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Silicone mask mold making question

MAEVE LÉVESQUEMAEVE LÉVESQUE ✭✭
in Fabrication
Hi! I'm actually working on my first sculpt with NSP Chavant clay. This will eventually become my first ever silicone mask.

I'm wondering as I'm building the form, if I'll be better to do a 3 parts mold since the ears are quite long and kind of deep. Like 1 part front, and 2 parts back. Or you think it's manageable with a 2 parts mold? I'm only starting to add details on this, but I would like to know what to expect when I get to mold making!

So what do you think?

I also intend on creating a mold for the teeth only. What's the best material for realistic looking teeth ? and what do you suggest I use as a mold ? 

Thanks!

Comments

  • Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    Sculpt is looking great!

    I think you can get away with a 2 piece mold for the head with the ears intact, having your seam line running along the edge of the ear from top to bottom.   Since they will be cast in a soft silicone you should be able to work them out of the mold.

    For the teeth, I would mold them in silicone and cast them in dental acrylic. 

    /Chris
  • Matt WinstonMatt Winston Admin
    Hey @MaxL - We passed along your question to master silicone mask maker Mikey Cooke from Immortal Masks for his thoughts as well and here's what he had to say:

    "it should be fine in a two-part mold if you follow the ears. I'm not familiar with the core so I can't say for certain it will be fine. 3 piece molds are always doable, just a little more time-consuming."


  • MAEVE LÉVESQUEMAEVE LÉVESQUE ✭✭
    Thanks for the answers. I actually have a concern about the mouth now, since it's quite deep. The teeth socket are 1/4" deep, so I was wondering if that would be an issue while getting the cast out of the mold? 

    Would it be better to remove the back part of the mold first to help move the head freely once the suction release and work the mouth off the mold? 

    I'm trying to avoid locking the mold on the cast, and there are some form inside the mouth that could do that if I'm not careful. Since it's my first mask ever, I don't know how much "play" the silicone allow when unmolding. I'm quite satisfied with how it looks, I don't want to make that mistake 😅

    Thanks again for your help, it's very much appreciated :) 


  • Darrell GreenDarrell Green ✭✭✭
    additional question: In molds like this would it be considered normal to mold the teeth with a flexible mold and then remove them before the hard mold is made or is there a way to successfully mold these in place with the whole?

     Please note this is an extra question after Maxlevl's question above. Don't want to derail the thread.
  • Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    edited February 2023
    Hi Max,

    The back part of the mold should be the easiest to remove, so that's likely where you would start.

    For the teeth, you could keep them in place and cast them in silicone with the rest of the mask, but depending on the design they may create locks or thin pieces that are prone to tear during demolding.  Looking at your sculpture, it looks like the teeth would work fine if left in place.

    You could remove them from your sculpture and mold them on their own.  If you want to cast them in something rigid, like dental acrylic, you would make a flexible silicone mold.  If you want to cast them in silicone, you would make a rigid mold, like ultracal-30 or epoxy/resin.  Either way, you would remove the teeth from the sculpture and mold/cast them on their own.

    Hope that helps!

    /Chris
  • MAEVE LÉVESQUEMAEVE LÉVESQUE ✭✭
    edited February 2023
    Well, my intention is to create separate mold for the teeth. My main concern is for the mouth opening. It's at least 1-1/2" deep to be able to reach the wearer's lips. And once the teeth are removed, it leaves holes about 1/4" deep. So filling this with epoxy gel will certainly create some sort of difficulty for removal.

    I'm just trying to figure out how it's done when the mouth is deep and have teeth socket and everything. I'll take a picture later without the teeth and post it here, you'll see what I mean
  • MAEVE LÉVESQUEMAEVE LÉVESQUE ✭✭
    Here are some pictures of the mouth without the teeth. Let me know if you see something that could be problematic, since I will do the mold as immortal does in their tutorial. 
  • Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    As long as the sockets for the teeth are not too deep, and the mold core does not create any locks in that area, you should be good. 

    /Chris
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