Making a Stomach

For WIFA, we need to make lots of guts and other organs that can be ripped out of the actors. They need to be seriously gross from up close to far away. Tom and Megan (a props grad student) have come up with a way of making organs so that they're durable and light on stage, but also look pretty nasty. 


I have started on my props journey by making a stomach:

I carved the stomach shape out of a block of foam using scissors, and a snap blade. I will now sand it to give it a smoother look.

I have added red wool using a hot glue gun for veins

I realised that if you split the wool at the ends, it gives the impression of smaller veins

The green wool creates blur veins as soon as the latex is painted on

I added foam tubes to each end and then covered the whole thing in split tights which I then hot glued back together to create the impression of skin covering it

A gross looking skin 'seam'

I then covered it in a coat of latex 

I added extra veins on and covered it in latex again

I made these kidneys in a similar way, but I didn't cover them in the tights as I felt they didn't need it.

I've strung them together with red and green wool and have added on chunks of foam to make it really disgusting. 

They look pretty effective and when flung, then bounce together in a really hideous way.

I have attached these to the stomach chord.

I made part of a live using the same techniques, but again didn't cover it in the tights. I am kind of regretting this now as I think it would give it a smoother look.

I like my decision to add on stringy bits and chucks of the rest of the liver.

Kidneys close up.

Next, I added shredded calico to the organs to give a sense of skin or sinew. 

After that, I sprayed them with blue and purple to give them a bruised effect.

Finally I covered them completely with red spray paint to make them look bloody.

I am very happy with my organs, the only thing that is quite sad is that a lot of the veins didn't show through the spray paint. However, it was good to explore this technique for veins.

I'm really enjoying making props, it's so different from anything I've done before and I think I've taken to it really well. The tutors are happy with what I've made and I'm looking forward to moving onto the next project of making wooden canteens from the 1700's. I'm looking forward to the chance to work with wood as it's a material that I haven't worked with much before.