How to work away the edges of prosthetics?

Hi there,

I've been making some large prosthetics for some time and like to add them to my model one day, but I'm searching for a way of working away the edges between the prosthetic and head of the model itself. I have seen some fiberglass-kinda-thing before at an event, at least that was the way it was applianced, with a brush. It was grimaged afterwards.

I haven't got any pictures because it's secret, so I hope someone has an idea of how I'm thinking....

Greets,

Skirata

i am a prosthetic make up artist / spfx technician . it all depends on what the prosthetic will be made from and what it will be applied to. the main thing with blending a prosthetic is to get the edges a fine as possible and to match the textures where the piece blends. this is where most fall down. need a lil more info if at all possible .

Also a technique use for foam latex prosthetics, that are not full face, is to "Stipple" on light layers of products like Pros-Aide Creme or liquid latex, letting it dry between layers until you have created a seamless edge.

piehead said:

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i am a prosthetic make up artist / spfx technician . it all depends on what the prosthetic will be made from and what it will be applied to. the main thing with blending a prosthetic is to get the edges a fine as possible and to match the textures where the piece blends. this is where most fall down. need a lil more info if at all possible .

The prosthetic will be made of latex and will be applied to facial skin. (just the face).
It would be great if you could help me! The local grimageshops here haven't got much materials to work with.

JustStone said:

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Also a technique use for foam latex prosthetics, that are not full face, is to "Stipple" on light layers of products like Pros-Aide Creme or liquid latex, letting it dry between layers until you have created a seamless edge.

Great! you have got any sites for that?

for latex prosthetics , pros - aide cream or even better my fave aqua fix cream available from mouldlife in the uk or monsterclub in the u.s.a. once the piece has been applied just use the minimum amount of the cream on the edges that show about 3 to 5 mm over the edge and the skin. hit it with a hair dryer to speed up the cure. you can use a stipple sponge dipped in a little alcohol to stipple texture into that too and help the blend. when this is done stipple a coat of regular pros aide or aqua fix over the whole piece and onto the surrounding skin. powder this then time to colour using rubber mask grease or skin illustrator etc. by the way there is a great dvd that shows this called movie fx masterclass vol 1. also has jordu schell sculpitng tuts and teeth making and well worth the very cheap price.

Thanks! That helps a lot!

Think I'm going for a pros-aide kit!

if the pros aide is just the regular kind you can make a pros aide cream by mixing in cabosil or fumed silica to make it a lot thicker. you can also use it for making pros aide transfers. a realy good book that covers the most up to date technichques for all this stuff including silicone is special effects make up for stage and screen by my good friend Todd Debreceni. it comes with a cool how to dvd. a second volume is in the making and me and daz at 2 baldies fx are going to be in there, am so proud bout that. it realy is a great tome on the current state of the art and i guarantee anyone into prothesis cannot fail to learn loads from it.

by the way if you type hushmapuppy into youtube my fx partner darren has posted a fair few vids on appliance make up. a similar technique was used on a female zombie make up that is shown on his channel along with some silicone and dental stuff. check it out.

The Scream Team - Tips & Tricks for Halloween Foam Latex Applainces and Special Effects Make-up has some good information, dealing mostly with the liquid latex method.

Also, if you are going to be applying any 'unnatural' coloured makeup over the top then consider applying something called 'pax' (I think that's what it's called -lol) which is basically prosaide mixed with a bit of red acrylic paint. By doing that you give the latex a 'blood' colour which means when you apply colour over the top, you won't have an obvious difference between skin and prop.

Probably most noticeable if you think you are going to be using flash photography I am no prosthetic artist but I do do an Asajj Ventress costume which involves the application of a baldcap for each time! Sadly my baldcaps are all one use only as I also choose to blend the seams very gently with acetone (from the chemist) as it gives a smoother edge when then applying the prosaide or pax over the top. But be careful, acetone is very drying to the skin
I myself also use plastic (glatzan) baldcaps as I find them easier to work with (don't tear as easily!)

Have attached some pics of the ventress that was only my 3rd cap application so not my best. But not bad considering my hair is very long and thick and hangs halfway down my back

pax iis a mix of 50 percent prosthetic adhesive usualy prosaide, beta bond or aqua fix and 50 percent acrylic paint. yeah using a red pax as a base then a flesh colour etc over the top works well this is to give a red cappillary colour base as would be found in natural skin. i would not however nowadays reccomend glatzan and dissolving edges with acetone. acetone is skin drying and can atack the liver through skin absorbtion . we use super baldies from mouldlife / mosterclub super baldies is transparent and colouable with normal make up bases but better it is dissolved into the skin with 99 percent iso alcohol. much less harmful than acetone and without the drying effect of acetone. much more skin friendly and safe. superbaldies can also be used to encapsulate silicone gel appliances giving a much easier blending experience. we use it extensivly.

piehead said:

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pax iis a mix of 50 percent prosthetic adhesive usualy prosaide, beta bond or aqua fix and 50 percent acrylic paint. yeah using a red pax as a base then a flesh colour etc over the top works well this is to give a red cappillary colour base as would be found in natural skin. i would not however nowadays reccomend glatzan and dissolving edges with acetone. acetone is skin drying and can atack the liver through skin absorbtion . we use super baldies from mouldlife / mosterclub super baldies is transparent and colouable with normal make up bases but better it is dissolved into the skin with 99 percent iso alcohol. much less harmful than acetone and without the drying effect of acetone. much more skin friendly and safe. superbaldies can also be used to encapsulate silicone gel appliances giving a much easier blending experience. we use it extensivly.

I second this advice! Superbaldies works great and when you trim your baldcap you can use the discarded pieces to blend elswhere, like under the chin dissolved with alcohol and colored with Duracolor and its's way easier to remove than cabopatch

If you use acetone, like i too have with glatzan caps, i never let the acetone touch my skin..its for blending away the glatzan edge of the cap where i've had to trim it only.. i was recommened this technique by the makeup artist Karl Derrick.
Karl Derrick Ltd

this was my Asajj Ventress, all i learnt through that i passed onto the lovely lady above who has taken the bald headed lady on herself -


Also, i have not found a place in the UK that selles superbaldies...if i ever did a bald character again, it would be interesting to see how they are compared to glatzan (my preference) and latex ( hate with a passion).

yeah i know Karls work and have spoken to him and was on stage with him a couple of years ago in birmingham asking questions on behalf of the audience when he was doing a zombie make up, very nice guy. that said still i would prefer alcohol over acetone anytime. its the main product of choice nowadays for bald caps, blender strips etc. cheaper than glatzan too. plus its clear stretchier and stronger. also if you are blending the edge of the cap to the skin i cant see how it would not make skin contact this is coming from years of prosthetics experience... your cap work by the way is truley lovely work . well done.

hahaha..i know one of the zombies he made up. thats who passed Karl's details on to me lol

as i said, id love to know where i could get baldies in the Uk...

baldies in the u.k is available from Mouldlife ring em up talk to justin russell or john tell em ian from the 2baldies sent ya.

aha, ive heard of these guys, thanks!