft. Life-Size Original Plastic Mermaid Skeleton Halloween Decoration. This project was a lot of fun and I hope to do a second one after this project. Looking closely you can see where I added dried oatmeal to the texture.
For this project, I am using Spirit Halloween’s 36″ Alien Skeleton. I did a search for alien skeletons online and I found this one to be the best, not only in quality but in price as well. The skeleton is well-made and has some good flexibility. The first thing you want to do is figure out the pose you want as once it is corpsed it will not retain its poseability (unless you plan accordingly). Also keep in mind that to achieve some poses, you may need to remove and re-pose limbs.
Spread out, this is a great base for an alien corpse. One of the features I like with this prop is that it has four fingers. I would’ve liked the feet to also have four toes but you take what you can get. One thing I did notice is that on the right hand, the fingers were bent backwards. This was an easy fix using a hair dryer on the joints, softening the plastic just enough to get them where I wanted them to be.
After fixing the fingers, I started to figure out the position of the skeleton. I looked at the skeleton and posed it in different ways, based on the existing joints (neck, shoulders, elbows, hands, pelvis, knees, and feet). I was able to get certain things in a position I liked but in the end, I removed the skull and the right arm. This will allow positioning that stays away from the prop’s limited mobility.
The first thing I knew is that I wanted the skull’s jaw to be open. Though it is hinged, the mouth would not stay open on its own. I used a glue gun to keep it in the open position. I then hot-glued all of the joints on the skeleton to help keep them in place. The right arm was also re-attached, leaning out to the side of the body in a way that the original joints would never allow for.
At this time I take a break away from the project. This allows everything to dry properly. Then, when I go back to continue, I am looking at it with fresh eyes, seeing if there are further modifications to the pose that I may want to do, in particular with the legs. At this point, I am also keeping the skull unattached. It’ll be easier to corpse it this way.
NEXT UP: Let the corpsing begin! Click HERE for part 2!