Shots of mask before being sent to the Lighthouse

Me holding the mask

In character

View from above

Left side

Right side

How the wearer fits inside the mask

Before sending the finished head off to the Lighthouse, I have taken my own shots of the head without the rest of the costume. There should be some publicity shots of the full costume worn by the dancer taken at the Lighthouse, though the Crocodile costume will not be released to the press before the performance is on show. As the character of the Crocodile is usually shown briefly, using a puppet of static model, Ken wanted the costume to appear as a surprise for the people coming to watch the show. I also hope to get some shots of the costume in context with the rest of the actors and set. I will be attending a dress rehearsal on the 9th December to witness the costume within the show, before the production is performed to the public.

These photos also show the fabric attachment at the back of the neck. This is a spare ruffle made by Debbie with wire running through the bottom to hold the fabric's shape. I simply pinned and glued the fabric into a leather pad inside at the back of the helmet. Though the pins were right inside the helmet, I later removed them just in case they were to fall out during the run of the show.

Setting the teeth

Close-up of gum line

The head is sat upside down while the top row of teeth set

Bottom set of teeth

Initially, I tried to further secure the teeth in position with a wire staple alongside contact adhesive. The wire hook proved to make the tooth sit more loosely along the gum line, as it moved about inside the plastazote and rarely stuck into the head securely. I opted to use a blob of contact adhesive instead, having let the glue half cure in the air before applying it to the tooth. I then simply placed the teeth on the flattest areas of the gum line, though I sometimes had to angle the base of the tooth in order for it to sit properly. The bottom row was left to set for an hour before I was confident to turn the head upside down and set the top row of teeth. The top row proved more difficult to attach as the gum line is thinner, giving an uneven base for the tooth to attach to. Some of the teeth do not fit at a 90degree angle to the gums, and sit at juxtaposing angles like the teeth found in real crocodiles. In order to fit the teeth far enough back in the head, some had to sit along the brim of the bike helmet to blend in with the rest of the gum line. These teeth were slit down the centre so that they could slot on the thin line of the plastic.

The tongue was simply glued into the mask and at the tip where it joins the inside of the mouth. This was further secured with duct tape whilst the glue dried, though I removed the tape later as it would inevitably peel off. The glass eyes were also secured with contact adhesive run around the edges. For the right eye, fine filler was used to pack out the uneven surface behind. The eye was added while the filler was still wet for a good fit. This meant that some filler got onto the glass surface of the eye, which i removed using lighter fluid and a scalpol. Once the eye socket's surface was sanded back and cleaned up, I disguised the filler with black and copper acrylic paint. In response to the client's feedback, each eyeball is circled with black to help it stand out and appear more sinister looking.

Once the contact adhesive had set, there were a few gaps where the tooth had not met the gum line. I used a toothpick to fill these gaps with fine car body filler before running the filler around the base of each tooth for extra security. The yellow filler was then easily blended into the tooth and gums with white acrylic paint. As a finishing touch, black spots were added with a toothpick. This simulates the detail on my crocodile imagery and helps to merge the light pink of the gums into the green scales.

Final paint finish

Gold highlights and spotted detail around gum line

The use of turquoise in my scales matches my fabric sample but also gives a silvery shine to the crocodile. For the final coat of paint, I have mixed a green that is two parts gold to blue. I have allowed the turquoise to show through by lightly dabbing this layer on with a dry kitchen sponge.

Other details

Clear, glitter stars are applied to the teeth

Bronze eyes to draw focus the the gold, glass eyes

How best to finish the teeth came under conflicting opinions. Whilst Martin in the model making studio encouraged me to yellow the bright, pearly teeth up, Ken the client wanted shiny white ones finished with glitter. I proceeded with yellowing the teeth round the edges to provide contrast with the white, pearly highlights on the tooth. To add some sparkle, I used the clear glitter stars approved by Ken so that the light catches them, without the glitter appearing too obvious.

Second fitting

front view

Fabric pinned to cover the neck

profile view

From the second fitting I was able to see how the costume had progressed and any changes in the materials that would influence my chosen paint finish. The costume varies from the original design in subtle but significant ways. His body suit colour has noticably changed from light blue to light green, though I have been informed that this is also likely to change as more scales are printed on. This photograph shows a piece of material pinned into the back of the head, to act as a neck to the crocodile. I have been provided with different fabrics to attach to the head once it is complete to help tye my piece into the rest of the costume. Though the ruffle appears rather large from the back, it is not noticeable in the front view.

An example of miscommunication is evident in the fabrics they provided me to re-create this neck ruffle. I was given completely different fabric off cuts that were not large enough to cover the neck and clashed with my paint finish. After finding Debbie, I was able to use the fabric shown here as it was already sewn and overlocked for me. Though I have been visiting the costume studio, there are definite gaps in my understanding of how she has adapted the costume. If I had more input into the costume work, I would have probably chosen a different material for the trousers and bodysuit. Alternatively, I would have probably changed the performer's body shape to more closely resemble the torso of a crocodile, if I could convince the client it would work.

Building up the inside of the mouth

To reach this fiery finish to the inside of the mouth, I started with a peach base colour before dry sponging on several tones to highlight the ridges inside the mouth. Through using a strong raspberry red, the result has become rather orangey, to contrast with the bright pink tongue. I initially found it difficult to decide the colour of the inside mouth, as I had to consider the client's request of a cartoonish, pink colour whilst my crocodile reference images all showed yellow and black mouths. I feel that I have reached a good middle ground that contrasts with the scales and gives a bright finish ideal for the stage.

Base colour and finish

Duct tape bridges the gap underneath the helmet's visor

Base tones to guide my build up of paint later on

The fitting helped me to identify areas that I previously didn't consider to be on show, such as the visor underneath the top jaw. To help the black plastic blend into the foam section, I covered the gap with duct tape and then masking tape to give a surface to paint over. Any small gaps or faults in the latex skin have been filled with more latex and painted over in a base coat colour.