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Alrighty.. so I'm getting my leopard gecko shipped to me on Tuesday! (: TERRIBLY EXCITED!! In the meantime, I've been busy using freetime to make my own set of hides! This is the "warm" hide, I'm also working on the moist hide and a cool hide, but those are still in construction phases.. I'll replace/add in those when they're completed, but for now all I need is the warm hide and the moist/cool hide for when he gets here. (: Keep in mind this is my first go at something like this (and I don't have my leo in hand, so I have no idea what his size actually is), so don't judge too hard, please!! I know there's a million mistakes and parts of it don't look that fantastic, but for a first go it's not too bad! (:
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Ended up buying those huuuge 8 foot, 2 inch thick sheets of pink insulation foam from Home Depot, and had them cut it down to something closer to 3 x 2 foot pieces instead. Made patterns, cut them out, shaped them a bit using a butter knife), and glued them together for a double deck hide (gives me more vertical space for hides). This stuff is nice since it doesn't pill off like styrofoam, and layering it was much faster because it's 2" thick. (: After things were mostly shaped, I'd sand it down a bit and then add super sculpy details, using a hair dryer for quick setting. And then paint! The rocks look okay, but the tree needs so much help hahaha.. ah well, not bad for a first go! (: Especially after being so rusty at sculpting and painting!
The flash was used in the painted image, so it sort of washes things out and makes the black super shiny (the substrate I'm using is black, so the base of this is tipped in black to blend it in), so it looks much better in person!
Either way, not bad for a first go! (: I think I've decided that I'd like to make something a bit more stylized, but I'm waiting for the little guy to get here so I can determine what color/scheme would really make him pop!
It's definitely kept me busy, and it's nice to have a side project that gets me off the computer! Looking forward to planning out another set to make! (:
If anyone has any experience/tips/tricks for making these and would like to share, please feel free!! I'm all up for hearing/seeing everyone's custom hides!!
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Ended up buying those huuuge 8 foot, 2 inch thick sheets of pink insulation foam from Home Depot, and had them cut it down to something closer to 3 x 2 foot pieces instead. Made patterns, cut them out, shaped them a bit using a butter knife), and glued them together for a double deck hide (gives me more vertical space for hides). This stuff is nice since it doesn't pill off like styrofoam, and layering it was much faster because it's 2" thick. (: After things were mostly shaped, I'd sand it down a bit and then add super sculpy details, using a hair dryer for quick setting. And then paint! The rocks look okay, but the tree needs so much help hahaha.. ah well, not bad for a first go! (: Especially after being so rusty at sculpting and painting!
The flash was used in the painted image, so it sort of washes things out and makes the black super shiny (the substrate I'm using is black, so the base of this is tipped in black to blend it in), so it looks much better in person!
Either way, not bad for a first go! (: I think I've decided that I'd like to make something a bit more stylized, but I'm waiting for the little guy to get here so I can determine what color/scheme would really make him pop!
It's definitely kept me busy, and it's nice to have a side project that gets me off the computer! Looking forward to planning out another set to make! (:
If anyone has any experience/tips/tricks for making these and would like to share, please feel free!! I'm all up for hearing/seeing everyone's custom hides!!
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Very nice! I bet your geckos love it! If anyone feels like checking it out, I've been making my own hides and platforms for geckos for a while now using a somewhat similar process. The big difference is instead of just painting I cover mine with several layers of sanded grout colored by mixing acrylic paint into the grout before applying. The grout makes it very strong and durable and gives it kind of a sandstone look/feel. It's easily sealed with a water based, non-toxic grout sealer and ends up very water resistant. I've posted several pics of some of the ones I've made on my DA page. Here's a few pics of my latest project in varying build stages. I hope you enjoy!
