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Post by reddkryten on May 29, 2017 14:53:43 GMT
Hello, I was just wondering if anyone had some advice on a problem I am dealing with. I'm currently working on a character with ears on their heads, think insect antennae. I don't want the ears to be static and lifeless, I want them to move and be animated. My plan is for them to move down when the character is thinking/annoyed, remain in the middle most of the time, then pop up when surprised/alert, sort of how cats move their ears. The problem I am having, cable or radio control aren't really practical for this one most of the time (I might be able to use cable control at times, but not often). I'm also trying to find a non-electronic way of doing this. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Personally I was thinking of something hydraulic. When the wearer tilts their head forwards, the fluid shifts and tilts the ear down and the opposite when their head is tilted back. I think that could be made to work, however I can also imagine it being very tricky. Any help, pointers or inspiration would be greatly appreciated. Thank you  |
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Post by propmaster2000 on May 30, 2017 13:40:13 GMT
Hi reddkryten,
<snip>
My plan is for them to move down when the character is thinking/annoyed, remain in the middle most of the time, then pop up when surprised/alert, sort of how cats move their ears.
<snap>
When you say "move down", do you mean bend out to the side (horizontal?)
And "in the middle" , angled out slightly? (@45deg.) and then move straight up (surprised/alert)?
Or is the angle more forward or back?
What type of head gear will be accepted to hide the mechanics and will it be flat against the wearers head
hidden by a wig or head piece?
Do you have drawings or pictures?
Thanks.
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Post by reddkryten on May 31, 2017 13:39:18 GMT
Hi there, Thanks so much for the response. Yes you did a far better job or articulating the movement than I did. At rest they should be pointed 45°, when surprised 90° straight up and when annoyed they should be almost parallel to the person's real ears 0° or 10° give or take. This sort of motion www.thinkgeek.com/product/ef66/images/14027/On a few rough mockups, I just used hair clips to attach the antenna to the top of the wearers head. The wearer and character have a lot of hair on top, but buzzed along the sides of the head, which makes headbands a bit tricky (not impossible, but tricky). I don't have any pictures but this is a very similar design www.writeups.org/commander-shran-star-trek-enterprise-combs/Again, thank you for any help you can offer. |
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Post by propmaster2000 on Jun 2, 2017 2:44:48 GMT
A few questions:
Can the wearer have some covert way (hidden mech.) to effect the movement of the ears?
What parts of the body suit (costume) can be used to hide parts of the mechanics?
How long does the "effect" need to be viable (long term, short term)?
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Post by reddkryten on Jun 2, 2017 10:33:50 GMT
Oh yeah, hiding the mechanism is very doable.
As the person's head is shaved at the sides, it makes it harder to hide around the face. However the hair is a good hiding spot. The costume can hide a lot, the only poor areas to hide are the arms (t-shirt).
What do you mean by long term? Do you mean in regards to something like battery life, or something else?
My thinking is to use these ears as the medium ones.
For some of the running this character needs to do, I'm planning to use static poseable ears. For more detailed stuff, I'm planning cable controlled hero ears which can be precisely puppetered, however due to practical reasons it won't always be possible to use those.
The moving ears are intended to be a jack of all trades, but master of none, able to show some emotion and life. So while not the only pair, they would get quite a bit of use.
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Post by propmaster2000 on Jun 2, 2017 11:47:50 GMT
- As far as short or long term is based, it will be on the overall quality.
The longer (greater amount of time) the ears are to be in use, the higher the quality
and design aspects.
If they are to be used for only a short amount of time, then the over all design and
materials can be reduced (to save cost and build time).
Are these going to be used as ears or antenna and will they need to be actuated independent
of each other?
Will the antenna need to have an articulated curl or just bend at the base with some type of joint connection?
The bend effect would have to be predictable and bend in the same direction every time, then
return to the "home" position automatically after each emotion. That way you only need to pull
the cable to the correct positions each time, then simply release.
If the antenna are to be for close up shots as a hero prop, then the wearer can use a simple cable
pull for each device. Is this going to be filmed or live effect?
Another thought: If the antenna are pre-set to bend down by themselves, then the cable pull
can bring them up to what ever position is needed rather then pull them down.
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Post by propmaster2000 on Jun 5, 2017 11:09:09 GMT
Hey reddkryten, When you get something built, make a video and post it. Love to see what you come up with . |
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