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Plasticine and silicone

PistoPisto ✭
edited November 2021 in General
Hi you all clever folks! I hope I could get some advice about which plasticine can be used in modeling when doing silicone cast. I have so fare been unable to find a medium soft grey sculpture plasticine WITHOUT SULPHUR, all the nice pliable artist plasticine types I have tried contain sulphur and cannot be casted directly with silicone. (Tested a few times🙈) I have tried even varnish to seal the surface but it was just much extra work and messy. Did not work too well either. The ones I have found and tested without sulphur  are too hard (from Chavant) or brittle (one very bright yellow type) for normal, fast effortless modelling of for example portraits etc. So - any advice will be received with gratitude!
Tiina from Pisto puppets&props
Post edited by Chris Ellerby on

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    Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    Chavant does make a medium and soft version.  Monster Clay is another great option that also has a soft version.  Working temperature plays a big role in how both of those clays work.  Keeping them nice and warm is important to keep them soft. 

    It also depends on your sculpting style, since once the sculpture cools down it will be more difficult to work.  So if you want to keep working the entire sculpture, rather than just the area you've recently added warm clay to, you would need to heat it up using a heat gun, hairdryer, or something similar.

    Here's a list of recommended clays that are sulfur-free:

    /Chris
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    PistoPisto ✭
    Hi Chris,

    Fantastic! Thank you so much! Your advice should get me a long way. The problem with Scandinavia is of course the weather and winter which means coldish studios 😬 and super hard plastilina. I have actually the softest Chavant which still is pretty hard in my studio. Hair dryer is a great trick on small areas but when I modell fast bigger areas it slows the working process.

    Thanks again!

    Kind regards,

    Tiina
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    Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    Are you warming up the Chavant in a toaster oven or heat box to work with it, or working it cold?  Clays like Chavant and Monster Clay are designed to be heated before working.  

    /Chris
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