Need Help Creating a Tentacle Codpiece
Hey everyone I enrolled into this a few weeks ago and I love it. I’m still pretty new to this but I’ve been making costumes for a long time. However, I’m working on a low budget sci-fi/horror web series with some friends of mine. I’m trying to get into the film industry as a special effects artist, I also do a bit of acting. My director asked me if I could create a tentacle codpiece that can have them move individually. It is based on a sea anemone. I want to know is there is a way to achieve this effect. I’m currently enrolling in the animatronics and sculpting courses.
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Best Answer
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Hello, a piece of that size and with several tentacles like those of a sea anemone requires simple mechanisms that occupy little space, I would use something similar to my lamprey parasite that consists of 4 lines of action or movement of 4 axes. The structure is made with pvc tube and roll-on spheres. these pieces are joined with 5 mm bouncing rope (approx.) The rope passes through a hole in the center of the spheres and through the tube sections, interspersing tube, sphere, tube, sphere, etc. Until reaching the desired length, the spheres work as radial support allowing a smooth and fluid movement, the tube segments are to add length and separation between the spheres, which is necessary to control and limit movement. The tube segments are also the basis for the PVC rings that hold the lines or cables in place. I used 4 cables, opting for the opposite movements instead of including springs to return it to its initial position. In the tip I added 3 whiskers that are operated with a simple lever mechanism. At the end the lamprey lamprey has 5 wires that trigger its movement manually, it is more a puppet than an animatronic one. In your case, I think it is easy to hide a flexible tube as a sheath that goes through the actor's groin towards his back where it would be easy to mount a primary control base, and then (if necessary) extend it to the ideal position of the Marionetista. I hope to upload a couple of videos of how it works in a few days. I hope you find it useful, if you have any specific questions, please ask me, I'm glad to help.
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