Extremely realistic Andre the Giant sculpture will make you double take
Andre the Giant may have died almost 25 years ago, but special effects artist Trent Taft from New York City is bringing the famed wrestler back to fans in the form of a hyper realistic sculpture.
Titled simply, Andre the Giant, the sculpture is a life size bust of the wrestler, cast in silicone.
Andre the Giant is iconic in the world of wrestling, and is probably one of the first faces that come to mind when you think of WrestleMania.
"Andre the Giant's size and presence alone mystified anyone who viewed him. As you watch videos of him wrestle or look at old photos, the reaction of the people who surround him are quite dramatic," Taft told Mashable.
Given Andre the Giant's physical prowess, capturing his likeness wasn't easy. According to Taft, the creation process was rigorous and included individually placing hairs into the sculpture so that it looked true to life.
"Hyper-realistic sculpture is very labor intensive and requires numerous steps including sculpting, molding, casting, painting, hair work, etc," Taft said. "Hair alone consists of putting each strand in one by one to make it seem flawlessly growing out of the silicone skin."
But the painstaking process produced amazing results. The finished product looks uncannily like the real Andre the Giant.
Seriously. Look at this thing.
Because of the level of detail required to make the sculpture, it took Taft months to complete the piece.
"The sculpture took me a few months of part time work between working full time as an artist's assistant and taking on other projects from artists in the NYC area," explained Taft.
But, despite the exhausting work, it sounds like the process was worth it — Taft has been a long time fan of wrestling.
"The spectacle of wrestling has always fascinated me ever since I was a child," says Taft. "It is the wrestler's ability to capture an audience and bring them to an alternate reality that filled me with amazement."
That said, while the finished product is amazing, the unfinished sculpture looks like it could be the main villain in any horror movie.
This nightmare-inducing thing is scarier than the Babadook and the thing from The Conjuring combined.
Though his Andre the Giant sculpture is incredibly good, it's only the tip of the iceberg for Taft, who uses his Instagram account as a way to present the special effects industry as an art form.
"[Social media] has given people the opportunity to see these amazing creations that are created behind the scenes and never really viewed in public."
You can check out more of Taft's work on his website here.
