KW
Moulds
As I was creating a full head prosthetic it was important that I get the moulds correct in order that the pieces I ran came out perfectly and there were no blemishes the would ruin the piece. Im creating all of my moulds out of fibreglass as these are the most substantial moulds and will work the best with a fibreglass core. I have created relatively simple fibreglass moulds before including a brow piece and two part horn mould, however a full face was realatively new to me and therefore required a lot of direction and attention in terms of what needed to be done in order to finish on time.
I found this article in makeup artist magazine which detailed a helpful process for opening moulds. Although it is concerning plaster moulds there are elements of the process which translate into any type of mould. It uses a variety of pressure points to release the plaster from the mould. By placing two wooden planks resting on the lower half and two across the upper half resting on the other planks when pressure is applied the two halves should separate much easier than without this process.
Opening Moulds issue 101 pg 76-77
This segment from Special Makeup Effects was particularly helpful for creating a clay wall when dividing the two halves of my cowl sculpt. I was originally unsure how to go about creating the wall, however this book has a detailed step-by-step process which was very informative for the process. There are many tips that it gives that I had not originally thought of for creating the wall. One such is to mark the sculpt with a marker pen to ensure that the wall is a straight divide minimising the risk of creating undercuts in the mould. When making the wall one should ensure that the clay is as neat as possible as this will translate onto the mould and if the mould fits together perfectly the results will be much more effective. The suggestion of blocks of clay to use as support on the back of the wall is particularly helpful as it prevents the issue of gravity causing effect on the wall. The point that a 'perfect wall will have no gaps where the water clay meets the oil clay' is an important one to consider. This will mean that the detail layer will not overlap the other side causing any undercuts or issues with the two part mould.
The book details a second way to create the divide between the two halves, by laying the scultpt down on its back resting it on clay in order that the back of the sculpt does not dent. The wooden wall is built around the head close to the height of the required wall. Once positioned the water clay is applied to the head along the premarked line. Once the wall has been built the mould can be created on a the sculpt while lying on a flat surface.
Debreceni.T. (2008) Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen; Making and Applying Prosthetics, Amsterdam: Focal Press pg 137-9
pg 140-142 debrecini
Shea.S (2013) Rob Freitas: Making a Lasting Impression, Makeup Aartist Magazine. Issue 103August/September, Pages 60-65
Fibreglass Moulds
Todd Debreceni's book Special Makeup Effects has a large amount of detail on moulds, one section detailing information concerning fibreglass. As this is the primary material that we have available in the workshops I will focus my research around these materials. The book begins by detailing the importance of safety when working with fibreglass and resin as the materials have very harmful gases which if inhaled could cause seriosus harm to the individual. Debreceni also details the pros and cons of the material in comparison to plaster moulds and other materials. This provides me with the suitable knowledge to decide which material is best suited for each mould.
The following pages after the detailing of the benefits of fibreglass detail how to actually complete the mould using the material. There is a helpful list detailing all the necessary equipment and materials that will be needed to complete a two part fibreglass mould of a sculpt. A helpful pointer mentioned is the addition of cab-o-sil in the laminating resin to act as a thixotropic agent enhancing the strength, resistance and stiffness of the final result.
Debreceni.T. (2008) Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen; Making and Applying Prosthetics, Amsterdam: Focal Press pg 152-154
I found this article really interesting as it displays some incredible moulds, and touches on some concepts which are new to me and I would like to research further to get a better understanding. One such concept is the idea of puzzle moulds a mould that slots together in a certain way to create an advanced mould for prosthetics. The idea is that keys fit together to create the shell and the inner segments of the mould create pressure which hold the components together. It is only very briefly mentioned in the article however it has opened up a channel for me to explore further into the process of creating moulds. I would like to explore the creation of mutliple moulds for one prosthetic in a future project. The article mentions reading books on Madame Tussaud moulds and assemblence along with books on Formula 1 cars. I would never have considered these books for the mould-making process, however now that they have been pointed out it makes complete sense therefore I might research into these further when I try to create more advanced moulds in future projects. Overall this article is very helpful, it is formatted in an easy to read style with lots of conepts of varying complexity. Although a lot of the moulds mentioned are based around rubix cube-like moulds and are not relevant to this project it is a very interesting read to open many avenues of research.
Although it caused no problems in the mould I forgot to put prying points in the sculpt, therefore it was more likely that I damage the mould when trying to open it. This is something I must remember when making moulds in the future as it is an essential detail.