Steamboat Spidey
Active Member
Please tell me how to make a mask and explain the process to me. Thanks!
How to make a latex mask?
- Thread starter Steamboat Spidey
- Start date
Here are some options for you, try Youtube.com there are a few tutorials on there (but you will also need to know how to sculpt), and the other option is you could join The FX Lab there are a lot of Sculptors and Mask-makers on the Forums who can answer your questions in detail.
It's not a simple process that you can just jump into as a beginner and have perfect results the first time, it takes skill and practice.
It's not a simple process that you can just jump into as a beginner and have perfect results the first time, it takes skill and practice.
Alaneye
Sr Member
I used to make masks for a couple of years. My technique was to sculpt water based clay onto a polystyrene wig former which was attached to the neck and shoulders of a life cast. When the sculpture was finished I would cover it with hard dental plaster. Once that had hardened I turned the whole thing over and removed the shoulders which gave access to the base of the wig former. I then poured a solvent onto that (aceton, I think) which dissolved it and gave me space to dig out the clay. Once done I had a seamless, one piece mould.
Doing it the way I did it negated the need to create a two piece mould. Later on I made a fibreglass head and shoulders that I cut into sections, and bolted together. Again, it allowed me to make a one piece mould. Hope that is of help. I'm happy to answer any other questions about my method of latex mask making.
Doing it the way I did it negated the need to create a two piece mould. Later on I made a fibreglass head and shoulders that I cut into sections, and bolted together. Again, it allowed me to make a one piece mould. Hope that is of help. I'm happy to answer any other questions about my method of latex mask making.
epochcraig
New Member
hello all good advice just thought i would give my two pennies worth as well
basically as above
1. get a foam head or head and shoulders depending how far down you want the mask
2. oil or water based clay oil never drys so if your new to it you can take your time
3. sculpt your idea on to the head (before adding clay to head cover it in cling film) stops it sticking to the head
3. place a high 2 - 3 inch clay wall around the center of you sculpt to allow a 2 part mould to be created, cut out a set of keys into the wall of the clay for alignment, cover wall of clay with petroleum jelly to stop plaster sticking to it.
4. use a dental grade hard plaster i use hurculite no2 cover the front part of the mould up to the wall you made about 1 -2 inch deep all over allow over night to set.
5. remove clay wall brush on petroleum jelly on the facing plaster wall and cover the second part of the mould with plaster and allow to set over night.
6. split mould down the join line with a screwdriver as you pull out the two halve this will pull apart you original sculpt so make sure your happy with it before casting it ..
7. pick out any remaining clay from both parts of the casting
now there is two ways to do this you can either just put both parts together and then cast the latex mask but you will have a join line you will need to trim out later on the mask or you can put both sides of the mould together and fill in the seem of the mould from the inside with plaster and smooth it out with you finger or fine sand paper this is what i do and gets rid of dealing with a seam line later.
8. ok if you after making a mask like in the shops you will need 10 layers of latex depending on how big you mask id this can be upto a liter there is two ways of doing it if you have enough latex fill the mould up to the top with latex let stand for a hour and pour out the excess into the bucket or if you only have a few liters then pour enough in to cover the cast 10 times by whats called slush casting rotating it by hand i use about 500ml and takes about an hour to rotate the cast this the latex has spread around and started to dry.
9. leave for 12 hours and then sprinkle in some talc powder to stop it sticking and gently pull out the mask out of the mould...and paint away
cheers
basically as above
1. get a foam head or head and shoulders depending how far down you want the mask
2. oil or water based clay oil never drys so if your new to it you can take your time
3. sculpt your idea on to the head (before adding clay to head cover it in cling film) stops it sticking to the head
3. place a high 2 - 3 inch clay wall around the center of you sculpt to allow a 2 part mould to be created, cut out a set of keys into the wall of the clay for alignment, cover wall of clay with petroleum jelly to stop plaster sticking to it.
4. use a dental grade hard plaster i use hurculite no2 cover the front part of the mould up to the wall you made about 1 -2 inch deep all over allow over night to set.
5. remove clay wall brush on petroleum jelly on the facing plaster wall and cover the second part of the mould with plaster and allow to set over night.
6. split mould down the join line with a screwdriver as you pull out the two halve this will pull apart you original sculpt so make sure your happy with it before casting it ..
7. pick out any remaining clay from both parts of the casting
now there is two ways to do this you can either just put both parts together and then cast the latex mask but you will have a join line you will need to trim out later on the mask or you can put both sides of the mould together and fill in the seem of the mould from the inside with plaster and smooth it out with you finger or fine sand paper this is what i do and gets rid of dealing with a seam line later.
8. ok if you after making a mask like in the shops you will need 10 layers of latex depending on how big you mask id this can be upto a liter there is two ways of doing it if you have enough latex fill the mould up to the top with latex let stand for a hour and pour out the excess into the bucket or if you only have a few liters then pour enough in to cover the cast 10 times by whats called slush casting rotating it by hand i use about 500ml and takes about an hour to rotate the cast this the latex has spread around and started to dry.
9. leave for 12 hours and then sprinkle in some talc powder to stop it sticking and gently pull out the mask out of the mould...and paint away
cheers
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