Open Casket - first practical tests with foam, beads, and a wet sheet

Freed from the worry about transporting it, I've been making good progress on Open Casket. I bought a chipboard base so the whole thing is (slightly shakily) supported, and I experimented with different ways to form the shape:

• I tried picking out lumps of foam, but there was far too little control (it came out in unpredictable chunks)
• I tried using thread attached to small washers/buttons of wood on either side to pull the foam down like upholstery, but there was so much pressure on the thread it was impossible to tie, and when it was fastened, the force of the foam was enough to snap the thread
• I repeated the experiment with the wood, but using cable ties instead of thread. This worked better, but I felt the wood still gave too little shape, and the 'impression' was too shallow

Finally, I resorted to cutting the entire outline out. This left no padding, and was a bit too deep, so I cut the foam into manageable sections and cut each into thinner sheets using a filleting knife. I think built up the areas using the Blender 'diagrams' as a rough guide:

Aside from looking like the aftermath of a murder, it felt like this went pretty well. The foam was quite hard to cut into thinner sections, so some of them a bit scrappy, but I figure it will all be hidden anyhow... Broadly, the lowest sections around the bum and shoulders are 1/4 thickness from the baseboard, the highest sections (the back of the neck, knees etc) are 3/4 thickness. The outside is full thickness. Full thickness is half a mattress thick (the mattress contained to foam blocks) so about 5 cm.

Once everything was glued down, I partly filled the impression with polystyrene beads. The thinking behind this is to 'pack' the areas where there's poor fit. 

I think lay a wet sheet over the top section and carefully climbed into the impression and lay down.

Getting myself correctly lined up was quite difficult, as was getting in without trampling everything... I think using a wet sheet is a good way to practice without using a tonne of plaster... I tried with my top on, and again with my top off. I feel like the top-off impression was better:

It's quite hard to see as the sheet is translucent. I've left it overnight and I'm hoping the shape will be clearer in the morning when the sheet is dry. I'm not super-happy with the impression - as JK predicted, it's a lot more 'organic' than I hoped. That said, I think there's definitely scope to experiment with different quantities of beads and different fabrics, as well as different ways of getting in, adjusting my position etc etc. I think it would be better with a second person to spot when the beans are getting piled up by the movement of my body and push them down... That said, I was worried it would be a case of 'lie down and you get what you get' but I think there's definitely ways to improve/influence the impression made.

Removing the sheet showed that the beads were doing exactly what I had hoped, and accommodating all the imperfections in the foam e.g. curving out the stepped sides of the head:

I do wonder what would happen if it was JUST beans, but I'm loath to use that many... I feel like the fit will only improve with time as the beads tend to get pushed into the places there are needed and away from the places they are not.

So, basically, it WORKS, but it doesn't look great... Yet... But there's plenty to try before I settle for what I have...