Advice for building large worm with breathing function

Seth Smith

Hi folks,

I'm working on a build for a short film, that is basically a large, human sized worm. It needs to remain reasonably cheap, so I'm considering building the main form out of carpet foam, and coating it in latex.. Though I'd love to hear any suggestions of how to do a similar thing, but have the creature be transluscent. (my only thought there was silicone, but that would get so expensive it's likely not an option.)

I'm mostly wondering if anyone has suggestions for practical methods to make something like that "breathe".. have considered a bladder of sorts, with an air mattress pump, though it might be too loud..

Also needs to have weight, so that when picked up, it will wriggle, and flop in a semi natural way..

Any thoughts?
Thanks!

Chris Ellerby

Hi Seth,

Using air bladders to create chest movement on larger characters is difficult due to the volume of air you need to move to translate into any visible motion.  Typically this is done mechanically, often with a hinged rib cage that can expand and contract when pushed/pulled on from the inside.

For translucent, silicone is really the way to go, especially if you want natural motion and weight.  But as you mentioned, for a large character that would be extremely expensive.

There are other translucent rubbers (vinyls and urethanes) that are less expensive that you might want to look into.  I would suggest only doing a rubber skin on the outside, and build the core out of translucent plastics, with added weights as needed for motion.

/Chris

Seth Smith

Thanks so much Chris,
I really appreciate it. It does sound like mechanical is the way to go, the real issue is finding a way to do that on a budget, that will also be possible to pick up, and maintain it's "wriggliness"...
I'll post pics if it comes out the way I hope.
p