MAKING SKULLS USING MOULDING LATEX: PART 3

Yesterday i worked a little more on the first of the 'final' skull designs that would be copied in moulding latex. Whilst i require as many slightly varied skulls as possible for the projects i have planned that involve more than one skull being used per project. I also want some to have lower jaws & some not. Sadly this first skull became a none lower jaw version when i dropped the lower jaw for it after removal. The way i sculpted (carved) the lower jaw details in the hardened plaster it made copying a final design in moulding latex simply too tricky. I decided the best way to do it was to create the final look then remove all lower jaws & cast them separately.

I tried to get a foot under it before it hit the hard tiled flooring but was not quick enough. So instead of my first master plaster version having a lower jaw it became a jaw less version in the blink of an eye & a wail of despair lol. So here is the first final skull design i will be using in some future projects:

I apologise for the poor pictures but the light is poor today & i am feeling a little under the weather & a little shaky for it.

Whilst starting to make these skulls for future projects both paper mache & plaster versions are required. More on the plaster version being required in a future posting when i come to use them that is. It dawned on me that that working with plaster versions, casting them then re-sculpting them into the final designs, then casting 'final' moulding latex versions to work from. This was going to get a title expensive & not sticking to my basic rules that my showing you what i do with those working on a tight budget in mind was being over looked here.

Buying small wax skulls, copying with moulding latex with modelling plaster only to then re-sculpt the new plaster copies to then re-copy in moulding plaster. Well was a long winded timely & expensive way to go about it. Why not simply make a stack of my own wax skulls, re-sculpt those then make the final moulding latex copies by passing the plaster version at that point totally? It of course made perfect sense of course only after i began doing it the long & expensive way first lol. Oh well. Here are the first two wax versions i made myself from my first basic moulding latex copies:

Of all the materials i have ever created art with this is the first time  have copied anything in a mould using wax, to this result anyway. Now of course since the latex copies i made are now in two sections the wax versions i want to re-sculpt will be made in two separate halves too. Of course they being in wax form at this stage joining them together IS very simple.

Take a small amount of wax & place it on an old small heat tolerant plate, a saucer or the like. Heat up the plate until the wax runs freely (melts). Now take one half of your newly copied wax skull & simply dip it into the melted wax on the plate. Now you only have about two seconds to join the two halves & line them up. So i recommend that you prior to doing this hold the two halves together 'first' to make sure you know in advance which will be the best position for them when joined. Squeeze the two halves together for around three/four seconds to allow the thin layer of melted wax to harden - voila' a new wax skull.

Now no matter how good you become at doing this your still now & then going to have a join line that requires filling & leveling out even if your going to re-sculpt the new wax copy anyway. Take a small thin bladed knife & dip it into the wax your using to join the halves on your small heated plate. Leave it in the wax on the small plate a few seconds to warm up to the wax temperature otherwise before you can rub the wax onto the newly created skull it will harden & be unworkable. also remember to allow the knife to heat up slightly 'every time' you do this it will cool in seconds so work fast.

Do not worry if your repaired join looks a little crude or rough around the edges (as mine are shown in the pictures above) your going to re-sculpt them to some degree anyway remember lol.

So that's where i am up to on this project anyway. More soon.