Characteristics of My Wound

After experimenting with moulding the clay into a bite mark, I decided I needed to make some final decisions on how I wanted my bite mark to look. I have decided that I want the bite mark to be on the arm because I think that's where someone would aim for when biting and it is a big area for me to work on and I can practise on my own arm before the assessment. 

Looking into the Forearm

The bone on the forearm is covered by thick muscle and I have decided to put the bite mark on the 'meatiest' part of the forearm, around where the Brachioradialis and Extensor carpi radialis longus are because I think the teeth would be able to get a good grip on this area as their is a lot of lose skin and muscle to grab. The brachioradialis is the muscle in the arm that helps the elbow to flex, i.e. bend upwards. This muscle also helps, along with other muscles, so turn the forearm so that the hand changes direction.

MOUNT, K., 2011. The Dorsal Forearm , Part 3: The Final Chapter. In: Human 
Anatomy for the Artist. 11 September 2011 [6 October 2015]. Available from: 
http://anatomyproartifex.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dorsal-forearm-part-3-final-chapter.html

I took some photos of my model's forearms to look at the texture of the skin, the colouring and the shape so I think could start thinking about how I would make the prosthetic piece look as natural as possible. This is the model I will be using in my assessment. My model wears fake tan on a daily basis, so I will have to mix the correct colouring on the day, as it may change from day to day. My model has freckle on her arms so I would need to consider that when putting the makeup over the top of the prosthetic piece, for example, I could flick some brown supra colour on her forearm with a dense brush. I will be applying the bite mark on the 'fattest' part of her forearm, where it dips in the middle. She has very light hairs on her forearm, however they are not very obvious and they are very sparse so I don't think I'll need to worry about those.

My model's forearm.

A close-up of my model's forearm.

I took a very zoomed in photo of my model's skin on her forearm so see what the texture of her skin was like. The skin has not got very big or obvious pores, however there are tiny crease in the skin where the skin stretches out and relaxes back in again. The skin look very smooth and it is soft, but the freckles on her skin make it look less perfected. The skin colour is very uneven if you zoom in really close, but from just glancing at the skin it looks all one colour. I will need to consider this when colouring my wound, I will make sure not to only use one colour for the skin colour, but instead mix many shades, from red to cream together.  

Close-up of my model's forearm skin. 

The Age of my Wound

I want my bite mark to be about 2-5 days old because by then it would have stopped bleeding and it would be very bruised and slightly swollen. I think that the image below would be about this old because the bruising has turned a darker colour and slightly more purple because of the reduced amount of oxygen to the area. I think that some swelling would start happening around this time too because the bleeding under the skin would start moving and spreading over time. The bite marks below makes it look like the teeth were dragged backwards and not just bitten down; I will experiment with doing this when I create my next mould out of clay.

I don't want my human bite mark to be infected because I haven't been able to find any images of this and so I wouldn't want to just guess what it would look like. I also don't think its very common for a human bite to get infected and I want mine to look as natural and realistic as possible.

Savive, W., 2012. Using Impression Evidence to get a Conviction. In: Savive's Corner. 
11 May 2012 [viewed 4 October 2015]. Available from: 
http://willsavive.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/using-impression-evidence-to-get.html

Resources:
HEALTHLINE MEDICAL TEAM, 2015. Body Maps [6 October 2015]. Available from: http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/brachioradialis-muscle

MOUNT, K., 2011. The Dorsal Forearm , Part 3: The Final Chapter. In: Human Anatomy for the Artist. 11 September 2011 [6 October 2015]. Available from: http://anatomyproartifex.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dorsal-forearm-part-3-final-chapter.html

Savive, W., 2012. Using Impression Evidence to get a Conviction. In: Savive's Corner. 11 May 2012 [viewed 4 October 2015]. Available from: http://willsavive.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/using-impression-evidence-to-get.html