I did make up efx for 12 years and have built dozens of gags like this. I'm not sure about paper mache - but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Liqued latex makes a great "skin".

One thing I know for sure: "down to the wire" is not a good thing. If you want it to look good and not "half-assed" you need to put some time into a gag like this.

Sorry I can't be of more help. I have dozens of pictures but none of them are on line anywhere and I just don't have time to post them before your shoot this weekend.

Be sure to take some pictures of what you came up with and let us know how it worked out.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Thanks for attempt! I know something like this should have been done a while back, but I've only really been planning this shoot for about a month and a half, and between this, a full time job, and weekly obligations (writing meetings, painting classes, etc.) it's been a strain to get anything done!

My saving grace is that it's going to be a close-up shot, so the overall thing doesn't have to look TOO realistic, it just has to do the job. The actor's shirt will be over-top of it.

I'll definitely let you all know how it comes out and I'll try to get pics of it up. 🙂

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Bruce Campbell - "So you want to get into show biz?"
Me - "Yeah, I'd really like to direct movies."
Bruce Campbell - "Cool. Just don't suck."

In case anyone really cares, I shot my film this past weekend and I did manage to construct a fake chest. Basically I took a large piece of foam board, cut a hole in the top center of it, attached a cardboard box to the back, attached sponges in the box, and padded the front with bundles of junk mail duct taped together (to get the contour of a chest. We soaked the sponges in fake blood, placed the fake heart in the box, and placed a pre-ripped t-shirt over the whole rig. I haven't actually watched the footage yet, but my cinematographer assured me that it looked great.

I may have pictures to post, but I have to wait on other people to get them developed. Worse comes to worst, if people are still interested by the time I start editing, I'll try to get some screencaps of it.

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Bruce Campbell - "So you want to get into show biz?"
Me - "Yeah, I'd really like to direct movies."
Bruce Campbell - "Cool. Just don't suck."

please do I am very interested in that. Its alot like something I will have to do this summer for a movie that I am planning to shoot.

White Tiger Films