Convincing Cardboard

Making props out of whatever is available. If you are looking for our illustrations click here for the Fluffgard blogfolio.

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Ripley’s Shoes (Aliens) - by Fluffgar 2022

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Ripley’s Watch (Aliens) - by Fluffgar 2022

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"I'm the android sent by Cyberlife... To sew patches onto jackets." *gazes wistfully over at detectives's desks*

Handsewn android patch inspired by Detroit: Become Human

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1. Get disposable cups and drawing pins.

2. Decide how many planters you will be mounting (at most half of the disposable cups).

3. Cut the bottoms off these to create the planter holders.

4. Put a drawing pin through the top edge of each of these with the point sticking outward and push this into the wall to mount them to it.

5. Take the same number of the remaining cups and make a hole in the bottom (for water drainage).

6. Fill with potting compost and whichever seeds or small plants you want.

7. Place these plant pots (cups with holes) into the ones you previously mounted to the wall.

Tips / Notes:

Plants need light so it is best to mount the planters beside a window.

It is best to place a container under the mounted planters as they will drip when you water them.

As disposable cups come in standard sizes it should be easy to replace any should you need or want to.

Smaller cups may need more watering, but larger ones will be heavier and may need a more secure attachment than a drawing pin.

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For my makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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Rowan leaf art now available over in the shop https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Fluffgar

You can also still get the eye flowers. If you don’t see the colours you have in mind for in the existing flowers you can commision a custom one there too.

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Olivier’s Brandenburg Gate 2018

This month (August 2018) Glasgow, Scotland is co-hosting the European Championships with Berlin, Germany. As part of the festival surrounding this event there are a variety of outdoor activities and shows on. I had the pleasure of taking part in  one of the more unique activities. That being the building of a scaled down (still very large) Brandenburg Gate out of cardboard.

The project was by the artist Olivier Grossetête. Whose work you can find at: http://olivier-grossetete.com/

Unfortunately the very same winds that make Scotland a wonderful place for windfarms also makes it a difficult place to build with cardboard and the structure came down prematurely. Still, the build was fun and a surprisingly good workout. This post has a few snaps I got of the process. For more, including videos and timelapse, visit UZ Arts facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UZArts/

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For my makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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Grimoire Page - Year

Another example of something you could do with your grimoire page. A decorative year wheel.

Instructions on making the grimoire page can be found on our "Grimoire Page - Rowan" post.

Note: The times on this particular wheel are based soley on stages of the sun and phases of the moon. For example, where it says, "The time between each phase of the moon is a week.", that is saying that we are choosing to call that period of time "a week". Not that a phase of the moon is exactly seven days long. The amount of days in a lunar "week" can vary considerably. The wheel too is more representative of rough timing of events (the sun and moon do not sync up like this). Hence, "the second new moon after... ", rather than a specific timing.

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Let me know if you try this tutorial for yourself and what your findings were.

For more makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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100 Likes over on the FB page! https://www.facebook.com/Fluffgard/

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Grimoire Page - Rowan

Building on the work we did creating the old looking paper, we are now going to create a grimoire page. You can create something spooky for Hallowe’en, or just use it to note down something in a pretty form.

Materials:

“Old” paper

Leaf

Glue (PVA or another clear drying glue)

Inks and/or paints of your choosing

Tools:

Pencil

Paintbrushs

Working surface (a table, tray or board)

Large book

Scrap paper or paper towels

Process:

Find a leaf you want to write about or make drawings around.

Put this between two paper towels and flatten it by keeping it between the pages of a large book for a few days.

During this time you can think about and research what you would like the rest of your page to contain.

Once flat and fairly dry paint glue onto the back of the leaf and press it lightly into place on your piece of “old” paper. Leave this to dry.

Paint glue over the top of the leaf to seal it onto the page. Leave this to dry.

Now you can add text and sketches to the page. Do this in pencil as this will allow you to space everything properly before you commit to it.

I chose to write my text in first, then outline and colour in my sketches.

Tips/Notes:

Be aware that inks and paints may not immediately dry so be careful when adding elements to the page as your hand may smear them.

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Let me know if you try this tutorial for yourself and what your findings were.

For more makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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Etsy - Artificial Flowers with Eyes

Shop’s open. ‘Mon (short for “come on”) in.

Trying this Etsy lark out again. A few flowers for starters. Yes, they do have eyes.

Shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Fluffgar

Edit: I’ve also added a customisation option so you can order a petal and eye colour that suits you. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/631079507/artificial-flower-with-eye-in-centre

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“Old” Paper

Old looking paper is handy for a lot of projects. This is one way to make it.

Materials:

Paper

Tea bag

Water

Tools:

Bowl

Paintbrush

Old towel

Flat surface (something you don’t mind tea soaking into)

Process:

Put the tea bag in a bowl and fill with hot water. Wait for this to cool. While waiting you can prepare the paper.

Take your paper and fold it near to the edges. Forming a border. Run your nail along the folds to make the folds sharper.

Moisten along each fold then tear along each fold, removing the border of the paper. Moistening the edge of the fold weakens the paper. Both making it easier to tear and leaving a rougher edge for the tea to stain into.

Once all borders are removed crumple the paper as much or as little as you like. I have scrunched mine into a ball in the photo.

Carefully unfold and lay flat your crumpled paper. Tearing may occur. This just adds to the aged effect. Just try to avoid too much.

With the paper laid flat(ish) begin painting tea onto it. Make sure you get the edges and try to cover the whole surface of the paper.

Carefully lift and flip the paper over and do the other side. Remember that wet paper is much weaker than dry so this may be difficult.

You can now either leave the wet paper to dry where it is (if you are worried about moving it causing damage this is best) or you can tranfer it onto an old towel somewhere else (helps with drying).

Once the paper is dry your make is complete.

Tips/Notes:

Be aware that the paper you have made will now respond differently to inks and paints than previously. If you intend to use these on it make a test piece of the aged paper to experiment on rather than jumping straight into the project you have in mind for it.

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Let me know if you try this tutorial for yourself and what your findings were.

For more makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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Dry-food (kibble) Feeder for Cats

A simple make this time. If your cat eats too fast or you just want to enrich feeding time this is for you.

Materials:

Dome lids with a large straw hole

Tape

Process:

Clean and dry domes.

Tape domes together to form a hollow ball.

That’s it.

Tips/Notes:

The feeder will have a hole at both ends. When filling make sure to hold the ball so that your hand blocks the bottom hole. When you’ve filled it enough (not very much at all given the ball’s size) tip it sothat the dry-food sits on a side without a hole before placing it infront of the cat. The cat will smell the food and catch on pretty quick.

The advantage of using drinks domes is that they are foodsafe.

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Let me know if you try this tutorial for yourself and what your findings were.

For more makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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Wasteland Wear

Old item of clothing that you can’t get the marks out of no matter how many times you wash it? No problem! You are on your way to getting yourself an piece of wasteland wear.

[Edit: I’ve just noticed this is post 101 on the blog. Fitting]

Materials:

Old piece of clothing

Acrylic paint

Card

Tools:

Pencil

Craft knife

Cutting board/mat

Rulers and rounded shapes (cups, coins, etc.) may be useful

Paintbrush

Process:

Find a design you like and begin sketching it out lightly on the card.

When you are happy with your sketch make the lines you wish to cut bolder. When doing this pay attention to islands (unconnected parts in the design). If you find these draw in connections to keep the stencil you are making in one piece.

Cut your design out. This creates your stencil.

Place your stencil onto your item of clothing and, using a paintbrush, stipple paint into the gaps. It is usually best to start from the middle and work outwards.

Carefully peel the stencil back when you have finished stipling.

Well done! We’ll make a prospector of you yet.

Tips/Notes:

Stippling is when you hold the brush vertically and tap it down repeatedly on the surface you wish to transfer the paint to.

You can start the design by using the stencil to apply an undercoat then adding another colour on top when this is dry. This is what I have done.

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Let me know if you try this tutorial for yourself and what your findings were.

For more makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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Window decorations

The design shown is for the top corners of a window. The words are the reverse of each other so that one is readable from the outside and one from the inside.

Materials:

Card (best to choose a colour you like) 

Colourful film

Double-sided tape or glue

Tools:

Pencil or pen

Scissors or a craft knife and cutting mat

Process:

Draw the design you want on the back of one of the pieces of card.

Cut out the design.

Put the piece of card on top of another piece of card (if the card is coloured on one side only make sure that the uncoloured sides are facing one another).

Use the first cut card as a stencil to draw its counterpart.

Cut out the design on the counterpart.

Put small pieces of double-sided tape (or glue) on the side of the first card that will be facing its counterpart when finished.

Stick the colourful film to this.

Put more double-sided tape (or glue) on the film in the same places as they were on the card (you will be able to see those places through the film).

Carefully line up the counterpart piece of card on top. When it is aligned well apply a little pressure to secure it in place. If you have used glue you may have to wait until it dries.

Secure decoration to or hang it in front of a window (indoors).

Tips:

If you are using words in your decoration they will be reversed from one side so be aware of how you want the finished item to look where you are displaying it.

If you have islands, parts that aren’t connected to the rest of the cardboard, when you cut your design out, you will need to keep these safe and secure them to the film after the rest is finished.

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Let me know if you try this tutorial for yourself and what your findings were.

For more makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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Protomolecule Hazard Procedures Review

(aka Simple, Low-budget Protomolecule Make-up Effect)

You’ll need:

Kids face-paints, specifically blue and maybe black

Old eye-shadow, specifically black

Process:

Using the blue paint, create an uneven veiny, blotchy area. It doesn’t need to be a thick layer as it is meant to blend with your skin colour to indicate that the protomolecule lies beneath.

You can use black face-paint now if you want to dial back the blue, but this is entirely optional.

Dab the black eye-shadow on with a finger tip. this should be fairly uneven too but clumped together. This is where the protomolecule is breaching or close to breaching the skin. For costume purposes you are done now.

Further Process:

If you would like to use your make-up effect to create an image take a few photos.

Open up the best of these in GIMP or import it to Inkscape (these programs are both free, they work very differently so it’s up to you which you prefer).

Use these (or the software of your choice) to add points of blue and white light where you envision the protomolecule breaching. Optionally you can also add more transparent points of light to show where it hasn’t quite reached the surface.

Let me know if you try this tutorial for yourself and what your findings were.

For more makes and other stuff visit https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/

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A Visit to Sorenzo Studios Open Day

Disclaimer in advance. The photos in this post are from my visit to the Sorenzo Studios Open Day. All of the work shown is theirs, NOT mine.

If you want to find out more about them head over to their website at: https://www.sorenzostudios.com/

or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SorenzoStudios/

Disclaimer over.

On the day, as well as getiing to look around all the cool stuff, we were shown the making of an alginate mold of a hand and using that to make a plaster replica.

We were also shown the process of making a silicon mold of an existing object and then using it to make a resin copy.

Additionally the staff, including the head prop-maker (Thom) were available at all times for questions and the atmosphere was relaxed and fun.

Also, there was indeed cake.

Having seen their work and spoken with them I would not hesitate to recommend Sorenzo Studios to anyone looking for a prop, a cast, a workshop, or good chat.

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Making a Deathclaw Mask

Building on the techniques we used in Making a Cosplay Helm, it's time to take on something a little more complex. I'll let the pictures do the talking this time, but you can always refer back to the helm tutorial for the basics. Remember the sequence of tasks:

Build a frame that fits your head.

Build frame onto this to make the basic shape.

Cover the outside to make the shape you want.

Paint an undercoat (usually a dark colour).

Paint detail on top.

Place any finishing touches.

Tips:

You will often find the design evolves during a make as you experiment. This places you better for your next make.

When you take your make out remember to take an emergency repair kit (mostly tape and glue). Makes like to get caught on stuff, especially if they have horns and you have a limited field of vision, and fly apart at the worst moment.

More makes at: https://convincingcardboard.tumblr.com/