You can, but it dries! That is the only problem with air drying clay and appliances. The edges have to be so thin that the amount of water in there just evaporates out quickly. You can spray it often with water but it soon erodes any detail to keep doing that. Oil based clays are usually the material of choice.
That's so amazing! I bet you have so much knowledge, and make amazing pieces! I have so much respect for people who create prosthetics. I only have very minimal lab experience, so I am trying to practice and learn as much as I possibly can.
This is definitely the best and most informative video I have seen on this topic....simply briliant! This has helped me loads. I'm going to check out your other videos as well..... VERY well done!
This Is so helpful and easy to understand! I appreciate the time you took to teach your subscribers how to sculpt ! Thank you ! Looking forward to making some of my very own prosthetic pieces :D
I recommend you post successive videos as "responses" to your other videos, and also add links in the video itself so it is easier to find the next (or previous) in a series. These are really great, and I thank you!
WOW these are the most informative,attention holding videos i have seen thanks for sharing your knowledge it is VERY appreciated. Im just about to start making my first mask the sculpting i will have no problem with its the casting etc i need help with do you have any videos how to make a basic plaster mold for a latex mask? eventually i want to work with silicone but i think i will start with latex.
You have come a LONG way since the Lost Boys vampire you did! :) GREAT work and great explaining it! It's so clear and easy to learn from this video, I thank you!
GREAT video. Probably the finest tutorial I've seen on this subject and very informative. As for the clay, does it ever harden or does it stay soft to work over long periods of time?
stuart, Love all your videos and always look forward to new videos from you but I have a question, Have you ever used Monster clay ? not the kids monster clay but the one with abraham Lincoln on the package ? I want to know if you have use monster clay then can you still get the fine wrinkles and textures you get with the clay you use, Thanks
In the US try Alcote release (Burmans and Monster Makers supply it). In the UK I use 'Scopas Parting Agent' from Tiranti, or there are similar dental 'plaster' separators. We also used to call it 'liquid tinfoil'. Brush a few coats onto a plaster cast before sculpting, allowing each coat to dry. Once done with sculpting, soak at least overnight in cold water. completely immersing it. This reactivates the release, allowing the sculpt to slide off. Cold water helps harden the plasteline. Stu
Thank you so much for these amazing tutorials!! I'm suprised that you don't have more views and subscribers. What's wrong with people lol. Thank you, thank you, greetings fron Panama :)
Flashing is the excess material left attached to a cast after removal from the mould. You often get it on cheap, plastic toys when the injected plastic squeezes gently into the seam line of the mould and you get a thin, flat piece along the edge.
I should only need protecting from knocks or contact with other things which could dig into it so I suggest a simple cardboard box if you are not able to leave it on a shelf or similar. If you want to cover it with clingfilm/plastic snadwich wrap that will keep the dust off if you need to leave it for weeks but it is pretty durable. If it did get dusty, just rinse it off - water doesn't affect it. Stuart
Good idea. There are plenty of DVDs which do that (Neill Gorton has an excellent one) and the costs of it all make it a slow burn for me to get to as I like to do a real number with it. My free mini ecourse has a piece on lifecasting, (sign up on the site, link under vid) but I will be doing something on lifecasting for sure. Thanks for watching my stuff! -Stuart
The beauty of oil based sculpting mediums is they remain soft and useable. There is no water in them to evaporate so they will not change state unless heated (which softens it) or cooled (hardens it), It will return to it's natural state once the temperature returns, and you can buy it in different hardnesses to suit your ambient temperature.
It is an oil based clay which doesn't dry - kind of like plasticine. It is softened with heat (think scar wax) and hardens slightly in the cold, but always remains workable. It is available in different softnesses or grades. It doesn't contain water like pottery clay, so fine edges don't dry and crack etc. You should be able to buy it from sculpture suppliers, and Chavant is a well known brand, as well as Monster Clay, my new favourite.
Thank you Stuart! What is the best way to protect my sculpture if I have worked on it for awhile and perhaps need to return to continue working on it at another time? Would cling wrap be acceptable?
Hello, I'm trying to gather materials to begin the sculpting process. Although in my searches I haven't really found any well reliable sets that I think would contain tools I actually need. By any chance would you know a good source for say the basic tools to begin and then the other tools that would be used later for more complex pieces?
+WhiteNoisePhantom I am typically averse to prepackaged sets as they often are beneficial mostly to the manufacturers rather than sculptors. It is likely that most would be useless, as sculpting prosthetics is a small enough market to be ignored by pottery suppliers who largely are the driving force in producing tools. I suggest you concentrate on getting four or five good tools - a small and large loop, a small and large flat wooden tool, and maybe a rake or something like a twisted wire loop tool. You can make your own too, I have tutorial links below. With regards to suppliers, it all depends on where you live in the world - in the UK and Europe, Alec Tiranti is a great supplier: www.tiranti.co.uk/EdgeImpactShop/category.php?Category=8&Content=Modelling+Tools+Clay+modelling+tools+come+in+a+variety+of+shapes+styles+and+materials+and+are+used+to+push+hollow+cut+scrape+and+add+texture+to+clay+and+other+modelling+materials+Professiona ...as is Potterycrafts: www.potterycrafts.co.uk/Products/tools--brushes In the US try The Compleat Sculptor (their spelling, not mine!). shop.sculpt.com/modeling-tools ----------------------------------------------------------------- I have done a few blog posts on sculpting tools which you may find useful: Types: www.learnmakeupeffects.com/sculpting_tool_for_prosthetics/ Making: www.learnmakeupeffects.com/making-tools/ www.learnprostheticmakeup.com/Make_your_own_sculpting_loop_tools_revised_sept09.pdf Repair: www.learnmakeupeffects.com/loop-repair/ Hope this helps Stuart
You can reuse a lifecast, but depending on what it is made of, it will deteriorate each time as constant resoaking and working of plaster will break it down. Best to make a master mould in silicone, as then you can make duplicates of the same head again and again. My last couple of videos have been covering this process.
stuart idk if you answered this already. but what do you recommend me using on a klife cast to float off the sculpt for molding. im using chevant med oil based clay thnks.
I am in a good place with this one. I have quite an exquisite taste for doing the best creative engineering art. Yes.... I am in a good place. Thank You.
Monster Makers sell mask kits which have head forms but usually people who make appliances will need to be involved in the whole process. The trick I guess is to ask to buy a face cast from a supplier like Smooth On or Mouldlife as they often have sample pieces in the shop which you may be able to buy.
Thank you for answering my question, would you mind doing a video with you using Monsterclay, and any kind of texture videos would be amaing, you do great work and I would like to get more ideas of textures from you if you dont mind :)
Hey! Just wondering something. I want to get into make masks like this and am hopefully going to get a lifecast of myself soon, but are lifecasts of a face reusable? Or will I have to get more than one to work off of?
Alcote is not a release for moulds. It is specifically a release for plasteline to come away from plaster, so the sculpt can be removed and cut into smaller pieces. Instead, use a wax based release when intending to separate mould halves. Alcote is reactivated by water, so I think what happenned is the water in the plaster reactivated the exposed alcote and it simple ceased to act as a release agent. Use vaseline instead as a cheap plaster-from-plaster release.
Hi, was just wondering, where can I buy pre-made face casts to work on? Whenever I look it up it just gives me celebrity faces or random stuff. Thank you!
There are few, largely I suppose to the getting a neutral face and someone who is okay with their face bveing a product to work on. Monster Makers make great rigid foam head cores for mask making. www.monstermakers.com/product/deluxe-full-head-sculpting-armature-life-size.html
It is almost the same - the only difference is that Monster Clay melts into a liquid, so can be swilled into moulds when molten. Search YT for a vid called 'Bloated Corpse Prosthetic Sculpt' I did using grey plastiline which is almost the same as Monster Clay. . -Stuart
Hi Stuart. Sorry but not if it is true. To make the face cast, used Pros-Aide to paste the film that protects head hair and nivea (not Vaseline) for eyelash and eyebrow ?.
Yes, I used Pros Aide but Telesis 5 or 7 will do equally well, as well as Beta Bond - basically any prosthetic adhesive will work. I like to use NIVEA instead of vaseline for brows and facial hair, as Vaseline just stays greasy forever!
It varies, as the appliance can be made very soft and if the sculpt has wrinkles and folds which align with the performers, then these areas are thinner than the fatter part of the sculpt and allow it to compress and gather. I'd say anything over 12mm/half inch is starting to dull the movement though. If it needs to get that much thicker, it's time to add some animatronic elements in there.
@delaroseex Hey - thanks so much. I will be doing a few new one day and maybe two day workshops this coming month somewhere else in London too! I'll announce asap. -Stuart
You can use vaseline, just brush a thin layer with a small brush just on the exposed areas of plaster. You don't need to actually release the plastiline as it is made from wax and is naturally water repellent, making it release quite easily from plaster moulds. It may melt slightly owing to the heat generated by chemical reaction during the plaster setting. For this reason, you can use a sealer such as a thin layer of clear car laquer first. A THIN coat, mind. This should preserve detail ok
aidin flores I have no idea what that is, never used it. If it is oil based and doesn't dry out then I imagine it would be ok. The only issue may be that some plastilines have substances which can inhibit silicone if you intend to make appliances with silicone from them.
+Alevamltd Yeah it's ok. Not my favourite material but it isn't bad. Its quite hard unless you are in constantly warm environment which England is not most of the time. Everything that is good about it is great, but the grey stuff from Herbin which we have used for about 20 years has all the same qualities really and is available in a range of softnesses unlike the Monster Clay which is just hard.
Does the vaseline help the plastilina stick? Im having so much trouble getting my plastilina to stick to my lifecast it just doesnt stick!! Need help please!!
Some plasters can be quite powdery to the touch, especially when fresh from the mould. Try rinsing the surface off with water to rid the surface of the dust that may be there. Dry it off with paper towel and it should help. If not, it may be a soft plaster or not mixed correctly, as softer plaster tends to again remain quite powdery. A light coat of Vaseline may well help - just not too much as it will just slide around on a slick surface. Also plastiline sticks better to a plaster surface when it is soft, so it may be that warming your plastiline or using a softer material may help. If you are going to float the pieces off onto another core later, as with a large overlapping appliance, consider painting the plaster with acrylic paint - mix a colour which matches the plastiline. Paint this onto bare plaster and when it is dry, you can coat that with release such as alcote or KY Jelly. When that is dry, you can sculpt onto that and then soak the final sculpt off in water.
You can, but it dries! That is the only problem with air drying clay and appliances. The edges have to be so thin that the amount of water in there just evaporates out quickly. You can spray it often with water but it soon erodes any detail to keep doing that. Oil based clays are usually the material of choice.
I have been doing prosthesis for 20 years, but it's kind of nice watching others do it for a change. Thank you.
That's so amazing! I bet you have so much knowledge, and make amazing pieces! I have so much respect for people who create prosthetics. I only have very minimal lab experience, so I am trying to practice and learn as much as I possibly can.
@@aBLA910 Keep at it! I hope it goes well for you.
This is definitely the best and most informative video I have seen on this topic....simply briliant! This has helped me loads. I'm going to check out your other videos as well..... VERY well done!
Thank you so much!!! I just ordered some oil clay and I'm binging on sculpting videos. This is so informative
This Is so helpful and easy to understand! I appreciate the time you took to teach your subscribers how to sculpt ! Thank you ! Looking forward to making some of my very own prosthetic pieces :D
I recommend you post successive videos as "responses" to your other videos, and also add links in the video itself so it is easier to find the next (or previous) in a series. These are really great, and I thank you!
WOW these are the most informative,attention holding videos i have seen thanks for sharing your knowledge it is VERY appreciated. Im just about to start making my first mask the sculpting i will have no problem with its the casting etc i need help with do you have any videos how to make a basic plaster mold for a latex mask? eventually i want to work with silicone but i think i will start with latex.
+bruce Wayne p.s what softness clay do you get from Jacobson Chemical? i was thinking 55
+bruce Wayne It was 55. If yiu check out my Rancid Tongue vids I make a plaster mould if that.
You have come a LONG way since the Lost Boys vampire you did! :) GREAT work and great explaining it! It's so clear and easy to learn from this video, I thank you!
GREAT video. Probably the finest tutorial I've seen on this subject and very informative. As for the clay, does it ever harden or does it stay soft to work over long periods of time?
Yes, love it. Just started using it. I also dig the grey 55 and 50 grades from Jacobsons Chemicals (from J. Herbin originally from France).
stuart, Love all your videos and always look forward to new videos from you but I have a question, Have you ever used Monster clay ? not the kids monster clay but the one with abraham Lincoln on the package ? I want to know if you have use monster clay then can you still get the fine wrinkles and textures you get with the clay you use, Thanks
Great video as always, Stuart!
In the US try Alcote release (Burmans and Monster Makers supply it). In the UK I use 'Scopas Parting Agent' from Tiranti, or there are similar dental 'plaster' separators. We also used to call it 'liquid tinfoil'.
Brush a few coats onto a plaster cast before sculpting, allowing each coat to dry. Once done with sculpting, soak at least overnight in cold water. completely immersing it. This reactivates the release, allowing the sculpt to slide off. Cold water helps harden the plasteline.
Stu
Thank you so much for these amazing tutorials!! I'm suprised that you don't have more views and subscribers. What's wrong with people lol.
Thank you, thank you, greetings fron Panama :)
Flashing is the excess material left attached to a cast after removal from the mould. You often get it on cheap, plastic toys when the injected plastic squeezes gently into the seam line of the mould and you get a thin, flat piece along the edge.
I should only need protecting from knocks or contact with other things which could dig into it so I suggest a simple cardboard box if you are not able to leave it on a shelf or similar. If you want to cover it with clingfilm/plastic snadwich wrap that will keep the dust off if you need to leave it for weeks but it is pretty durable.
If it did get dusty, just rinse it off - water doesn't affect it.
Stuart
Great tutorial, very well spoken and informative, you should do more : )
Good idea. There are plenty of DVDs which do that (Neill Gorton has an excellent one) and the costs of it all make it a slow burn for me to get to as I like to do a real number with it. My free mini ecourse has a piece on lifecasting, (sign up on the site, link under vid) but I will be doing something on lifecasting for sure.
Thanks for watching my stuff!
-Stuart
you are amazing!! thanks for posting these videos! They help so much!
The beauty of oil based sculpting mediums is they remain soft and useable. There is no water in them to evaporate so they will not change state unless heated (which softens it) or cooled (hardens it), It will return to it's natural state once the temperature returns, and you can buy it in different hardnesses to suit your ambient temperature.
It is an oil based clay which doesn't dry - kind of like plasticine. It is softened with heat (think scar wax) and hardens slightly in the cold, but always remains workable. It is available in different softnesses or grades. It doesn't contain water like pottery clay, so fine edges don't dry and crack etc. You should be able to buy it from sculpture suppliers, and Chavant is a well known brand, as well as Monster Clay, my new favourite.
Beautifully taught. Thank you!
thats crazy tutorial you show here respect for your sculpting
Thank you Stuart! What is the best way to protect my sculpture if I have worked on it for awhile and perhaps need to return to continue working on it at another time? Would cling wrap be acceptable?
Hello, I'm trying to gather materials to begin the sculpting process. Although in my searches I haven't really found any well reliable sets that I think would contain tools I actually need. By any chance would you know a good source for say the basic tools to begin and then the other tools that would be used later for more complex pieces?
+WhiteNoisePhantom I am typically averse to prepackaged sets as they often are beneficial mostly to the manufacturers rather than sculptors. It is likely that most would be useless, as sculpting prosthetics is a small enough market to be ignored by pottery suppliers who largely are the driving force in producing tools.
I suggest you concentrate on getting four or five good tools - a small and large loop, a small and large flat wooden tool, and maybe a rake or something like a twisted wire loop tool. You can make your own too, I have tutorial links below.
With regards to suppliers, it all depends on where you live in the world - in the UK and Europe, Alec Tiranti is a great supplier:
www.tiranti.co.uk/EdgeImpactShop/category.php?Category=8&Content=Modelling+Tools+Clay+modelling+tools+come+in+a+variety+of+shapes+styles+and+materials+and+are+used+to+push+hollow+cut+scrape+and+add+texture+to+clay+and+other+modelling+materials+Professiona
...as is Potterycrafts:
www.potterycrafts.co.uk/Products/tools--brushes
In the US try The Compleat Sculptor (their spelling, not mine!).
shop.sculpt.com/modeling-tools
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I have done a few blog posts on sculpting tools which you may find useful:
Types:
www.learnmakeupeffects.com/sculpting_tool_for_prosthetics/
Making:
www.learnmakeupeffects.com/making-tools/
www.learnprostheticmakeup.com/Make_your_own_sculpting_loop_tools_revised_sept09.pdf
Repair:
www.learnmakeupeffects.com/loop-repair/
Hope this helps
Stuart
Hey. Great video I just wanted to know is that clay like Hardening clay or is it like a prosthetic latex kind and where do you get it?
You can reuse a lifecast, but depending on what it is made of, it will deteriorate each time as constant resoaking and working of plaster will break it down. Best to make a master mould in silicone, as then you can make duplicates of the same head again and again.
My last couple of videos have been covering this process.
@liquidvenom Have many planned, and some even shot already! Thanks for checking it out.
-Stuart
stuart idk if you answered this already. but what do you recommend me using on a klife cast to float off the sculpt for molding. im using chevant med oil based clay thnks.
I am in a good place with this one. I have quite an exquisite taste for doing the best creative engineering art. Yes.... I am in a good place. Thank You.
Good stuff, really useful. Looking forward to part two :)
Monster Makers sell mask kits which have head forms but usually people who make appliances will need to be involved in the whole process. The trick I guess is to ask to buy a face cast from a supplier like Smooth On or Mouldlife as they often have sample pieces in the shop which you may be able to buy.
Thank you for answering my question, would you mind doing a video with you using Monsterclay, and any kind of texture videos would be amaing, you do great work and I would like to get more ideas of textures from you if you dont mind :)
Love it! LBT is my fave plastiline too :D Everything just seems to work quicker when using it...
Thank's Stuart, great inspiration
Do you guys have any sculpting wax tutorials? Like Graftobian or Ben Nye scat wax?
ua-cam.com/video/YOa5p5_eHYg/v-deo.html
stuart bray thank you!
i am loving these videos! super helpful =D
Hey! Just wondering something. I want to get into make masks like this and am hopefully going to get a lifecast of myself soon, but are lifecasts of a face reusable? Or will I have to get more than one to work off of?
Great video! Thank you for this.
Alcote is not a release for moulds. It is specifically a release for plasteline to come away from plaster, so the sculpt can be removed and cut into smaller pieces.
Instead, use a wax based release when intending to separate mould halves. Alcote is reactivated by water, so I think what happenned is the water in the plaster reactivated the exposed alcote and it simple ceased to act as a release agent. Use vaseline instead as a cheap plaster-from-plaster release.
Awesome video 👏 thanks
I know this may be a long shot, but could you tell us what materials you used to make the initial plaster cast? Pretty please?
Megan Konkin Alginate, plaster bandage and plaster. It's all here: ua-cam.com/video/2NyF5bKlkT0/v-deo.html
Thanks for the vidéo Stuart.
You're welcome.
what kind of plaster did you use for the cast?
+K.O. Crystacal R, a hard moulding plaster. Its about 3 parts plaster to one part water.
Hi, was just wondering, where can I buy pre-made face casts to work on? Whenever I look it up it just gives me celebrity faces or random stuff. Thank you!
There are few, largely I suppose to the getting a neutral face and someone who is okay with their face bveing a product to work on. Monster Makers make great rigid foam head cores for mask making.
www.monstermakers.com/product/deluxe-full-head-sculpting-armature-life-size.html
What is the name of this mass you using to model??
Qual é o nome dessa massa que você usando para modelar ???
+Piter Rock It is Plastiline by J. Herbin. www.g-lalo.fr/Plastiline--06501010.html
It is almost the same - the only difference is that Monster Clay melts into a liquid, so can be swilled into moulds when molten.
Search YT for a vid called 'Bloated Corpse Prosthetic Sculpt' I did using grey plastiline which is almost the same as Monster Clay. .
-Stuart
Hi Stuart.
Sorry but not if it is true. To make the face cast, used Pros-Aide to paste the film that protects head hair and nivea (not Vaseline) for eyelash and eyebrow ?.
Yes, I used Pros Aide but Telesis 5 or 7 will do equally well, as well as Beta Bond - basically any prosthetic adhesive will work. I like to use NIVEA instead of vaseline for brows and facial hair, as Vaseline just stays greasy forever!
stuart bray Thank you very much.
how thick can you make the clay so that you can still express emotions well in the prosthetic?
It varies, as the appliance can be made very soft and if the sculpt has wrinkles and folds which align with the performers, then these areas are thinner than the fatter part of the sculpt and allow it to compress and gather.
I'd say anything over 12mm/half inch is starting to dull the movement though. If it needs to get that much thicker, it's time to add some animatronic elements in there.
thanks!
@delaroseex Hey - thanks so much. I will be doing a few new one day and maybe two day workshops this coming month somewhere else in London too! I'll announce asap.
-Stuart
You can use vaseline, just brush a thin layer with a small brush just on the exposed areas of plaster. You don't need to actually release the plastiline as it is made from wax and is naturally water repellent, making it release quite easily from plaster moulds.
It may melt slightly owing to the heat generated by chemical reaction during the plaster setting. For this reason, you can use a sealer such as a thin layer of clear car laquer first. A THIN coat, mind. This should preserve detail ok
Thank you for your kind words! I really appreciate you taking the time to watch the video and comment!
-Stuart
nicely done
if anyone can explain what flashing is i'd be really appreciative
would Sargent Art Plastilina Modeling Clay, 2-Pound, Terracotta word for sculpting on the cast?
aidin flores I have no idea what that is, never used it. If it is oil based and doesn't dry out then I imagine it would be ok. The only issue may be that some plastilines have substances which can inhibit silicone if you intend to make appliances with silicone from them.
Where do you get that clay
Jacobson Chemical in the UK. However, Monster Clay is similar and available from a number of FX suppliers.
Can you clay prospetics on a makeup friendly head
You can sculpt on anything rigid enough to work on.
Thankyou
Platiline - oilbased clay (argila de petróleo)
Thank god I found this.
have you ever used Monster Clay?
+Alevamltd Yeah it's ok. Not my favourite material but it isn't bad.
Its quite hard unless you are in constantly warm environment which England is not most of the time. Everything that is good about it is great, but the grey stuff from Herbin which we have used for about 20 years has all the same qualities really and is available in a range of softnesses unlike the Monster Clay which is just hard.
can you tell me stuff quaiz ussou?
@TheDash2000 Thanks for that! As you can see, I am a total newbie on UA-cam - thanks for the tip!
@delaroseex New workshop dates up on the site...click on the link just under the video.
-Stuart
Finally I ended up buying plasteline ! I didn't want to because it was more expensive but... oh well !
thank you! :)
I came for poods and stayed cause of the coolness
YOU MADE PEWDS SICK.... YOU MONSTER!!!!
Are you serious
+Pablo Greene HE IS DEAD
That's neat
I that like...the school clay??
Was anybody else confused by the thumbnail? I thought he was poking a hole into his plaster head or something :/
Can you please tell PEWDIEPIE to play civilization on steam
No, he can't. If you want him to play a game, suggest it to him in the comment section.
Does the vaseline help the plastilina stick? Im having so much trouble getting my plastilina to stick to my lifecast it just doesnt stick!! Need help please!!
Some plasters can be quite powdery to the touch, especially when fresh from the mould. Try rinsing the surface off with water to rid the surface of the dust that may be there. Dry it off with paper towel and it should help. If not, it may be a soft plaster or not mixed correctly, as softer plaster tends to again remain quite powdery.
A light coat of Vaseline may well help - just not too much as it will just slide around on a slick surface.
Also plastiline sticks better to a plaster surface when it is soft, so it may be that warming your plastiline or using a softer material may help.
If you are going to float the pieces off onto another core later, as with a large overlapping appliance, consider painting the plaster with acrylic paint - mix a colour which matches the plastiline. Paint this onto bare plaster and when it is dry, you can coat that with release such as alcote or KY Jelly. When that is dry, you can sculpt onto that and then soak the final sculpt off in water.
Thankyou so much for taking the time to respond!! You've been a huge help!! It's great to learn something new!