Sculpting Archive
Page 3
Table of Contents:
Making a Pipe Armature
Paper mush and concrete
Where to buy Armature
Basic Maskmaking Supplies
Super sculpey solvent?
Baking Large Supersculpy Bust
Making a Pipe Armature
Laureen777
I'm looking for a website with a "how to" section about how to build
an armature...
does anyone know a good one?
Indigogyre
I'll take some pictures and write you up a simple way to make a sculpting armature.
It's a fairly cheap thing to do with some pipe and wood from your local hardware
store. You'll just need to add some plaster bandage to the mix and you'll be
good to go. Honestly, all the big names use things like it!
ClayModelWhore
dean please post um here it would also help me out along with many other newbies.
Indigogyre
OK, here it is the info you need to make something cheap an easy. This is a
basic pipe armature that Casey has used while sculpting at my house. Heh, heh,
yeah I had to!
There are not a lot of parts, here's the shopping list:
1 6" lazy susan ballbearing ring
1 24" round particle board base
1 1" galvanized pipe flange
1 1"x18" galvanized pipe
1 package of screws
1 bottle of glue
1 roll of plaster bandage or
1 package of cheese cloth and 1 pound of plaster.
Some tools:
Yard stick or measuring device
Drill with assorted drill bits
Screwdriver to match your screws
Here's how I put it together:
Find the approximate middle of the 24" round base and draw an x across
it at least 8 inches long. Drill a small pilot hole in the middle of the X.
Center the lazy susan ring, drill some pilot holes, fill the holes with glue
and then screw down the lazy susan ring.
Now flip over the base so the lazy susan ring is on the bottom. Now you will
need to attach the flange to the top of the base. this is where that small pilot
hole is going to come in handy.
Find the small pilot hole and center the flange over it. Drill pilot holes,
fill them with glue and then screw the flange down. With a pipe installed and
it being covered with a bunch of clay and plaster.
Lastly we need to make the top of the armature. this is where it will take one
or two rolls of plaster bandage depending on the size. It was commented that
the top of my armature did not have to be this large and it is a bit rough.
You want it somewhat smooth but bumpy so the clay can grab onto it. I made my
top using burlap and plaster since I did not want to waste my plaster bandages.
I've learned a few things with this method since then so my next one should
be better.
Now, for those cheap people out there who are not using plaster bandages here is some helpful advice. Always prewet the material you're going to use. It should not be dripping wet but it can not be dry either. If your material is dry it will suck the moisture from the plaster and do bad things. The top should be roughly the size of a small ball, something between a normal hard professional baseball and a 12" softball.
Presoak your material, mix your plaster, let the plaster thicken up a bit, remove your material from the water and ring out the excess, adip your material into the plaster and cover it completely and finally apply on working it onto the top of the armature.
Here are some additional thoughts on making the top of the armature. I found
it difficult to get the ball of the top started and staying in place. In order
to work around this I thought you could also buy a galvinized 'T' fitting to
put on the top of the pipe. This would give you something to wrap the plaster
around easier and make for a nicer core.
The base can be made out of anything. I used the particle board becuase it's
cheap and was precut at the store I shop at. If you going to use particle board
it woudl be a good idea to seal it with a few coats of something. It will absorb
moisture and be ruined over time.
One last bit of advice. Make sure you get galvinized pipe. It is treated to
resist moisture and rusting. Notice the bottom flange on this picture and how
it is rusting. I used standard black pipe because it was cheaper and it is now
rusting. I've not used it much and it's not been exposed to a lot of moisture.
So be careful in what materials you use.
ClayModelWhore
Thanks a ton dean. this will help me out some. just like to add I used cheese
cloth when I made mine and it seems to be working just fine. I took a piece
of cheese cloth and wrapped it around the top of the pipe (to cover the open
hole in the pipe) then why the plaster was still runny kinda like water I applied
it on the cheese cloth to soak it a bit. then when the plaster thicked up a
bit I started building it up then added more cheese cloth on it then covered
that with more plaster. when you do this you can grab and the bottom and sqeeze
the plaster upwards and it forms a ball/mush room. I now know this is wrong
so I guess I will make another one but still gunna sculpt on what I have right
now to see if it helps any (which I doubt) just my .02 cents.
Indigogyre
Casey would use something of this sort to create a sculpt with a neck. He did
mention that the top might have been a bit large to pull out of a one peice
mold neck. Otherwise it was fine. It looks like Jordu used something very similar
with his demo on sculpting for his dvd tutorial on movie fx magazine.
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Paper mush and concrete
reddkryten
I once saw a model made out of concrete and paper mush.
I asked the woman who made it and she said that she started out with a chicken
wire frame and then she covered it with bandages and then she put the paper
mush and concrete mix over it.
I would like to do something like that but I have a few questions, can I use
plaster instead of concrete and can anyone tell me what ratio of paper mush
and plaster I should use.
Do you have any other tips on this.
KingMe2
What brand of paper mush were you thinking of using?
The paper is just there to bulk up the plaster much like burlap, hemp, cotton,
paper towels, cheese cloth, terry cloth, table cloth, cloth of Magnesia, dogs/cats,
small children and bread. Cats are my first choice, but the hair is a bit of
a problem.
Douse the paper in the plaster until it becomes a paper mush, then glop it onto
the chicken wire and it will set. You have to smooth it out with a kidney tool/sponge/hand/small
child to avoid sharp edges. Burlap works great because it is a loose weave and
the plaster flows between the fibers and locks it in very tight as well as bulking
it up.
Experiment with a variety of mush sources to see what suits you best, but you'll
probably agree with me on the cat thing.
henderson
Since plaster has a tendancy to set pretty fast (unlike concrete), you may want
to extend the working time.
You can add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of cold water to double or tripple
the work time or you can add up to 5% flour to make the plaster pliable for
up to 3 hours. This works with ultracal too, but I don't know if it's ok for
molds, just sculptures.
reddkryten
I think I read somewhere that the paper mush will lighten the plaster but keep
it strong, does anyone know anything about this?
Thanks for the help.
jlester2000
Expirement with Aves Clay-shay. It's great stuff. You can almost sculpt it like
clay, and gives more precision than the other mache type mixtures you can make.
www.avesstudio.com/
reddkryten
I did it WOOOHHOOO, its setting right now, I decided to just use plaster and
forget the paper mush, it worked out great.!!!
nm3
To retard the setting time of plaster add approx 1/2 a tsp of Sodium Citrate
to a large bucket of water. Then add your plaster. This is suitable for mouldmaking
as well! Often wondered why all them moulds in cinefex look as smooth as a babys
arse?
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Where to buy Armature
Milratt
I want to try mask making and I was wondering what would or could be used for
an armature with out making a life cast of myself.
jlester2000
You can buy one from:
www.monstermakers.com
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Basic Maskmaking Supplies
davedrum00
Hey,
I'm new to maskmaking although NOT new to sculpting. I'm looking for a list
of supplies and places I can get them cheap. My friend showed me this monster
makers beginner kit, but I figure I can get a better deal somewhere else. So
far I have this list of what I assume I need.
Am I missing anything?
How much would this all cost me? What kind of oil based clays are good for making
masks?
Armature
5 lbs. Oil based clay
25 lbs. White Hydro Cal
1 yard Burlap
Molding Tools
1 Quart Mask Latex
5 color 4 oz. Mask paint
Pitchblack70
Just a few starter comments (someone who has done masks, please chime in!)
Oil based clay: Any are good - pick what you feel most comfortable with. As
long as you're not molding in silicone (which you wouldn't do for a mask), then
sulfur content isn't even an issue...
Other sundry items to use:
Vaseline
Mold straps
Water based clay (to make the retaining wall that helps create the two halves
of your mold)
Plastic cap material to seal the clay, and thus simplify mold cleanup
Drainage bucket to catch the excess latex...
Slacker
Seems you don't have a big budget, so why not make your own latex paints? Get
a little more casting latex, dilute it with 2 to 3 parts distilled water (be
careful when you do this, as you don't want the latex to clump up..mix it slow).
Pick up some acrylic craft paints from a craft shop or department of Walmart
and mix them in. A lot cheaper than buying it already made.
Where are you located?
Indigogyre
Depending on the type of mask you want to make, you'll need more then 5 pounds
of clay. I would recommend a nice medium to medium firm grade of clay. Stay
away from the #2 Roma or Prima, they seem a bit too soft in my opinion. Also,
although Prima is cheap it is a lot harder to smooth so I would stay away from
it for that reasona lone. I have a bunch on hand and I'm going to switch over
to either Roma or Chavant when I get a chance.
You can make your own armature cheaply, check out the sculpting study forum.
Plaster can be from a local pottery supply house, burlap from your local craft
store. Molding tools are almost the same as your sculpting tools. But your'll
need the buckets and
stuff to measure out the plaster and mater and to mix it all in. Which can be
found at your local home improvment store.
davedrum00
I'm from Brooklyn.
As far as making the masks goes I plan on making half masks or maybe even some
1/4 face masks that just cover the eyes.
Do I need anything specific for a half head mask?
Anything I can cut out from this list?
DEAD END CREATIONS
I personally started out with an Armature from Monstermakers and some of their
oil based clay. I like their clay for sculpting teeth, horns, and ears. but
I prefer soft and medium soft roma for skin and general facial build up. I really
wouldn't start with a kit, try to establish some general sculpting skills and
techniques before you create a mask. that way you can see where you have to
work from skill wise, plus it forces you to stay focused on the sclupture, and
not say "oh this is good enough" and slap some plaster on it and be
final. I myself recently bought some sculpting books, videos, and my trusty
anatomy book. As far as tools go you can make your own texture stamps with latex,
and tools you can make yourself, or buy but I suggest to be creative, find some
stuff around your home or garage and create some tools of your own. I do also
suggest to invest in some nice sculpting tools. I bought a pro studio kit from
monster makers for my first sculpt and they were really great to work with.
I cant say much more, just sculpt til it hurts. Hope this helps some what.
Indigogyre
Oh you can cut out a lot of things if you want. They just make the job easier.
All you really need should be the following to get started. Styrofoam head for
wigs, some clay and tools to sculpt. To make the mold all you need is some waterbased
clay and plaster and the misc items tomix it.
If you really want to start with a rough face thing try laying out a thin sheet
of clay about a 1/2 thick. Cover that with some plastic wrap on one side. Take
a deep breatha nd push the plastic side to your face and try to get the rough
form of your face. Build up the bakeside with more clay to keep it from deforming.
Mix some plaster and dump it in there to make a cheap face casting for a rough
mask.
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Super sculpey solvent?
andyhosmer
what does everyone use for smoothing their sculpey sculpts?
Greyguy
I have used vasiline sparingly on a brush and isopropol alcohol
Greyguy
riley
I use vegetable oil.
nm3
I use turpenoid- low odour thinners. or lighter fluid
caseysaclone
I use 99% alcohol and sometimes a mixture of alcohol and a little sculpey dilute.
But for the most part the alcohol works well.
jlester2000
Hhhmmm, I was working with Premo (or whatever they're calling thier expensive,
"high-grade" Sculpy), and after a while of smoothing it with alcohol,
the surface became hard and sort of dry (it felt like it had started to cure
a bit). Was I dehydrating it with the alcohol? It was very strange. Perhaps
mixing with their diluent will help?
caseysaclone
Hey Joe,
Yeah the alcohol will dry out the clay and the sculpey dilute will help keep
it from doing that so much. I mix about 75% alcohol to 25% dilute so that the
dilute doesn't sit on the surface to long and you can get back to sculpting
quickly.
_______________________________________________________________________
Baking Large Supersculpy Bust
zerogage
I am getting close to finishing a life size character bust sculpted with super
sculpy. And I am unsure of the best way to bake it without causing cracks etc.
thanks
caseysaclone
I've baked large stuff like this before and the trick is to bake it very slow
at a low temprature over a long period of time. You need to warm up the inside
and make sure it bakes out completely. I would recommend starting at around
200 and bake it at that temprature for around 4 to 6 hours. You may need to
raise the temprature if your oven isn't accurate with the guage. An extra temprature
gauge on the inside of the oven will also help you make sure the temprature
is accurate with your oven guage on the outside. Also don't ever open the oven
or remove the piece until you let it completly cool off over night. Because
Super Sculpey slightly shrinks when it's baked you may get some cracks no matter
what you do, but those can be easily fixed with epoxy putty like Aves, magic
sculpt etc......
Hope this helps.