Tips!

Miguel Ángel De la sotta

¡Hello!
Here i want to share some things i have learned on my own, some things i figured out just by working on materials.

This is my way to say thanks to Stan Winston School (The Modern Alquemists), for all of this. As a kid i made the T2 face appliance with aluminum foil and a led. Now i think that i could use the same materials and get a great result thanks to what i´ve learned here.

• First, here in chile its hard to find some materials, or are just too expensive, like silicone. Here we can afford to buy "rubber silicone" (as they sell it "Caucho de silicona") so there is no thinner officially available. 
  
  This silicone cures with a catalizer provided with the silicone.
  
   I´ve found that i can get rid of the bubbles without a vacuum machine using "bencina blanca" (lighter fluid, or Naphtha). The bubbles will rise and dissapear. But make sure to use this mix (on a 0,5:1 maximum where 1 is silicone) only in a thin layer in the mold, because in big quantities will shrink (And use a respirator). Preserve details, get ride of the bubbles and save some money. Make sure you use the catalizer when the mix is ready.

• Another thing to save some money is to thick the silicone. Save the  unused space on a square mold. The corners, for example. Or to make a mold where gravity is not your friend. I mix TALC POWDER (yes, it´s a silicate) in a similar ratio (0,5:1) and you´ll get a sticky thick silicone goo. The more talc you use, the thicker it gets. Don´t be afraid of this mix, make some tests. At one point it seems to dissolve very good. So, you have your mold, you use a Naphtha layer and then the talc fill. 
  

And you´ll saving money and material.

Please, make some tests, because it´s all different from country to country. 

• Another thing i use to save my stuff is a syringe for some adhesives. You know some contact adhesives comes in little metal cans (Here is where i apologize for my english and someone says k thnx nopro lol) that once opened tends to dry, alas, the brushes dies and you´ll get your glue all over the can. Use a Syringe. A big one. You can put a nail in the point. Do´nt use the needle, though.
  

• On youtube i found this kids (i can`t remember how i found it) who used baking soda diluted in warm water to JOIN CURED ALGINATE.  And it worked fine. Not perfect, but very useful when you need to add another layer. And i mixed it with cotton.
  

So, if you got some tips, you are welcome to add it here.

Chris Ellerby

Thanks Miguel!  I'm glad you were able to find local alternatives to more difficult to find materials.  Not having access to materials is a common challenge for a lot of folks.

/Chris

Ian Storm

That's totally full of awesome there. This is the type of idea i so love about this art and SWS allowing such a place to say so. You get to have real feedback from not only folks who are still learning but also from some of the best experts in the field. Will definitely remember this as it goes into my 'ible as on person calls it.

Miguel Ángel De la sotta

Thanks Chris, Ian, this make me happy!  

Ian Storm

Here is an interesting idea i would like to suggest. I have used in small parts on the face. I was using small thin plaster strips for a small mask to capture some details on the face. To keep the hair from grabbing i used a thick hair gel from a local discount store, i call them dollar stores for that reason. I used a bit more than i realized on my skin around the eyebrows and facial hair. When removing, i moved my facial muscle around similar when doing an alginate mold. It seemed to detach easier than i expected. When l looked at the underside of the mask i noticed a rather smooth coverage area. This helped eliminate any need to smooth or sand. I got the idea from a reference i read i believe it was in one of my books i can't recall the name off hand. It mentioned using ALCOTE i think it's called in a similar manner for life molds. Apply ALCOTE let fully dry then start adding your clay.  When ready submerged in water ALCOTE will Re-Activate and the mold will slide off. Any ideas, corrections etc.
Thanks.

Miguel Ángel De la sotta

Great!

I will use it next time =D

Another thing i just remembered thanks to you, is that now i make my blood from alcote mixing some colorants, but here´s the thing to get the translucency and colour of the blood. I add instant coffe. Here in Chile, instant coffe is made of coffe and animal blood. Of course, they don´t say that in labels, and maybe is a world thing, since is Nestle. The thing is, coffe helps to make a real blood colour and since we are using alcote, it dries and fixes in surfaces. You can add more brownish and you´ll get dried blood stains from drops with the behaviour of blood.

Thanks =D

Ian Storm

That is great, I really njoy knowing these little tricks and ideas probably more than i should lol. If nothing else i think it makes me think and allows a better understanding of what exactly you are working to achieve. Can't see how understanding as well as knowing something more about the hows and whys of what you are passionate about could be problematic to any real degree.