6 Halloween Costumes You Won't Believe Aren't CGI

Inspired by the landstriders from Jim Henson's child-scarring opus The Dark Crystal, as well as some of the more disturbing antics of the weirdos at Cirque du Soleil, the enigma known only as Manbuddha worked up the gumption one recent Halloween to create the terror-wight you see here and proudly proclaimed, "My dream/nightmare has come true!" Yes indeed, Manbuddha. You probably made every elderly resident of the housing complex open their arms to embrace the rapture.

If you've played any of the BioShock video games, you already know what this is. For those who have no idea what they're looking at, it's a Big Daddy. They're immense, genetically enhanced monsters who are forced to live in a diving suit and protect these young girls called Little Sisters that you, as the player, are trying to stab in the face with a hypodermic needle to harvest their sea slug essence. Yeah, these games are rated M for "mature." And possibly also for "mushrooms."

Anyway, a fellow named Harrison Krix (who admittedly has the rather unfair advantage of working at a prop company) created the Big Daddy you see here as a personal project. And yes, the massive arm-drill works:

However, there's technically nothing stopping you from making your own, and he was kind enough to detail exactly how he did it:

Oh, sure, you need skills -- the rest of it is shaving blocks of foam into the right shape and painting it to look like weathered copper (the arm drill is simply attached to a cordless hand drill). Granted, he did note that this project was "a solid pain in the ass to build" and involved nearly 500 labor-intensive hours to complete. Hey, we didn't say that utterly dominating Halloween would be an easy task. You have to expect some effort when the result is so convincing that we at first thought the below photo was concept art from the game:

Hell, that photo isn't even doctored -- Krix, along with a willing ladyfriend playing the part of a Little Sister, paid a visit to the Georgia Aquarium for a dramatic photo shoot (and to possibly fulfill a murderous shark vendetta). In 2009, after a spectacular appearance at Dragon Con, Krix reportedly put the suit up for sale on eBay. Being a responsible kind of guy, he was considerate enough to warn potential buyers how the costume makes the wearer "effectively blind." But he also went on to assure everyone that navigating through crowds of onlookers isn't as problematic as one might think, by offering this advice: "Just kick the drill arm on and keep walking; they'll move."

The only thing he didn't fashion himself was the mask, which was purchased online. After a bit of 3D modeling on his home computer, everything else was angrily (at least we hope it was done angrily, for artistic integrity) hand-carved from couch foam and painted with the help of his wife.

After a few trial-and-error revisions that were necessary to get the "deltoids, the traps, and one of the biceps" just right, he and his wife first tested it out by wrestling the whole shebang onto a mannequin they happened to have lying around, which doesn't sound creepy at all.

Once everything was completed to satisfaction, it was time for a trial run (after psychologically traumatizing his toddler). Which in this case means "saunter around the backyard, nude."

The result was impressive enough to win a prestigious competition, cause him to be surrounded by gawkers in the local mall as he did a little shopping at Dillard's, and earn him the admiring adulation of his fellow hobbyists. And the best thing is, with a different color paint and another mask, you can easily go as a kick-ass Skeletor.

Look at it -- the resulting party photos always look like bad Photoshops. To start, you need to be willing to ruin a perfectly good set of clothing with primer and spray paint (just make sure you don't go too crazy with it and wind up like that girl from Goldfinger). The base for your feet is a hunk of cardboard, and the prop weapons can be toys or whatever you can make -- the fact that you're going to paint everything the exact same color means you just have to find the correct shapes.

That's an important step, by the way -- you want your bazookas, M16s, or what have you to be as unrealistically bright-green as possible in order to avoid potentially deadly confrontations with local law enforcement. Actually, you should probably leave anything even marginally resembling an RPG at home. You'll be better off if you just settle for being the radio guy.

Beyond that, it's up to how thorough you're willing to be. After all, it's the little touches that make all the difference. Like, using a face covering to give it that unfinished, "fresh off the Chinese assembly line" look. And the simple commitment of holding the pose until you've made everyone around you as uncomfortable as that "statue guy" downtown who creeps people out for a living (or until you get lost between the sofa cushions and/or chewed up by the dog).

The outfit, a re-creation of the notorious graffiti artist's "Flower Thrower," shouldn't be too hard on the checkbook, considering all it looks like you'll need are some stolen cemetery posies and one can of paint.

A little too political for your tastes? Maybe you'd prefer a costume in the style of a Roy Lichtenstein painting. You know, the guy who did stuff like this ...

... which means you just need to mimic the harsh ink lines, stark colors, and dotted shading:

It seems simple enough, but here's someone who was nice enough to go over all the specifics. Of course, if you're an actual artist, with a little face paint you can turn yourself into a Van Gogh "Self Portrait":

... but we understand that the average guy can't pull that off without just looking like he's crudely painted some Freddy Krueger facial burns on himself. For you, how about a DIY Rene Magritte painting:

Finally, if you want to go a little more modern, you can turn your head into an N64-era polygon model that will make your friends think they're witnessing a glitch in the Matrix:

That one was made by 3D artist Eric Testroete, who used nothing but his brain, along with a computer and some printer paper, to create a character straight out of the big-head mode from GoldenEye.

The effect is as captivating as it is vaguely unnerving. Which may be why Testroete seems to enjoy freaking people out by stalking elevators, taking late night walks, and hanging out in bookstores. Note that this one does require some specialized software, not to mention a complete disregard for the sanity of whoever might happen upon the trashcan filled with your early, failed attempts.

... but it also saves you from having to wash paint off your face later. Speaking of which ...

Hyper-realistically surreal optical illusions are what Chooo-san specializes in, and while your attempts may not come out as spectacular as hers, at least the folks at your next Halloween gathering will surely appreciate the effort you took while they hastily retreat to the safety of literally anywhere else.

Her work is often mistaken for Photoshop trickery, but the only alterations you see here are via the simple application of acrylic paints. Well, not "simple" -- it helps to have an artist's touch and an imagination geared specifically toward giving other people nightmares.

But no, you don't have to be Chooo-san to paint yourself into something monstrous. With a creative use of a little black paint here, a little red paint there, and some strategically placed teeth to complete the effect, you too can make the streets of your neighborhood run yellow with the urine of panic-stricken toddlers:

E. Reid Ross is a columnist at Man Cave Daily. You can also follow him on Twitter here.

For costumes to avoid, check out 7 Halloween Costumes That Never Look as Cool as You Think and 16 Great Halloween Costumes for Telling Everyone You Suck.

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