Life Casting

Life casting is a fun process, but requires focus and patience. I would recommend learning as much as you can about the process before you begin. I was lucky enough that my professor had done this process before so he was my guide in most of the process. I read the tutorial on life casting in The Prop Builder's Mask-Making Handbook by Thurston James and watched many videos including the following:
Lifecasting Tutorial
Take a Face Cast
It is important to learn as much as you can because many of the steps in life casting rely on acting quickly, the more you are prepared, the better you will handle situations.

First, gather and prep your supplies. For this project my professor and I brought in my good friend Missy to experiment on. Below is the list of supplies that we used in the process. This list can vary based on what is available to you or what items you purchase.
Supplies:
A person to life cast
Vaseline
Swim cap
Garbage bags
Plastic drop cloth
Towels
aprons
clay
Table
Chaise lounge
Fan
Several mixing bowls
cloth strips
Alginate
Cold water
Warm water
Plaster bandages
Cement Plaster

Have one bowl of cold water and one bowl of warm water set out on the table, cut your plaster bandages into strips of various sizes, none should be longer than about 8 inches. I would also recommend scooping the alginate powder into a bowl as prep, too. 

Once your table/room is set up, cut a garbage bag into a poncho for the person being cast. Help them put on a swim cap and then apply vaseline to their eyebrows, eyelashes, any places with peach fuzz, and any places where hairs might be sticking out of the cap. Make sure you work out a system for communication while you are under the cast. For example, thumbs up means "I'm Good." This communication system is helpful because once the alginate is applied, the model cannot move their face. Also, if the model gets uncomfortable at any time inform them that they can simply sit up and remove the products from their face. Here is a photo of me all prepped. We covered the chaise lounge with a plastic drop cloth as well. 

Once the person is prepped, you can begin mixing the alginate. Use COLD WATER for this; cold water slows the curing process. As you begin applying, it is important to constantly inform the person being cast of what is happening. Tell them every step you are following so that nothing is a surprise to them. Also, having someone talk to you is comforting and keeps your mind off of the fact that your face is buried under alginate and plaster. Constantly ask them if they are doing well, look for the thumbs up!

Our alginate was a little runny and messy. Make sure you leave the nostril area open so the model can breathe. You can do this by carefully working the alginate around the area or by inserting straws into the nostrils. We went with the first method as per suggestion of my professor. 

 For the first application (on Missy) we used water that was too warm and the alginate set up too quickly. Below you can see that the alginate got too chunky toward the end. This ultimately set up the cast to be rather unsuccessful. We came out with a workable product, but its far from perfect

We added cloth strips around the face while the alginate was curing in the hopes that it would help the plaster bandages adhere to the alginate better. This didn't work as well as planned.
After the alginate sits for a few minutes you can begin applying the plaster bandages. Again, be careful around the nose area. Once the mask is taken off the nose area can be covered with another plaster bandage or with more alginate.

Continue to talk to your model during this process! Keep them company by sharing stories with them, but keep the joking and laughing to a minimum so their face doesn't move. 

After allowing the plaster bandages to cure (this process can be sped up slightly by having a fan blow toward the model) have the model put their hands on the mask and sit up. Have the model move their face around to release the alginate while you work the alginate away from their neck. 

I suggest simply pulling off the swim cap at this point and removing it from the alginate after the model is free from their mold. 

Here are the two molds we created. As you can see the mask for Missy got torn and a little messed up because of the alginate. 

My mask came out pretty good except for a few air bubbles!

Plug the nose holes with a little clay and then cover with plaster bandages. You can then begin mixing the plaster you will pour into the mold. 

We used hydro-stone. My professor and I had never worked with this product before so we were both surprised by some of its properties. When mixed, this product is very watery. We continued to add more powder to the mixture and it remained watery. Once left to sit for a few minutes this product almost instantly turns to stone. There is no in-between stage where the plaster can be shaped or molded the way that some other products I have worked with can. Once hardened, the plaster is very hard and very warm. I would not recommend using this product directly against your skin for a casting project. 

Above you can see Missy's face. There are some imperfections from the alginate and the tip of the nose got sheared off. 

Above is Tom cleaning off some of the imperfections from air bubbles on my face. 

Here are the finished faces again, ready to be sculpted on!

Once the faces were completely dry I applied a layer of spray sealant for a smoother surface to work on

This process was enjoyable over all and being cast was very different than I expected it to feel. When the cold alginate was applied to my face it made me very cold overall. I can certainly understand why this process might not work for some people because being under all those materials can feel very claustrophobic. It was also hard to not be able to chime into the conversations that were happening around me. Breathing was not an issue at all even though I had a cold. 

If you are going to embark on this project be sure to read and learn as much as you can, and be as prepared as possible!

Thanks again to Missy for helping with this project :)

Gelatin - Pouring and Application

Early on in my makeup journey I decided I wanted to experiment with non-latex products because I know that latex allergies are fairly common. In my searching I heard about using gelatin to make prosthesis. After watching numerous videos including this one and this one I decided to just go ahead and order some products online. I know that you can purchase glycerine and gelatin from a drug store or supermarket, but sorbitol seems a bit harder to find so I would suggest buying it online. Some sources say you can use sugar free maple syrup (as long as it has sorbitol as one of the top ingredients) instead of 70% sorbitol, but it has a much lower percentage as well as an added color and scent. I have also heard that you should use a high blooming gelatin. I had trouble finding this product for a reasonable price so I decided to attempt the "home" method and use a regular gelatin of unknown bloom strength. Below you can see the products and molds that I used.

 To start this project you need a mold prepared with mold release. You can read about making plaster molds in my previous post. I decided to use a mixture of 1 part gelatin, 2 parts sorbitol, and 2 parts glycerine. I ended up choosing this ratio because I had watched so many videos that it seemed as if it was best I just try something out. This ratio may change based on your specific ingredients. I ended up being very happy with this ratio but I plan to try out some other ratios as well. I mixed the ingredients in a pyrex measuring cup and used a metal spoon to mix everything together.

To heat everything up it is important that you only microwave the mixture for 5 to 10 seconds at a time. If the gelatin mixture begins to boil the finished prosthetic will have lots of air bubbles in it, making it weaker. But, it is also important to heat the mixture enough such that all the gelatin has a chance to bloom into the liquids. If the gelatin does not bloom all the way you will get a grainy, rough, and weak appliance. Below is a photo showing the difference between two appliances; the one on the left was not heated long enough.

As you can see, the appliance on the right is much clearer, smoother, and didn't tear when I stretched it.

Back to pouring: Once your mixture is hot enough let it sit for a moment or two (but not more than a minute) to release some of the bubbles that have inevitably formed. Pour the gelatin mixture slowly into your mold and spread it out. Below you can see my professor spreading out the gelatin with the tip of the spoon to help create some thinner edges.

I then let the molds dry over night but they could be removed as soon as the gelatin has set. I used powder while slowly removing the appliances from the mold. Below you can see the appliances didn't come out very nicely and one of them ripped entirely (top left). This was because my first batch was not heated enough.

After trying again the pieces came out much better. Something interesting I noticed is that the plaster molds absorbed some of the gelatin mixture from the first pour and made the plaster hydrophobic. This was a surprise to me, but helped the next batch come out of the molds better and latex came out especially well.

My first experience with applying gelatin was a big learning experience. I decided to apply a latex and a gelatin appliance in the same look.

The application process for the gelatin appliance is very similar to latex. I started by gluing the appliance to my face. Gelatin appliances are very comfortable because they move with your skin well. 

Here is the overall look I created, and following are some tips for using gelatin appliances. 

First, after gluing I decided to cover the prosthetic in pros-aide the same way I cover the latex with glue. Ultimately I think this is not a good idea because it detracts from the more realistic skin texture that Gelatin can provide. 

Create appliances that aren't round. 

This wart appliance does not naturally fade into the area around it because 1) it is round which makes it stand out unnaturally and 2) the edges were a little thick. When applying warts or small objects I would like to explore the idea of having as little of a base as possible by creating individual warts rather than one whole appliance. 

I also experimented with my knife wound application and learned more lessons:

This application looks good from a distance because the natural color of the un-made up gelatin naturally fades into my skin color. I would definitely do this process again for knife wounds of this type. 

Another lesson I learned is to use hot water to melt the edges of the appliance.  Although some edges are still visible, the appliance makes a much smoother transition into my arm after being melted with hot water.

The best edges I was able to create were edges that originally had flashing on them. Flashing is the excess material around the edges of an appliance that are intentionally created (to be removed). The area between the flashing and the appliance is blended as a very thin edge. In the picture below you can see the flashing especially well against the white t-shirt. 

Thanks for reading! I will be posting some exciting life casting soon! 

Supplies:
mold
mold release
gelatin
sorbitol
glycerine
microwave
microwavable container
heat safe stirring implement

Liquid Latex - Pouring and Applying

In this post I will be talking about the steps for pouring liquid latex into a mold and applying latex prosthesis. This is another fairly simple process but requires patience for a good outcome.

For this project I used some old plaster molds that my professor had in his makeup cabinet. Two nose molds (on the right), a scar/burn eye patch (top left), and some sort of torn skin appliance (bottom left). The first step is to make sure your mold is clean, wipe it down. If you use something moist for this, wait until the plaster dries off for the next steps. 

Apply a thin, even coat of mold release inside the mold and around the edges; I used baby oil. This will make it easier to take the appliance out later. 

Next pour a small amount of latex into the mold. It is better to start out with less than you think will cover the mold because it is easier to add more than to take some out. Rotate the mold around to cover all the surfaces of the mold. This should be as thin of a layer as possible.

I used Ben Nye latex for this. The latex starts out a dark skin color and as its drying it lightens in color. As the latex is drying in the mold it is important to rotate it a few more times to avoid pooling in deeper/lower areas. You can also expedite the drying process with a hair dryer. Once the first layer is dry, pour more latex in and repeat the same process. I only poured two layers because the latex that I am using is fairly thick but I would recommend doing at least three or more layers. 

When all your layers of latex have dried it is time for removal! Powder the backside of the appliance with makeup powder. I like to do this with a blush brush but you could also use a pouf or apply the powder with your fingers. 

slowly start to peel the latex out of the mold and as you peel away, apply powder to the latex. I like to dump a little extra between the latex and the plaster as I am peeling so that gravity will do some of the work for me. Starting the removal process is the hardest part. If you have nails you can kind of pick at the edge of the latex or you can rub it so it rolls away from the plaster. If you opt for the rolling method, be very quick with your powder because latex loves to stick to itself. 

Flat molds are much easier to take out than deep molds such as noses. One of the noses I poured would not come out of the mold and ended up very deformed. The skin tear piece was still wet in some of the deeper places and tore as I was taking it out. This left me with one nose (seen below) and the scar/burn eye patch (which will make an appearance in a later post!)

This nose is long and pointy. On the right side you can see a place where the latex folded over on itself while I was removing it from the mold. 

There was also a spot on the bottom of the nose where the mold had chipped and thus my prosthetic has a weird mole on it. In the above picture you can also see where I cut out the nostrils. 

The next step is application!

First, glue on your prosthetic. I like to use Pros-aide but you can also use spirit gum if that is what you prefer. I like to apply the glue directly on to the appliance, let it dry a little, and then stick it on my face. I then make sure all the edges are glued down and then coat the entire thing in Pros-aide. I also put a "bead" of glue on the edges to help transition from prosthetic to skin. 

Powder once the glue is dry. At this point it is time to apply makeup. I suggest having a design/plan for your look before you move forward from this point. I made the mistake of not having a plan and ended up creating a look that I wasn't satisfied with overall. I started out with a "plain face" makeup by applying base all over my face and the nose and blended the nose into my base using highlight and lowlight stippling.

I think the blending was successful overall and I had fun learning how to apply a prosthetic nose!

Supplies:

Plaster mold

Mold release

liquid latex

powder

blush brush

Pros-aide

Makeup

Making Molds - Clay and Plaster of Paris

When creating special effects looks its wise to understand the various types of molds that can be formed to create fun and detailed looks.
I started out with a simple clay and plaster of paris type mold. This is a great way to start making molds because it is easy and only requires a few supplies that are easily found at a craft store (or in your dad's shed out back if you are lucky!)

All you really need is clay and plaster of paris. Clay tools are optional, but you can also use odds and ends you find around the house. You can use any kind of clay but I used oil based clay that does not air dry so that I can use it over and over again (also, it was provided to me by my professor). It is also smart to have some kind of mold release. I used peanut oil and baby oil for this, some other options are vaseline/petroleum jelly or spray-type oil 

Gather your supplies and then find a surface that you will sculpt on. You can use anything as long as it has a smooth finish on it, plastic and glass work very well. 

Next, find a source of inspiration for the prosthetic you would like to make. You search for photos on the internet or in books or you could even come up with a sketch for your design. 

For my sculpts I decided to create a knife wound that will ultimately be placed on my arm, a set of warts, and a fantastical diamond-bursting-through-skin  appliance. I sculpted the knife wound using a large water bottle, the warts and diamond on an old binder. 

 I stabilized the bottle with some extra clay underneath. I found a knife-gash photo on Google that I modeled this concept after. I used the bottle to simulate the curvature of an arm as it can be difficult to apply flat-backed appliances to rounded surfaces.

 Above is my wart sculpt. Again I used inspiration from Google images. I textured the warts with one of my pointy clay tools. Lastly I created a diamond shape with skin formed around it so it appears as if it is growing through the skin. 

After the sculpting is complete, build a dam around each sculpture. Make sure it is at least and inch taller than your sculpture and mush it down onto the sculpting surface to get it as air-tight as possible. When this is done, apply a thin coat to the clay surfaces with mold release. Only the surfaces that the plaster will come in contact with are necessary to coat. 

The next step is mixing and pouring the plaster of paris. The ratio of water to plaster of paris varies based on the brand and type of plaster, so be sure to thoroughly read and follow the instructions on the container. When pouring, pour very slowly to avoid any air bubbles that might form. Once poured, pick up your sculpture and tap it against the table a few times to help any air bubbles rise to the surface. 

Once the plaster is dry (I waited overnight to make sure it was dry) you can pull apart your molds. Sometimes they will come out cleanly but if there is any clay left in the mold you can pick it out with a tool or wash it out with water and a toothbrush (for water based clay). I was lucky and two of mine came apart very cleanly, the third only required a small amount of cleaning with a clay tool. 

Now you are ready to use your molds to make some awesome prosthesis! These molds will make an appearance in the coming posts when I talk about how to pour various materials. 

Bald Cap

This week I focused on applying a bald cap! I decided to attack the challenge of applying it to myself with minimal help from my professor. In this post I will be providing information about how I applied the bald cap and I will post some links to other blogs and videos that I used as research before tackling this project. Below is a recent picture of me.

As you can see, my hair is a bit longer than shoulder length meaning I had some work to do when it came to hiding it beneath a bald cap. After looking at many sites online the most common way to deal with hiding long hair underneath a bald cap is to create a low ponytail and leave it hanging out the backside of the bald cap. I did find one reference in the book Special Effects Make-up by Janus Vinther about putting the hair up such that it can be hidden completely. 

I attempted this style of hiding my hair, but my hair is relatively soft and it would fall down before I could even get the bald cap on. I decided to try the same technique, but with the addition of taping my hair down to my head. 

In the above picture you can see three bands of tape holding my hair. Each piece of tape had a strip of baby wipe in the center of it so that I didn't cover my entire head with tape. After attempting to put the bald cap on, I added one more piece of tape going vertically from my neck to the top of my forehead for extra security. (You can also see my work station in the back ground behind my head)

Next I put the bald cap on, positioned it, and drew lines with my brown brow-liner pencil. 

 

This step is important because this will determine how the cap will ultimately fit onto your head. When the cap is on, pull the ear flaps down and forward toward your chin. Hold them there while you are drawing the lines. You may need help for this part, but I was able to use one hand to hold the cap by stretching my thumb under my chin to hold the other side. The picture on the right is from the instructional video that Ben Nye created that is sold with his makeup kits. This was by far the most useful video I have seen on applying bald caps. The ear cut out is kind of an upside-down U shape that is drawn about 1/4 of an inch from the edge of the ear. I also wanted to trim some of the cap away from my temples and forehead for a better fit.

Once all the lines are drawn on, cut off the excess latex. I used blunt-nosed scissors (the type for trimming nose hairs). You can either take off the bald cap to do this or leave it on. If you are leaving it on, I suggest having someone help you cut out the ear pieces.

The next step is gluing. There are various materials that can be used for gluing. For my first application I used spirit gum. This method was alright but it requires drying time and the bald cap can peel up if you don't sit long enough with pressure holding the cap to the gum. The second application I tried out Pros-aide medical adhesive and I fell in love with this product. It requires very little drying time, and is incredibly effective at adhering. Gluing can be done by folding back the cap and applying glue directly to the cap or directly to the skin. I prefer the skin method because it is easier to get it smooth. If you are sealing the cap all the way around, do the neck portion second. Move on the the above-ear section, and then below the ears. You don't need to glue all of the latex down, but instead you can cut off the excess once the glue dries.Below you can see where I cut off excess latex around my ears.

                                         

after the entire bald cap has been secured, seal the bald cap onto your head. For my first application I did this with latex and a sponge by blending the cap's edge into the skin, for my second application I did this with Pros-aide and a q-tip, creating a bead of glue along the edge of the cap. I prefer the Pros-aide method because it create a smaller edge. 

My next step was to cover the entire cap in pros-aide. I did this based off of this blog's suggestions. By doing this you are creating a surface that will not absorb the cream makeup as readily as the latex will. After this is dry, powder the sticky glue. 

Apply makeup to the cap with a torn sponge (no sharp edges) and a blotting-motion (rather than sweeping). You may want to start with a color lighter than your skin tone as a sort of under-painting method to help hide the cap. Stipple some highlights and lowlights to create texture. Apply makeup to your face as well and use the same highlight/lowlight stippling. 

Below is the picture from my first attempt. I was super disappointed with how this turned out. 

And here are two pictures from my second (more successful attempt)

The second picture was taken outside. This picture shows some of the areas where I didn't brush off enough powder OR could have used more of the darker stippling. I also added in a "beauty mark" near my temple (where I actually have one) for more realism. Here is the link for a high quality photo (for zooming)

Supplies:

Bald cap (mine is from Woochie, ordered on Amazon)

Tape (for long hair)

Brown brow-liner pencil

Scissors

Adhesive (I prefer Pros-aide medical adhesive)

Sponges (foam and stippling)

makeup (I use Ben Nye products)