DIY Beetlejuice Shrunken Head “Bob” Costume
Create your own Beetlejuice-inspired “Bob” shrunken head costume with this fun DIY! Perfect for Halloween, it’s easy to make and sure to turn heads!
Every year my kids challenge me to create unique DIY costumes and this year was no exception! In the past we’ve made a Plague Doctor, Functioning Demogorgon Mask, Beeker Costume, Mario & Luigi Go Kart Costumes and a whole family of Angry Bird Costumes!
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this post to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready!
When planning for Halloween we love to binge watch our favorite, cult classic spooky movies. Beetlejuice is, of course, at the top of the list!
Hocus Pocus is a close second though – you should check out my hocus pocus dessert board, zombie pretzels and Sanderson sisters rice krispies!
We’ve made an entire DIY Family Beetlejuice Costume, Beetlejuice Sandworm Costume and epic Barbara and Adam Maitland costumes! These were probably our favorite costumes to date!
Who is Bob?!
When Beetlejuice 2 came out in theatres this year – we went to the movie on opening night! And you guys, it was SO GOOD!!
Our favorite character was, of course, “Bob” the shrunken head guy. Bob is a shrinker, a man with a shrunken head who works with Betelgeuse in the afterlife.
There are actually many shrinkers working for Beetlejuice in the new movie! Making this a costume, that would be fun to make as an individual or for a group.
I have detailed every step of how to create this epic Bob, the shrunken head guy costume. It’s easy to create with the step-by-step tutorial, promise!
If you scroll to the bottom of this blog post I even have a free printable for the “Hello, my name is Bob” name tag! Simply enter your email in the form below and I’ll send it to you.
Beetlejuice coles notes
- Beetlejuice is a 1988 dark comedy directed by Tim Burton and produced by Warner Bros.
- The Maitlands are a married couple that suddenly pass away and are trapped in their house.
- A new family moves in and the couple tries desperately to scare them off.
- They transform themselves with these scary faces but still have no luck.
- Finally, they enlist in the aide of a poltergeist named Betelgeuse, played by Michael Keaton.
- Drama ensues, “Beetlejuice” is banished and the Maitlands and family decide to live together peacefully.
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Shrunken Head Beetlejuice Costume
- Small skull form (4-6″ big)
- Small black wig
- Scissors
- Air dry clay
- Clay shaping tool
- 1″ Styrofoam balls
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrush
- Mod podge
- Two PVC poles about 3′ and 2′ in length
- Two large sponges or foam blocks
- Extra large white dress shirt
- White ball cap
- Extra large yellow suit – get a suit that is two times the size of the person wearing it. My son is a mens size medium.
- Blue and yellow striped tie
- Hot glue gun
- Hot glue
- Hello name tag printable **free printable below
I found most of the craft supplies at our local Dollarama store but have linked similar materials on Amazon.
I have included photos along the way but if you have any questions at all be sure to drop me a message.
DIY Shrunken Head Costume
1. Start with a small skull base – this will become the shrunken head!
2. Cover the skull in strips of masking tape to smooth out some of the features.
3. Use air dry clay to shape the features of the head.
4. Make the eyebrows larger, the nose more pronounced, add forehead rolls and holes around the mouth. Use a clay shaping tool to score lines into the face and allow to dry completely.
Tip: use your fingers and a bit of water to help spread the clay thinly over the skull. This will help to prevent too much build up and the head becoming overly heavy.
5. Paint the head with a variety of tones of brown acrylic paint, from light on the nose to dark in the eye sockets. *
* I originally painted our shrunken head brown to go with our Family Beetlejuice Costume and later washed over the brown paint with turquoise to use for this “Bob” costume.
6. Next gather supplies to assemble the head.
7. Cut a swath of black hair about 10 inches long and tie it in the center to form a pony tail. Glue this to the top of the head with hot glue.
8. Trim off about 1/3 of the styrofoam from the back of two styrofoam balls and glue them into the eye sockets.
9. Cut nine piece of twine 1.5 ” long and glue to the mouth in a criss cross manner.
Finish the eyeballs
10. Paint small pupils and veins onto the eyes using acrylic paint.
11. Glue the head to the top of the hat. Tip: a white hat will help to blend with the white dress shirt.
12. Now create large shoulders to fit into the xl shirt. We used two pieces of pipe connected with a “t” and two large yoga blocks to create shoulders. You could also use pool noodles and large sponges.
13. Next, glue the collar of the white shirt around the base of the shrunken head and loop the tie around the neck.
14. Move on to the yellow suit. Here you will need to cut a hole on each side of the suit jacket about half way down the side wide enough to fit an arm through. Then cut a corresponding slit in each arm of the suit at about the elbow.
This is where the arms will go through the costume from inside the suit jacket to the arms of the jacket. You can sew or hot glue gun these holes together to make a seamless transition if you want but we found that it was not needed.
15. Cut down the two side seams of the white dress shirt – the wearer will not be placing their arms through the dress shirt, only the suit.
15. To assemble the shrunken head costume, start by strapping the shoulder apparatus to the wearer at the chest level. This can be done with a belt or tape.
16. Have the wearer put the suit pants on and pull them up as high as they will go. Now place the white shirt and shrunken head hat on the wearer – over the shoulders and button up the dress shirt.
17. Next, place the suit jacket over the dress shirt, have the wearer move their arms through the holes, tuck everything in and button up the suit jacket.
18. Add the “Hello, my name is Bob” name tag and you are done!
DIY Bob the Shrunken Head Costume
Fun right?! Luckily we snuck in this photo shoot at the park just before it started to rain!
The white dress shirt is see through, allowing the wearer to see where they are going. But, they could also unbutton the shirt if visibility is reduced – which often happens if it starts to get dark out!
I hope that you love this Beetlejuice shrunken head costume as much as we do. Be sure to grab the free printable name tag below!
Free “Bob” Name Tag Printable
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DIY Beetlejuice Shrunken Head “Bob” Costume
Materials
- Small skull form 4-6″ big
- Small black wig
- Scissors
- Air dry clay
- Clay shaping tool
- 1 ” Styrofoam balls
- Acrylic paint
- Paintbrush
- Mod podge
- Two PVC poles about 3′ and 2′ in length
- Two large sponges or foam blocks
- Extra large white dress shirt
- White ball cap
- Extra large yellow suit
- Blue and yellow striped tie
- Hot glue gun
- Hot glue
- Hello name tag printable
Instructions
- Start with a small skull base – this will become the shrunken head!
- Cover the skull in strips of masking tape to smooth out some of the features.
- Use air dry clay to shape the features of the head.
- Make the eyebrows larger, the nose more pronounced, add forehead rolls and holes around the mouth. Use a clay shaping tool to score lines into the face and allow to dry completely.
- Paint the head with a variety of tones of brown acrylic paint, from light on the nose to dark in the eye sockets. *
- * I originally painted our shrunken head brown to go with our Family Beetlejuice Costume and later washed over the brown paint with turquoise to use for this “Bob” costume.
- Next gather supplies to assemble the head.
- Cut a swath of black hair about 10 inches long and tie it in the center to form a pony tail. Glue this to the top of the head with hot glue.
- Trim off about 1/3 of the styrofoam from the back of two styrofoam balls and glue them into the eye sockets.
- Cut nine piece of twine 1.5 ” long and glue to the mouth in a criss cross manner.
- Finish the eyeballs
- Paint small pupils and veins onto the eyes using acrylic paint.
- Glue the head to the top of the hat. Tip: a white hat will help to blend with the white dress shirt.
- Now create large shoulders to fit into the xl shirt. We used two pieces of pipe connected with a “t” and two large yoga blocks to create shoulders. You could also use pool noodles and large sponges.
- Next, glue the collar of the white shirt around the base of the shrunken head and loop the tie around the neck.
- Move on to the yellow suit. Here you will need to cut a hole on each side of the suit jacket about half way down the side wide enough to fit an arm through. Then cut a corresponding slit in each arm of the suit at about the elbow.
- This is where the arms will go through the costume from inside the suit jacket to the arms of the jacket. You can sew or hot glue gun these holes together to make a seamless transition if you want but we found that it was not needed.
- Cut down the two side seams of the white dress shirt – the wearer will not be placing their arms through the dress shirt, only the suit.
- To assemble the shrunken head costume, start by strapping the shoulder apparatus to the wearer at the chest level. This can be done with a belt or tape.
- Have the wearer put the suit pants on and pull them up as high as they will go. Now place the white shirt and shrunken head hat on the wearer – over the shoulders and button up the dress shirt.
- Next, place the suit jacket over the dress shirt, have the wearer move their arms through the holes, tuck everything in and button up the suit jacket.
- Add the “Hello, my name is Bob” name tag and you are done!
Video
Hello, I’m following your tutorial to make the DIY Beetlejuice Shrunken Head Bob Costume . I’m making this Costume for my husband. I have a question about what size suit I should buy. I know you used an XL for your son, but my Husband normally wears an XL for his regular size, so I’m wondering how big I would size up for him in the suit and dress shirt? Would I go up 1 size and just do a XXL? Or would I need to go up 2 sizes and do XXL? I just want to make sure I size up enough for the shoulder poles and foam to fit so I figured I’d better ask your opinion before buying. Any help would be so so appreciated.. Thank you!
Good question! I would definitely try to go up at least one size (2 if possible). My son is a men’s size medium and our suit is an XL. It’s more about the length so his tummy doesn’t show lol. One size up should be okay for the shoulder/head space.
Thank you so so much for taking the time to respond to my question and give me answers. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it!! I unfortunately can’t find his size in a Yellow suit available to make it in time so I think I’m going to buy a White Suit and try to dye it Yellow 🙈…lol. I think I’m gonna go ahead and try for 2 sizes up. Thank you again for not only the response but this AMAZING tutorial explaining step by step how to to it. I’m honestly excited, excited and nervous…lol, to take this on.
Have so much fun!! I would love to see the final costume when you’re done :)
I will definitely try to figure out a way to show you the final product. And if you have a Facebook page tag and give credit for the tutorial as well😊.
I hate to be a pain, but I do have another question. This is my first time ever working with the Air Dry Clay. I wanted to ask how thin you rolled out the clay to put the first layer on/all over the skull?
I know you added more to certain parts like the eyebrows and nose and forehead, but just wondering how thin I should roll out the first layer to cover the skull before adding more to the eyebrows and forehead??
Again I TRULY appreciate your help and you taking the time to respond and can’t thank you enough.
The layer of clay over the entire scull can be a skim coat, basically as thin as you can get it. You can add water to the clay to help thin it out with your fingers. There’s a bit of a learning curve but it doesn’t have to be perfect, he’s a shrunken zombie after all lol. You can always share on FB if you get a chance, have fun <3 https://www.facebook.com/homemadeheatherblog/
You seriously ROCK! I just want to say that I’ve never had a Vlogger/Blogger or content creator who does tutorials EVER be as helpful and responsive as you and I just want to say Thank you so much for that! I TRULY appreciate it!!
I’m back with yet another question 🙈. So sorry, but when putting the PVC pipes and connectors together did you use any glue or anything to connect them or make them stay together before adding the Yoga blocks?
Awww thank you so much!! We love our costumes around here :)
We did not use glue on the PVC pipes because they fit pretty snuggly already. You can totally add glue if you need too, you should be able to use white glue or hot glue and not need special plumbing glue.
So fun!!
Hi! I’m making this for my son and I used too much clay. How heavy was your Bob head? I don’t know that this will stay on his head its so heavy lol!
Ha ha! It’s maybe 1/2 pound, tops. You could try sanding some of the clay off or using a sturdier hat to attach it to his head. We’ve even used helmets in the past for wearing big mask (like in our Adam & Barbara Maitland costume) because you have added support with the chin strap. A ski or hockey helmet might work here, especially if you cover it in white fabric (like craft felt). Let me know how it goes!