Monday, December 21, 2009

Is foam latex good for sculpting your own props (masks/fake noses, ect.)?

I wanted to make my own prosthetics for my Halloween costume out of some kind of sculptable material- like a putty of some sort that you can shape like a piece of clay, and dries relatively light-weight so you can put it on your face with spirit gum or some other glue.


for my costume I wanted to make the stuff that grows out of the Davy Jones characters from Pirates of the Caribbean (barnacles, sea shells, crab legs, seaweed) and I don't really have a mold for anything like that...





so does anyone know if foam latex is good for that kind of stuff??? and where you could buy it?





thanks a lot! :)Is foam latex good for sculpting your own props (masks/fake noses, ect.)?
Foam latex doesn't work like you describe. The closest product that does would be either nose putty or mortician's wax (also called eyebrow wax). these are often used for scar effects but I've never had good luck with them as they get too pliable with body heat.





In order to make your own prosthetics you would first need a life casting of your face. You can do this with professional stuff like moulage but I've done it rough and dirty with plaster bandage strips. You then pour plaster into the casting to get a positive mold of your face.





Using clay you would then build up the areas you want to create on the positive casting, like barnacles and stuff. Then you would make another casting over the clay to create a negative casting.





Insert the positive casting (cleaned of its clay barnacles) into the negative casting and then pour foam latex into the cavity. The latex should expand into the empty spaces and when cured will be your prosthetic.

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