Koza Demon

I'm finally able to get back to doing some shoots, thankfully we live in a place that's been virus free for some time and I felt relatively safe doing this again.

So these horns, obviously inspired by the show Carnival Row. I didn't want to copy any design exactly, I just looked at a few then did it from memory in a design that would fit with a foam latex prosthetic, and something that would be relatively easy to mould.

It took ages to sculpt these thing, mainly because I had no idea how it would all work, but I modified an existing core mould to accommodate the size of the horns and from there I just took my time. All the while I ran through the moulding process in my head, mainly the best place to put that dividing line - and it's mostly hard to see from front angles, you can see the seam a bit on the opposite inside face of the horns when looking at it from side on, otherwise it's pretty clean right out of the mould.

This exact pair are the first one from the mould too, at this point I've only run them once - I wished I did a couple before this heatwave settled in. The piece is so massive it requires a 2 1/2x normal sized batch of foam latex and I don't do them often enough to know the proper adjustments for this weather, I have some ideas though and enough material for a few test.

This piece also requires special "some assembly required" kind of instructions that I'll be writing up with some pictures (hopefully) to outline the best way to apply them and keep them in place. The biggest issue is the centre of gravity is out past the ears and the only glued down area is really the brow and cheeks, so I planned ahead and glued (using mask latex) two elastic straps on the inner sides of the back of the horns.

I had to get the model to lay down on the floor to get the forehead on and in place (otherwise I'd be struggling to keep it in position because of the weight) then she sat up a bit so they could flop down flat against the sides of her head and I got the cheeks into place and then she was able to sit up.

Then I tied the straps just above the  back of her head, too low and the straps would slip a bit and the horns could've sagged a bit, but above the back of the head it seemed to sit properly and in the end the strap was totally invisible and the horns didn't move at all. Without the straps the horns flapped outwards and looked like an orangutan.

In total, after pre-painting, it took about 20 minutes to apply and be ready to go. That was one of my biggest expectations, that it would be a fast application and end with a really great dramatic look. And it worked perfectly, it looks great, wears really well, the weight is barely noticeable after a fashion and Natasha (the model) said it just felt like wearing a hat.

I have plans for more horns, not this design, but more the "style" of these horns that I'm calling quick application horns. Not just single horns that can be stuck on, but full brow pieces that offer a really dramatic looking makeup in the end with very little effort. Mainly the idea was something that I could use at conventions too, not that I attend a lot of them, but it's nice to have some makeup on actual display that I don't have to start 2-3 hours before the convention that day.

And they are for sale, sort of a limited run thing. Since it's not my design I don't want to splash it around too much, but even if there's not a listing on Etsy, you can always get in touch via whatever social media site you happen to favour or find me on and ask about them. They're not cheap, but they're totally worth it.