*UPDATED***Tigers....zombies....tiger zombies. A tale of 2 craftsters. <IMG HVY>

[KeenBean]

--------------EDITED 10/3/07-----------------

Hey guess what!?!?!? The video is finally out!!! Watch it and let us know what you think, Tess and I are proud Tiger mamas :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKLB60uk9pE

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Hey guys!  You never know what will happen when you post something on crafster.  A few months ago I posted a picture of the sock monkey Steve (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=105491.0)  that I created for the sock monkey challenge.  Someone saw it online here, and contacted me to make costumes for his music video which was called "Tigers" for a band called "Division Day" and was to star tiger zombies!! I didn't have much time, so I enlisted the help of my friend tesstessi, and we started working! I took care of heads, which was quite an undertaking.  It's a little bit complicated, lets just say the head involves punch bowls, spray foam, and lots and lots of tape, hot glue and stuffing.  I free handed the heads, draping and sewing as I went along. 

After the main part of the head and the framework was constructed, I put on the details. Black burlap patches to make the stripes, red fabric for the gashes, black yarn for the stitching, broom bristles for the whiskers, black vinyl for the nose, white for the teeth, and buttons and yarn to make the disembodied eyes. 

All in all, it took about 1 week of solid work and a few all nighters (and one day spent at comic con) to get these 4 suckers done.  We went up for the shoot so we could trouble shoot the costumes and be there in case of disaster. Despite being heavy and a bit unweildy, the heads didn't need to be edited other than a nip and a tuck here and there to make sure people necks weren't exposed.  I don't envy the person inside the costume, the burlap is scratchy, and it's hard to see/breathe inside those heads!

And now the the pictures:

Prelimary Sketch:



Construction:







Finished product:





at the shoot:



on set:





goofing off:



the end of the whole thing:



Here's some links for fun:

The complete flickr photoset of the whole shebang: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bahkubean/sets/72157600769068233/
The director, Josh Forbes: www.winchandpulley. com
The Band: www.divisionday.com

Now tesstessi is going to talk about how she made the bodies!!

[TessTessi]

hey!!

I'm so glad keenbean wrapped me up into this project, it was a super blast! Construction was a  bit on the miserable side due to the heat and burlap splinters, but the end result was so worth it. 

At first I was using a modified clown costume pattern, but that ended up being a bit too big on the wrong areas, and I modified a onsie style lion costume. I inserted a zipper into the back for easy access (gluing the seam allowances down with hot glue to keep it from raveling apart), and made the stripes using random strips of black burlap. Mandy, the zombie genius, cut holes where she wanted the guts and gore to be, then I sewed red fabric into it, and she stitched it over with black yarn.

The mittens were modified from the pattern I was using. I lined them with green fleece to be puffy and more comfortable, and used cut up vinyl for the claws.  They were supposed to be just worn as mittens, but it became apparent as we were shooting that we had to sew them onto the bodies.  This lead to some interesting moments while we were all hanging out on the roof of the building we were shooting at, watching the zombies clutching a beer with 2 hands, or someone holding their cigarette for them. Good times.

The shoes were modeled on a large shoe, but everyone ended up wearing small converses or something to that effect, so we ended up more or less sewing the covers onto their shoes. 

The video should be done getting edited in a few weeks, so we'll definitely post it when it's done!!

Now for even more pictures! Sorry for all you dial up peeps!

Construction:







After the gore:



At the shoot:







In the end, we used 30 yards of burlap. Holy cow. We are still finding it all over the house. Ew.  We both have what we like to call "burlap lung" and will probably die 5 years younger. This is our fate, and we embrace it. 

[Adetten]

That is awesome, just damn awesome! You both should be very proud.

[SFLAG]

Rock rock rock. This is so great because not only are the finished products mindblowingly fun and cool, but because of the whole network involved! Congratulations to all of you on pulling off something so spectacular in a week! It's worth a year or two off the end of your life, yeah?

[KeenBean]

TessTessi and I had a total blast. I think the most rewarding part was having the final pieces dancing around on a set. We couldnt help but smile :-)


And I totally never want to see burlap again!!

[pennydreadfull]

holy crow!! Those are so freaking awesome!!

[wannabe-craftymama]

that is AWESOME!!

[KeenBean]

aw thanks! when the video comes out we will definetly link it for you guys!

[sugasuga]

effin awesome.

[3beadgirls]

awesome job on the costumes!!!  they are so cool!