Archive for September, 2008
Started the paint job
The first pass at the paint job. I’m using pax paint, which is essentially a 50/50 mixture of prosaide and acrylic paint. If you need a wash that is less opaque, then use some water in the mixture.
I need to go back and add more detail and definition to the mask. Primarily using sponged to paint on layers of paint, with some more detailed work with a brush.
Latex Head
Ok, so I’ve pulled a couple of heads from the molds now. I’m going to be filling one with expanded foam so that it can be displayed. Here’s my first pulled one, with all the flash that will need to be removed. It took about 5 layers of latex to get a thickness of approx 4mm. Any thinner and it wouldn’t have been able to support it’s shape.
Molding the head Part 2
Molding Latex Creature Head, originally uploaded by Jamie Durrant.
I used around five layers of plaster to give me the thickness and support I needed. With every new batch of plaster I apply, I add some acrylic paint. This colours the plaster so that I can be sure that I have completely covered the previous layer.
Molding the head
I used a hard setting dental plaster to make the molds. Unbeknownst to me, it take around 40 minutes to get to a decent consistency like double cream. I use the back of my hand to flick plaster onto the model. This helps to not capture any air bubbles on the sculpure. As the plaster thickens, I pay special attention to those areas would are like to problematic, ie. deep set wrinkles, inside the mouth/ears.
Prepare to be molded.
I was in two minds as to use a brass shim divider or a clay wall. As this sculpture was built on top of a plaster head, I didn’t think that the thickness of the clay would support any brass shims I placed along the dividing wall, so I went with a clay shim.
I always find it a difficult process when doing these dividers as it’s so easy to damage the sculpture. I made some registration marks in the wall and then it was over to molding the little bugger.
Sealing the clay
I got to the point where I was happy that I couldnt add much more detail to the sculpture. I coated it with a fine shellac so that it wouldn’t dry out in the molding process, it’s also less like to be damaged by tools/fingers in the fraught business of plaster molding.
Update : Finished, cast in latex and painted.
Creating Latex Creature Head
Added more wrinkles to the neck to give it a little bit of interest. We’re starting to approach the point at which adding more detail to one area, invariably causes fingermarks on another. Again, this wouldnt be so much of a problem with a harder oil based clay like Chavant.
Refining detail
The trouble is with use water based clay over plaster, it’s a bugger to keep it at the best consistency for adding tight details. Too wet and you’ll end up with a mush, too dry and cracks will begin to appear. It’s a case of spraying it with water, seeing how well it takes impressions, waiting, continuing.