How To Make Hooves Out Of High Heels

Materials/Tools

Insulation foam
Wood Glue
Small Clamps
Crafting Knife/X-acto Knife
Marker
Apoxie Sculpt
Water
Screws and Drill
Rubber Dots
Epoxy glue
Sand Paper/Sander
Shoe Insoles
Faux Fur Fabric
Needle/Thread
Knee High Socks or Tights
Industrial Strength Velcro
Smooth On Oomoo
Smooth on Smooth Cast
Mixing Cups/Plastic Silverware
Legos (to make a mold box)
Pair of platform high heels
Parchment paper/ wax paper
Sulfur-Free Clay
Petroleum Jelly

Step 1: Make A Foam BaseReading: how to make hooves out of high heelsStart off by making a basic shape for your hooves out of insulation foam. I started with two layers which I glued together with wood glue, clamped together until dry, and then carved and sanded to the shape you see in the photo above.Once you have the basic shape, mark where you want the hoof to split into the two toes. Then, use an X-acto knife to carve out the split.Carve until you are happy with the shape. Keep in mind that you will be covering the foam with Apoxie Sculpt later, so it may be a good idea to carve a little more than you actually want it to be.Be sure to check that your hoof is going to fit onto your shoe. I didn’t make the foam hoof large enough to begin with, so I added another section of foam to the back and carved it to shape.Tip: Try to make your hoof perfectly symmetrical, since you’ll be using the same hoof for both the left and right foot.Step 2: Cover with Apoxie SculptThe next step is to cover your hoof in Apoxie Sculpt. Following the instructions on the containers, take equal parts of A and B and mix them together. Apoxie Sculpt will cure as you work with it, so only mix as much as you can use before it hardens. It only takes about 30 minutes before the clay is unworkable. Use water to make working with it easier and less sticky.Working over a sheet of parchment paper, cover your foam hoof with a thin layer of Apoxie Sculpt. Do one side first, let it harden, and then do the other side. Also cover the top and the bottom with a thin layer.To make sure that the hoof will sit flat on the bottom, cover the bottom with a thick layer of Apoxie Sculpt and then smash it against your work surface, making sure the top is flat and level. Then, smooth out the edges with water and more Apoxie Sculpt.Once all that is done and the Apoxie Sculpt has completely hardened, smooth the surface out by sanding it. I used a flat sander to speed the process up considerably. I ended up sanding completely through the Apoxie Sculpt on the top of my hoof, trying to get it completely level, as you can see in the photo. If this happens to you, do not worry. You don’t necessarily need the top to be covered with anything.Step 3: Make a Silicone MoldRead more: SLAW.meNow that you have a hoof sculpted, its time to use it to make a mold. You’ll need a silicone like Smooth-On Oomoo 25 or 30 to do this. The main difference between Smooth-On Oomoo 25 and Smooth-On Oomoo 30 is that 25 cures faster than 30 does. It doesn’t make a difference which one you use for this project.For your hoof, you will only need to make a one part mold. This is good because its the easiest kind of mold to make. To start, roll out a thin, even sheet of sulfur-free clay. It absolutely has to be sulfur-free or it will effect the curing process of the silicone. Make sure your sheet of clay is large enough to fit the hoof in the center and then some. Next, take your hoof, cover the sides and the bottom with petroleum jelly, and place it upside down and in the center of the clay, pressing it down so that it sticks. The petroleum jelly will act as a mold release so its easy to get the hoof out of the mold later. This is why it didn’t matter that I sanded completely through the Apoxie Sculpt on the top of my hoof. The top will be buried in the free clay anyway.Next, build a box around your hoof. I find the easiest and funnest way to do this is by using Lego blocks. Just build up the walls of the box around the hoof until they reach above the hoof by an inch or two. The sulfur free-clay should extend past the walls so you have a nice clay bottom to the entirety of your mold box. Next, mix up equal parts of part A and B of your silicone. You’ll need a lot to fill the entire box. If you don’t mix enough to start with, its no big deal, just keep mixing equal parts of A and B together and adding it to your mold box until the entire box is filled and there is at least a couple of centimeters worth of silicone covering your hoof. Now, just let it sit until it cures.Once it is done curing, pop the blocks off the mold and flip it over so you can take the clay off the bottom. Sulfur free-clay never hardens, so it will remain usable after this. Just store it in a plastic bag until you need to use it again. At this point, you should see the top of the hoof peaking out of the silicone. Just remove the hoof from the mold by pressing it up from the bottom and wiggling it out. Be careful with it and work slowly so you don’t damage the mold.Step 4: Cast Your HoovesThe next step is to cast a couple copies of your hoof. To do this, I used Smooth-Cast 300 from Smooth on. It is a bright white liquid plastic that is very strong and durable. I would not recommend attempting to use the cheaper resins you can find in craft and hobby stores. For one thing, those cheaper resins tend not to come in large enough quantities. Secondly, if you are going to be walking on these hooves, you’ll want to use a resin of good quality. The mixing ratio for this resin is also 1:1, so just measure out equal parts of A and B, mix them together, and pour into your mold.You may get some bubbles from mixing, but those do tend to rise to the top on their own. Use caution when mixing resin for your mold. Resin heats up as it cures, and the larger amount of resin you use, the more heat will be produced and the faster it will cure. You’ll need a lot of resin to fill the hoof mold, so be aware of this as you are casting. If you are worried about the amount of heat that will be produced by mixing the entire amount you need to fill the mold, you can do it in parts and only fill the mold up small amounts at a time if you wish.Tip: If you end up with extra resin that you cannot fit into the hoof mold, don’t waste it! Pour it into another mold if you have one laying around. Thats how I ended up with the extra resin pieces in the photo above!Once you’ve filled the mold up, wait for it to cool completely before taking it out of the mold. Once you’ve pulled the first hoof out, repeat the process for the second. If you need to, you can sand the hooves down to make them smoother or to remove any bubbles that may have been left behind. In the end, you’ll end up with two identical hooves made of solid resin!Step 5: Attach Hooves To Your ShoesFirst, before you do anything else, you’ll need to remove the heel from the shoes you’ll be attaching the hooves to. The best kind of shoe to use is a platform high heel. The platform will help make the final product as comfortable as possible, and the heel gives you the sort of angle you need for the legs to look convincing. I was able to get the heel off of my shoes with the help of my dad with a hammer and small crowbar. It is quite difficult, so you may want some help from a second person as well. Once the heel is off, you’ll be left with a bunch of metal nails or pins sticking out of the heel of the shoe. Clip those off or bend them down, and smother the area with epoxy glue. This will cover the metal bits and keep the shoe together so it doesn’t fall apart on you while you wear it.Next, attach the hoof to he bottom of the shoe by screwing it in place through bed of the shoe. I used a total of four screws for each hoof. You may use more if you wish, but I would not recommend using less.As you can see, the hoof will stand on its own once attached.You might want to practice walking in them a bit at this point. You may, but be very careful as the hooves are not fully attached and are most likely not completely stable. You also may cause damage to the screws if you walk in them too much, so only try them on for a short amount of time and make sure you have something near you to keep your balance.Read more: how to make a rainbow sheep in minecraft peIn order to make the hooves more stable, you’ll need to fill the gap that still remains between the hoof and the shoe. Apoxie Sculpt is a great material to do this with. Just mix up equal parts of A and B again and fill the gaps in all the way around each hoof. Also take this time to add some of your industrial strength Velcro to the front and back of the shoe. You’ll use this to attach the legs to the shoes later. Once it has been left for about 24 hours, the Apoxie Sculpt will be fully cured and rock hard, and you won’t have to worry about the stability of the hooves. Step 6: Prepare Your Hooves For WalkingTo make sure your hooves are prepared for walking, you’ll need to add a couple things to them. First, you’ll need to add an insole to the inside of your shoe to cover the screws. I use the kind that only cover the ball of your foot, but you can use one that is the entire length of the shoe if you want. Ether will work. It is a bit hard to see in the photo, but it is in there.You’ll also need to add something to the bottom of the hoof to help grip the floor and keep you from sliding. I used the rubber dots that you would usually use on the bottoms of furniture. These rubber dots will come with an adhesive already on them, but you’ll need to clean that off and use an epoxy glue instead or the bond will not be strong enough and they’ll fall off as you are walking. Use four on each hoof and place them at each of the corners. It looks a bit odd, but it makes walking much safer.Step 7: Make Your LegsIn order to make the legs to go with your hooves, you’ll need faux fur fabric and a pair of knee-high socks or tights, plus the ability to make a pattern and sew.To start, you’ll need to make the pattern. I made my pattern by wrapping my body in plastic wrap and making tape and drawing the lines for the pattern over the tape. If you’d like to learn more about pattern making, you can check out my pattern making tutorial. The tutorial goes over making patterns for armor, but the process is the same for fabrics. You only need to make a pattern for the top furry part of your legs. This is the white fur section you can see in the photo above.Once you have your pattern pieces, make a mock up of your legs with cheaper fabric to make sure it fits. You wouldn’t want to cut into your expensive fur fabric only to find out the pattern doesn’t fit like you want it to! Once you are satisfied with the fit of the pattern, take the mock up apart and use the pieces as your final pattern. Cut the pieces out of the fur fabric, being careful not to chop off too much of the extra fur along the edges. Sew your furry pants together and be sure to add a zipper so you can get in and out of them easily. I added my zipper at the hip, and the fur is long enough on mine so that you cannot see it at all once it’s zipped.Next, you’ll need to add the bottom part of the legs which can be seen as the brown section in the photo above. The first thing you’ll need to do is cut the foot of your socks or tights open so you’ll be able to slide it over your shoe. Work carefully so that you don’t unravel the material. Once it is cut, take some of your fur fabric and make a tube of fur the same length as the area around the top of your hoof, plus an inch so that you can sew it together at the end. Then, you only need to sew the tube of fur to the opening at the bottom of your sock! I also added some fabric glue the edge of the sock fabric to keep it from unraveling during use.Also, add the corresponding pieces of Velcro to the inside of the foot and sew it in place.Lastly, if you are using knee-high socks, you’ll need to sew the top of the sock into the furry legs. It was too difficult for me to fit in my machine, so I simply sewed it by hand.At this point, you should be able to pull the legs over the shoe and attach it with the Velcro. You can also finish your hooves by painting them if you wish, but they also work well as pure white.Now, just slip yourself into your new cloven hooves and practice your walk! It will take some getting used to if you’ve never walked in shoes like these before, but it does get easier the more you do it. Just remember to keep your weight focused at your toes and balancing should come fairly easy. Until you are comfortable, be sure to practice with a walking stick, a staff, a broom, or anything else to help you keep your balance. Also be aware that, since these hooves are solid resin, they are quite heavy. You can experiment on your own and make them hollow if you want them to be lighter, but it isn’t necessary if you don’t mind the weight.Read more: how to fix low compression on a motorcycle