As well as all this teaching work and college business, I've been developing my own skills in prosthetics and sfx. Its an area am very interested in (what with the theatre studies degree and my love of horror), so I decided over the summer to buy all the materials, read all the books and give it a go and the results are great...well I would say that but I think its pretty damn good for the first fully designed/sculpted/moulded and applied piece!
So, it all started with a concept, everyone who knows me knows I love all things Steam Punk...I think this is where my love of vintage and retro came from cause those genre's do share some similarities.
I have a vision to do this Steam Punk Pinocchio with body art and sfx elements and once I find a photographer and model willing it will get done but for now I just focused on the facial designs and eye piece prosthetic.
Next I began the fun part....sculpting. Its important during this stage to work somewhere you don't mind if clay/plaster splatters everywhere...oh and wear an apron!!!
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| I made a big mess!!! |
Another thing to remember is that you need buff water clay which you can get here; http://www.benam.co.uk/products/clay/buff-clay/
The Facial sculpt that I use was purched from Hobby FX ,http://www.freewebs.com/customfangs/ or https://www.facebook.com/HobbyFX.co.uk. They are a fabulous company who provide top notice sfx products/casts/prosthetics and they do custom fitted fangs which are amazing, in all different styles (Probs going to be my next buy!) They kept in contact with me which was a nice difference from other suppliers, and gave it a nice personal touch and delivery was in good time. Definitely recommend them!!
Next part is the casting of the mould, which is tricky to do as you need to make sure whatever plaster is being used its thick and not runny. You also need to make sure to get rid of any air bubbles...otherwise your mould will be as holey as that cheese with holes!
The following steps involve actually casting the prosthetic...I used latex as its a cheap material and very hardy when used. I think in the future I'm going to invest in gelatine and one day silicone to create the prosthetic.
The whole process of creating the prosthetic was so much fun, it was a challenge but to be honest well worth it. This is the first time I have had a facial sculpture to mould onto and its the first prosthetic I've made that fits the facial features, I have made cuts and smaller prosthetics but nothing that's fitted or on this scale and I think I did great...and its only going to get better, I have a lot of ideas swimming in my head right now!
So what do you think....
I am going to be putting more photographs up on my Facebook page so please check it out; https://www.facebook.com/Ruth.E.Moulden.MUA
And please feel free to leave a comment or Like Me
In other news...next weekend I'll be working on a photo shoot with a fabulous boudoir photographer...back to my roots! and Vintage Fair demonstrations on Sunday...check the Facebook page for more details.
xRx
