8 replies to this topic

[Voidley]

(Okay I know this post is a little belated, that's my bad)

All right, I think we can all agree that it is pretty nerdy to keep ants as pets. And it’s even nerdier to be on a forum dedicated to it. Well, I think I’ve managed to go one step even nerdier by deciding to dress up as a realistic ant for Halloween. And you know what? I couldn’t be happier.

 

Here are some process photos and the final product. I started by using an online 3D scan of an Acromyrmex ant and then used Blender to cut out a 3D scan of my face. The costume was 3D printed in five parts, which I then glued, filled, sanded, primed, and painted. To secure it to my head I cut the bill of a baseball cap and glued it inside, which actually works way better than it sounds like it would. All of this was pretty new to me—this was my first time spray painting or even just working on a project like this in general, so I’m really proud of how it turned out. Now that it's all finished and Halloween is over, I'm planning to somehow make a display board for it like a deer head taxidermy. I think that would be pretty cool to hang on a wall.

 

Anyways, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this art project of mine. I'd also appreciate any suggestions for what I should do with it now if I don't go with the deer-head-taxidermy idea. Also, if anyone else has done something similar, please share your experiences! This project was a lot of fun, and though I don't see myself doing it again anytime soon, I would highly recommend trying a fun art project like this yourself.

 

Here is the 3D printed head disassembled:

 

 

 

Here Is it with all the pieces glued together and the gaps filled with wood filler:

 

 

 

Here it is after being primed and further sanded:

 

 

 

The painting process, I spray painted the majority of it and then did some touch-ups by hand:

 

 

 

And here is the final product paired with an ant-body shirt I found on amazon:

 

[1tsm3jack]

Very cool

[ExponentMars]

That is so awesome lol 

[AntsGodzilla]

That is crazy cool!

[ANTdrew]

I would pay you to make me one of those!

[AntsGodzilla]

I would pay you to make me one of those!

I was actually just thinking that.

[ANTdrew]

I would want a Crematogaster head.

[Voidley]

Thank you guys for all the kind words! It really means a lot.

 

 

 

I would pay you to make me one of those!

Thank you for such a great compliment! I'm flattered that you like it. I don’t really plan on doing one of these again (how many giant ant heads becomes too many?). But perhaps one day I’d do another one with a different species or something. I definitely have some ideas for improvements if I were to do it again; and I probably wouldn’t make a mask but just a large taxidermy-style head.

And besides, pricing might be a bit tricky. The closest thing I can find online is this Etsy listing for a paper-mache ant mask for $175 which seems, in my opinion, a bit pricey for something made of paper. However, since mine is made from plastic and more closely resembles an actual ant, it suggests that these ant masks could potentially sell for a good amount. Thanks again, though, for your interest in this project of mine.

[AntsGodzilla]

It's crazy how many likes this got after just two days. It goes to show how well done this was.