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I decided to throw this page in to
give people a very basic idea of the process. This particular prop is a
Vampire display bust which can be used with my walkabout costumes as well
as animatronic components. The photo to the left is the original clay sculpture.
At this point a plaster cast will be taken of the piece, this is one of
the most crucial steps in the process. If the plaster does not take or pockets
of air are captured, anything that detracts from capturing the detail can
result in a bad cast. Most of the time the original piece is destroyed in
this process, so a lot is riding on a good mold.
The picture to the right shows the completed two piece mold. Depending on the complexity of the sculpture will determine the number of pieces for a mold. One and two piece molds are very common in the business. Because most of the molds used when working with latex rubber are made from industrial plasters, there are only so many pieces that can be produced from one mold before the plaster begins to break down and lose it's detail.
This picture shows
the piece prior to being painted. It's amazing how much you can change the
look of something just with a coat of paint. I use an airbrush to capture
the detail that I painstakingly spend hours on end to bring my characters
to life. One of the things I enjoy most about what I do, is that I'm here
at the inception to the end. From the rough sketches to the finished product
and everything in between. It's very rewarding to feel you've created something
from nothing! The Pic to the right is the finished product.
