I will give you a quick overview of the process. A step-by-step tutorial would take literally a book’s worth of explanation, and that is assuming you have prior skills and knowledge. I highly recommend you purchase Todd Debreceni’s book “Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics” for a more in-depth look at the processes involved. However, even that is not “step by step.”
To start with, you need a core. Silicone mask companies have their own proprietary reduced cores, which is why they have amazing fit and movement. You can start by taking a lifecast and reducing it, but this will take trial and error. You CAN sculpt over a non-reduced lifecast, but it will affect fit and movement. Alternatively you can purchase a Neill’s Materials generic silicone mask core.
Once you have a core sorted, you can begin sculpting. It is important that the clay you use doesn’t contain sulphur. It will inhibit the platinum silicone down the road. Chavant NSP is a favorite of mine. You have to carefully consider the thickness of the clay. Where does it need to be thicker? Where does it need to be thinner? How will the thickness affect movement? The thickness of your sculpture will be the exact thickness of your final mask.
Ok, so you’ve got a sculpture you’re happy with. I could write a whole book on the topic of mold making, but we don’t have the time for that. What you’ll typically see is a syntactic mold. Syntactic referring to the technique of sandwiching a tooling compound between epoxy and fiberglass cloth. You’ll have to think about your parting line. How many pieces will your mold be? Do you have any undercuts? Are there places for the pieces to potentially lock? What orientation will the mold be when you pour your silicone? Are there areas that will trap air? You also have to think about how you’ll get material in and air out of the mold during casting. Do you want to gravity pour or inject? Do you want your bleeders in the core or in the negative?
When casting your mask, you’ll probably want reinforcement. At Immortal Masks they have a full custom sewn Power-Mesh hood that they place on the core before casting. The silicone impregnates through the mesh and reduces the risk of tearing, and helps the mask “snap” back to your face. If you can’t make a full hood, you can attach mesh to the core in high stress areas. The mouth and eye holes. Ear holes. Around the edge of the “bib.”
Seaming and patching is pretty straight forward. Thicken your silicone with cabosil. An easy way is to cut a trench where the seam was and fill the trench. Alcohol will lubricate, and a small fan brush and fine stipple sponges can be used to blend and texture. If your spout and bleeders were in the negative, you need to remove them and patch those areas. If they were in the core, you can just cut them flush.
The final step, barring any pieces that may need to be glued on such a small teeth or horns, is painting. There are many different ways to paint. Silpoxy, psycho paint, Shinetsu, or even using the same silicone the mask is cast in. The basic theory is the same for all of them. Tinted with oil paint or silicone pigment, and thinned with Naptha or Novocs to a sprayable consistency. It’s important that you mask is cleaned of any dirt, oils, or release agents before painting for the best bond.
I am not sure what “cauciuc” silicone is, but if you mean caulking silicone I really wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not skin safe, and the movement wouldn’t be much better than a slip latex mask. It is possible to sculpt a mask over your core out of just silicone, but you’d have to chemically or mechanically thicken it which will weaken it, plus you are essentially sculpting with goo. I have never personally seen good results using this method.
If you are new to sculpting and mask making, I would highly recommend learning to crawl before you run. A slip latex mask is a great learning experience, and has less costly consequences if mistakes are made. It will give you time to get a grip on sculpting, mold making, and casting. If you need a written step-by-step tutorial, I’m afraid you probably aren’t where you need to be to make one just yet. I don’t mean to discourage you, but unfortunately there is nothing simple about making a silicone mask. It’s a huge endeavor to take on, especially without prior material knowledge and skills.
