Rotoff the Deadnose Reindeer

If you take a deer skull and cross it with a wire Christmas Reindeer frame what do you get?
Well, I guess the answer to that could be more than one thing, but I ended up with a 2 time award winning, rotted and grotesque looking reindeer suitable for Halloween. LOL!!

Step 1: Step 1

First get yourself a deer skull. Mine came from my brother-in-law who got it from a butcher during deer season. They just throw them away so you can probably get one for free. Only problem is, it's gonna be whole and you will either have to clean it all yourself or wait until the spring and let the nasty little bugs do it for you. (**Note - you should check on the laws in your area about possessing wildlife remains. I have heard that in some states it's a no-no.) After it is all cleaned off you are going to have to re-attach the lower jaw. I drilled a hole and attached it with small screws. Be careful not to tighten too tight or you will crack the bones. If you are going to remove any teeth, you should do so before attaching the jaw. It will be much easier. While you have your drill out, drill one or two holes in the top of the head for antlers (size of hole(s) will depend on the base of the antlers you chose) and a small hole in the back of the skull to attach to the wire frame.

Comments

[DreMMoore]

What material did you use for the corpsing?

[PaHalloweenFreak]

I used cotton batting and liquid latex. It is best to use 100% cotton batting, rather than the polyester type. The cotton batting can be found at stores like JoAnn Fabrics. It comes in a roll and you will need to tear pieces off. The sizes of the pieces can vary, it just depends on if you are doing a large flat area or going around a curved area. Make sure that you fray/tear the straight edges of the ends of the roll too. They will blend into the other pieces much better that way.
To apply, coat one side of the cotton batting with liquid latex and then lay it over the item to be corpsed, overlapping each piece. Once you have a layer of it on, you then brush liquid latex over the top of the cotton batting and let it dry.
Hope that helps. If not, let me know.

[Quizicat]

A red light for the nose would be a nice addition. Though green might be more in the spirit of things.

[iain010100]

This will go great with my valentine-themed erotic dungeon.

[DesignerUserName]

Complete with undead dominatrix I hope!

[iain010100]

"Un" dead? Opps. Now I need to find a van and an isolated swamp.

[DesignerUserName]

Somehow I couldn't see myself hooking up with an undead chick. You know she's really got some cobwebs in her rafters and my kidney meds give me a dry mouth as it is. :/

[iain010100]

I think it depends on the type of undead. Zombies, while easy, don't make for good conversation, Frankenpeople decay after a while, Werewolves have that whole bi-polar personalty issue, and vampires are too much into blood play and don't stick around in the morning. I guess you have to pick your poison. I guess I'd go with a Zombie, even though she'd keep trying to pick my brain.

[omnibot]

Have you guys seen Zombie Strippers?

[iain010100]

No, but I've seen Ninja Cheerleaders. Yes, I know ninjas and cheerleaders are not undead... that we know of.

[omnibot]

Ew .. that's creepy.

[Evilthingamabober]

I can imagine the neighbors taking their kids trick-o-treating...
"Hey kids! It's santa! Cmon, lets sing! Rudolph the red nosed rie-HOLY CRAP! What the hell happened to him?

[pokiespout]

My friend, this is absolutely beautiful. Consider me inspired.

[GreenDay]

Hahaha!

[Granny_Leah]

I don't know what my DH will think of this, but the neighbor kids will go nuts! Bookmarked, thank you.

[PaHalloweenFreak]

Oh yeah!! People will go nuts when they see it. LOL!! Although, as mortified as they are to see it for the first time, they can't stop looking at it!! Hee hee hee!! I had people taking pics of it too!! First time I ever had that happen. Good luck with yours, If you need any help just send me a note and I will do my best to help you out!!

[SuperCoPilot]

dude i am so making this lol

[PaHalloweenFreak]

Glad to hear it!! I would love to see someone else make one just to see what they come up with. Make sure you send me a pic!!

[SuperCoPilot]

though i'm thinking a rotting deer won't be too uncommon near the tennessee mountains lol

[ChrissyStarr]

This is so hilariously gross!!! Rotoff looks like he came right out of Tim Burton's sketchbook.

[cubemonkey]

That is pretty f-ing cool!

[wilksterdog]

i love the prop as you know ginn! now i need you to make me one!!!!

[incorrigible packrat]

"Look good to Igor for feasting!!!" ("DOWN Igor, Down! Step away from the keyboard, or it's the dungeon again") Sorry about that. Nice Instructable. My only criticism is that Rotoff looks a little thick about the ankles.

[PaHalloweenFreak]

No need to say sorry! He was my first attempt and I always say there is always room for improvement! When you put something like this out there, you have to be able to take the good with the bad. I welcome any input! How else would I be able to improve upon him?!!

[incorrigible packrat]

I was only apologizing for Igor's impertinence, in wanting to feast on your fine carrion. He's been getting uppity of late, and may soon require corrective administration of the board with nails in it. Excuse me, I must retire for the evening, as the room seems to have started spinning...

[darkmuskrat]

I just stocked up on some stain for my shop class..... I dont think I will ever look at it the same :P

[LinuxH4x0r]

AWESOME! this is the best instructable I have seen in a long time! I want one!

[code_e]

Oh s**t this made me laugh! Awesome work, glad to see there's someone else out there as twisted as I am.

[GorillazMiko]

WOW!
This is a really cool Instructable!
The idea is really good, it looks awesome too when painted, and the sled and stuff just look awesome!
But if I were to do this, my parents would go crazy.
Nice job!
+1 rating.
(added to favorites)

[canida]

Wow, that's incredible!
You should go ahead and add it to the 2008 DIYHalloween contest group.

[GorillazMiko]

So I can start adding things in right now if I wanted too? Halloween is a long way from now.

[PaHalloweenFreak]

Thanks for the compliment and the tip on the group. I have joined the group but how do you add something to the contest? Gin

[fungus amungus]

On the top right you'll see a button that says "Add to Group." Click that and then the group name to add it.

[PaHalloweenFreak]

Thanks!! I didn't notice that before. I am a newbie here so I guess I need to look the pages over more carefully.

[fungus amungus]

No worries and welcome to Instructables!

[Kiteman]

Ha, I bet you started that group just for this 'ible!

_{I don't blame you}

[canida]

Indeed! It had been on my to-do list, but this project gave me a solid kick in the pants.

[Patrik]

Hey, I learned a new word - "corpsing"! :-D

Excellent work! I have to admit I like the close-up pictures much better than the ones from far though - the somewhat cartoonish shape of the frame you used in step 4 doesn't fit that well with the ultra-realistic corpse texturing.

[woofboy111]

That is amazing! I've always wanted to some sort of twisted Christmas decorations, but I've never gotten anything finished ever. If I put this on my roof I think the nuns that live next door would try having me evicted...

[PaHalloweenFreak]

ROTFL!! That is too funny!! Yes, putting something like this out will definitely get you the "So, That's what a crazy person looks like" stare! Luckily most of neighbors already knew I had some screws loose so they were not too shocked! Hee hee hee!