Weathering Horn or Bone???

Recently I decided that I'd add a row of spikes I'd carved out of wood, right down the center of my helmet of my custom Mando. It was suggested that instead of spikes, it would look cool if I weathered the spikes to look like a real horn or whatever from a living critter-the Mythosaur being that perfect critter in my mind. After thinking about things for a while, I've decided that the spikes I carved are too uniform to look like a natural growth etc so I'm going to have to look for some type of resin horns of some kind. Any suggestions where one can find some source of some sort of horns or the like, please let me know. I'd thought about Darth Mauls horns, but they seem to be a bit too short and stubby.

Then after finding a suitable set of horns, I need to find a tutorial or some good tips on how to paint the looks of aged and weathered horns and bone. Can anyone offer any suggestions in doing so. I want it to look natural or it's just not going to look right. Any suggestions-please???

I can't offer any help as to where to get the horns but once you get them I can offer plenty on how to weather them.

You want to find a bone colored paint as your base color for them. Then take a light sand color that is slightly more yellow then the bone color. You also want a light brown and a dark brown. Take the sand color and paint streaks (very feint) up and down the length of the thing heavier toward the bottom. Fade the bottom of the horn from dark brown to a light brown (dark at the bottom) You want the brown to be about 1/3 of the length of the horn with the darkest part being only a small ring around the bottom. Feel free to put small hair line dark brown streaks in the horn further up the thing to off-set the sand color.

Hope this makes some sense to someone besides me and it helps.

If you go to a butcher shop you should be able to get some cow bone pretty cheap and carve spikes from that. A friend of mine used to used files and exacto knives to make bone jewelery.

Maybe just as an idea, maybe since they need to be like spikes, try to find some souvineer gator teeth. Ive seen them before here at least if I recall correclty, and they seem pretty un-uniform, and pretty tall for what you say you are looking for.

As for weathring them, for a more realistic look, try to get like "blood" stains, possibly soaking the larger ends in a red food coloring so that it dosnt remain a solid red, but more a stained look. Then perhaps you could roll them around in some real dirt to get that real look to it. Just an idea.

-tubachris

http://cgi.ebay.com/GATOR-TEETH-SET...65QQihZ006QQcategoryZ1469QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Gator teeth

Or buy some antlers & cut the tips off
http://cgi.ebay.com/5-POUNDS-OF-ORE...4QQihZ006QQcategoryZ71125QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't know what I was thinking-apparently I wasn't, again...What looks more like real bone than real bone itself! Some goat horns would be a good size maybe as I'd love to have the first couple horns towards the front of the helmet to be longer to gore an enemy should the need arise...Oh, wait a minute! I bet I do have a half dozen "racks" of deer antlers hanging out in my garage. I could cut those tines down to whatever length I want and not really have to do any weathering on them as mother nature has already covered that part of the job for me-awful nice of her... Any thoughts on that idea? Would the natural horn look good on a grey and white bucket with a yellow accent in two small spots? Thanks for the suggestions guys, you've been very helpful as usual!