So now i have the liquid latex mold on the ouroboros six layers in all. Liquid latex varies from manufacturer to manufacturer & also can have special colours added to them during the mixing process of course. The type i am using is a simple low cost run of the mill none branded type without any added colours. The best way to judge when 'enough' is 'enough' when creating such a mold such as with this liquid molding latex when using for the first time is very simple. The first four coats (brushed on) will be virtually totally transparent. As you add further layers the colour will deepen to an off yellow. I always add a small amount of latex thickener too of course so the final colour may vary if the thickener is not used. Around eight to ten layers is more than sufficient for most molded forms but by then the latex will have taken on a more 'solid' off yellow look to it. Of course when using 'any' liquid molding mediums trial & error will be required from form to form. What i have written here 'must' only be taken as a 'rough' guide when using such mediums yourself.
Below is my ouroboros inside the six layers of liquid latex which has had several days to dry thoroughly. Always allow twenty four to thirty six hours drying time especially when building up thick layers or when brushing into eye cavities etc where the liquid latex is going to be much thicker than the rest of the mold your creating. Once the outer layers are touch dry the inner layers need more time to dry thoroughly as they are trapped underneath. Again a little bit of trial & error is involved here for the first time users.
Don't worry too much about what look like clotted areas, lumps or bumps as can be seen on 'my' mold above. These are both superficial & on the outside anyway. These will not be reflected inside the mold nor will they effect the copy your making in anyway shape or form. They just look very unprofessional, but then who's going to see it in the end?
Here you can see where i have marked where i will be cutting the actual mold open later. If you use enough latex to make a 'self supporting' mold then ignore the next stages i am about to show you. I only buy this in small amounts of one litre bottles along with a small one hundred millilitre bottle of thickener solution. I marked mine 'now' to show you the best way to cut open 'your' molds if you attempt this.
Now as i have said i am using less than the optimum amount of latex to form my mold here (I wanted some for other projects) so now i need to make a support for this mold. For this i am going to create a plaster shell around this 'un-cut' mold. I will make the plaster shell in two halves as if i were making a mold of the mold so to speak. This way the plaster support shell can be removed & the latex mold can be released allowing the de-molding of the subject inside as normal for a latex mold. Below is the card stock frame or boxing i created to hold & shape my plaster.
Ah pizza card stock i can't state just how versatile this stuff is lol. Here you can see i created a 'solid' disc in the center of the ouroboros & a walled ring around the outside too. All this requires to hold it in place at this stage is a little masking tape. Of course any kind of tape will suffice even glue but tape will allow me to remove the boxing much cleaner later.
Here it is on the reverse or back side view.
As you can see the boxing only comes up one half of the latex molded form. Since taking this picture i have filled the first side/half of the boxing with plaster. Once this is fully dry i will remove ALL the boxing shown here then create a new wall around the edge of the first plaster form. I will show this being done in the next posting. You can see this being carried out in an old post 'plaster casting a dolphine' if you can't wait. You can also see the video on YouTube too. My links to my videos can be found by scrolling down the page, they are on the right hand side of the screen as you go near the bottom.
More soon.
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