Merry Christmas Boils and Ghouls

Be sure to check the chimney before checking your stockings!



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The Ultimate Dr. Decker Costume

A dream project of mine has finally been completed: to construct a screen accurate Dr. Decker costume from Nightbreed! I say dream project because prior to one year ago I did not have the necessary skills to build this costume. The thing I wanted to avoid most was "settling" for a run-of-the-mill costume. I have never done that with any of my costumes before and wasn't about to start now. I wanted this to be the best Dr. Decker costume that had ever been assembled by a fan. When I began this journey I knew it would be difficult but I wasn't prepared for just how many obstacles I would run into. I won't go on and on but the problems I encountered did not dissuade me. This costume took me almost an entire year to construct, with the mask being the most involved and difficult part by far. I was not familiar with certain molding techniques needed to make the mask so I had to learn them.
I tracked down many of the wardrobe items while perusing Ebay and visiting local thrift stores. There were several pieces that I could not find that had to be custom made, such as the mask and necktie. I will be making a separate post on how I made the mask. The hard work paid off and I am very proud of how it turned out. Many thanks to my wife Ames for her wonderful photography and assisting me with numerous costume changes. Because of how the mask laces up I need assistance every time I put it on. Also thanks go out to Julie for being a willing victim in one of our photo shoots.


On with the pics...

           

                       

We did a few re-enactments from the movie...
                               

                              
                                       
                             

Voodoo Ceremonial Weapon

Here's something a little different. I had some deer antler tines that had been lying around the studio for a while now and decided to put them to use.  What I came up with was a cross between a voodoo doll and a sort of tomahawk style weapon.

Superstitious

                   Sneak peak of our newest voodoo doll.

'Ol Buttonface

So almost a year ago I posted that I wanted to make an accurate Dr. Decker mask and costume. Finally I can say it has come to fruition.

The mask is made of a linen fabric. For those who read Clive Barker's Cabal novella, which was later adapted into the movie Nightbreed, Dr. Decker's mask is described as being made of a scrim cloth. I felt this would look most authentic and be the most comfortable to wear. However in the movie Nightbreed, Decker's mask was made of a foam latex.

Making this mask was a huge undertaking. Took me lots of time, work and research but then again so do all true labors of love. Without getting too much into the boring details, I will say that I learned many things about sculpting and moldmaking to do this right. I even had a lifecast made of my head in order to get the mask to fit my head perfectly. Long story short I couldn't be happier with the end result.

Complete costume shots to follow soon.

Medicine Man

Babalawo - spiritual healer voodoo doll

More Voodoo

Here's a tribal voodoo doll I call "Azaka Mede".