Holiday Ghost Toy Display
The Holiday Ghost Toy collection and display was my final project in my toy making and puppet class. the assignment was to create a character, or a set of characters, and place them in an environment or space, but I took the assignment in a different direction. For my scene I decided to make a few Holiday ghosts decorating a graveyard for a holiday party. The graveyard scene is set up in a mini funeral carriage that I constructed, with a window on the side so the viewer can peek inside, and it is set up as if it were a window display. The whole scene itself is being highlighted by a large blacklight so the characters, background, and props would have a ghost like quality to them.
The Ghost Deer
This is a close up of the Ghost Deer. The deer is made out of tin foil, clay, needle felt, wool, velvet, wire, leather, glass, fur, bells, and small string lights. The head was made hollow to allow the string lights to be inside and make the eyes glow. The neck is also hollow, so the battery pack and wire for the lights can come down to turn it on and off, and change the battery when it dies. The entire thing is posable and it is 9 inches tall (not including the antlers). The skeleton arm and rib cage is made from clay and wire, but it is still posable, because the clay does not attach to itself.
The Ghosts
The Ghost Girl is made from Clay, wire, glass, cotton, yarn, fur, tulle, fabric, suede, and string lights. Like the ghost deer, the head and neck were made hollow, to allow the string lights to glow in the head and have the wire and battery pack come down the neck and rest under the jacket. Only the top part of the figure is posable, back the bottom legs had to be made from the same clay as the head, so it wouldn't be top heavy, so it could stand. All the clothing is made to be functional, just made really small.
The Ghost Guy is made like the ghost girl, but a little different. Like the ghost girl the over all design is the same, the head and neck were made hollow for the string lights to function properly, and the jackets are made the same (only one was cut for a boy and the other was cut for a girl) and bother battery packs rest under the scarf. The difference between the two is the materials used to make it. Because this one was made first the Ghost Guy is heaver, the head is made from mostly Magic Sculpt clay and tin foil, while with Girl Ghost has a coat of a much lighter cay inside the head, making it weigh less. this made it harder for the Ghost Guy to stand, so the Heavy Magic Sculpt clay makes up not only the outline of the legs, but also the pants, and it is painted to look like fabric.
This is the first sketch that was done when starting this project. I was reading A Christmas Carol at the time and wanted to show my love for the book in a visual way. Other inspirations include; Disney’s Haunted Mansion, Marc Davis Disney concept art and sketches, Saks Fifth Avenue Window Displays, and my family’s overall love for spooky entertainment.
