Mold type and resin type?

edited January 2021 in Lab work
I'm currently working on sculpting my first mask out of monster clay on a mannequin, and I've been looking through the courses in search of the best way to make a mold for a project like this. I want to cast the mask in resin and paint it; its to be worn directly on the face, with a bit of foam padding added after the resin is casted and ready to be painted. 

If I wanted to cast this specific mask multiple times with the mold, what type of mold should I make? And what type of resin should I use for a durable mask? Can anyone point me toward where to get the materials?

As an example of what I intend to make, here's a picture of a past project. I personally did not sculpt, mold, or cast the skull, but I did add the padding, paint, and the rest of the mask. (Beta_Raptor on Instagram made the skull)
Post edited by Chris Ellerby on

Comments

  • Hi Max,

    If you are looking to cast a rigid resin mask you would want your mold to be silicone with some type of rigid mother mold like plaster bandages, resin/fiberglass, or plasti-paste.   You can then either rotocast or brush in layers of resin into the mold to build up the desired thickness for the mask.  I suggest working in small batches so you don't end up with big thick areas that set quickly.

    For what to cast it in, I would probably use something like Smooth-Cast from Smooth-On.   Their 300 series would work for this, or if you feel confident you could use the 300Q which sets up even faster.   Though for your first few times I would suggest moving more slowly.

    The chapters of this life-casting lesson where they apply the silicone and plaster bandage mother mold would work for this type of molding and casting application.  

    https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials/how-to-life-cast-character-creation-tutorial/

    If you end up needing to make a multi-part mold based on your design, this mini-lesson can help you figure out where to put your case line.

    https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials/how-to-make-a-mold-finding-the-case-line-mini-lesson

    Hope that helps!

    /Chris
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