Can Air Dry clay work for a mask?

hydin

hydin

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Currently have a bug in my butt about making a H.P. Lovecraft mask, and the only clay I have at the moment is air dry.

This is going to be (or at least the little gnome planning this crap in my head is telling me it will be) a face mask, sort of similar to the masquerade full face masks, but thicker and more antique/artifact looking.

I haven't played around with the air dry stuff in a long time, but I was just curious if anyone has, and thinks this will probably work for what I'd like to do.

The mask is still human looking, and not really ultra detailed, but nothing like tentacles or anything involved with it. Think generic human white face mask like a mardi gras mask, but a bit thicker and more detailed.

Any advice is welcome :)
Chris
 
When it comes to any water based clay, I would only use it if I planned on making a fast sculpt, and molding after sculpting.
It has potential to be too heavy if you use the original.

What brand air dry clay is it? Maybe someone has experience with it?
 
Amaco is the brand I have. It's just a box I had bought at hobby lobby a while back.

The mask is just for a display piece, so the weight doesn't matter quite so much, but I worry about it cracking or falling apart or just not drying completely due to thickness.

Chris
 
Ive used Amaco air dry clay before and DAS air dry clay before. And honestly, not to discourage you at all, i don't like the outcome. You have to work super fast with both of them, and if you find out you made a mistake or anything like that, well, usually its too late to fix it. I use oil based clay for all of my masks (actually just got finished working on the mask from dishonored using oil based clay.... 16 hours on that bad boy so far.....) and then i would mold it in silicone (which i have yet to order) and then cast it in some sort of resin. Ive found that mixing fiberglass and bondo together and including both of their resins in the mixture works very well as a resin. So i would definitely try that way instead of sculpting it with air dry, as you don't have much time to work with it, it cracks, and it gets super heavy.
 
I have to agree with Rinzlertron and Alpha Proto it is good if you are quick, I bought the exact same clay from Hobby Lobby and by the time I finished one area and moved to the next it began to dry and crack, I will be sticking to monster makers clay (oil based) for any masks/cowls in the future as it is amazing to work with.
 
Cool. I just wanted to make something that had that old, antique "ancient" feel to it, instead of making a mold and using resin to cast it.

I could try to carve it out of rock, but that's not gonna happen. Same with wood :lol

Thanks for the advice!
Chris
 
If you are not going to use it as a mask but only a display piece and don't want to mold and cast it then I would use an armature beneath to keep down the weight. Wire mesh or polystyrene or even aluminium foil.Even paper Mache might work for a base. As you want it to look old and dry, DAS over the top would work.
 
hmmm... I'll tell you what i would do Hydin. I would take the mask, sculpt it in oil base clay BUT weather the sculpt with lots of damage and scars and things like that. Then i would try to do a few paint effects on it to make it look really old.
But, it all depends on what you want it to look like its made of.
 
Shouldn't you be able to prevent cracking and adding to the work time with water - basically keeping it moist - on air dry clay?

Sure, it's very brittle, so you can sculpt the piece, but I doubt it would hold up for any kind of usage or much handling.
 
If your going through the trouble of making it either use that aves apoxie that ive seen people use (never used it myself) or do a throw away mold (one use plaster mold maybe) to get one resin cast out.

If you do it in an air drying clay it will get brittle over time or eventually crack over time or maybe if your intent on not molding it you could do the basic details in the water clay then maybe skim the top in plaster and sand/detail the plaster? No idea if it would work but just a suggestion.
 
Apoxie Sculpt has my vote too as a better material, but if the deal is to make the mask out of material you already have at hand, then I see no reason not to attempt the air dry clay. It may work or it may not and if it fails, you can always go for the apoxie sculpt for the second try.
 
(oops, i spelled Apoxie sculpt wrong the first time... oh well, it was late, i will go edit that)
but yes, Apoxie sculpt is most definitely what i would shoot for using to make it if you really want to make it out of air dry clay. personally i can't use air dry clay for just about anything due to the fact that I am super slow when it comes to sculpting.
 
Hello everyone.


I'm new to the site and came across this thread. I hope I can interject with some of my own experiences with air-drying clay.
I am a beginner at making masks and my first air-drying clay was given to me. And so I've been using it ever since.
i have been working on a mask using air-drying clay for over a week. I wet the clay at night and then cover it in cling film, then in the morning I wet it again and cover it.
when I get home from work it is still wet and I can continue working on it. I have use this method on several masks and works fine for me.
I'm sure as I get better I will change mediums. But for now Das air-dry is what I have been using.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    216.8 KB · Views: 434
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    195.3 KB · Views: 432
This thread is more than 10 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

Antonis13
Can I use low fire ceramic clay to sculpt masks? (Not high.)
Replies
5
Views
560
udog
udog
Antonis13
Can I use molding latex to make a mask?
Replies
6
Views
915
Antonis13
Antonis13
M
Can vibe/Voda makeup airbrush paints be used for props?
Replies
1
Views
251
Mr Mold Maker
Mr Mold Maker
Egon Spengler
First attempt at sculpting with monster clay? Any advice?
Replies
2
Views
571
animator
animator
Scream 31
Release Agent for WED Clay
Replies
9
Views
1,429
DarkHelmet
DarkHelmet
Back
Top