October 20, 2011
Searching for good skeleton teaching reference for one of my
George Brown Classes, I stumbled upon a great idea! Illustrator Chris Beatrice made a desktop-sized, pose-able skeleton using an economical 20" model and a bit of something called 'sculptor's wax'. Check out how-to's on his blog,
Illustration Fixation.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJHd6rypninyfd0Cgz-Ds99sc81BnTIroEFCOtmassTgzVV4Vh2Dj-uKFATjKzJGAUzYhEbaP1q-7vEg40GJz-ESfp6k4eW0WgwmqUMdSg4XrfHf9YQyW7ZeQtkdCZJ2djYu4TjiBYX6j/s200/tackywax.jpg)
I ordered the same skeleton from Amazon and got it within two days. For the wax I had to hunt around a bit -- finally, on my 4th try, I found it!
Above Ground Art Supplies has this stuff called
Tacky Wax that costs under $5 and works like a charm!! The wax is sticky and pliable when warmed in your hands, but hardens when cool. You can pose and repose this guy 'til the cows come home. I wish there were some way to make the spine flexible but that would take a lot of work and probably wire. I couldn't get my dude to stand up as Chris did, but it comes with a handy stand. Can't wait to do some anatomy studies!
Here he is, just in time for Hallowe'en!