Life-Size DIY Jack Skellington Prop

JACK  SKELLINGTON MEASUREMENTS IN PHOTO BELOW:

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS Jack Skellington Prop

Cost: Approx. $25+

ASSEMBLY:

For Mr. Skellington, I started by finding all his measurements. Then I bought .5" PVC Pipes and .5" Connectors at Home Depot. Then for his head, I bought two half spheres of that green floral foam at Michael's (they didn't sell it in a full round ball). The head diameter is 8". The green floral foam is much softer and easier to carve than the regular white Styrofoam balls they sell. I got all my supplies home, referred to my scale guide I had made, and cut all the lengths of Jacks limbs, etc. (Remember that each PVC connector adds about .5" to 1" in length, account for that if you want your character to Be accurate). I used evenly distributed white glue to glue the two floral foam domes together to make a full sphere. While Jacks head was drying, I assembled his PVC pipe body. When his foam head was done drying i twisted it back and forth down onto the "neck"until it went in a few inches and was secure. I then pulled the head off, filled the hole with hot glue and placed the head back on. Now it will be permanently attached. You now have the frame work of Jack intact!

UPDATE:
tawni dilly suggests: you could drill holes thru pvc and put in a slightly longer screw with a bolt on end. that way he can change positions. Tighten when he is in position you want and untighten to change etc.

Also: I chose to make my Jack with 45* bent knee joints because I like how I
it looked. My Jack remains in a sitting position. However, if you would like your Jack to stand, I would recommend making his legs straight. This will make It easier to secure his legs to a wood base or into re bar in the front lawn. If you are going to give him straight legs, please remember to subtract a few inches off of his leg length. If you straighted his bent legs, he suddenly becomes taller and in my opinion out of proportion.
His total height should be about 7.5 feet tall approximately.


JACKS FACE:

Looking at a detailed picture of jacks face online (you can choose your favorite expression), I lightly (and carefully) traced on his eyes, nose holes, and mouth with a pencil.

Once I knew that the size and placement was correct, I used the pencil to carve deeper and deeper into his mouth and nose holes.

 For the eyes, I actually used a tea spoon to carve out the round shape...worked perfectly!

 Now paint the face and head using black and white acrylic paints. Head is done








CLOTHING:

I Purchased a few yards of the cheapest black fabric I could find at the fabric store. Clothes-making isn't my specialty. Basically, what I did was, Look at a picture of Jack's clothes for the accurate look, then laid down the PVC "stick figure" on the black fabric, used a white colored pencil for marking and traced around the figure. For the jacket, I cut out the front panel, and the back panel and hand stitched them together. For the pants (and long sleeves), I again measured the material against Jacks leg length, then cut the material. I used a sewing machine to sew the two pant legs into "tube" shapes, and left them somewhat open toward the top. I hand sewed the open top parts together to close off the top of the pants. I feel like I really didn't know what i was doing, so its probably really confusing to understand how I sewed the pants. Maybe ask someone you know that sews, it's really basic. I was too cheap to buy the pin striped material at the store, so I ended up using the white colored pencil to make stripes up and down his suit. It Actually Turned out a lot more accurate this way, because if you look at Jack's suit, it doesn't have perfectly uniform stripes. They are more squiggly and imperfect. Finish by adding a button to his suit and stuffing his chest with recycled plastic bags.



BAT BOW TIE, SHOES & JACK'S HANDS:

Bow Tie: Jack's signature Bat bow tie was made using the same method as the suit jacket. I just looked at a picture of the tie online, then traced it onto the material twice. I sewed the two pieces together around the edges with a sewing machine ( like making a pillow). Then I lightly stuffed the bat with batting and inserted a few wires to maintain its stiffness)

Shoes: I made tiny black shoes for Jack out of wood (with the help of my Grandfather). Then used black acrylic paint, and shellac spray for shine. We drilled .5" round holes into the tops of the shoes so the PVC pipe legs would fit into them.
(You could also carve the shoes out of pink/blue insulation foam and achieve the same result)

Hands: The hands are from Party City, they were just prop skeleton hands. I inserted wire and hot glue into them to make them pose able.

...Look who I found decorating the tree...

this picture I