Help! Silicone suit

[Nerofumo]

Hi everyone! I need your help.
I am trying to make a silicone full bodysuit. I need a basic layer of silicon as a base where i will paste other silicon parts.
The whole suit must be as a second skin. I am planning on making a lifecast of my whole body.
Now, the question is: do i need to first sculpt the suit in clay, then mold it, then fill the mold with silicone, or should i just make it by applying silicon to the model of my body? What's the best choice in order to obtain a smooth silicone skin? And will my suit be strong enough for me to move inside it?
I Attach a photo of the costume i am going to make.


Thanks for your attention! Waiting for an answer of yours!

Kind regards.

 

[ahoudini]

Adding cast pieces to a unitard wouldn't be a whole lot more flexible and breathable/comfortable?

 

[Alpha Proto]

I agree with ahoudini. It would be a lot easier to sculpt the parts, and cast them in sections. Then add them to a unitard.
Then you wouldn't need a body cast. Just a dummy to sculpt on.
I think this would make casting the silicon a lot easier, and the silicon will be smooth.

 

[Nerofumo]

That's interesting, i've already considered of using something similar(my first idea was to use a 0,5mm wet suit)...the problem is that a unitard wouldn't maintain the shape of my body if not worn(same for the wetsuit), and that could damage sculpted pieces. Plus, the costume has no creases, while the unitard might have them. Finally, the difference between silicone-non silicone parts would be easy to spot. Have you ever worn a full silicone suit? Or something similar which covers the whole body? How does it feel? Is it doable or would it kill me?

 

[Alpha Proto]

I have only worn foam costumes covered in latex.
For that I glue foam to a wet suit and coat it to the foam in latex.

I attached the foam with contact cement.
So the wetsuit/unitared makes it form fitting.

 

[GodsAdvised]

Making a full silicone suit is doable...however, a few things you need to consider. 1) It's going to be hot. Silicone doesn't breath and having a full silicone suit is gonna be a sweatbox. 2) It's going to be heavy. Silicone is relatively dense so a full silicone suit is going to have some weight to it. something to be aware of. 3) it's going to be expensive. People don't realize how expensive silicone is. The raw silicone for a full body suit is probably gonna be anywhere from $600 to $1800 depending on the thickness and type of silicone...and that doesn't include any of the casting/molding supplies to get you there.

If you are set on doing a full silicone body suit it IS doable...but it's going to be challenging. If you're going to do it right you'll need a full size mannequin to sculpt on and cast off of. "Painting" layers of silicone onto a mannequin and building up that way probably isn't going to get you very close to your reference image.

My 2 cents

 

[clonesix]

Visit Youtube for videos on body casting and rubber suit creation. That is a good place to start. legacy effects pacific rim - YouTube

SIlicone? Is there a reason for silicone over latex? Either way, this is a monumental project, and not to be taken lightly

from the picture posted, it looks to be a combination of rubber undersuit, with 30+ hard armor parts added to it. Lets just say 50 parts to it for the sake of a number. I didn't actually count them, I am just making a point here:

50 individual parts =
50 sculpts (1 year at best)
50 molds (some with 2 halves) (2 years + $3K)
50 casts (multiple materials +$1K)

this will take over your entire garage for 3+ years.

 

[Nerofumo]

First, thankyou very much for the answers. I have something to explain, because not being a native english makes me sometimes confuse words.
Clonesix is right, i will be using latex, not silicone, simply because there is no chance to buy it where i live, and it is too expensive. The armor parts will be 3d printed or foam-made, depending on the time it will take. I will be sculpting only the muscolar fibers, then i'll mold them and use latex for filling molds. Next week i am going to start making casts of my hands and lifecasting my whole body.
The suit will be split in four part, otherwise i won't be able to wear it.
Going back to my first question: if i use latex directly on the mannequin, will i obtain a smooth surface, or will it be all creased? I do not need to sculpt it, my first target is to get a smooth bodysuit in latex. I am planning to use it as a base for the details of the texture.
I am spending a lot of money and time on this project, i know, but i really would want to make something different.
This is not a short term work. I really love raiden. When i saw the restyle, i decided to act no matter what. Everything is going to be really challenging and i have never taken on something so difficult.
Again, let me thank you for your help. I really appreciate.