My Three Skulls

[Stephen Casey]

With skulls being such a popular subject for airbrushing I thought you folks might like these images for a laugh or as reference images. I release them to the public domain. Images can be saved by right clicking them. By the way I am developing human figurative and anatomical sculptures. Lucky was my neighbor, he's not as noisy as he used to be.

Stephen

[XZOTIC INK]

that is funny! I just asked for a skull head for my recent bday present, and people looked at my like i was from another planet! Glad to see that someone connects, stephan do you know a good website or place i can purchase some of the skeleton parts for drawing references..:speechless-smiley-0

[AirTodd]

He looks a little boney.He needs to eat a little.

[bigheadpaint]

At my local art shop the have plenty of paint no reducer would like to try some of the paint i have bought. Any pointers to an alternative reducer

nate

[Stephen Casey]

Hello again Natalie. Xzotic your name is actually Natalie isn't it?

Of course I would be happy to help with this. You are not alone in your quest for good source materials. So I went ahead and gathered some links and suggestions for anyone with the same questions. The following will get you started.

Here is where Lucky came from. Very high end quality. Collector style with a light antiquing varnish. Note the the casting of the European Male's actual teeth. The nasal concha are life like and there hasn't been major resculpting of major forms for symmetry reasons as there has been with Freddie's skull. But of course you pay for what you get. The detail inside the brain cavity such as foramina (holes) are far better in Lucky. All in all this skull casting is far superior to Freddie's. Browse around their site it is quite fascinating. By the way real skulls are even cheaper sometimes on eBay but are not best for study as the ethnic differences change the shape a good deal and these castings are of select specimens. Besides just picking up a skull the wrong way (like grasping between the eyes can do a great deal of damage to them.

Bone Clones
http://www.boneclones.com/
Lucky's page. (My name for him.)
http://www.boneclones.com/BC-107.htm

The Third Party Vendor I bought Flexible Fred directly by phone order. They failed to be able to forward me a tracking number (drop shipment) but other than that I can not complain. And over-all Freddie is a bargain for the price.
http://www.balkowitsch.com/
Same vendors EBay listing note:
27,866 feedbacks with 99.5% positive.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-3B-Scientific-Anatomical-Flexible-Skeleton-Fred_W0QQitemZ130087229528QQcategoryZ31480QQssPage NameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Manufacturer of Flexible Fred
https://www.a3bs.com/shop/u.s.a./flexible_skeleton_fred_on_5feet_roller_stand_1_han d_and_1_foot_flexible_a152,p_3_65_53_164_18_search result_true.html

Denoyer-Geppert has a new line of skeletons that looks to be quite awsome and coincedentally pricy. Not all of their products are what I would buy but alot are quite good. Here is their current skull page.
http://www.denoyer.com/products.asp?Cat=2&heading=1&title=Skeletal&category=2&cattitle=Skulls
Skeletal Index
http://www.denoyer.com/category.asp?heading=1&title=Skeletal
Articulated Skeletons - Toward the bottom they go up into the $2,000 bracket. Mine is a measely $450 model. But quite good enough for my needs, with lucky at my side.
http://www.denoyer.com/products.asp?Cat=1&heading=1&title=Skeletal&category=1&cattitle=Articulated%20Skeletons

Catalogs can be purchased from Bone Clones and Denoyer-Geppert but usually come free with sizable orders. Their catalogs are quite stunning where other distributors are very lacking.

As for photo reference I suggest you visit large used and new bookstores as well as local libraries. You are primarily looking for titles similar to "Atlas of Anatomy." Some of these are what i call polite anatomy but many are true cadaver atlases, this not for everyone. I have a couple local friends that will not even touch my skeleton or Lucky even though they are told that they are just plastic castings. But just about every medical doctor, RN or even dentist has studied real cadavers, or we had better hope they have before they go poking around inside out loved ones.

Buy nothing until you have made the rounds as you may find the by far best material at the last stop. You can usually get them to set a few books aside for a few days at each place and then you have them all to sellect from. I have spent a great deal on anatomy books. One must be sellective. Also keep eBay in mind for even new books and look at the third party vendors in Amazon.com listings. A lot of money can be saved there.

If I had to choose one anatomy book from all the rest I would have to choose the cadaver atlas:

"Color Atlas of Anatomy - A photographic Study of the Human Body" 6th edition.
All editions should have excellent images of the entire skeleton, I know that the fourth and sixth does.
Published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Authors of the current edition; Rohen, Yokochi & Lutjen-Drecoll

Note: on the listing below the book is listed as $74.95 delivered yet to the right under "More Buying Choices" there is a link to 78 more offerings of this book this leads to a page that currently has a listing for the same book NEW including shipping for $55.21 from a vendor named DERBYTEXTBOOKS that has 1,888 customer ratings with an average of 96% positive. In a retail outlet this same book may cost more than $75 plus local sales tax.
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Atlas-Anatomy-Photographic-Study/dp/0781790131/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3131938-6595163?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173771805&sr=8-1

I hope you find this information useful.

Stephen Casey

[Stephen Casey]

AirTodd, actually Lucky has a heck of an appetite.
I no longer have the last digit of my left index finger.
You can see the result in the second image on the following posting.
http://www.airbrushtech.info/AIRBRUSH/forum/showthread.php?p=16882#post16882

[blinddog 99]

Lol, those are great shots Stepen, thanks for posting.... funny...

[ABD]

HaHaaaaaaa!...Those are great...Yer a lil Kookier than i thought..Love it!!:clapping2:

[Stephen Casey]

Hey good morning.
Thanks everybody I'm glad you all enjoyed them.

Blinddog,
I sometimes think I am funny, but my ex-wife just stares at me and shakes her head.

Denise,
That is a very sweet thing to say. My ex-wife cooks for me once a week so I mustn't be to bad to be around.

ABD,
Dude you have no idea how whacked out I am! I take a fist full of prescription psychotropics every day and I am still nuts!

[ABD]

I sometimes think I am funny, but my ex-wife just stares at me and shakes her head.
!

Boy i know that look...It's like "uh, is this thing on"...."calling all sense of humours" .....haha, Their loss right!:partyalone:

[Saint]

Too Funny, Stephen!!!

Feed the poor guy, though!


Are those scan lines on the skull?

[Stephen Casey]

No Denise, those are actually crayon markings as I was noodling out how the mold for the original skull was formed. A masterful bit of work that casting is. I'll never use crayons again: I had a devil of a time getting that off. Wet-Erase markers would of been wiser. Live and learn.

Bone Clones (referenced in post 5) does saber-toothed tigers, Neanderthals, you name it. Even some ghastly forensic skulls.

[airarts]

You are such a nut, and I mean that in a good way. If you didn't have such a sweet smile, I would mistake you for an inmate on the loose!

[Stephen Casey]

Yes I am very proud of that smile,
it took me ages to airbrush it.
As for being an escaped convict,
from the Florida state prison system,
I will have to take the fifth on that one.

Karrine,
I see you updated your profile. You are very pretty and have a warm confident smile.

[Full Blast]

He looks a little boney.He needs to eat a little.

:rotflmao: :angry-smiley-043:

[Stephen Casey]

Ya Freddie used to be pretty fat,
that is until he started working and eating
exclusively at a hospital cafeteria.