Nyreen @masseffect This was the final test before making the mold. There is no nose on the form and I forgot to put some clay under there to give a better profile, but it shows the pieces still do line up as intended 🙂

The jaw is more heavily layered in the chin as the latex fully cured overnight and I didn’t expect it to- so I hadn’t slushed it around properly. This is a test anyway 🙂 The jaw hinge is feathered out so that it can be clipped to shape once all the pieces are assembled.

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Today’s work.

About 3kg of clay to create a wall as a guide for the plaster and to support the head. About 6kg of plaster. Maybe more… yeah.. it was about 6L of water.

I managed to make this as a one piece mold after all, thank goodness. I was worried about seam flashing and how to support the full mold once made and in two parts… I used my hand as a guide. So long as I can get my hand in the neck opening I’ll be able to clean the clay out and also slush easily once casting begins.

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Since you're doing Nyreen, did you consider making a mold of your face, so you could sculpt a perfect fit? I was just wondering since you're sculpting on a foam face

A head cast requires at least two people and the person having the cast made 🙂 And money for the good alginate (plaster heats up very quickly and is not recommend for a full face/head cast.)
I did recently do the tour at Weta Cave (small window into the workshop, omg the CNC machines which are all handbuilt…..) and spoke with well… everyone. 😉 But one artist said what I was doing was fine 🙂 You do need to be able to think in 3D shapes and take your own measurements pretty well. 
I’ve been sculpting since I was a kid. Mainly elfy type creatures and then again a few realistic and a few poupee types. So you can in fact make a sculpture taking all that in to account. Even sculpt it underneath in a different coloured clay.

Were it to be a foam piece I would have definitely waited until I had a cast. To mold and cure foam latex you really do need a mold that holds the final shape. With foam that really means having a backing that will match the final shape it will be adhered to.

As she is slip cast I have a little more freedom as I can glue in foam (urethane either cut from sheets or a low shorw two part urethane- which is incredibly fiddly and requires perfect environmental factors for it to go off with good cell structure).

Before the mold dies completely I’m going to cast her in a semi rigid urethane so I can have a permanent display piece 🙂 I’m currently prepping my Asari molds for the last four or five casts I can really get out of them and will do the same. I have my Samara and Liara tentacles for display but I’d like another set that will never degrade;)

For my next project, the Silurian Madame Vastra I will have to have a head cast. Preferably my own because the scales are so very delicate and fine and blend so closely to the eyes. I would ideally then cast them in foam latex and use a mix of paints and gloss to get that lovely rigid scale look. I’m pretty sure the originals are foam   latex based on how the pieces move.

I do have a back up plan in case I am unable to deal with a head cast (I am very very claustrophobic and do not cope with restricted breathing- this is why you need two helpers to make it go faster and also so there is always someone able to help you breathe/understand what is going on.) 

BTW I have made gelatin, slip latex and silicon appliances. All have they pros and cons. Some are more delicate (encapsulated silicon which I haven’t done) some are easier to apply some look great except where glued (slip cast latex, sigh). It’s fun to try out each kind (highly recommend gelatin for those at home and who can do small partial face casts! The molds do eventually go moldy ditto with the casts but they are cheap and beautifully translucent).

So long wall of text is long 😉 But there are ways around a lot of issues with not having a full range of kit but it does take extra work and practice. And I am most definitely getting a head cast asap. But after my sinuses and glands have de-swollen. I really don’t need them captured forever 😉

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Since you’re doing Nyreen, did you consider making a mold of your face, so you could sculpt a perfect fit? I was just wondering since you’re sculpting on a foam face

A head cast requires at least two people and the person having the cast made 🙂 And money for the good alginate (plaster heats up very quickly and is not recommend for a full face/head cast.)
I did recently do the tour at Weta Cave (small window into the workshop, omg the CNC machines which are all handbuilt…..) and spoke with well… everyone. 😉 But one artist said what I was doing was fine 🙂 You do need to be able to think in 3D shapes and take your own measurements pretty well. 
I’ve been sculpting since I was a kid. Mainly elfy type creatures and then again a few realistic and a few poupee types. So you can in fact make a sculpture taking all that in to account. Even sculpt it underneath in a different coloured clay.

Were it to be a foam piece I would have definitely waited until I had a cast. To mold and cure foam latex you really do need a mold that holds the final shape. With foam that really means having a backing that will match the final shape it will be adhered to.

As she is slip cast I have a little more freedom as I can glue in foam (urethane either cut from sheets or a low shorw two part urethane- which is incredibly fiddly and requires perfect environmental factors for it to go off with good cell structure).

Before the mold dies completely I’m going to cast her in a semi rigid urethane so I can have a permanent display piece 🙂 I’m currently prepping my Asari molds for the last four or five casts I can really get out of them and will do the same. I have my Samara and Liara tentacles for display but I’d like another set that will never degrade;)

For my next project, the Silurian Madame Vastra I will have to have a head cast. Preferably my own because the scales are so very delicate and fine and blend so closely to the eyes. I would ideally then cast them in foam latex and use a mix of paints and gloss to get that lovely rigid scale look. I’m pretty sure the originals are foam   latex based on how the pieces move.

I do have a back up plan in case I am unable to deal with a head cast (I am very very claustrophobic and do not cope with restricted breathing- this is why you need two helpers to make it go faster and also so there is always someone able to help you breathe/understand what is going on.) 

BTW I have made gelatin, slip latex and silicon appliances. All have they pros and cons. Some are more delicate (encapsulated silicon which I haven’t done) some are easier to apply some look great except where glued (slip cast latex, sigh). It’s fun to try out each kind (highly recommend gelatin for those at home and who can do small partial face casts! The molds do eventually go moldy ditto with the casts but they are cheap and beautifully translucent).

So long wall of text is long 😉 But there are ways around a lot of issues with not having a full range of kit but it does take extra work and practice. And I am most definitely getting a head cast asap. But after my sinuses and glands have de-swollen. I really don’t need them captured forever 😉

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@masseffect Nyreen test cast. The jaw still needs to be freed but yay! The thickness of the latex over the nose and brow ridge mean she holds hape even over my pointy nose! You can see how far her lower face sticks out though.

I’ll be resculpting the mandibles as they are a tad too wide (by barely 3mm) on the under side and the pointy ends are about 5mm too long. Looks fine with a cut edge but it looks better with a molded edge.

So, very hapy with how she is going:)

Sorry the mirror has paint on it and my workroom is cluttered. Play spot the past project in the background though 😉 Asari head butts lined up….

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@masseffect Nyreen is free! The molds are all good except for a small gap on the inner jaw, and some clay stuck in her lower lip area. Which I knew would be a possibility when I decided to make a shallow lip. I can at least fill in the gap as it is a waisted hole so when I fill it the plaster won’t come out, which does happen if you have a smooth bubble shape.

So much clay to clean out though…. the mandibles came out clean so I was able to test one on my face. Good proportions, now to see how it works in latex. I’ll clean the molds today and slush some latex in tonight. I have some thickened stuff left and lots of paint to slush some grey latex.

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So my photo of her front on didn’t actually happen, yay camera phone for randomly not working!

You can see how I built up the back of the head a bit, once molded I’ll put a thin layer over that to create the ridges as a separate piece.

Pretty happy with this. You may be able to spot some other changes to proportions. Those wings have been removed entirely and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they matched just by eye. I do test for symmetry regularly but also as an organic form some asymmetry helps keep it looking real. But you need to find that balance between being real and being lazy 😉

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