Questions about Casting a Face Mask - Latex or Urethane

I want to make a custom face mask similar to Green Lantern's domino mask, but with some variation to the shape (and a little larger). I have never cast anything before, and I have little/no experience sculpting. I've been researching the basics of casting in Latex, but I'm not finding a lot of information on Urethane masks. Obviously, I have a few questions:

• Is Urethane a better material than Latex for Face Masks, and why? If Latex is the better material, why?
• How much money might I expect to spend on Life-cast materials, Sculpting materials, Mold materials, and Cast materials? In order to produce a single mask.
• How much time might I expect to spend on Life-casting, molding, and casting? (Not counting Sculpting)
• Is it a lot cheaper to make it myself than to hire someone, or will I likely end up spending 2-3x their fee in wasted materials?
• If it is definitely cheaper to hire someone, could I have some recommendations? Everyone I've found is wanting to charge a lot of money, much more than a simple face mask is worth to me.

Thank you all!

Whoa, that's a mouthful haha! OK, I went to school for FX YEARS ago, and although the variety of materials has changed, the techniques are pretty much the same. Where to start, hmm..

If you're not familiar with lifecasting, you need to find some how-to videos... it's pretty hard to explain in short, as there are a LOT of tricks & things to learn regarding molding, casting, working with alginate, etc. But for a basic front-face lifecast, you'll need some alginate, Ultracal 30 (plaster), and some plaster bandages. There are a bunch of videos on youtube, but a lot of these people are morons. Personally, I buy my materials from the Monster Makers at The Monster Makers - 866-521-(SPFX)7739 - Halloween Latex Mask Making Kits, Fang Kits, Special Effects Supplies and more. They have how-to videos and stuff too. The basic materials for lifecasting will run about $50, but shop around for Ultracal; you can often find this cheaper at building material suppliers.

As for Urethane, I don't know of anyone who uses it for masks. Latex, foam latex, and silicone are preferred (urethane isn't as flexible & is used more for rigid props). Liquid latex is the cheapest & easiest to work with. Foam latex is my favorite, but requires more work & you have to bake it, not in a home oven. Silicone is great but expensive.

Life-casting itself takes about an hour (including casting the plaster into the alginate mold). The prep time will add to that though.

Ultimately, doing it yourself will save money. But if you're not experienced, you'll waste materials making mistakes. If someone will do it for you for $100, that's a pretty good deal (as long as they're good at what they do). You can also offer to buy the materials yourself & pay them just for the labor, then you'll have left-overs to experiment with on your own.

Hope that helps a bit!

That helps quite a bit, RokkaRolla! Thank you very much! A few sculptors said that "Urethane is a superior material to Latex", but most maskmakers use Latex. So that's what imposed my question. I was wondering about the flexibility of Urethane, as those masks look more rigid.

I haven't found anyone willing to do a mask for less than $160 + shipping + lifecast.. and they're overseas doing Urethane work. Everyone else is charging an arm and a leg. Considering this piece of rubber only covers half of my face, I can't see paying much more than $100 for it. So making it myself (unless you know of a cheap sculptor) is about my only option.

Since posting this, I did find two alternative methods for the mask. The mask I'm making is fairly simple, so these may work:

1) Oven + craft foam sheet + cheap plastic masks to shape the covers. Then I could cut it out how I want it.

2) Latex mixed with Pigment + brush + cheap plastic mask and brush it on the mask. I could then pull it from the mask and use it. I'm sure it won't be as durable as molding it though... but it'd be a lot cheaper. And being thinner might work better for me, since my suit is fairly thin.

I saw Smooth-On has a Alja-Safe kit for $24, which is enough to cast the front of the face or a hand/foot. I plan on using that if I decide to make a mold.

Any particular brand of Latex you might recommend? I see that RD-407 is recommended by Monster Makers.

Thanks a bunch!

Those are all good ideas, especially since it's only a small mask, which you pointed out. Smooth-on carries excellent products (although, the prices can be steep). The latex from Monster Makers is really good. The last few batches I got were pretty thick, so I like to thin it down with a few drops of distilled water (tap water prob. works just as good). Ultimately, the mask is one of the most important features, so I don't want to steer you wrong. Really, the best way to get shape & detail is to sculpt it & mold it. But I'd try your ideas, they might save a lot of $$. A lot of people use craft foam like you mentioned, and I've seen some good things done with that.

Another option that just occurred to me, you could try leather. Leather can be form-fitted by soaking it in water, wrapping it right over your face, and it will hold its shape when it dries. There are a lot of tutorials on youtube (and some nice work). A thin piece would prob. work good.

Oh, one question: how did you plan to wear this? Will it be glued to the face, or held with a string? You'll need medical adhesive (prosaide) to glue it if that's your plan, and prosaide sticks to certain things better. I'm pretty sure in the Green Lantern movie it was a foam-latex mask, which stretches with the face. I could go on & on, forgive me for not keeping it simple!

I plan on using the glue. I will keep that in mind about material.

I may try wetting leather and molding it also.

What are some of the common mistakes for first time molders? I am primarily afraid of air bubbles, making it too thick or thin, and the latex shrinkage when molding. I may go ahead with the latex cast if i can avoid a lot of noob mistakes on the first try.

Rokka Rolla hit the nail on the head with the ideal process. If you're looking to save some money, you could purchase a pre-formed face mold.David Mosher FX - STORE These ones are amazing, look for the half mask sculpting form male. That'll save you tons of money in your supplies for the lifecasting process that you can put into the actual mask.

Using the half form you can sculpt on it using a nice oil based clay. I like Monster Clay from monstermakers. From there you can make a plaster mold on it and do a positive in whatever medium you like. I prefer to use silicone for something like this but you could also make your own prosthetic gelatine with gelatine, sorbitol, and glycerine. You will need an adhesive to get the prosthetic adhered to your face such as prosaide. if you're using silicone, i've found prosaide doesnt hold and you will have to use something like skin tite from smooth on. Also if you do it out of silicone, make sure it is skin safe (platinum cure).