FMS507CreightonLBraveNewWorld: November 2014

Creating moulds:

Products used:

varied spatulas from special effects kit

Clay- sulphate free (Chavant)
Measuring cups

Scissors

Base to create shape on

Hair dryer

Pen

Gel 25 - Pot A + B
Pot C - Silicone

Large lollipop stick/Wooden stick
Lunch Box
Digital scales
Glue gun
Fixer spray
Mould release
Baldiez
Ruler
Brush cleaner
Acetone
Small Pin
Make-up brushes
Baby buds
Baby wipes
Talc powder
Acitone
Pros-aide
Pros-aide remover
Hard brushes from kit
Alcohol colour palette

Card paper

Scissors

Pen

Preferably old clothes to be worn as task becomes quite hands on
Aloe Vera doesn't mix with silicone so ensure you don't have any products such as hand wash or hand cream on the skin before shaping the piece.

Gloves are really important during this process so that you don't contaminate the pots you're using. Even if a little mixes accidentally if will heavily affect the outcome of the sculpt. The process is quite long so always take precautions and don't rush the process when weighing each liquid and renewing gloves. It will save you repeating the process again if any mistakes are made.

After producing incorrect images the week before we were told the moulds we create over the next two weeks will be the shapes we will include within our new design for the re-shoot. We were given 6 different placements to choose from...

Horns/forehead - chosen
Eyebrow
Cheekbones
Chest
Upper lip
Chin

I chose the forehead as I thought that could be an interesting place to create a tribal scarification inspired design on rather than the upper lip or chin where the surface area is much smaller so the detail would have to be much more intricate and professionally done.

Making the silicone shape:

Consider position?
Shape?
How does the face move with the piece?
Ensure edges blend into skin
Doesn't have to be a large clay piece sometimes smaller pieces are more effective.
Smooth with spatula
Beads ect can be pressed into the piece to create shapes
Ensure theirs no hard edges
The finer the edge the better

Creating the shape (sculpting) :

Cut out a square from the base (2 because two pieces are being made.)
Using the measuring cups turn upside down and draw around the circle shape with a pen onto the square base.
Now cut an appropriate amount of clay from the block and mould with hands to heat clay up so its easier to shape. A hair dryer can also be used to melt the clay a little enabling you to sculpt it easier.
Now start to blend and sculpt the clay onto the base really focusing on blending out the edges as thin as possible so it looks as realistic as it can on the forehead.
Bare in mind smaller pieces can make the biggest impact so don't create the piece to big.
Sculpt using wooden stick and different shaped spatulas.

Always create cast/sculpt on non-porous surface.

Sculpting my clay, I chose to design a cross
like indent. I didn't want it to be to perfected
when it came to smoothing because I think
the texture on it would look really good if it
hopefully transfers on the skin, hopefully it will!
As Sue said practice makes perfect and most of
the time this process has to be repeated a fair few
times before its 100% successful.

The main problem I had when creating my shape was that

the sculpt was to big. Every time I cut it down when it came to

blending it out at the edges again it would just expand the

size once again so I had to be really careful when blending.

The forehead is not as big as expected and we were told that

smaller pieces are most of the time more effective than

bigger ones so I was definitely always trying to keep my sculpt

quite small so the outcome would be more effective.

Casting of mould after sculpting non-sulphate clay:

Ensure you're 100% happy with your sculpt and that the edges are blended out really well before the next process.
Spray fixer spray on top of your clay preferably in front of an open window to help it dry and to enabling the gas to escape. Only spray enough to cover your shape with a glaze.
After this layer dries spray the clay again with release spray.
Cut one of the measuring cups in half leaving a bigger side to sit on top of the clay. Ensure its the side with a hole at both ends.
Ensure the glue gun is hot and glue around the perimeter of cups including ensuring to fit it into the gaps so no liquid can seep out.
Now using two new measuring cups place one on the scales and add 75g of Gel A. Using gloves. Try and get it as close to the figure wanted as possible. Use a wooden stick to help add and remove quantities.
Now wipe pot A ensuring there's no excess that can contaminate the next cup.
Remove gloves and put on another pair, also check that the cling film covering the scales is clean to avoid both gel's mixing.
Do the same process as before but now using pot B, both gel's have to have more or less the exact same amount in each cup so if one pot goes 0.5 over ensure the other one does to so they're equal.
Now pour both gel's together into one cup and mix with wooden stick.
Once the consistency is quite gloopy and thick slowly pour from a height over the mould ensuring its all covered. Leave to dry. Any mixture left in the cup can be used to test whether the sculpt is dry rather than poking the sculpt.

It was quite difficult at first measuring the exact same amount using

product but having to obviously change gloves, wooden stick and cup and sometimes even cling film for each measurement. There was obviously a lot of us trying to get through it in the class so all eyes were on the people trying to correctly do it. It much more difficult then it looks trying not to cross contaminate pots A + B as the liquid is so runny so half of it ends up down the pot itself which you then have to wipe but not get anywhere near the other pot. It's definitely easier to label objects such as the wooden sticks and cups so you don't accidentally use the wrong thing.

Release of mixture:

Cut down the cup at each side to help release the mould. Slowly push from underneath to help it out.
Cut the cup of clay piece and cover the piece with cling film to help preserve it so it can be used again.
Clean the mould using a baby bud and some brush cleaner.
If the mould has any stringy bit sticking off it cut off.
Baldiez - there are two types of this product, 1- Baldiez 2 - Super Baldiez. But we are using the first one Baldiez.
Using two separate measuring cups add 100 Acitone to one using the measurements on the cup the 50 Baldiez to the other.
Mix both together and pour over the mould ensuring it covers the whole shape even to the edges. The mixture is a liquid so pour over one of the cups to save the excess.
Dry the sculpt using a cold hair dryer, the mixture might sit in the indent so it helps to brush the mixture across the sculpt using a make-up brush or baby bud so its all even.
When the layer is dry add another layer and repeat process.
A small pin can be used to help raise the side of the layer to ensure its dry.
Now using all three pots of Gel A, Gel B and C.
Using two measuring cups place each on the scales and add 50g of each to one cup. Use gloves and try to avoid mixing or contaminating either.
Now using a third plastic cup add 100g of Pot C.
Result -
1 cup = 50g of Gel A.
2nd cup = 50g of Gel B.
3rd cup = 100g of Pot C.
Mix all three together and add a drop of colour into it. A tiny drop of colour makes a big impact so don't drop to much in.
Once mixed pour the mixture on from a height only covering the indent/shape created. Use a ruler to spread it across and ensure its covered the whole sculpt.
Leave to dry.
The excess left in the pot again can be used to test whether the sculpt is dry.

Releasing my shape...

Sue's example

Baldiez product used to layer...

Before layering...

After layering, as you can see it create a thin layer over

the top almost looks like cling film...

Mixing gel's...

Running over mixture with ruler

to perfect coverage...

Final stage drying...

I was in my one to one tutorial with Sharon whilst the class produced this final stage so I kind of rushed it towards the end to catch up. I would like to repeat the whole process again just so that I'm confident I could produce it myself.

Removing mould:

Products used for this specific part of the process:

Talc-on powder

Small make-up brush

Acitone

Pros-aide

Pros-aide remover

Hard kit brushes

Alcohol colour palette

Baby buds

Card paper

Scissors

Pen

Mould before:

Ensure your mould is completely dry before you begin this process.
Pour talc powder over the mould.
Start gently lifting the edge of the piece with a pin. A layer should lift.
Once the layer is find add some more powder to your small brush then slowly and gently brush into the layer so it slowly lifts away from the mould.
The imprint of the mould should slowly peel off, this has to be done very gently to avoid ripping the imprint.

Mould after:

Applying to the chosen area:

Cut a square out of your card ensuring its bigger than your piece.
Now place your piece onto the card and lightly draw around it.
Now cut out the paper inside of the circle(the shape of your piece.) So you are left with a square shape with a circle in the middle.
Now using a baby bud apply the pros-aide around the edge of the card and place the piece on top.

I wasn't to confident in applying my mould to the face just yet and decided to watch Yoiwan's application step by step. Hers turned out really well! I think it's a really good size for the cheek and will look really effective once shaded.

Yoiwan's mould:

This is now going to be added to the chose area like the cheek for example like Yoiwan did.

Yoiwan applying her mould on Phoebe:

Ensure lid is put back on pros-aide.
Using a baby bud again rub some pros-aide onto the area of the skin on which its being applied.
Phoebe has sensitive skin so he cheek was really stinging when Yoiwan applied the piece. It was fine once the card was removed but always ensure your model's skin doesn't react to the product.
Ensure your models eyes are fully shut then place the card onto the head.
Remove the excess using acetone once its stuck on the face.

Sue's example:

Yoiwan Hong's application on Phoebe:

Violette Bo's application:

Anna Garner's application:

Classmate's work:

Applying colour to the mould:

Products used:

Alcohol palette

Brushes from special effects kit

Dip the brush in some brush cleaner then carefully dip into the palette.
Flick slowly over the mould, flicking the colour on rather than dabbing or wiping creates a more realistic coloured effect.

Creating my new design:

For my tribal inspired re-shoot I have decided I'm going to hopefully imprint some decorative boarder tape over the face using neutral tones to create an imprint effect. I thought of this idea during my tutorial with Sharon. She looked over my Blog and came across my older 'tribal body modification' post where I talk about Ariana Page Russell. I wasn't feeling to inspired by the Tribal topic as I didn't find it as interesting as others did but I really like the design's Ariana produces.

http://www.arianapagerussell.com/work/skin/

Even though some of them look quite painful it's almost a dark, painful beauty. I like that they are like a modern version of the tribal marks we were shown on many African Tribes.

Imprint's like this...

Ariana Page Russell, (2006), Flora [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.arianapagerussell.com/work/skin/[Accessed 15 October 14].

Really remind me of a wallpaper with it repeated pattern. So still incorporating printed, indent theme I bought the boarder tape so I could try create a similar effect on the face. I also bought gem stones which I'm going to experiment with on the face covering with liquid latex and shading over to try and create a lifted shape as the tape will only add a 2D effect to the face.

I created a Pinterest board to help inspire my new design;

http://www.pinterest.com/libbycreighton/s-c-a-r-i-f-i-c-a-t-i-o-n/

First mood-board created for inspiration:

A lot of these designs include a lot of colour but the different textures used were really interesting and I considered what they would look like using a nude colour palette like my design will include.

Practising my design:

Products used:

Gems

Scissors

Liquid latex

Foundation palette

Concealer palette

Baby buds

Stencils

Cheap brushes

Make-up brushes

After experimenting with different materials in class such as pasta shapes and rice I really wanted to incorporate some of this into my design. I used cake/bun piece in my experiment, I added these into the fuller earth mixture after it was applied to the arm. The outcome was really effective as the mixture dried quite thick making the whole piece look a little like a 3D rock shape.

However I wanted to use some of these cake/bun piece in my tribal influence look plus some gems alongside them. The only products I could think to try cover them effectively was liquid latex. When practising this on my own face it was quite difficult as the pieces are very small and fiddly plus the latex has to be 100% dry in order to add any colour or texture on top but even when its dry the latex is still quite sticky so it pulls of the face very easily.

I really loved Ariana Page Russell's work so I really wanted to try recreate an imprint in a similar way. However it would be much harder as I'm only aloud to use nude tones which is much harder to make an imprint look natural but stand out at the same time. Ariana's work for example really stood out as the patterns and prints are red and pinky against the nude toned flesh, making it stand out more and look a lot harsher but effective.

Gems stones and stencils:

Liquid latex:

I first tried sticking the cake pieces and gems to the forehead with liquid latex then added a layer on top to help me create a coloured layer over that. This is where I struggled with the cake piece as they're so small so they refused to stay stuck to the skin a lot of the time.

I added some foundation to try and see the effect it was going to create. It covered quite well but I would obviously have to cover the entire face the same colour for it to blend in well. I also added a stencil to my cheek.

I then covered this with foundation using an normal foundation brush to cover the whole pattern.

The picture is quite poor quality here but the one below show a better version. The pattern printed nicely but I thought I would test using a darker coloured foundation over the top then a light on the opposing cheek to see which is more effective. I had to bear in mind that my model, Amy Newman has much darker skin so I thought maybe the print would look stronger if applied in a darker tone.

This was my test with a lighter shade, its not as visible or strong visually because of the lighter shade but I think it looks much more effective as the tone matches the rest of the face. I also added more colour to the head pieces, I think they look a little like scarification but just need to be blended out into the forehead a little more. I like that the liquid latex produces a wrinkle like effect on on the skin adding more texture.