How We Sculpted an
8 Foot Tall Sasquatch for
Sneaky Squatch PDX

Left to right: Moni Sears, Squatch, and Rick Sears

Moni, Squatch & Rick

Rick and Moni Sears of Goblin Art are the duo behind the PDX Monsters puppets and the giant skeletal Bone Mother from the Portland All Souls River Procession.

Their latest work is an 8 foot tall Sasquatch created for Sneaky Squatch PDX, a city-wide immersive art hunt happening September 11th - 20th 2026, in which 29 unique Bigfoot creations are hidden across Portland, Oregon. The free, all ages event is organized by Geek Week PDX.

Moni and Rick's giant cryptid can be found in the south atrium of City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, where he will be on display through October 1st, 2026. Public visiting hours are 8am to 5pm M-F, and you will need to go through a Security checkpoint.

The 8' "Squatch"was constructed over 2 months, and is made out of cardboard boxes, paper mache, paper bags, PVC pipe, and many 1000s of staples.

The project started similarly to how Rick and Moni make their PDX Monsters puppets, but their Sasquatch expanded quite a bit beyond that, giving Moni and Rick the opportunity to push their skills into some exciting new territory.

PDX Monsters cardboard monsters

See some of the steps involved in building a giant Sasquatch on this page, including the design and prototype stage, building the head and eyes, making hands, constructing feet, assembling the body, and the finally finished piece, plus some early design sketches.

You can also check out the PDX Monsters Instagram to see even more of the Sasquatch.

@pdxmonsters

📝Step 1: Design & prototyping of the Sasquatch

To begin the project, Moni made marquettes to explore designs and experiment with construction techniques in a much smaller scale than the final project.

👁️Step 2: Building the Sasquatch head & eyes

After deciding which design to go with, Moni scaled it up in cardboard.
Meanwhile, Rick started designing some custom eyes.

Cutting out a cardboard disc, making cuts around the perimeter, then bending the cardboard into a bowl shape.

After stapling the cardboard into the bowl shape, the face was sketched. Temporary paper mache eyes were added as place-holders. Then facial details were added with paper mache using pieces of half-ply corrugated cardboard instead of paper.

Next, strips of regular corrugated cardboard were stapled to the sides and back of the face to build out the back and sides of the head. Pole pockets (not pictured) were added inside to allow the head to be mounted on the top of a PVC pipe.

Next some simple ears were shaped from 1/2 ply corrugated cardboard and covered with paper mached grocery bags.

Some additional contouring and surface detail being added to the head along with the ears, with more of the 1/2 ply corrugated cardboard.

Rick had now designed and 3D printed two eye bases to use for building the custom eyes. The goal was to match the look of the taxidermy eye sets used on the small prototype Sasquatch heads.

Using the bases as a platform, Moni sculpted two irises from paper mache clay.

This method of of eye construction was based on some YouTube videos we saw where people made eyes from clear plastic Xmas ornaments and paper clay. We just needed to make them a lot bigger. (Rick's vaccuform machine and 3D printer to the rescue!)

The eye painting process

Test-fiting irises and 3D printed bases inside the PETG "lenses" Rick vaccuformed.

Test fitting eyes in the head

Finishing facial details including skin texture and more bumps and ridges.

Some reshaping of the nose bridge and mouth to better match the original prototype

Adding hair

Head finished except for final eye installation

👐🏼Step 3: Building Sasquatch hands

Using a video projector to enlarge Moni's hand pattern to Sasquatch proportions.

Assembling the back of the right hand after tracing the pattern onto cardboard.

Back of hand after assembly

Weaving cardboard strips to fill in the palm

Hand after paper mache

Fingernails added

Building up tendons

Paper mache on tendons

Building up knuckles and cuticles

Finished hands

👣Step 4: Building Sasquatch feet

Moni traced a foot outline on cardboard...

...then rounded the soles and edges of the cardboard by bending and softening it. Then she started stapling on cardboard strips to build up the top.

Pro-tip: Plier staplers are the way to go for big projects like this! We like the Bostich B8 Heavy Duty stapler.

Toes were built up with newspaper and masking tape

Rick then covered the feet with 3 layers of paper mache to smooth things out, strengthen them, and fill in the gaps

One layer of paper mache to go...

..then the final layer of paper mache for the main structure of the feet.

Moni then added in cardboard toenails...

and tendons...

and cuticles...

...and toe knuckles!

🦍Step 5: Assembling the Sasquatch body

The Sasquatch skeleton is 1" PVC with custom 3D printed joints, designed and assembled by Rick.

Moni then built the Sasquatch's arms and legs similarly to the feet by weaving together cardboard strips and stapling them in place. Then Rick covered them in 3 layers of paper mache.

The back of the Sasquatch is also made from cardboard strips that Moni shaped and stapled together. (This was right around the point where Rick discovered that you can 3D print a custom cardboard strip cutter, instead of having to do it all with a craft knife and a straight-edge).

Adding shoulders and prepping the cardboard chest for a paper mache "smooth-coat".

Rick paper mached the torso and shoulders, and then Moni started to add hair...

...and more hair

...and even more hair.

🎨Finally finished Squatch!!!

✏️Sasquatch Design Sketches

Here are some of Moni's sketches from the initial design process of our Sasquatch, including from an earlier phase when we considered building a wearable Sasquatch costume to be posed on a mannequin for the art hunt. We ended up deciding against that plan since he wouldn't have been a full 8 feet tall!