Best Of

I've been meaning to be more active on here so that I can meet and interact with my fellow effects folks, so I figured I'd show you guys my most recent project-

Here in Pittsburgh we have a semi famous spooky tale about the "Green Man's Tunnel", said to be haunted by a faceless ghost who glows a sickly green color. As it turns out, he was just a normal guy. A childhood accident left his face majorly deformed, and his nighttime walks down the forest road ended up scaring the occasional passerby. 

A local director had written a script about the story, and I was set with the (paid!) task of creating the look for The Green Man, known in real life as Raymond Robinson. I decided a gelatin prosthetic would give me the flexibility of price while also being straightforward enough to achieve that I, a novice, could continue to feign professionalism.

Here is the final sculpt of my interpretation of Mr. Robinson. Though I referenced images of him in real life, I was quite limited by the fact that in reality, Robinson had no nose or eyes. The actor did not want to be blinded (naturally) or wear contacts, so we compromised on one eye covered. I also wanted to achieve a more skeletal appearance than Raymond actually was.

Casting was relatively straightforward, I followed Rob Burman's recipe here on the site to GREAT success. His method for gelatin yields something that feels damn near foam latex, especially if you don't wait for the baking soda to bubble a little bit. I didn't wait long enough and ended up with several internal air bubbles which fortunately didn't affect anything other than the weight of the piece.
Here I am applying the piece, with a laughably ineffective desk lamp. We ended up using a car's headlights to get the job done.
And here's the final result. Definitely not my best work, I am sorry to say. I couldn't get the edges to blend well, which was quite frustrating considering that was one of the main reasons I chose a gelatin piece. In hindsight I also should have prepainted the piece. Trying to get the character done in the dark and cold alone was hard enough, let alone the fact that production was at a standstill until I finished. But hey, you live and you learn.

Everything ended up going well though. The film is a found footage style, so the most gorgeous makeup on planet earth wouldn't have been able to be seen fully, and I'm overall still pleased with how it turned out. 

If you're so inclined, you can check out my instagram @centurion_effects to see more photos. I'm open to any advice or critique on the piece, especially if anyone has any tips with controlling gelatin. Thanks!

Working on a CHURCH from Pet Semetary

Sculpted and molded a body and head and legs for CHURCH the cat from the ORIGINAL Pet Semetary...in process of now doing the fur layup

Sarah Parsons said:

Dental monomer (the liquid) is MMA. It will cure super hard.

Hi ! Even later than you! I’m a liscensed cosmetologist, acrylics for nails, the monomer is only really EMA if good quality. Every monomer for nails I’ve found that are less than ~ten dollars it tends to be mma. But mma also damages the nail! 

https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials/prosthetic-makeup-basics-gelatin-facial-appliances-part-2

He does his gelatin mix in the middle part of this course. This is his second course in a two part series, so if you are doing limited lessons, it is in lesson 2. I didn't write it down so all I can offer is it is in there.... somewhere.... in a 3 hour course. Ha, but seriously, I'm sure it is marked off by chapter and will be easy to find. Mine turned out amazing using his formula and I then added mineral powder pigments to match my flesh tones. After use it can be remelted and remolded. Mine sits in a coffee cup in the fridge ready for use.

If you need tips on the sculpting, mold making and prep, that is in lesson 1, not 2.