Green Lantern Movie Mask-info needed

Hey everyone,

i was wondering if anyone out there had/knew about any great tutorials out there on sculpting, molding, and casting a face mask? I'm looking to make a movie accurate Green Lantern mask and this would be my first time working with this medium as well as my first mold and cast so all info is helpful, THANKS!

If you want movie accurate, buy Maya and create a 3D model... :/

If you want to sculpt it out, you'll need an armature/core that's relatively the same size as your face. Use a Chavant NSP medium to sculpt in. It's one of the easier clays to work with and is an industry norm.

You'll need some loop tools, some rakes, and some flat ended tools. Dental tools work great!

Sculpt out the mask, taking care to keep it flowing and organic. You'll then have to make a silicone mold (it can be a stone mold, but silicone would be easiest for you work with). The silicone will then need to be backed with something rigid to keep it's shape, like a fiberglass or stone.

you could also commission one

SonOfPumpkinhead said:

If you want movie accurate, buy Maya and create a 3D model... :/

Click to expand...

i actually already have a full version of Maya and know how to use it, i also understand that the movie mask was entirely CG but i'm planning to make a real one

SonOfPumpkinhead said:

If you want to sculpt it out, you'll need an armature/core that's relatively the same size as your face. Use a Chavant NSP medium to sculpt in. It's one of the easier clays to work with and is an industry norm.

You'll need some loop tools, some rakes, and some flat ended tools. Dental tools work great!

Sculpt out the mask, taking care to keep it flowing and organic. You'll then have to make a silicone mold (it can be a stone mold, but silicone would be easiest for you work with). The silicone will then need to be backed with something rigid to keep it's shape, like a fiberglass or stone.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, i've been watching smooth-on's videos on mold making but have yet to find one that pertains specifically to face masks (though i'm sure i can figure it out from what is available)

as far as commissioning one, that's not near as much fun or educational as going through the process myself.

thanks again for the info and if anyone out there has more specific info on molding and casting face masks it would be appreciated!

Once your sculpture is complete, seal with a clear acrylic spray. Krylon's Crystal Clear is a spray of choice.

Once it's sealed mix up some mold making silicone and brush it over the surface, extending past the edge of the mask a little ways. Let this set up and get tacky. When it's SLIGHTLY sticky to the touch, repeat the process. You've now applied your two "Beauty Coats" to capture the detail.

Now, mix up more rubber but add a thickener like Thi-Vex to get your rubber to a nice icing like consistency. Spatulate this onto the beauty coats to give your mold a little added thickness. You may have to do two to three layers like this.

Once this is done, and your slicone is COMPLETELY SET UP, add a release (vaseline works) to the exposed surface of your armature/core. Now fiberglass over the silicone to create a rigid mother mold.

Once everythings completely cored (let it sit over night) you can de-mold, clean out the clay and start running urethane rubber copies.

Smooth-on have some great materials and good tutorials but it can be tough to find what you're looking for on their website sometimes.

Here's a tut from smooth-on that might help you out. Instead of using silicone for their mold, they used shell shock and plasti-paste. The finished pieces were made of silicone.

How to Make a Gel-Filled Zombie Prosthetic with Dragon Skin FX-Pro

This is basically what I did when I made my domino mask.

https://picasaweb.google.com/113295591485037374614/DominoMask?feat=directlink

weaponx82 said:

Smooth-on have some great materials and good tutorials but it can be tough to find what you're looking for on their website sometimes.

Here's a tut from smooth-on that might help you out. Instead of using silicone for their mold, they used shell shock and plasti-paste. The finished pieces were made of silicone.

How to Make a Gel-Filled Zombie Prosthetic with Dragon Skin FX-Pro

This is basically what I did when I made my domino mask.

https://picasaweb.google.com/113295591485037374614/DominoMask?feat=directlink

Click to expand...

thanks for the link and your domino mask came out great! have any tips??

also, what materials did you make yours out of and are there any specific brands you would recommend?

IIRC, I used their Sorta-Clear 40 to make my pieces. It worked fine but didn't flex as much as I was hoping. I used their silicone adhesive to put it on. Worked great. The mask stayed on for a good 3+ hours. I def would go for their dragon skin line if I did it again. I think the mask would have stayed on longer since it would have moved with my face more.

Eco-Flex is great as well (it's platinum, so take precaution) and you can glue on with SkinTite.

Dragon Skin FX Pro is also good. And all plat-sils can be tinted with oil based paints to get the desired color.

Urethane would probably be a better bet for a first go though. You really don't want to run silicone in silicone... it's doable but I'd do something a little easier to grasp for a first go.