OKIEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE OKIEDOKiE THE MONSTER MAKERS f MASK MAKERS HANDBOOK | 3 a wh y ~ ss > XA vA ARNOLD GOLDMAN OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE fe) 4[=0\e) 43OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE copyright ©1994 The Monster Makers™ The Monster Makers’ Mask Makers Handbook by: Amold Goldman Word Processing by: Raymond Goldman Design and Layout by: Rich Moore and Amold Goldman llustrations by: Jeff Rebner Printed in the United States of America by: All Ways Printing: Bob Uffman Printing assistance by: John Goers and Staff at: Fairview Printing. ‘Additional Printing services: Dave Wells Published and Distributed by The Monster Makers No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without the prior written, permission of The Monster Makers 7305 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Oh 44102 To Kimberly. For being, ‘And to Ray and Doretta for dancing. Acknowledgements: Dave Borsvold, Ellen Brown, Nick Charles, Cleveland Ansible, CSU Magazine, Joe Colantonio, Elyria Chronicle Telegram, Steve Goldman, Kymberli Hagelberg, Julie Henry, Jan Jones, Jeff Kiem, Lakewood Sun Post, Merideth Madden, Scene Magazine, Erik McCutcheon, Lee Melius, The Plain Dealer, Pam Plas, Jeff Rebner, Dave Schuck, Randall Spuzillo, Michael Stanley, TV-8, Julie Washington, WVIZ TV, Karen Zupanc, and Nell Zurcher. SPECIAL THANKS TO: Sam Dalessandro, John Goers, Rich Moore, Dave Wells and to all my students! Thanks to all of you who waited so Patiently; you know who you are. This book is dedicated to you! NOTICE: The information presented in this book is given in good faith but no warranty is expressed or implied and The Monster Makers ‘assumes no liability for the use of the described techniques and mate- rials. Use at your own ris. 2 OKiEDOKiE OKiIEDOKIE OKIEDOKiE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKiEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 Design: 5,6 motivation, originality and realism visual aids design tips design materials Sculpture: 7-13 the logical progression of a mask sculpture sculpture tips sculpting materials soulpture steps Molding Making: 14-21 molding compounds mold making tips molding materials mold making steps Casting: 22-26 pouring the latex casting tips casting materials casting steps Painting: 27-34 the airbrush the air source mask paint paint application base coating highlighting shading painting tips painting materials Troubleshooting: 36-37 Glossary: 38 3 OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE INTRODUCTION Back in 1986, an ambitious friend of mine wrote @ horror film script. He was in the process of shopping it, when an Intriguing idea came to me. The main character in the script was a sinister, horned Demon that would have alot of screen time, and the investors insisted upon seeing a 3 D model of the Monster before they would put up any Capital. Enter me and my briliont idea. | would create this 3D Monster! 8y what means | didn't yet know. but some- how | was determined to do it. After all, it had been done many times before, in the countless horror and scifi films that inspired me so much as a child. My reasoning was simple. If the fim craftsmen could do it, then so could | Impeccable logic, | know. So, with back issues of Fango, Cinemagic and Stariag at my side and armed only with the deske to know, the determination to make it happen. some guts and of course a phone, | began to make & sting of nervous calls. Who did | call, you ask# Well, any- fone in the Makeup FX community who would talk to me. That's who. Now. this wasn't an easy process since | dint really know what questions to ask, let alone where to find the phone numbers to cial. But that dide't stop me, and soon | managed fo gather enough information to lead me to @ simple solution for the creation of the film Monster, and what hos since become both my passion and @ career: Latex mask making. Now eight yeors later | ‘am not only stil making masks, but also sharing my exper tise with hundreds of people who are interested in learn- ing this incredible, yet highly underrated art-form. Which brings me to this handbook Since | began teaching mask making in 1990, 'm pleased to soy that over 300 students have attended my work shops. During this time, | have continued to refine my skis {as a mask-maker and ako developed my own approach {0 teaching the craft. Since mask making is very much a hands on medium, | realize the limitations of any book to instruct and particulary to motivate. But whether or not you have any experience with mask making, | hope that All of you reading this wil come away with some valuable information and maybe even some inspiration from the many examples included throughout the book Regardless of your current skill level or whether or not you intend to fake up mask-making as @ hobby or use it os a stepping stone to a career in the field of Special Makeup FX, this book wil expose you to the great possibilities that this wonderful meaium has to offer. So, without further delay, let's get started making Monsters. Shall wee Coil, ly 4 OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE DOKIE OKiEDOKIE DESIGN The first step in creating a latex mask begins with a design idea. Ask yourself what you would like fo create. Since the pos- sbilties are nearly endless, coming up with a design is offen the hardest part, especialy if you are trying a do something original. So here are a few character ideas that you might consider ALIEN * ZOMBIE * WEREWOLF * MONSTER * VAMPIRE GARGOYLE * GOBLIN * TROLL * MUTANT * DEMON * WARRIOR, ‘SORCERER * MAGICIAN * EVIL CLOWN * MUMMY * CORPSE * DRAGON * GHOST * WITCH * WIZARD * CARICATURE * HYBRID" WARLOCK These ate some of the more popular characters seen in fm. In my classes, | purposely leave this area wide open for my stu- dents. | usually suggest trying your own Monster design to max mize your creative options. After al, since this is your Monster, who's to say that you'te doing it wrong? And who really knows what your Monster should look like? Sometimes not even you! Amonsteris alo a very good choice fore fist project not oniy because of its lack of specific boundaries, but because it is simply a great way to get your feet wet and allow yourself to experience the process, When completed, you will be over that first project hump and well acquainted with the necessary materials. Chances are you'll have found the experience to bbe as enjoyable as itis messy, In deciding what to create, you really only have two cate- goties to choose from. Both are very broad. The fist and most obvious choice is to do @ Horror Movie Choracter. Many of us have offen thought about recreating one of these. After all, one of “these” is why most of us are interested in making masks in the fist place. The second choice is fo try an original design. | personally favor the second, but both approaches have dis tinct benefits from the lecming standpoint. f you choose to do @ movie character, | suggest you try to copy the design the best that you can. In fact, sive to create an exact reprodue- tion. Copying something is probably the best way to sharpen your rendering skils and develop the so-called "sculotor’s eye" that enables you to make subtle distinctions when designing your own original Monster character masks. (Be sure not to Feproduce your movie mask for sale though, or you may end up in a copyright infringement suit.) MOTIVATION, ORIGINALITY AND REALISM I"ve see many students over the years get uptight with just the thought of doing something original. Every time that | encounter this, my advice is always the same: Don't force it Just relax, and go with the flow. To take some of the pressure Off, | aso remind them that very few things inthis world are truly original, and that many times what appears to be original is nothing more than a restructuring of what has already been one or created by nature in the fist place, Of course your job {95 a monster maker is to take nature and wis it out of propor tion. Turn it upside down until it becomes unrecognizable. The best creature designers are masters at this technique. 5 OKiIEDOKIE OKIEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE VISUAL AIDS To help get your creative juices tlowing, | recommend Using visual aids. Most serious arllsts have a few volumes of photo reference material to help them generate ideas. Personally, have three volumes of cippings that | ‘raw upon for ideas. Volume # | contains clippings pri marily from Fango and other horror magazines. Sacriege, I know, 10 cut Up issues of the # 1 horror bible. But for me the photos serve a much better purpose when grouped together as reference material. Volume # 2 is comprised mainly of clippings from National Geographic. Yes you read correctly, This s probably one of the best sources for the study of facial structures that | know. You can exlract {2 tremendous amount of information from these photos, such as bone structure, facial expression, wrinkle patterns skin coloration, etc. Volume # 3 contains animal photos,also from Notional Geographic, These photos ore ‘especially good for monster makers since monsters feo- tures are often derived from animal features. Skin tex- tures, eye coloration and elaborate skin markings are a few of the visual cues that cnimal photos offer. At some Point. | recommend that any of you reading this who are sefious about becoming great mask makers, take the time to put together some reference books. Once | decide to create another mask, | usually go through @ kind of ritual. Ths includes browsing through my reference books, looking through comic books and even. watching Saturday momning cartoons. Believe it or not, you'll discover some very weird and innovative Monsters, in cartoons. If at this point Im sfil stuck for ideas. | put on {2 few horror films to ignite the spark, This usually does the. Itick, Most of the time though, my head is bursting with ideas and | con't wait to get started. When I'm sufficiently inspired, | grab some clay and begin fo sketch out a few ideas. If you draw, now is a. good time to pick up a pencil and get going. Drawing is an ‘excellent way fo help you define your character ideas ‘and ultimately use os @ guide for what your character will, look like. | consider myself fo be a good sculptor, but unfortunately not too skilled with o pencil. So when | sketch, its usually with clay. Whether you prepare a pencil or clay sketch for yourselt, the important thing is that you begin to refine your idea ‘and bing it one step closer to realty. | also recommend, that you design something related fo what you enjoy. For ‘example, if you're a comic book buf, than by all means. slick fo something comic-lke. Or if you are into dragons, than incorporate elements of dragons into your design. it stands to reason that choosing subject matter which interests you. is the best way to keep yoursell motivated. Sculpting a mask can be a long process, and though this, may sound overly simplified, | have seen many people become disinterested by choosing to do a character that didn't quite hold their interest OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE DESIGN TIPS OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE #1 It you're just starting off, keep your designs simple. This will help you create early successes, and build your confidence level. Getting too ambitious too soon might leave you discouraged and slow the learning process. ¥8 Consider taking some of your favorite elements from other designs in existence, and incorporating them into, your own design. If you're striving for originality, make. sure that you don't copy anything too closely. #2 Always use some sort of reference material for greater realism and design ideas. #3 Do not design characters with long or thin features such as excessively long hors or thin eats. These types of features are very dificult fo reproduce in latex. #9 For greater realism and motivation, you may want to wilte a creature profile before you start designing the look of your character. This background will help deter- mine what your character might look like, thus adding to Ws belevabilty #4 Try to design freeform in clay once in a while, to help you learn to visualize better. 45 Study what the professionals are doing by reading Fangoria or by obtaining mask catalogs from the companies which you admire most. Death Studios, Cinema Secrets, Don Post, Distortions Unlimited and of course The Monster Makers, produce some of the best masks available. 46 Visit costume shops once in a while to examine market trends and to study other mask designs. #7 Think of your character as fully 3-Dimensional. Design your character keeping in mind that the finished plece will be viewed from many directions. #10 if your characteris not reality based, you will have to create a fake anatomy: je.,- bone anatomy, which then dictates muscle anatomy, which In turn dictates surface fr skin anatomy. Remember, i's all an illusion that you'e creating, The better you become at manipulating the above elements, the better the illusion. The better the Illusion the more believable your mask creation becomes. ¥#11 A wonderful and possibly the best design tool ever, cteated is the computer. if you have access to one with @3-Dimensional graphic program such as LightWave 3-D, Ray Dream Designer or 3-D Studio try some mask designs this way. This will help you bring your mask Ideas into sharp focus. OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE DESIGN MATERIALS A) REFERENCE MAQUETTE B) REFERENCE DRAWINGS C) REFERENCE PHOTOS: FANGORIA, CINEMAGIC CINEFEX (ETC.) OKIEDOKIE ‘6 OKiEDOKiE (NOT PICTURED) + MINIATURE FULL HEAD ARMATURE + DRAWING TOOLS + OIL BASED CLAY + SMALL SCULPTING TOOLS OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE GETTING DOWN SCULPTUR TO SHAPING UP This is where the real fun begins, and you get to play creator. AAs you begin the sculpture process, you should have your idea worked out as clearly as possible. Make sure that you have o comfortable chair to sit in since you'll be working for long petiods of time. Sculpting « mask is generally not a fast process. The fist mask that | created took me over a month fo complete. Of course at the time, had very ile idea what Iwas doing! When | began leaming this craft, there was scarce information avoilable. But even with someone to guide you. itis important that you take your time and not tush your way through this process (youll get fred of hearing this but I cant stress this enough). In the end, you'llbe happy thal you listened and the results wil reflect your patience. So bbe prepared fo work for long periods. Once you get into the thythm of sculpting, the hours wil just fly by and you'll wish youhad more time. {As you begin to work, try to lay out all of your tools in an orderly fashion including your reference material. This way, ‘you don't have ta stop and look for things every few minutes. This allows you fo concentrate exclusively on your scuiptue. Always start by roughing out your piece. You need to estab lsh a general or overall shape for the head. You may find it helpful fo etch horizontal reference lines into the clay where the eyes, nose ond mouth will be. These ines wil help you line things up quicty. A vertical ine scribed down the center Of the face will also help with the overall balance of the sculpture. Remember that these lines are not etched in stone. These ate just guide lines. Keep working at this until you're satisfied. Once the head shape is established, do the same for the other mojor features of the face, chin, nose, Cheek bones, brow etc... using your reference lines to guide you. Again, resist the temptation to rush this stage or your mask sculpture could suffer greatly. Over the years Ive noticed that many students have a tendency to skip ahead cond start detailing 100 scan. The details of the piece: win: les, texture, sublle shapes etc... are certainly one of the most satisfying aspects of sculpting. But keep in mind that you need fo create a well defined foundation upon which fo apply those details. Remember to always work from gen- eral to specific shapes. From broad fo particular. Make sure that you spend a lot of time developing the mojor shapes of your sculpture before you get fo the careful refinements that bring everything together. Sculpting o mask is process cand like any process it has stages. Be methodical and work through each stage completely before you move on to the next. Adding details the last stage. Don't make the mistoke of putting it at the beginning or middle of the process One of the beauties of clay is that it is very forgiving. You can olvays make changes if you don't lke the way things look. Sometimes you'll find that what seems to look good on paper does not translate well into clay. In this stuation You have to learn to be flexible. I often spend c great deal of time creating @ nose or an ear, for exemple, and decide that | don't lke it after all and remove il entirely, Sometimes ifs necessary fo re-sculpt features several times just to see what looks best. Ultimately the idea is to create a piece which is balanced, appears to have real bone structure Undemeath the surlace, and has overall sculptural appeal. OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE 7 OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE | offen refer to the early stage of sculpture os the awkword stage. Ths is because anyone looking at your piece at this time might think that it is not going too well. What they don't realize is that this baby, and | emphasize baby, is stil developing, Slowiy, as you refine things, the awkward stage 's replaced by @ more refined stage and low and behold, what ence was an undefined lump of clay, is now some- thing resembing your idea. At this point, when you have & shape that looks satisfactory, itis important that you smooth it out, leave it alone and move on to another area, Try to ‘work around your piece. If you do something on the right side, do the same in the corresponding area on the left side. This will also contribute greatly to the sculptural bal- ‘ance. Think of your sculpture as an evolving entity that i ot fist out of focus, but becomes sharper as you work the clay with your tools, Especially with your hands. The only way to become a great sculptor is of course to sculpt os often as possible. Sculpture, however, is as much a mental activity asit is @ physical one. It involves you in con: stant decision making process. By the time your sculpture is complete, you will have made literally thousands of major ‘and minor decisions about how to shape the clay. These decisions wil become second nature as your ‘eye" devel ‘ops and your hands are able to automatically do exactly what your mind soys. Until then, get accustomed fo brain ‘aches. | believe that sculpture is as much as technical process as it Js a creative one. Probably more so, if you think about it Technically, sculpture only involves two simple actions ‘adding and removing clay. As you begin the sculoture you will be adding and removing clay in lorge amounts. As you progress ond start fo refine the piece, the amounts of clay wil become increasingly smaller. THE LOGICAL PROGRESSION OF A MASK SCULPTURE + Roughing out the general form. + Refining and smoothing out the overall head shape. * Building out the major features and skeletal structure, ie. the brow, cheek bones, eye sockets, nose, chin, forehead and jaw bone. + Refining and smoothing the major features of the face. + Defining the muscle and skin forms to capture expression. * Refining and smoothing the muscle and skin features. + Adding wrinkling, detailing and subtle skin forms. + Smoothing and refining the detail + Adding texture and finishing touches. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE SCULPTURE TIPS | Always start by roughing out your sculpture.Create general shapes and then refine them as you move along. 2 Work slowly and systematically. Do not rush your Piece. Sculpture by its nature Is a slow and meticulous Process. Put on a movie or the radio, sit back and relax. 3 If you intend to sculpt professionally, then try to sculpt every day. Give yourself more challenging assignments each time. 4 Study anatomy whenever possible. Incorporate real looking features into your work even if you are doing a fantasy character. 5 Try to strive for realistic facial anatomy. The most Interesting masks have a captured expression In the face. The best way to achieve this Is by using a hand mirror, and observing your own expressions as refer- ence. CAUTION: Try not to scare yourself too much when you do this. You want to scare your audience, not yoursel 6 Work your piece overall. Keep the whole thing In mind, moving from one area fo the next. Keep your form balanced, even if you are doing an asymmetrical plec; 7 Matching features on both sides of your sculpture can be very difficult. One way of overcoming this problem is by placing a large mirror on one side of the sculpture. If you look at the reflection while you are sculpting the opposite side, you will see a reflection of exactly what you need to sculpt. 8 Leave all of your details and textures for last despite the temptation to get right to them. To do otherwise would be like opening a bottle of fine wine before its time. 9 Each time you sculpt, try a different style. For instance, your first plece might be a human corpse. For your next Blece iy a robotic character with angular features. As you change styles.you will be presented with new and different challenges. Different surface textures and anatomy will be required for each piece. Look at each plece as an exer- cise in problem solving with you searching for the answers In clay. By reshaping the clay in so many ways, you will also be slowly reshaping yourselt, 10 Try not to leave any hard edges on your sculpture. Smooth everything ou! Using different sized brushes dipped In rubbing alcohol. Hard edges lel! on a sculp- lute raises @ big ted flag with AMATEUR willten all over itl 11 Don't be afraid to change something that you don't like, even if you have worked on It for a long fime. The more time you have worked on something, the more emotion you have invested and the harder it is to change. In the end you will spend a lot more time star- ing at your mask wishing you had made the change while you still had a chance. 12 At some point you must also lear to stop and call Itfinished. Your skills will improve the more you sculpt, 8 OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE SCULPTING MATERIALS 7B A A) Oil Based Clay M) 1/2” Pipe Flange (20 Ibs. suggested) N) 1/2” x 8” Plumbers Pipe B) Deluxe Full Head Armature 0) Glue Gun & Glue Sticks C) Sculpting Stand, Plumbers Pipe, Pipe Flange, 20"x 20” Plywood Base,Turn Table, Milk Crate D) Clean Rag (To wipe brushes) E) Rubbing Alcohol F) Plastic Wrap (To protect armature) G) Sculpting Tools H) Brushes 1) Latex 4) Texture Stamps k) Chip Brush L) Hair Dryer OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE Step 1: Begin by attaching your Full Head ‘Amature to @ swivel stand, A sim- ple stand con be made using an 8° x1/2" piece of plumber’ pipe attached to @ floor flange. Ths pipe/tiange assembly s then cen- fer mounied to a piece of I" x20" 20" plywood with a plastic swiv- el ho! glued fo the bottom. Bore @ hole under the ormature, and slide it onto the pipe. This will allow you to turn your sculpture instead of your body a: you work. Keep adding clay until the arma: ture is covered in all the areas where you want the mask to be, Warming the clay in the oven at 100°F, will allow you to work quickly during this stage. In this example, | am vilizing the arma: ture’s extra shoulder area. This is not necessary unless you're doing deluxe mosk. OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 2: Using your maquette as a guide, begin by applying clay evenly fo the armature. The mask sculp ture should be oversized to allow for latex shrinkage. A minimum thickness of 1" should be suff- lent, You con however, go thin- ner along the lower neckline, os Iie 0: 14” along the edge Step 5: Once you have completed rough ing out the design. stot To define the characters facial features. you'e using amaquette, continue {o follow your design. Your mosk form should be starting to take shape, 10 OKiEDOKiE Step 3: Continue adding clay as you rough out your character design. Note that the photo shows the clay tapering as it leads out fo the neckine, Step 6: Star! Yo bul out the bone stuctixe You'l be giving your hands « good work out os you apply ond smooth the clay. hough the sculpture may sill not look Ike much, remember that this baby # sil developing. Betore you know it, the crying wil cease giving way to, "mom, ad..can | boraw the cor OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 7: Keeping with the anology, your sculpture should be moving into ihe adolescent stage now. In tis photo, the Bone structure cand most of the major features are established. | have also fedded a couple of rough homs fond teeth fo check placement, fond begun to work on the neck oreo as well Step 8: The scuoture in this photo fret ly beginning to take shape now. nave gotten to thi point reta tively fast, But things will slow down considerably as | add smaller amounts of clay. and begin to flesh out the choracter Many long hours of relaxing sculpting ay chead, Remember donot rsh Step 9: Here | have done some more work on the mouth oreo and the brow. | have oko added o few more horns, and begun to bol fnce the right side of the face wih the let ln every mask | cre ‘ale, I work hard to give it exores- sion. To me these ore the most interesting moses to collect. Step 10: Study the difference in the Step 9 photo to this one, I've added a lot of elements and the sculpture has been completely fleshes out now. I'm very happy with the way i's developing. The sculp- ture is becoming very expressive ‘and taking on personality OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 11: Remember to werk around the sculptve. In ths profle shot you can see that | have not neglected the Sides or the back area. Keep huring the piece, and checking it from ol ‘angles as you work. Do not be afraid fostand on a chair orlay on the floor Ifyou need to see a certoin angle, You will be called eccentric. but aren't all monster makers ¢ lltle strange? u OKiEDOKiE Step 12: The sculpture & now nearing com: pletion. Ihave smoothed every- thing out fo help me see what | have, You wil do quite a bit of smoothing with your thumbs, but to get an uta smooth surface, you an dip various sized brushes in alcohol to remove all ihe hard edges OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 13: Here is another side angle to show you some of the natural wrinkling that occurs when a face makes certain expressions. Notice the wrinkling around the eyes, mouth and forehead. | wil be accentuating this in the detaling Step 14: Step 15: To create nice looking lines in This photo shows that « considerable amount of your sculptures, start by etching wrinkling and detailing has been added to the them in with a sculpture fool. face, am using a fine, sharp tool fo etch more Here | am using @ fool called ¢ lines along the neck. Alter | smooth them out, I'l bal stylus. The lorge hom in the keep them only i they look good. If nat, I'l sim: back hes already been _ plyrub them out and create new ones. smoothed out with alcohol Step 16: Step 17: Here Im going over the etched tines with my in this close up. Im re-detaiing alcohol dipped brush I'l use smaller of larger on area thot I dict care for. AS brushes depending on the size of the line lam you etch lines, make sure to smoothing. The best brushes for hit re caled rush away any clay debris {lots Ty alfferent szes and different brsle fypex before you go in with the alco to see what works best for you. hol. This will help you keep a cleaner looking sculpture. 12 Step 18: Im using one of my smaller flats to smooth out the re-detailed ‘area, Do not buy cheap brushes for this, Cheap brushes tend to fall apart as you work. I's no fun picking them out of the clay. A good quality brush is a good investment, ond should lost you many sculpts. OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 19: Step 20: [Another tick to creating natural Alter many hour of detiing the looking wrinkles isto mate them Sculpture is finaly nearing Com flow with the shape of the Beton Every square milmeter of sculpture, Notice that mony of the sculpture hos some texture or the wrinkis run somewhat par rink. decided fo not use ex dill fo the sections that they fll ture stamps on this particular into. piece, Instead, | have lightly poked individual pores using the ball stylus 100). Ths took at least {en hours of mind numbing tedt um, Wasit worthit, you ask? AW) Step 21: Well judge for yourself, Here is the finished sculpture. In all, somewhere between 40 to 50 hours of work..er...play. Most of the time spent with headphones attached listening to Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Rush, Oh, and created a sculpture too. Ihwould say it was time well spent, Wouldn't you? 13, OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE MOLD MAKING ‘As you begin this stage, you should have a completed full head mask sculpture. In order fo end up with a rubber copy of your sculpture (the mask itselt) iis fist necessary fo moke @ gypsum mold from the clay during which you wil be sactificing your sculoture, This is probably the most Crucial and for many people, the scariest part of the mask making process. The reason being, that you only get one chance fo get the mold right. if, for some reason you screw Up. you may need fo start from scratch and make a new sculpture. Once the mold is complete, you will be remove- ing the clay sculpture in many pieces, not as one complete piece, This is due fo the principal of undercuts. (More on that concept in the glossary.| Unfortunately, there is no way fo save your sculpture from this fate, Onee you have begun molding, there is no tuming back. You cannot start {again and remold it If the mold (Ihe negative) was made of a flexible material ike mubber, you could carefully peel it ‘away from your clay monster leaving the original scuipture intact, The mold, however, wil be made from an industrial ‘gypsum compound. Gypsum is a very dense, ridged mote- Fial which stays put once it has set, In this sense, your clay model can be seen as a temporary (positive) pattem, from which you make a reusable gypsum negative) mold. From this mold, you wil be casting copies of your clay master pattem in rubber. MOLDING COMPOUNDS To make your mask mold, you have your choice of several molding compounds. Hydrocal, Ultracal 30, # 1 Casting plaster and #1 Pottery plaster are all typically used in the production of mask molds. Though each of these products differ somewhat in their composition, they are all plaster- like compounds which ore mixed and applied in roughly the same manner. Each begins as a dense, floury material which when mixed with water sets up like plaster. Depending on the size of your sculpture, you will need between 20 and 40 pounds of gypsum per two piece mold. Your completed mold can be reused to make dozens of copies of your clay sculpture as masks. For the purpose of ilustration, | have chosen fo use Ulta Cal 30 in the following demonstrations, Before you begin plying the gypsum to your sculpture, though, itis neces- sary to fst seal the clay, This prevents the clay from sticking to the mold. One of the best sealers to use is called Kryion Crystal Clear spray, This s available at most hardware and rug stores throughout the U. $. and Canada. It's impor- {ont that you let this dry for @ full day before you begin molding, since Krylon has a tendency to transfer from some clays such as Roma Plaslilina and slick fo the mold. This Can create problems for you in the casting stage. Because it has @ higher oil content, this is rarely o problem with Monster Makers Oil Based Clay, Alter the acrylic is dry, begin by setting out a one gallon bucket filed with warm water to be used exclusively as wash bucket for rinsing your hands and brushes. NEVER POUR PLASTER DOWN THE DRAIN! Unless of course you went {@ massive plumbing bil. Ula Cal, lke plaster will set in your pipes and wil thoroughly foul up the works. OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE ‘Sam and Friend ready for the mold demonstration. MOLD MAKING TIPS | | |#1 Before molding, check that all areas of your sculp- ture are flush (no deep grooves in between teeth, or around the eyes, etc.) |#2 Remember to place your dividing wall offset towards the front half of the sculpture. One side should be flush with the center line, Make sure you follow the exact center line, otherwise you might ‘end up locking one half of the mold onto the armature. |#3 Once your dividing wall is in place be sure to put registration notches into the clay to facilitate mold clignment. \#4 Always put the water into the mixing container first, then slowly sift the Ulira Cal into the water. Warmer water sets the Ultra Cal faster, cold water slows. the set. Use cold water for the brush coat. |#5 Apply the first coat of Ultra Cal by brush, blowing out trapped air with short bursts of breath. Don't labor over any one area. This will slow you down considerably. Load the brush well, then move on 4s soon as an area is covered. Move swiftly but thoroughly over the entire sculpture. l#6 Begin the drip coat immediately after the brush has covered alllof the clay. Use the setting action of the. Ultra Cal in your favor to gradually build it up during the drip coat. 4 OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE MOLD MAKING MATERIALS A) PLASTIC BUCKET: 1 WASH BUCKET 1 ULTRA CAL BUCKET B) ULTRA CAL 30 C) WATER BASED CLAY D) DISTILLED WATER (OPTIONAL) E) DISHWASHING LIQUID (TO CLEAN MOLD) F) BURLAP (CUT INTO STRIPS) G) HAND TOWEL H) WOOD BLOCKS 1) PLASTER RASP 3) CHISEL K) SCRUB BRUSHES) L) SMALL SCULPTING TOOL M)SHARP KNIFE N)SPATULA (0) SCREWDRIVERS. P) PETROLEUM JELLY Q)KRYLON ACRYLIC R) HAMMER S) RUBBER KIDNEY TOOL 1) SCISSORS U)CHIP BRUSH V) SMALL BRUSHES W)PLASTIC WRAP. X) DIXIE CUP 15 OKiIEDOKIE OKIEDOKiE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKiEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 1: ‘Organize your area with everything you need within reach, My lead assistant, Sam Dalessandtro, 's ready to demonstrate the mold process for you. Note the hwo buckets in the photo, One wil be for mixing the Ultra-Cal ond the other willbe for wash: ing your hands and brushes. Step Step 3: Start by sealing your sculpture The mold for a fulhead masks with Krylon Crystal Clear Spray. done in two sections. One for the Two of three evenly applied front of the sculpture, and one for coats will do, Avoid breathing the back. You can determine the the vopors, a5 they are harmful, dividing line by using the arma: Allow the acrylic to dry one full ture as a reference, Notice the Gay before you make the mold. mold line running vertically clong the shoulder. If you continue 10 tun this ine up over the head with your eyes and down to the other shoulder line, This will give you proper division to follow. Step 4: Step Step 6: ‘Once you have eyed your divid- Folowing your imaginary center Continue to attach the wall. the ing line, you need 10 moke a ne, Attach the fist Blocs of clay moisture in the clay allows it to temporary dividing wall using Penna or eter tee dick easly. Here, half of the clay water based clay. Water based the Gack bell ot thelreiis ‘wall i complete. Note that the clay Is used becouse tt con be eee ee wall sits only on the front half of the sculpture as established by Gfulva Sat Here-Semnis cutting. the center ine. The wall should not even division, one side of the wall of Ulra-Cal, Here, Sam is cutting should be even with the center cross iis ine onto the back halt. © piece of EM-210 which s deck line, To do this, offeet the wall Remember that the space from ly suited fo this purpose. towards the front of the sculpture. the centerline back. will be taken Up by the back half of the moid, 16 OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 7: [As you apply the wall, don't tomy abou! how It Iooks on the front half of the sculpture. You need only concern yourself bout the side of the wall thal faces the back naff of the sculp {ure. iit sounds Ike | am beat ing this into the ground, | am, Lots of people have rouble with this port, You don’t have fo b= one of them, Step 8: To complete the wall iin any gops Using small omounts of Glay. The goal is 10 make your wall 0s neorly perpendicular to the sculpture as possible. In other words, make the wall flat tind as close fo 90° a: you can, (Curve the wall if you need to. 90? is just a guide) Step 9: Once the wal is complete, check {0 see that itis femly attached. As you press, the soft water clay will ot hurt the sculpture, Notice the 90° ongle thal s created Step 10: A perfect wall has no gaps winete it meets the oil clay. The rea of the meeting point & ie Gal. A comer is crested at this meeting point which | call the Gritical corner. Use o small sculpting fool fo filin the small gaps and keep the wall per- Pendiculor here. Be careful not fo mar the sculpiue, OKiEDOKiE OKiIEDOKIE Step 11: Once you'r finshed with the sculpture tool, dip small, soft brush info water fo smooth out the cloy in the citical corer. Atemate between dipping and smoothing the clay uni! the wall disappears into the sculpture You do not need 4 lot of water for this technique. 7 OKIEDOKiE Step 12: With the wall complete, cover the ffont of the sculpture with Blastc wrap to prevent any Ura Cal from dripping onto it Measure out 1-1/2" of cold water into a one gallon plastic bucket. You can use distiled water to prevent ony impusties {rom fouling the mold if you wort OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKiEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 13: Slowly i the Ultra Cal into the water, Always put the water into the bucket fist, sift in enough Ula Cals0 that @ dry river bed effect occurs on the surace os in the photo. The goo! i fo make & pea soup like slury that is not ‘watery. On the other hand, if you rake fi oo thick i right not fin the detal, and wit set up 100 fos Step 14: ‘Alow the Uo Cal to soak for a few minules, Begin mixing wih your hand for a few" more min Utes uni il the lumps are. gone, and you have a smooth conse feney, Load your brush and begin oppiving the mixture starting af the fop of the head. Nolice That we nave added some halt Sphetes fo the clay wall, These ore Galled registration notches which help he mold ine up better. Step 15: This brush coat i ako refered to 45 the print or detail coat. As you proceed, blow out any trapped Gir bubbies with shor! busts of breath, Work your way over the sculpture in this manner unl the entre Back area's covered. Step 16: immediately ip and lightly splash the remaining Ultra Cal onto the sculpture. As the Ulta Cal thickens, tis process becomes much easier Build the thickness fo at least 3/8" i's important that when you're fin- ished with the fist batch, you ca- ol see any of the oll clay under- neath. Asi sets, Ula Cal looses is gloss and begins to sfffen. When this occurs, you'e ready 10 apply nother batch of Uta Cal OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 17: Once the Ultra Cal is set, mec sure out about 4 inches of water in-a fresh bucket, Som is holding his thumb and finger in he photo to show the level, Your water con be room temperature this ime to speed the sel 18 OKiEDOKiE Step 18: Sift @ new botch of Ultra Cal into the bucket, repeating the procedure olready described YYou should end up with more than twice the material ths time OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 19: Dip the pre-cut strips of burlap info the mixture. Keep the burlap loaded with Ultra Cal. If you squeeze out each piece, the burlap wil go on too dry and wil not Bond well lo the set materia Step 20: Lay each piece of burlap over the set material. Press out any tropped ai os you go. smoothing each piece. Continue on, over- lapping each piece until the set layer is covered, Along the wall you should make a friple or ‘Quadruple layer. You will need lols of strength here. Ekewhere two layers will do. Step 21: Once the burlap is applied over it with the remaining Ura Gal AS il thickens, use « Ubber Kidney tool fo spread it ou! evenly os shown, Step 22: Once the burlap is completely setup and begins fo harden, wel @ scrap piece of burlap ond smooth out the surface uni there are no regularities. Allow the fst haif of the mold to completely set OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 23: ‘As the mold sets, i wil become ‘very warm, When this occur, turn the mold around ond carefuly remove the clay wall. Be very careful not to damage the sculp. ture in doing s0, Asin each stage of the process. do not rush 7 OKiEDOKiE Step 24: This photo shows the fist half of the mold complete with the dividing wall removed. Notice mat the orea where the clay wall was hos now been repro duced in stone. As @ result, YoU no longer need the clay wol OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE Next, careful lay the sculpture down onto the finished mold half. Use a wet brush to wash away any clay residue that remains. Make sure you closely ‘examine the critical comer for any bils of clay that are hiding, Step 26: The mold will have some iregu- lates around the edge. You can remove these by carefully chip- ping them away with « hammer, fond then going over it with a plaster rasp, Use only the uimost ore when you do this! Step 27: Sweep away any rasp dust with o clean, dty brush, Next, apply & thin layer of Vaseline over the entice mols wall ight up fo the edge of the cloy. Ty 1o keep the Vaseline off of he sculpture, The Vsetine willow you To separate the front hal from the back hat of the mold. Without thi step, you ‘would never get Ihe mold halves ‘Spatt. DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP! Step 28: With the Vaseline applied, lay some 1/2" x 3" stios of clay along the wall. Keep them at least on inch away from the sculpture, oth ‘emwise you could create holes that wil couse the mold fo leak, Allow the strips to hang off the edge of the mold wall $0 you can find them later. You are now ready to make the second half of the mold, Stott with 3°of water this ime, and repeat steps 12 through 15, OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 29: Work your way down from the high point of the sculpture, Moke sure fo brush into ail the cracks cond crevices, Trapped aris offen @prebiem in the nose, oround the eyes and particulary behind the ‘205, In tis case. Iran the seporo- tion along the edge of the ears 10 void this problem, and to hide the seom in thal rea, Remember fo low cirinto these oreos. 20 OKiEDOKiE Step 30: At INs point the brush coat is fn- ished, and Som is evenly oppiying the dip coat with what remains n the Bucket, The trick here Is 10 keep the Ulira Cal on the sculp. ture and off the fable, As the Ula Cal thickens, it becomes easier fo Control, You can walt a ite for thie, Bui clways keep an eye on the Ura. Cal 30 that i does not sel up on you Ih the process. Ts ‘would be Bad, though not fatal OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE Step 31: Here Sam is smoathing out the burlap coat a he mold sets up To keep the mold stable while you're working on this half, pul a few small 2" x 4” sections under neath the mold, Notice the swiv- el stand underneath also. | iways put that fo good use dur: ing mois making, Step 32: ‘Onde the second half of the mold is sel, stand the mold up. You can open the mod wile is stilwarm, But make sure the moks completely el before doing so, When in doubt, @ half hour fo 46 minutes is usually long enough. Insert two large serewativers into the top pry holes and begin to ‘opply presture, A haiine crack Should form along the seam. Step 33: ‘As You continue to pry, he seam line should open wide os the halves separate. If he mold does not open righ! away, do not panic You might have fo pry on fome of the lower pry holes 10 get things started Step 34: In this cose, the back half practi cally fell off on its own. Nine times out of ten, the back half of the mold will come off fist since it usually hos the fewest under- cults OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 35: Set the back half of the mold ‘side. Loy the front half down, end remove the armature. you But enough clay on the armature You should have no problem Temoving ih not, Ine armature ‘wil catch on the mold, usvally ‘long the side of the head, he Back of the ears or ihe back of the jewbone, A foam armature willsave you in his siuaton 2 OKiEDOKiE Step 36: Once the armature is out, you an stor! removing the clay. The molds here have been thoroughly Cleaned, Always use your hands or wooden tools only To remove the clay. Metal fools Gan mar the mold surface. The remaining bils Of clay can be removed using Scrub brush with soap ond warm water, Use alcohol ond a soft Cloth for any tough areas. Your mold is now compietel OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE CASTING IN LATEX This is probably the easiest port of mask-making. Before you pour the rubber into the mold, make sure thal ithe rub- ber is relatively free of bubbles. It should not be too thick either. You can water down the latex a ttle bit it you ‘want. This wil not really effect the mask unless you add an excess amount of water which could cause some addi: fional shrinkage. Eight ounces of water per § gallon pail should be sufficient, but you can add more. As latex sits ‘over time, it naturally begins to thicken, so you may need fo thin it down some, Thinning the latex with water will also tend to reduce the mount of trooped air bubbles which ulimately lead to casting flaws. POURING THE LATEX ‘Mask latex is @ natural rubber compound that is formulat ed to be used with gypsum products. The process works like this: Rubber is poured into the mold up to the top. The porous nature of gypsum causes some of the water from the latex to be absorbed into the mold. As a result, @ uni- form gelled layer of rubber is formed on the interior mold surface, This gelled layer will build to various thicknesses depending on how long the liquid latex is allowed to remain in the mold. This s referred to as the “dwell time.” ‘Once the dwell time is up. the mold is tuned over and the excess latex is poured back oul of the mold into the orig nal pail and allowed to drain for about 10 minutes, The roined mold is set in front of a fon and allowed time to ty. Depending on the thickness of the mask and design of the mold, this can take anywhere from a half hour to @ day. You'll know when the mask is dry, when the latex pulls away from the mold sightly As the mold is used, the dwell time willincrease gradually ‘his is because some of the components such os salts and filers from the rubber begin to close the pours of the mold making it less absorbent, Dwell ime for afresh mold should be about 20 minutes for an average mask thickness. A thicker mask for collectors, would have @ dwell fime of ‘about an hour. Experimentation with vorious dwell times wil help you determine what is right for you. Different rub- bers have different properties, and these limes are given ‘only for Ultra-Cal molds and Monster Maker's Mask Latex. Finally, to get clean castings, you should agitate the mold to loosen air pockets and get the latex fo flow into all ‘areas. Also if you Pour latex into a very dry mold, this will result in castings with clusters of small holes resembling a sponge. $o you may want to wel the mold before pour ing latex into it to avoid this problem. OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE 2 OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE CASTING TIPS y #1 After you pour the latex, agitate the mold to free any trapped bubbles. #2 You can brush a detail coat of latex into the mold before you pour fo insure the best possible casting. #3 Leave the poured latex in the mold at least 20, minutes for a good thickness in your casting. #4 Drain the mold properly for best castings. Be sure not fo let the latex pool in the mold or this will cause extra thick wet areas. #5 Cure the mask on your armature to keep the original form intact. ‘#6 Apply talcum powder before removing the dried ‘mask from the mold. This will insure that the latex doesn't fold over and stick to itself, creating a permanent defect on your casting. #7 Place a hair dryer ot fan facing the open mold to, speed up the drying time considerably. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE CASTING MATERIALS A) MILK CRATE B) TALCUM POWDER C) SPRAY WATER BOTTLE D) LIQUID SOAP E) MASK LATEX (3 GALLONS RECOMMENDED. F) CHIP BRUSHES (FOR LATEX AND TALC) G) MOLD STRAPS H) HAND TOWEL 1) HAIR DRYER 23 OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE Step 1: ’As soon os the mold halves ore Clean, you con begin #0 moke the casting, To insure detal repro duction, like to brush a detail Coat of latex into the mole fist Tne latex con actually begin dry’ ing while you do this, so work Quicky, bu! thoroughly, Ifyou put 6 life liquid soap in your brush fist, the latex wil sick toi Step 2: ‘AS YoU coat the mold, ty to keep tne latex off of the dividing wal Any excess here could keep the mold from closing propetiy. there should oko no! be any loose Uta Cal along the wal either, At this stage do not worry it the latex puddles in some ares Step 3: Place the coated mold back ogether. Since you made one hail off the other. it shou ft per fecly. you mode your mold wa properly, ond did not gob the Vaseline on, you should see 0 very fine separation belween the halves, large separation wil couse leaks. Next sap the mold shut Step With the mola strapped tightly closed. apply some latex along the interior seam. This will help seal the mold. You can do the same on the outside seam as an added precaution OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step Nex!, sel the mold in o mik crate with the neck opening facing up. Make sure the molds stable Begin by fling the mold hallway with latex. I you do not have a large quantiy, you wil need at least 6 few quors, especially for mask ins size 24 OKiEDOKiE Step 6: Rock the mold foward to release ony topped oir around the face ond in the chin Agitate the mold to break up tony large Bubbles The goal here isto evenly coat the surface. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE Step 7: Set the mold upright again, but lean it sightly forward to allow the air fo rie straight up into the opening, if you hove the luxury offing the mold, flit as high os you can, Allow the latex to sin the mold for about & hal hour to 45 minutes. Use a spoon or cup to periodically splash latex tnthe areas above the filline Step 8: When the dwell ime is up. pour tne latex Back out of the mold rotating it as you pour. This wil help you evenly coat the interior. Step 9: Continue to pour the latex back info the bucket as you turn the mold, If you're dealing with a small emount of latex. you may nol be able fo pour the latex out In this case, keep it in the mold Until all the latex fs evenly adher ing to the mold, This will take Quite @ bil of work, ond & no! the ideal situation, but it does work. Step 10: Set the mold on the bucket, and allow it to drain until no more latex drips out. This will take 10 to 15 minutes, You do not want the latex to pool up in any area. Those areas will take forever to dry. Watch out for the chin, nose tip, and overhanging teeth. You may have to tilt the mold to release these areas, OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 11: Loy the dfained mold oni side in front of a fon. Check for pong periodically. Affer ten or twenty Minutes, the lotex. will begin 10 Gel, Set the mold back into the Grote ond repeat the process. To get a nice thickness, you may have to do this as many as 5 times depending on the viscosity of latex compound, Dry the latex overnight 25 OKiEDOKiE Step 12: Dry latex looks darker and pulls ‘away rom the makd ss. To remove cany ‘ack, apply talcum powder io the inside of latex with a brush. Unpowdered lotex could stick 10 ile as you remove the mask, and couse permanent creasing or tear- ing, After folcing the inside. coretuly peel the mask away ftom the sides Beginning ot the neck opening, Work you way along the back and seam. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 13: Remove the back of the mold first. Be careful not to tear the mask, At this point the mask is ry, but not cured. There is stil moisture in the mask, OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 14: Slowly peel the rest of the mask ou! of the mold, The flextle rub- ber should pull away easly fron ime undercut areas. Again, be careful not fo pull 100 hors or you ould tear the mask, Sometimes shaking the mask helps 26 OKiEDOKiE Step 15: Once the mask is out fil it with sot plastic bogs. The ones you get at the grocery store work grea! for this. Fluff the mask with ‘Your hand, and reshape it to he tiginal form. This wil be easier 10 do with a thicker mask. Step 16: Set the mask back on stand, ond allow it fo cure for @-day, The best latex to use is prevulcanized latex. which just means that once the latex is cured, it will remember its shape. if you did not stuff the mask. Gand just set it on the table to cure, that is the shape it would remem. ber, After the latex is cured trim ‘away the flashing along the seam and the neck line. You are now ready for the final stage: PAINTING. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE MASK PAINTING OKiEDOKiE Next to sculpting, this is probably the most challenging part of mask-making, But like anything else, painting takes experience. And with experience comes confidence. So don't be afraid to give this your al THE AIRBRUSH For paint application | use the Paosche H airbrush. The H is, {an extemal mix airbrush. This means that the air and paint ‘xe mixed outside of the cirorush at the tip. Since the paint medium used for masks is thick, the external brush allows you fo work without having to continuously dismantle the brush fo clean it, Internal mix airbrushes such as the Paasche VL are net suitable for this reason. The Paasche H is sold as a set with three different head assembles. The # is the finest assembly with small openings for detall work. The #3 has larger openings to allow for more paint and ai flow. The #5 has the largest air and paint openings of the three. Jeff Kiem, of Death Studios, reports that he uses the Badger 350 with the #5 fluid needle (a) and the matching fluid nozzle tip, This gives the maximum paint flow and min- imizes clogging. Instead of using the #5 air tip (b) inthis set up, Jeff recommends using the #1 ai tip to cut back the Gi flow for detaling. Jeff also sets his cir pressure at 60 PSI (Pounds per square inch) and adjusts the paint flow using the fluid nozzle tip (€). The Badger 350 airbrush is designed very similar to the Paasche H. Personally, | prefer the stur- ier construction of the Hand that itis much easier to dis- ‘assemble for cleaning. This same spray configurations can be set-up on either aibrush, THE AIR SOURCE The other vital component of your airbrush system is of course..AIRI To obtain good results from your airbrush you wil need a steady, even flow of pressurized air, The best source for this is Gn air compressor. There are other possible sources for air, but an air compressor is by far the best invesiment since a good air compressor can last for many years and even thousands of masks. It you decide to invest in an aie compressor, you wil need ‘one that has at least 3/4 H.P. {Horse Power) and an airflow regulator. Sears carries a number of good models and at a reasonable price. You might also check the newspapers for a used model. | have seen some excellent deals on these. Some for under $75. If possible, | suggest that you ‘void the slent models sold through art supply stores. These tend to be very expensive and have a relatively shot ie. ‘On the other hand, the typical compressor is very noisy. A partial solution is to get an industrial model which hos storage tank attached so that it does not run continuously. This type of compressor turns on only to fil the tank then shuts off. Before you make a purchase though, itis a good idea to have the sales clerk demonstrate the unit for you so you can see and hear exactly what you're getting OKiIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKIEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE CHOOSING A COLOR SCHEME The best way to leam color schemes is basically to cheat. Use one that someone has already discovered and try to copy it. Fangoria has many examples, and if you can, get hold of some mask catalogs from other companies, this will be helpful too. Now despite the fact that this may sound like the easy way out. it really Isn't since this takes a lot of practice. After you get the hang of it though. you should bbe able to create your own original color schemes. In the meantime, learn by example and consult your reference bovis. Vitalin creating @ color scheme is a knowledge of color theory. To achieve professional results, you need to have an understanding of HUE, INTENSITY and VALUE. To get & good understanding of these concepts. | recom- mend buying @ color wheel. This so moveable chart that tells you which colors are compatible and what happens ‘when you mix certain colors. MASK PAINT Years ago, masks were colored using @ combination of rubber cement, rubber cement thinner ond oil paints. This proved to be @ highly toxic, not to mention flammable mixture, which has been largely abandoned for hal- loween masks, Rubber cement stain uses Naphtha which contains Benzene, Benzene is very toxic so be coreful if you decide to work with this material Fortunately there ore much better ways fo paint a mask. The best choice. is to buy @ pre-made mask paint or cre- te paint mixture of your own using a liquid rubber paint base very similar to mask latex, bu! with different chemical ‘and adhesive properties. The base by itself will dry clear on ‘masks, and needs an opaquer (white) added to allow cok crs fo cover well. You can then add latex pigments fo cre- te a complete medium which wil work well for you, Mask paint tends to dry 1/2 fo | full shade dorker then it appears ‘when freshly mikad. For this reason its @ good idea to test your paint before you spray it on your mask. | usually keep @ pad of white scratch paper nearby especially for this purpose, Mask paint does not contain any solvents, how- ever you should always weer a respirator when spraying ‘any type of paint. 7 OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE PAINT APPLICATION MASK PAINTING IS BROKEN DOWN INTO THE FOLLOWING 3 AREAS: BASE COATING In this frst stage, you will be applying an overall color for your mask. Try to think about the personality of your char- acter... Ask yourself what king of a mood you're trying to project. This wil help you narrow down the choices of color. The base coat is the overall color of the mask. In conventional canvas painting the base coat would be the background. HIGHUGHTING Hightgh! paints made by adding white to your base pai To highight a mask simply toke your Ightened bose point cand spray it over al of the high aeas on the mosk such os the brow, bumes ears checrbones, otc. wore sure rat | |MMASK PAINTING TIPS you don't ereate any hard edges wien you do ths. I you | | —————————— do, pull back the ‘oltbrusn to soften things Up. | | #1 Spray clean water through your alrorush belween color changes. Make sure that all of SHADING the water is out of the alrbrush before you apply the next color, otherwise your paints will run. TYPICAL PAINT RESPIRATOR Shading is done in the same manner except that you use @ darkened base color, and spray it into all of the recessed | | 49 apply the base coat at 80 psi for quick paint areas of the mask. Basically you're creating painted-in Shadows on the mask. s0 look and See where the shadows JoRpsecHon Ae by Monmalel ond stadosoy fall under natural lighting conditions, and that is where you 60psi. will put the shadows. Once again, watch that you don't leave any hard edges on the mask when you opply this detail, | | #3 Use a color wheel as a guide to mixing colors. Any art supply store will carry one. #4 Study the paint schemes of other masks to learn which colors look good together. #5. Try blending colors right on the mask by spray. ing a translucent color over an opaque color to create a third color (i. transparent red over lve will make purple.) #6 Always keep your hand moving when airbrush- ing. Pull your hand back from the mask to soft ‘en any hard edges. Move your hand closer to the mask for details and heavier concentrations of paint. ay Coco 47 Don't be afraid to experiment. If you don't like Ce the final result, you can always paint over it. Dad ca #8. Try painting the teeth by hand using small, brushes for a cleaner look. 449 The best configuration for your airbrush isto use the #5 needle assembly combined with the # 1 PAASHCE H SET fip. The #5 allows good flow for the thick paint. Whereas the small opening of #1 tip cuts the aiflow back for detailing your mask. 28 OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE PAINTING MATERIALS A) VM&P NAPTHA (optional) B) RUBBER CEMENT (optional) C) LATEX PAINT BASE D) 5 MINUTE EPOXY ) PAASCHE H AIRBRUSH SET & HOSE F) MASK PAINTS G) PERMA-WET H) UQuID SOAP 1) EVE DROPPER J) COLOR WHEEL K) MIXING PALETTE L) DETAIL BRUSHES ‘M) AIR COMPRESSOR (1 h.p.) 29 OKiIEDOKIE OKIEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 1; Start by placing your cured mask back on the armature and Swivel stand, Make sute that you have adequate lighting before you begin, Notural light is the best. Fluorescent lighting is the worst but wil do if itis all you have. Four double fixtures should be sufcient Step 2: Using your mask paint medium, mix Up an appropriate base color. I've cchosen a bright olive color for this ‘mask. This wos made by combining two parts yelow to 1 part blue. To this, | added one part white. The Imire was too bright so | toned it own usng a few crops of red and @ drop of black. You can tone down any color by adding its oppo: sile on the color wheel Step 3: ‘Mask paint can sometimes thick fen over time, so you may want fo add a few drops of water to it before you spray it. Always strain the paint before you spray it through your brush. Here I have transferred the mixture int the spray jar and begun fo coat the mask. Mix up at least 4 02. of point for the base coat. Step 4: Once the mask is thoroughly coated, allow it 10 chy for 10 10 15 minutes. Normally. would sim- ply mix up a lighter shade of my base color to paint the high lights, and @ darker shade of my base color to paint the shading, However, |have decided 10 show you a differen! fechnique for this mask using rubber cement ston, OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 5: Unless your mask has a lot of deta, you can skip his stage. To make Ihe stain you simply rx in oll point of universal pigments to rubber oment. To 3.02, of cement you'll need to add several inches of aint from the ube, I've made a Gork green using equal paris Van Dyke brown and Sap Green and white. hen thin dovin the mixture by adding 0% VMaP Naphtho 10 give ita sprayable consistency, 30 OKiEDOKiE Step 6: You must use great caution coround this material os itis very toxic. Sam is using « respirator with organic vapor filers attached Sometimes spraying this mixture is cifcul, 30 you ean apply it with & Sponge, Make sure you use chem ical resistant gloves, Nophtha will ea! through the thin latex kind, ‘Avoid getting it on your hands. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE Step 7: ‘Once the entire mask is coated with the stain allow it to dry for 10 minutes or s0. Next, dip a soft 10g into the naphtha, and lightly wipe ‘way the rubber cement siain. Do ot rub too hard or you will start to remove your base paint. The goal is lo leave the stain only in the low points of the mask fo emphasize the detail. Tiss known as the RUB ‘Out technique, | spent the better art of an hour on this mask Step 10: Next, continuing with the two tone idea. | sprayed some of the some orange over the front ofthe face. The orange I'm using & the pre-mixed orange straight from the container, The overlay of the forange on the green created a beauiiul brown color My ar pres sure is sel fo about 40 psihere OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE Step 8: ‘Once you are done with the rub oul, you con switch Back to the mast paint. Make sure Its dry fis. At this point, noticed the Conttast was 100 great between the stain ond the base coat, No problem, | simply sprayed yellow ‘over the entire mask to aller the base color. The stain showed through the yellow nicely Step 11: I decided thot the oronge in the 2018 was foo bright, 50 I sprayed over it ightly with some of the ase color. | used it fo highight the edge of the ears also and sprayed over the gums 31 OKiEDOKiE Step 9: The problem wos that | was tack ing mide color valves. had no Color range. In this photo, you can see the yelow sprayed over the stain. | decided fo then spray in some orange over the ear fo create « two fone look for tne mask Step 12: 11m now ready fo statt detaiing. For this, | switch to the smaller Paasche cup. Since red compl ments green nicely, | will start wih this for the gums. Here | am Using Monster Makers’ Red straight trom the container. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKIEDOKIE Step 13: Step 14: Step 15: I've aaiusted the tip for he smal Next, | switch to @ small brush Always test the spray size on a est opening possible, and turned cond apply some white paint to piece of paper before you apply the pressure down 10 30 psi. The {he eyes ond Teeth individually, into ihe mask. Here, | have gums are being painted around This tdkes 0 steady hand, bu | sprayed red around the edge of the outside edges to leave the find that this gives me the most the ayer, ond oxsied 0 yellow center open. Ths creates o natural control. Incidentally, the white stain fo the teeth, If you look highight. looks a little bright despite the closely. you can see that I'm spraying black beiween the teeth fo accent them. | have also used the black to shade inside the nos fr ond around the gums. fact that | mixed some of the bbase color in to localize it. This is strictly and under-coat any way. Step 16: Step 17: Step 18: Next | use the black to shade In this photo, | am shading in the Nex! | spray some of the some inside the eyes, and to shade ear, When working with black, i yellow stain that | used over the some of the other recesses on is important to use it very sper- ‘teeth and homs over the white the mask. | have also painted the ingly. It helps to keep the spray of the eye. The excitement level hors by hand with the underlay se relatively small is clmost too much to stand! He of base/white and begun to is definitely coming to ite. stain them. This mask has 56 homs 50 it took quite some time. The ‘mask fs nearing completion, 32 OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE Step 19: The hors have been shaded with the black round their bose. Notice ko that I have intentionally over- sprayed some of the fed onto the lip otea to give them some color, What is happening i that | am bast cally mixing the paint right on the mask instead of in the container. The combination of the two tech: riques works well together. The lost touch is painting the sit in the pup withthe smallest bush Ihave. Step 22: ‘Once the epoxy dry. ou can apply ¢ finishing gloss coat to the mask fo protect it and make the colors jump fo life. For this, | will be using Perma:Wet, This Should actualy be done betore tne epoxy is applied since it will dul the eyes sighty, OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE Step 20: Once the black is dry on the eyes, you can give them a per- manent shine using § minute epoxy, These tubes hove seen better days, but | stil managed to squeeze enough out fo do the eyes. Mix the epoxy 1 to | ‘Avcouple of small dbs wil do, Step 23: 1'm giving the mosk a generous coat of gloss, though itis not always necessary to go heavy with his material, A title of this Huff goes a long way. By adding 6 ite water fo the mitre you ‘con make it even loser. 33 OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Step 21: ‘Apply the epoxy with a small brush, You do nol need fo put i fon too heavy to get a great effect, Ty t0 brush ou! any bub. bles a: you go, The epoxy f self leveling. Clean the epoxy from your brush with acetone before the epoxy sels, otherwise your brush wil be ruined, Step 24: Here is @ good shot of the mosk with Perma-Wel almost com pletely dry. You can speed up the drying time using a hairaryer. OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE [alii oa Step 25: Although the back of the mask Usually Is not as important, do not neglect it, In this shot, I'm ‘applying more Perma-Wet, Do | lke this stuff or what2! Step 26: Here itis folks, the final piece in all its splendor...introducing “Snarty"! Allin all, | think it's @ good design. Everything come together from the sculpting to the paint job. | am very pleased with the outcome. Time fo start on another one. Better grab the headphones...let's see.,.how about some Nine Inch Nolls..or maybe some Alice in Chains... 34 OKiIEDOKIE OKIEDOKiE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKiEOKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiEOKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE 2 0 © © © © © © @ SCULPTURE © © © oe we eo PROBLEM CAUSE: SOLUTION Clay is too hare. Dividing Wall Sips Clay is Difficult to Smooth Difficulty Shaping Eyes = Warm Clay in Oven > Warm Clay in Oven Switch to Softer Grade > Dense Clay Formulation Move to Cold Room Use Small Brush Dipped in Alcohol ‘Smooth Clay with Thumbs Use Clay Scraper > High Room Temperature > Tight Spot -. > Wrong Technique Wrong Too! ~ Practice, Practice, Practice! Use plastic Eye Form in place of clay = Inexperience Using Clay > Water Clay is Too Dry > No Supports ~ = Too Aggressive > Using Oil Clay ~ Use Fresh Clay = Add Clay Supports on Back of Wall Be Careful Around Mold Wall Always Use Water Clay for Wall «6 ¢ © © © © MOLDING © ee ee eo ow PROBLEM Mold Sets Too Slow Mold Sets-Up Too Fast Mold Surface is Crumbly Mold Detail Chips Off ~ CAUSE SOLUTION: > Use Cold Water > Add Less Ullra Cal “> Reduce Mixing Time = Warm Water ~ > Mixture Too Thick ~ & Mixing Too Long ~ > Use Cool Water 2 Check Mixing Ratio > Water Too Cold & Too little Ultra Cal > First Coat Too Thin 2 Opening Mold Too Soon > Omitting Burlap Layer Need at Least 3/8” to 1/2" Thickness > Make Sure Mold is Set First 2 Add A minimum of Two Layers > Poor mix ~ > Mold is Not Set 2 Check Mixing Ratio > Wait Longer Before Demoiding > Blow Air while applying Gypsum > Use Thinner Gypsum Mix -> Apply Gypsum With Brush Trapped Air & Plaster Too thick > Trapped Air > Deep grooves in Sculpture +> Gaps Between Teeth > Make Sculpture Flush > Fillin With Clay OKiEDOKiE 36 OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE oe 0 6 © © © © e CASTING © ee ee ewe PROBLEM. Latex Too Thick Casting Has Thin Spo! Casting Has Bumps ~ Casting Has Holes Casting Has Thick Areas Casting Drys Too Slow CAUS! SOLUTION: > Cover When Not in Use Thin With Water Exposure to Air “> Natural Thickening ~ > Bad Mold Surface > Inconsistent Gypsum Mix ~ 2 Oi Clay on Mold ~ > Krylon Transferred to Mold ~ > Repair Casting With Thicker Latex Apply Ultra Cal Evenly Clean Mold Thoroughly > Let Krylon dry completely ts = Holes in Mold > Fill in With Ultra Cal “Mold Not Drained Well Pudding Drain Longer > Drain Longer “> Thin With Water ~& Brush Latex Into Mold First “> Agitate Mold Trapped Air > Latex Too Thick = Uneven Build = Needs More Drying Time Reduce Dwell Time “> Fill Mold Completely Allow Full Day to Dry © 0 © © © © © © © PAINTING © © © ee ee ww PROBLEM Airbrush Won't Spray Paint Splatters ~ Paint Drys Too Dark Paint Won't Stick to Mask (CAUSE SOLUTION: “2 Strain Latex First ~® Remove Dried Latex Increase Opening > Clean Brush Thoroughly = Lumpsin Paint o Increase Pressure > Clean Tip With Toothbrush 2 Thin With Water > Pressure Too Low 2 Tip Clogged 2 Paint Too Thick 2 Make Fresh Casting “3 Use Fresh Paint -® Use Same Brand Paint and Latex > Add Less Water/Add More Base > Clean Mask First > Incompatibility “> Paint Too Watery = Ollon Mask ~ > No Opaquer > Add White To Mixture OKiEDOKiE 7 OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE Glossary Armature: A means by which clayis supported uring sculpture. In maskmaking ahead form is used fo ensure a proper ft for the finished mask Base Coat The overall color of the mask which is applied first. All subsequent colors are applied on top of the base coat. Brush Coat: Ako referred to as the detail or print coat. The fist coat of material (either latex for the Casting stage or Ultra Cal for the molding stage) which is applied by brush to pick up detail Burlap: Used as « reinforcing material in the outer layers of the mold. Reduces the possibility of cracks forming in the mold, Bought by the yard Critical Comer: The area where the dividing wall meets the sculpture. Considered crifical because it is part of the surface of the sculpture. This area is subject to trapped Gir which causes mold defects. Detail Coat: see brush coat. Dividing Wall: A temporary wall made of water based clay, Used fo create a separation between the front and back half of the mold. Drip Coat: The gypsum which is applied immeci- ately after the detail coat using the remainder of the fist batch, Usually buit up fo 3/8" to 1" thick. ‘Aso refetedto as the splash coat. Five Minute Epoxy: A two patt quid epoxy avait able from most hardware stores. Used as a coat ing for mask eyes fo create a permanent shine, The last step in fnshing a mosk Highlight: Any paintectin ight crea on a mask. Highighis are painted in to simulate where ight would fal naturally on the high points of the mask. Highight paint can be made by ightering the base paint, Hybrid: Created by combining features from two or more animals or creatures. This is a com- mon trick which FX arrsts use to develop new designs. OKIEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE 38 OKiEDOKiE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE Localize: This s a technique where some of the base colors added to subsequent mask colors in order fo bring the new colos into the paint scheme. For example: ff the base color is blue, some of it would be mixed into the tooth color before it was applied, Maquette: A small clay model created asa guide for a larger sculpture. Mask Latex: A \atex compound formulated especially for sip casting latex masks and props. ‘Abo referred to as slush or casting latex. ‘Mold Wall: A temporary clay wall which is used to form and separate the front mold half from. the back half. Negative: The mold surface which contains a reverse three dimensional imprint of the postive sculpture. Perma-Wet: A newly discovered urethane coating which simulates wet areas on masks. Positive: Any sculpture or model used to create the negative mold. Print Coat: See detail coat. Reference Material: Any visual information used ‘san aid in creating a mask etc. Shading: A paintec-in shadow which is applied forecessed areas on the mask. Splash Coat: See crip coat. Texture Stamp: A flexible stamp which is pressed conto the clay surface to impart texture during the final detailing, Utra Cal 30: An industial stone pattem material ‘adapted from the tool and die industry. Used to create very hard, long lasting, mask mola. Undercut: Any positive or negative area which cte-attes a lock situation between the mold and casting, OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIEOKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE THE MONSTER MAKERS COMPLETE MASK-MAKING KITS Standard Kit: Contains: Miniature Armature Deluxe Full Head Armature ster Makers Ol Based Clay $ Sculpture Tool Set Oil Clay Brush Set Flexible Steel Paletio 25 Ubs.. Ultra Cal 30 2 Chip Brush 1 Yara Burlap ‘Small Rubber Kidney Tool ft. Mold Strap 2.Quorls Mask Latex 402.9 Color Mask Paint Kit 202. Peima-Wel Bondiflex Paasche K Airbrush Set $275. 0 4 shipping Deluxe Kit: (PICTURED ABOVE) Contains: Miniature Ful Head Armature Deluxe Full Head Armature 20 Lbs. Monster Makers Oil Bosed Clay KI7 Sculpture Too! Set i Clay Brush Set Skin Texture Stamp Kit (12) Flexible Steel Palette 25 Lbs. Ura Cal 30, 2" Chip Brush 2 Yards Burlap Large Rubber Kidney Too! 7H, Mold Strap 1 Gallon Mask Latex 4.02.13 Color Mask Point Kit 4.02, Perma-Wet Bonciflex Poasche H Airbrush Set $340.00 + shipping To order call 1-216-681-7739, You should call or wite for accurate shipping rates before you place your ordering instructions. ¥¢ ter. Overseas customers please call or write for special ‘may pay by: Money Order, Cord, Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery, Checks will .ck or any Major Creait ay your order by two ‘weeks, All mask making kis come with complete instructions, OKiEDOKiE OKIEDOKIE 39 OKiEDOKiE Super Deluxe Kit: Contains: Miniature Ful Head Armature Deluxe Full Head Armature 30 Lbs... Monster Makers Oil Based Clay Professional Sculpting Too! Set i Clay Brush Set Skin Texture Stamp kit (12) Flexible Stee! Palette Set 50 Lbs, Ura Cal 30 Chip Brush Set 3 Yards Buriop Rubber Kidney Too! Set Mold Strap Set 5 Gallons Mask Latex 8 02., 13 Color Mask Paint Kit 8 02. Pema-Wet Bonditiex Poasche H Airbrush Set $599. 50+ shipping ORDER ANY KIT AND RECEIVE ‘A FREE HARDCOPY OF THE ORIGINAL MASK-MAKERS HANDBOOK! OKiEDOKIE OKiEDOKIE