Proportions

I think I'm not far off in guessing that most haunters build a humanoid figure at one point or another in their haunting careers. I also think I'm not far off in guessing that most of us have problems with having an end product that looks "right." Our perception of a person's beauty is based on proportion and symmetry of both body and facial features, so it's important to design and build with this in mind.

Sometimes, it's hard to get the proportions right because some animatronics or pneumatics need to be hidden inside the prop, so we're limited by the size requirements of the mechanical bits (my stirring witch is one of those.) Sometimes, the head we use is what's available to us in the eleventh hour, and is not the right size for the body (also my stirring witch!). All that aside, let's assume we're starting from the ground up and we're not pressed for time. (Like that's ever going to happen at this time of year!)

I went hunting for some images of both male and female figures and their proper proportions. Here's the male figure:

Here's the female:

From these images, you can get a very good idea of how the body is divided up into eight head units, and you can see that the hand, from heel to fingertip, should be able to cover the face.

Now that we are aware of perfect facial proportions, we can mess around with them to make monster faces, like Dick Smith's mask of Quasimodo, here:

It goes without saying that we can alter body proportions to make it anywhere from subtly disturbing (in a "something's off about that, but I can't put my finger on it" way), to creepily deformed.

Source. 

O.K. I included that last one to see if you were paying attention. But you get the point. Elongate one arm or one finger of the hand to longer than the others, and you're sending the message that this creature is evil and your victims should be scared of it.

Then, there is something called "heroic proportions:"

Heroic proportions for both male and female are based on nine head heights.

For a more in-depth look at proportions, go here! Hope that helps!

Bodies Revealed

This is an exhibition I really need to go to. Real human bodies, displayed in such a way as to the structure, musculature, etc. Here's a quote from the exhibition:

BODIES REVEALED lets visitors of all ages explore deep within the human body in a way that informs but doesn’t overwhelm.

As the visitor moves from gallery to gallery, the exhibition uses 14 full body human specimens and over 200 organs to tell the story of the miraculous systems at work within each of us every second of our existence. Rooted in the historical precedent set by such great anatomists as Vesalius and da Vinci, each full body specimen is dissected to best reveal the function of a complete anatomical system and to show that system’s relationship to the body as a whole. The full body specimens are complimented by presentation cases of related individual organs, both healthy and diseased, that provided an even more detailed look into the elements that comprise each system.

Our bodies are our most important possession. They are intricately developed machines; more complex and wondrous than all the computers and gadgetry we surround ourselves with today. Yet many of us do not know what makes us tick—how we function, what we need to survive, what destroys us, what revives us. Bodies Revealed, made possible through the process of Polymer Preservation, is an attempt to remedy that lack of knowledge by presenting to the lay public material that was previously only available to the medical profession: a three-dimensional tour of the human body.

Countless visitors have remarked that the knowledge gained from the experience has provided them with a new connection to their own bodies. Others claim a new reverence for life and a desire to take a more preventative approach to their health care. To quote writer and philosopher John Conger whose words are displayed in the exhibition, “Without the body, the wisdom of the larger self cannot be known.”

About the Polymer Preservation Process


The Polymer preservation process is a revolutionary technique in which human tissue is permanently preserved using liquid silicone rubber. This prevents the natural decay process, making specimens available for study for an indefinite time period. Polymer preservation provides a closer look at the skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive, endocrine and circulatory systems by unveiling the mysteries of the human anatomy. The end product of the Polymer Preservation process is a dry, odorless specimen that resists decomposition thus allowing its user to create a unique collection of permanently preserved human specimen for public exhibition.

Bodies Revealed
Alta Arden on Arden Way: Across from Arden Fair Mall

2040 Alta Arden Expressway
Sacramento, CA 95825

Click on the photo to go to the website for more info on tickets, etc.