Fantastic Frank, the Dapper Steampunk Frankenstein

Inspiration: We found a Styrofoam Frankenstein head at the local store, so of course I wanted to steampunk him all out! My daughter found a jaunty little hat that was perfect for the steampunk theme giving him a man-about-town vibe. Thank you to my wonderful wife Nanci for so many wonderful suggestions to help Frank become truly fantastic! I was very excited at how it turned out - fun and spooky!!!
I hope this inspires you to create something fun!

Description: To ensure the piece was sturdy, I mounted it to a wood base and drilled out a hole for a thick dowel rod that went up into the Styrofoam head and glued into place. Next, I covered Frank’s head with gesso and a green paint base color. I then created gears, “metal plates” and mechanical elements in Adobe Illustrator and cut out the shapes on chipboard in our Glowforge Pro. 

Next, drilled a hole in the wood base to run the mini-lights up through. I applied green LED lights in specific areas of the face hiding the cord with chipboard elements, gears, found objects and texture paste. Different tones of green acrylic paint were added to the face. Grays and green hints were added into the hair. 

The hat was covered in black gesso with layers of chipboard, gears, mechanicals, found elements and texture paste, with two colors of gray waxes to give the piece more dimension. I cut a part of the Styrofoam head off at an angle to affix the steampunk hat to. I used waxes to give the mechanical elements a similar look and feel from the hat down to the neck. 

Rust effects were added giving the feel that Frank has been out in the elements and in some disrepair. Where the neck meets the wood base, I added tones of red to mimic blood for a bit of creepy factor as if someone mounted his head for display. It was finished by adding White Pearl Metallique Wax to give the screen skin a wet look. The piece measures 15” high x 9" wide.

Products:

  • Chipboard pieces (line art created in Adobe Illustrator and cut on Glowforge Pro)
  • Styrofoam Frankenstein head from Joann Fabrics
  • 9” Round Pine Wood disk from Hobby Lobby
  • ¾” x 8” Dowel rod
  • Upholstery feet added to the bottom of the wood disk.
  • Finnabair Art Basics Heavy Body Gel
  • Finnabair Art Basics Heavy Black Gesso
  • Acrylic paint – shades of greens, grays, and black
  • Tim Holtz Tiny Lights – Halloween (green set)
  • Steampunk cloth hat and goggles
  • Finnabair Art Extravagance Texture Paste – Black Sand
  • Tim Holtz Idea-ology Industrial Gears Embellishments
  • Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Gears Sprockets
  • Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hardware Screw Heads
  • Crystal Stickers by Mark Richards - Mosaic squares (used to give illusion of square bolt head)
  • Crystal Stickers by Mark Richards - Elements (used to give illusion of steel bolt heads)
  • Prima Finnabair Rusty Gears
  • Prima Finnabair Mechanicals – Hardware Accents
  • Found / Repurposed items: Spark plugs (from our dirt motorcycles 😊), zipper, metal parts, plastic pieces, buttons, and wire (twisted three colors with the Sizzix Twist & Style tool)
  • Finnabair Art Extravagance Rust Effect Paste – Red Rust, Yellow Rust and Brown Rust
  • Finnabair Art Alchemy Liquid Acrylics - Carmine and Ink Black
  • Finnabair Art Alchemy Metallique Wax – Charcoal Black, Brushed Iron, Aged Brass, Patina Green, and White Pearl

Video and Photos: 


YouTube Time-Lapse Step-by-Step short video





Shapes created in Adobe Illustrator and cutout
on chipboard with the Glowforge Pro

Styrofoam head mounted on Dowel rod
into the wood base for stability

LED lights, sparkplugs and zipper neck details

Layers of chipboard, mechanical, and found elements added

Layers of elements added to the steampunk top hat.

Green color layers completed and hat attached.

Coloring gears to match similar elements on the hat.

Rust added using effects paste and liquid acrylics


So much fun to create this one-of-a-kind project!

Yes, it lights up and looks even creepier! :-)

THANK YOU for your support!

Please SUBSCRIBE!

FB: https://www.facebook.com/DuigouDesigns/

Pinterest: @DuigouDesigns

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason_duigou/

TikTok: @jasonduigou

Etsy: www.Etsy.com/shop/DuigouDesigns

Blog: https://duigoudesigns.blogspot.com/

YT: @duigoudesigns

 #halloween #frankenstein #spooky #scary #foundobjects #upcycle #repurpose #LED #mini-lights #timholtz #prima #finnabairproducts #embellishments #mixedmedia #mixedmediaart #chipboard #duigoudesigns #jasonduigou #halloween #spooky #horror #halloweencostume #spookyseason #october #happyhalloween #art #trickortreat #fall #love #halloweendecor #cosplay #scary #autumn #horrormovies #halloweenparty #creepy #handmade #gothic #mechanicals #gears #sparkplug #wire #sizzix #waxes #acrylicpaint #homedecor #decorative #steampunk #glowforge

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Celestial Voyage: Rocketing Through the Cosmos

Image
  Inspiration: I was inspired by a 3D rocket that I printed on our 3D printer and some beautiful space-themed rice papers. I found a wooden oval box at a garage sale and added a stenciled pattern with gel medium, celestial laser-cut planets, moulds, stars, steampunk elements, and mechanical elements. I was very excited at how it turned out. I hope this inspires you to create something fun! Description :  This one-of-a-kind Celestial Voyage: Rocketing Through the Cosmos mixed media art piece began with a 3D printed rocket. I found an oval wood box at a garage sale.   moulds, chipboard, mechanical gears and screw heads. I applied various acrylic paints and splatter effects.   Burnt Siena liquid acrylic was added to give depth to the piece. I textured the laser cut wood planets using soft gel and an amazing Rocket Science Stencil by Finnabair. I used various Sparks, Metallique and other paints to give it depth and pops of color. Under illuminated the planets to give the piece some add
Read more

Magical Mystical Mermaid

Image
Inspiration: I found a mermaid wall hanging at a garage sale and an old project canvas that I put together to upscale them both into an undersea scene. I was very excited at how it turned out. I hope this inspires you to create something fun!  Description : I coated the canvas with wood pieces and painted it with shades of blue and purple. For the background, I used real large sea stars, large seashells, chipboard gears and resin shaped all layered to give it depth. I added Finnabair Firebird Art Alchemy Metallique Wax to the deep blue background to give it a vibrant look. T he metal mermaid was painted in lighter blue-green sea colors. I decorated the mermaid’s hair with beaded necklaces and mini pearls. I decorated the body with chipboard gears, small seashells, small resin shapes, pearls, and mechanicals. I added Finnabair Unicorn Effect Paste to give the mermaid an iridescent glittery look and finished the piece with splatter paint. The final piece measures 23.5” x 11” x 1.5”.
Read more

Steampunk Gears Christmas Tree

Image
Inspiration: A colleague of mine at work collects Christmas trees – specifically miniature cone-shaped trees. I decided to create a unique tree based on steampunk gears. I was very excited at how it turned out. I hope this inspires you to create something fun! Description : I created various gears in Adobe Illustrator and cut out chipboard and wood gears on our Glowforge Pro laser cutter. I adhered the chipboard gears of various sizes to the chipboard tree cone that I purchased at Michael’s. I then slid the wood steampunk gears down at various heights on the tree cone. The entire piece was sealed with heavy black gesso. I then brushed gold wax on and then silver over top to provide highlights. Miniature gears were added like ornaments. I used spray glitter on the entire tree and then wrapped it with tiny clear lights. Products :       Christmas Tree Cone from Michael’s       Chipboard Gears – Various Sizes created in Adobe Illustrator and cut on a Glowforge laser cutter.       W
Read more