Skeleton Groundbreaker | Animated DIY HALLOWEEN Prop How-To Tutorial

hahaha hi this is Paul kreutz and welcome to Halloween DIY and how-to in this Edition I am going to show you how to create this animated skeleton groundbreaker this zombie-like Halloween prop would be a great addition to your graveyard haunt it eerily moves up and down rotates side to side as its skull tilts back and forth [Music] almost as if it's trying to get out of its Earthly grave how is it done I'm going to show you how so let's get started here are some of the items that you will need to create this prop there are two mechanical devices that create the animation the first is this mama Roo brand multi-motion baby swing I have used these before and I always advise not to buy these new you can find them deeply discounted at thrift stores online garage sale sites and the children's use clothing and toy stores the second mechanical device is a cylindrical oscillating fan look for one that stands around 14 to 18 inches tall that is six to seven inches in diameter at its base and around four to five inches in diameter at the top make sure that the base is stationary while the tower portion independently rotates back and forth I found this one in good working condition at a local thrift store you will need the upper half of a five to six foot posable plastic skeleton it should have adjustable joints and is assembled with screws the bottom half needs to be removed and the rib cage should be flexible enough to fit over the oscillating fan that you use like this a five inch hose clamp to fit over the top of the fan that you use and the seven inch hose clamp to fit around the base of that fan heavy duty construction tape any color will do about 12 inches of a bungee cord that has a diameter of one quarter inches galvanized perforated metal hanger strap a few plastic or silk plants and leaves a yard or two of brown colored burlap material or something similar an old shirt or blouse black electricians tape two one and one quarter inch metal washers their Center hole needs to be large enough for the bungee cord to pass through it four framing nails three to four inches long 16 double pointed tacks preferably black in color one two inch strap hinge four short wood screws much like the ones that come with the strap hinge a two inch wood screw and a couple of small screw eyes four medium screw eyes the bungee cord will need to pass through these several lengths of pooled noodles they can be of any color and 10 to 12 inches of pipe insulation foam nylon fishing line spray paint in black and also in Browns and greens a variety of acrylic paint including a color that matches the color of the skeleton heavy duty spray adhesive formulated for use on foam construction adhesive also usable on foam for zip ties coat hanger wire some sheer black material safety pins black magic markers a glue gun a PVC cutter drill drill bits scissors all pliers screwdriver the usual assortment of tools to start this build first prep the baby swing by carefully removing all the components that make up the seat when done it should look like this next we need to prep the skeleton's arms so that they move more freely much like a marionette you can simplify this build by keeping the arms as is and simply pose them unanimated over the dirt mound to animate them start that process by removing the screws from the upper arm do not discard them and separate the two halves this will expose the positioning system at both the shoulder and the elbow remove these components you will not be needing them starting with the elbow joint on the forearm use a PVC pipe cutter and cut off the elbow ratcheting system flush with the end of the bone give yourself a mark on the underside of that bone about one half inch from the elbow's end pre-drill that Mark and screw in one of the medium sized screw eyes cut a three inch long piece of the bungee cord remove its outer colored cording but leave the black cording underneath wrap the ends tightly with electrical tape to keep the black cording from unraveling take two of the black double pointed tacks when working with these it's a good idea to first cut off the sharp points then place them next to each other pointing in opposite directions and no more than one half inch away from the end of the cord using a pliers crimp the ends of the Staples together securing them to the cord's end thread the other end of the cord through the screw eye that is attached to the forearm bone then crimp two tacks at that end too once done it should look like this take the upper arm bone and locate this area at the elbow end make a U-shaped mark one quarter inch by one quarter inch on it like this using a Snips cut away that section of the plastic this will allow space for the bungee cord to fit we will get back to that in just a bit but now let's address the shoulder connection cut a two inch section of the bungee cord and repeat the same steps to prep it crib two of the tacks on one end and feed it through the one and one quarter inch metal washer leave the other end alone for now double check that the washer with the cord will fit inside the upper arms shoulder joint with the two sections of the upper arm bone on the work surface position the two prepared bungee pieces into one of the sections like this place the other bone half on top lining up the screw holes replace all of the screws using a drill bit slightly larger in diameter than the bungee cord drill out the remaining plastic piece at the shoulder making the hole larger take the exposed end of the bungee cord on the upper arm and feed it through the pre-drilled shoulder section on the skeleton's rib cage once through secure it by crimping two of the black tacks onto the end repeat this for the second arm when done you should have arm sections joined to the skeleton's upper torso free to move in any direction like this to hinge the skull to the neck first carefully remove the skull then using the PVC Cutters cut off the node at the top of the next spinal cord position the hinge on the outside front of the spinal cord approximating its position if it were to be placed inside Mark the location of the hinge's bottom hole on the spinal cord pre-drill with a very small drill bit to prevent the plastic from cracking Place half of the hinge into the spinal cord making sure that the hinge's joint is facing in leaving a flat surface for the skull to sit on using a two inch wood screw which should be long enough to penetrate clear through the next spinal cord so screw it through the front pre-drilled hole through the bottom hole in the hinge and into the back of the spinal cord this will secure the hinge to the spinal cord the other half of the hinge needs to match the curvature of the skull so use the pliers to slightly bend that portion to match the curve of the skull's surface where the hinge will be placed reinforce both the inside and outside of the skull with construction tape position the skull onto the hinge and mark the hole locations of the hinge using an awl give yourself small pilot holes at the center of those marks since the plastic is very thin and gives the screw threads very little to hold on to do not use a drill bit attach the skull onto the hinge using the screws that came with the hinge a small amount of glue placed onto the threads of the screws will help keep them in place when done more of the skulls should be in front of the neck allowing the weight of the skull to always tilt it forward next using one of the small screw eyes position it in the middle lower back of the skull reinforce that area with two small pieces of the construction tape use an awl to start a hole and then with a small amount of glue on the threads screw the screw eye into the skull for the skeleton's rib cage to sit better on top of the cylindrical fan the bottom half of the Interior facing spinal cord needs to be removed carefully unscrew the four screws of the spinal column allowing the interior spinal cord section to be removed using a heavy duty construction scissors or a small saw and making sure that you are just below the bottom screw holes cut away the bottom half of the Interior spinal cord reattach the upper portion of the spinal cord to the ribcage using the four screws next we need to attach the cylindrical fan to the baby swing taking the larger of the two hose clamps adjust it so that it is just slightly larger than the base of the fan cut four three inch pieces of the hanger strap make sure that each length has a hole at its Center and fold each one at that Center hole the remaining holes need to all line up like this slip each one over the ring and using a pliers crimp them at the fold then using the bottom edge of the ring as a guide Bend each one out at a 90 degree angle once all four are complete pair them up and position each pair close together but at opposite sides of the Ring like this Mark the center top of the baby swing as a guide and place the hose clamp angled strap pieces facing down onto the center top of the Swing place the fan base into the ring with the electrical cord facing towards the back and then tighten the ring securely to the Fan's base mark the four holes of the angled strap pieces using a small drill bit set at a shallow depth pre-drill the four marks using short wood screws screw the fan into place on top of the baby swing the fan should now be securely attached to the baby swing we are now ready to affix the skeleton to the fan since a black fan is easier to hide from View and if yours is not already colored black you may want to spray paint it using a flat black spray paint formulated for plastic take the piece of sheer black material and drape it evenly over the top of the fan color the second hose clamp black with a permanent magic marker then slip it over the top of the fan about one inch from the top slightly tighten the ring but not all the way not just yet place the skeleton facing forward over the fan by opening the rib cage slightly it should slide down until the inside pre-cut spinal cord touches the top of the fan make sure that you have access to the Fan's control panel the sheer black material will not only allow you to still see and operate the controls but it will also obscure them and the entire fan from view take a zip tie and weave it around one of the bottom ribs then in between the hose clamp and the fan and then back around a rib tighten slightly but not yet all the way take a second zip tie and repeat on the other side of the sternum make sure that the skeleton is sitting upright and then fully tighten each zip tie cut off the excess repeat this process on the back side of the skeleton's rib cage I found that using an awl helped to weave the zip ties through the tight space once complete tighten the hose clamp around the top of the fan the skeleton should now be securely fastened to the cylindrical oscillating fan cut the excess sheer material away at the bottom you are now ready to dress the skeleton as you can see a small shirt or blouse works better than one that is too large I will be fitting the shirt to the skeleton a bit later by cutting away some of the excess material but first I like to periodically test the animation while building the prop to do this I'm going to temporarily attach fishing line to the swing space and the back of the skull pre-drill a small pilot hole at the back outer edge of the baby swing's face stay very close to the outer edge to ensure that you will not damage any of the Interior working parts screw one of the small screw eyes into the pilot hole turn on the swing to your desired function and stop it at the swings highest position tie a piece of fishing line to both the screw eye in the base and also the screw eye on the back of the skull tighten and adjust the fishing line so that it will pull the skull back to your desired position turn on the fan and the swing to its lowest speed test how everything looks and functions next let's position the hands and arms onto the swing space using two six inch sections of the pool noodles secure them upright to both front Far Corners with a hot glue gun and construction tape place the wrist joint on top of each one and secure them into place by pushing the long framing nails into the foam and on either side of the wrists keep the fit loose so that the hands can pivot as the skeleton body rotates from side to side to split out the arms from the rib cage use a 5 inch section of foam pipe insulation with a u-shape cut on one end the upper arm bone goes in between the u-shaped cut while the other end fits in between two of the upper ribs and rests up against the inner shoulder blade the fit of this flexible foam allows the arms to move and flex as the body moves side to side and up and down but also keeps the arms from just lying directly next to the rib cage at this point I'm going to cut away some of the shirts excess material at both the back and arms as well as the shirt's length with the back open I remove any material obscuring the Fan's air intake point do not obscure this area because it helps to cool down the fan the shirt is then reassembled by using safety pins and a glue gun time for another animation test run just to make sure that the newly tailored shirt does not impede any of the skeletons Movement we are now ready to create the faux dirt Mound on the swing space this is somewhat of a free-form process using the pooled noodles they are cut in various sizes and lengths and then assembled around the perimeter of the swing's base using a glue gun and construction tape while building it be sure and span over the LED control panel so that you will still have access to it also place a few short upright pieces around the base where you can eventually Place artificial greens and grasses the whole structure is then further reinforced by applying project adhesive in between and around the noodles almost like mortar when done it should look like this and vary in height from around 4 inches to six inches we are now ready to cover the foam with the burlap material but first cover the control panel screen with painters tape as well as the power source Inlet temporarily remove the hands and nails pin up the hands so that the arms are out of the way and protect the shirt by covering it with some newspaper pay special attention to the control panel area give yourself enough material so that it will hang freely covering it yet giving you easy access to it I am using a heavy duty spray adhesive to save on drying time it might be a good idea to double check that the spray adhesive is foam friendly so before you get started first test it by gluing a scrap piece of the burlap onto a piece of the pool noodle pre-cut four burlap pieces to cover the four sides of the dirt mount practice with how you will be placing it over the phone structure randomly wrinkling it and tucking it in you will want them large enough that when wrinkled they cover the front top inside and also lap slightly around the adjacent sides working in four sections one section at a time spray the outer surface of the foam structure and the piece of burlap of that first section wearing gloves and working from the bottom up place the burlap as practiced onto the surface of the foam work quickly and methodically until your first side is covered you will want to randomly wrinkle and tuck it giving the surface an uneven texture keep in mind that spray adhesive is very unforgiving once in place it's very hard to reposition most spray adhesives require you to allow the spray to set up for a few minutes so follow the instructions on the can once in place ensure good thorough adhesion by firmly pressing the burlap onto the foam structure [Music] repeat this process for all four sides once they are complete use the spray paint to finish it paint the Deep crevices with the dark brown paint use the lighter brown and green paint randomly on the surface do not paint all of the burlap allow some of it to remain unpainted next create a loop to tie the fishing line to by using a piece of the coat hanger wire feed one end of the wire down through the back middle portion of the foam structure directly below the screw eye attached to the back of the skull to keep the wire from pulling back through bend a u on its end and then pull it back up into the foam on the other end cut off the excess wire but give yourself enough wire to bend a loop on the end with the pliers like this paint the exposed hinge and construction tape on the back of the skull using an acrylic paint that matches the color of the skeleton use a black Magic Marker to help hide the metal eye hook reattach the fishing line to the skull's eye Hook and the newly created loop on the foam dirt mount adjust the fishing line so that it moves the skull up and down when the baby seat is turned on when the paint on the skull is dry further hide the fishing line and eye Hook by gluing pieces of fake fur cut off of its backing onto the skull using craft glue reattach the hands to the mound by using the same Nails in the same place use acrylic paint to hide any additional screws hinges and zip ties That might be showing you can also use the paints to add accents to the skeleton as well as some general touch up using a scissors cut random holes in the skeleton shirt making it look more old and tattered highlight them by using watered-down brownish colored paint at the edges of the fabric once some faux grass and weeds are added to the dirt Mound you are ready to plug in your animated groundbreaker skeleton and add it to your Halloween's haunted graveyard [Music] foreign [Music] thanks for watching and please have a fun safe and family-friendly Halloween

Channel: HALLOWEEN DIY & HOW-TO Props & Special Effects

Views: 92,892

Keywords: halloween, prop, DIY, homemade, make, create, craft, build, crafts, animated, animatronic, ideas, tutorial, video, display, haunt, haunter, best, decor, decoration, how to, howto, how-to, halloween prop, yard haunts, haunted graveyard, cemetery, spooky, spooks, halloween decorations, animated halloween prop, motorized halloween prop, do it yourself, scary, moving, Skeleton, Groundbreaker, ground breaker, groundbreaking

Id: o98jDKY6fnM

Length: 23min 30sec (1410 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 30 2023