Need advice on recreating heads

[Cgipperich]

Hello all!

New user here, and I'll get it out of the way early and say that I'm very new to making art pieces so lamens terminology and heavy description is much appreciated =]
Anyway, I'm looking for advice on how to make a cast and several copies of a head bust I have created. We have a head created out of Sculpey and wish to make a solid reproduction of it that is light and durable enough to use on set for a film. For this same reason, we wish to be able to make several copies of it if the need arises. We also wish to be able to paint and decorate it. So I'm curious at the best overall process of doing this.

Here is the picture of the Sculpey bust we have created (not completely finished yet):


We plan on baking the head once it's finished so that it is hardened and more durable.
I've done a little research and found numerous ways of doing this reproduction with Alginate and Plaster of Paris but I'd like to avoid using Plaster because of the weight and brittleness of it. So if there is some sort of Silicone/Rubber material that would work better for our needs, I would like to know about that! And so far I've seen that Alginate has to be broken apart off of the mold, and therefore rendered useless, and hence cannot be done a second time. So we're looking to be able to make a single mold and use that to pour several heads if need be.

So the bottom line is: we need a reproduction process that can be duplicated easily and will yield: a solid head that exhibits the face we have formed on our Sculpey bust here, that is light and durable enough to be used on set, and can be painted and decorated.

Thanks so much!

- Corey

 

[Chrisj]

Do you know what you wish to cast the final piece in?

So far it sounds like a silicone mold is the way to go, especially if you are going to bake the sculpey piece once your done sculpting it. Perhaps using something like Rebound 25 from Smooth-On would be a good way to go. It is a brush-able silicone which you would then make a rigid mother mold on top of to hold its shape. You can use plaster bandage to make the rigid shell very easily or use something like Ultra-cal 30 for a case mold around the silicone casting. Take a look at the Smooth-on website for examples.

Best of luck.

 

[Cgipperich]

Chris,

Thanks so much for the pointers! I think this looks like the best way to go. As long as the final silicon mold is paintable, we should be in business.
Could you estimate for me how much of each of the materials I would need? I watched the production videos on their website and I understand the process, but I'm curious how much of the stuff I'll actually need to buy. It looks a little expensive, so I'm hoping you have a better idea than I do about how much I'll need.

Thanks again!

- Corey

 

[Chrisj]

Correy- what are you wanting to cast your final piece out of? You mention "as long as the silicone is paintable" but I am not sure I fully understand. As for materials, yes it can get expensive but they will make a piece that will hold up quite well. If I understand correctly you wanted to cast a rigid final piece? Perhaps you could cast that in something like Smooth cast or any number of the rigid casting materials also available at the smooth-on website. They make good reliable products.

 

[Cgipperich]

Yes I would like the final piece to be rigid enough to decorate and use on set without too much fear of damage. But, out of that fear, I'd also like to be able to easily replicate the process. It looks like these materials are a good way to go, and the videos are extremely helpful and exactly what I need. I'm still curious how much of each material you think I would need however, I don't want to accidentally buy too little or too much and slow down the overall process.

Thanks again!

- Corey