Gelatin appliances with Rob Burman? Yes please!

Chris Ellerby · March 2015

A new on-demand webcourse on prosthetic makeup basics has just been released, and the instructor is none other than effects makeup master Rob Burman! I'm a big fan of his work, and his effects supply company Burman Industries.

https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials/prosthetic-makeup-basics-gelatin-facial-appliances-part-one

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020761/uploads/editor/0e/b5euq8o8u50b.jpg

I'm looking forward to sitting down and watching this series.

Who here has played with gelatin makeup and appliances?

/Chris

David Boccabella · March 2015

I've found a great use for Gelatin. When making the skin for my werewolf project I was concerned if the skin would be too thick or too thin.
One possibility would be to do a trial foam rubber skins and then check.. if necessary doing multiple runs again.
Of course that would be expensive.... for a small or hobby shop.

So I used Gelatin. It work fantastically. I could see the thickness of the skin. Measure it accurately with a probe. Peel it away to modify the inner form. And then just melt it down and repour.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=750204775014157&set=pb.100000739257449.-2207520000.1427330470.&type=3&theater

Chris Ellerby · March 2015

That's a great trick, and one I'll absolutely use when I'm fine-tuning the core on my Skeksis project. Silicone is expensive, and Gelatin is a great test material that will not contaminate the mold like latex would.

/Chris

David Boccabella · March 2015

Gelatine has a lot of great properties.
Non-contamination is one re Silicone and Latex. Warm water and soap removes it.
Low Temp work - you don't have to get it too hot to melt. Plus you can vary the pouring viscosity by heating it more..
Easy Preparation - For a couple of dollars you can make gallons of it. Just keep it in the fridge. Also any small microwave will warm it up.
Density - depending on the formula you can make it soft.. or almost rock hard depending on need.

I've put a few friend onto this and they are having great success.

Kaoime Malloy · April 2015

Love gelatin, especially for burns and zombies. The translucency of the gelatin just adds to the overall effect, and if the appliance comes of the mold wonky, you can still use it,

Chris Ellerby · April 2015

Part 2 of this lesson series has just landed: https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials/prosthetic-makeup-basics-gelatin-facial-appliances-part-2

If any of you are making gelatin pieces, please share them here! I really want to see what everyone can do. (I'm looking at you Kaoime!)

/Chris

Sean Krumbholz · April 2015

So I tried Rob's recipe and used 3/4 of a gram of cornstarch instead of Zinc Oxide (because I can't get any locally). Once I added the final ingredient This stuff foamed three times the batch size! But it ended up working out pretty well.

I was going for a rotting infection.
Here's the appliance: http://www.skmakesthings.com/#!Foamed Gelatin Appliance/zoom/c13yl/image_1mse

Here's the painted application: http://www.skmakesthings.com/#!Rotting Infection/zoom/c13yl/image_1xvm

Chris Ellerby · April 2015

Nice! Looks like the piece turned out great. I dig the texture on it.

/Chris

Nick Dalton · April 2015

I did these for a haunted trail.

Sean Krumbholz · April 2015

Here's another gelatin appliance I made:
http://www.skmakesthings.com/#!Face Rip/zoom/c13yl/image_ml9

Tom Luca · February 2020

Some of the very films that Rob Burman and family has worked on were the reason I fell in love with filmmaking, makeup and special effects! Especially in the 80's. Of course there were others but yours was magic. Thank you Rob.

Gelatin appliances with Rob Burman? Yes please!

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