Prosthetic Casting

Seraph Silicone Prosthetic Model and Mold

Demolding the plasticine model was a breeze since I had decided to use a universal mold release spray. The plasticine would not have stuck to the plaster too badly had I forgotten this step, but because I remembered the model came out cleanly. I would be able to touch-up the model and remake the mold if necessary and also didn't have to take much time cleaning up the mold before casting.

Silicone Prosthetic Samples

With the plaster mold cleaned with soap and water and sprayed with universal mold release I was ready to start casting. I did a few quick samples first to figure out the proportion of metallic powders to silicone pigment.

Seraph Silicone Prosthetic Cast #4

Once I'd determined what proportions I needed to get the correct base color I cast the entire piece in one batch. It took four tries to get a successful casting. The first time I did not mix enough to make the whole piece in one batch. The second and third time the silicone was not mixed thoroughly and parts of the casting did not cure properly. With such a small application of silicone in such thin sections it was crucial that the silicone be really thoroughly mixed. I realized I'd forgotten to double pour - this is when the two part of the casting material are poured together and mixed, then poured into a second container and mixed again. This solved the curing issues and the fourth cast was completely successful. The silicone was easily demolded from the plaster mold. The edges were then all trimmed.

Plaster Mold Making

Seraph Silicone Prosthetic Model in Final Stages

With the last of the carving completed and the hard edges softened with denatured alcohol it was time to make the mold.

Fiber Reinforced Plaster Mold

The material for the mold depends upon both the model material and the casting material. The model was a non-sulfur plasticine which is compatible with just about everything. The casting material was silicone so it made the most sense to make the mold out of a rigid material. I could have used a resin but it was less expensive to just use fiber reinforced plaster - which I already had on hand.

Detailed Modeling

Seraph Silicone Prosthetic Model Detail

After the form for the silicone prosthetic was blocked out I began to carve back the excess clay, modeling a more precise outline and smoothing the form. I only carved a small section at first to get an idea where I was heading with it.

Seraph Silicone Prosthetic Left Half

Before I got too far ahead of myself I flipped the design and finished blocking out the other half in clay. I decided to make one complete piece rather than a left and right half. I didn't want the hassle of lining up seams.

Plasticine Modeling

Seraph Prosthetic Designs
left: mid process, right: final design

The next step in building the Seraph silicone prosthetic was to sketch out a fully realized design based on the flat pattern.

Seraph Prosthetic Plasticine Model

The design was taped under a piece of plexi on top of which I began to model the prosthetic piece in plasticine clay. When modeling I prefer to start out heavy handed and carve back the excess.

Plastic Wrap Patterning

Plastic Wrap Pattern

The very first step in the making of the Seraph silicone prosthetic was sketching where the major rhythms in the design would be placed on the face. After a number of thumbnail sketches a basic layout was selected. This layout was sketched onto a plastic wrapped mannequin head. The plastic wrap was then taped over with clear packing tape so that the position of the design would stay in place when the plastic was cut off of the form. This enabled me to then make a flat pattern by slashing and spreading the draped plastic.

Back At It

Seraph silicone appliance

It's high time this blog was back up and running. I'll make an effort to play a bit of catch up posting the most interesting projects that have come and gone over the past several months. But to start with, here's a little something I just finished today.

I've been working on a new costume which may or may not ever be completed. The costume is that of a seraph (6-winged angel - name meaning "fiery one") It is an art nouveau inspired design.

Seraph silicone appliance sketch

I decided to start with building the silicone facial prosthetic since it's the sort of work I haven't done before and new materials are always fun. I figured that even if I don't get to making the rest of the costume I must at least create this piece of it. It all started with a sketch.

EITM Halloween Bash pics

Pictures from Elliot in the Morning's Halloween Bash are now up!
See pictures not only of the phoenix costume but also the many costumes worn by other guests. There were many excellent costumes chosen by judges to participate on stage in the audience vote. Photos #162-237,317-320
me: Photos #1,2,3,162,202,280

Elliot in the Morning Halloween Bash album
(no guarantees on level of taste, remember, it was Halloween)

The Phoenix: Halloween 2010

Phoenix Costume 2010

I've finished the Phoenix Costume. It took a total of approximately 250-300 hours over 5 months to complete and, a mere $600 for absolutely everything.

I attended Elliot in the Morning's Halloween Bash 2010 in Clarendon VA on Oct 29th. I was awarded first place in the audience judged costume competition. The competition was run very professionally and handled smoothly. It was a wonderful event to attend and there were many very skilled costumers at the event. This party is the only in the DC area I've found that takes their competition seriously, even though it does not boast the largest prize. Venue, people, and party were great.

Phoenix Costume at Elliot in the Morning's Halloween Bash

Expect many more pictures and video clips to come!
I've held back on releasing any in-process information on this costume until after the competition as is always wise to do when competing when you don't know who else is on the field with you. As such, I've a flood of in-process photos and tips & tricks on how I created this costume, my most elaborate to date.

FAQs
Yes, that is me in the costume
Yes, I made everything that I am wearing with the exception of the stilts
No, it is not heavy. the wings are about 10-15lbs, like a moderately filled backpack
No, I'm not from Harry Potter (although I do enjoy the books) The Phoenix is a long time favorite symbol for me. I've worked with the imagery in multiple media on many occasions and have not grown weary of the subject yet.

WINGS FAQS

For any and all who are interested in a commissioned pair of wings I would recommend visiting my Wings info page before sending your inquiry.

Wings FAQs Page

Thank You!

~Dani

Electric Shovel

Hangar Theatre’s production of “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” included a few more shovels besides Mary Anne. The costume for the bright and lively Electric shovel included two clamping shovels, which were my responsibility to create. Grill tongs, trash cans, dust pans and foam coolers did the trick. Thank you Dollar Tree.

Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel: Mary Anne

One of my favorite assignments this past summer was creating the shovels for the Kiddstuff show, “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.” I really enjoyed working on the Kids shows which generally involved over-size and/or quirky and imaginative “junk art” pieces.

The script for our production of “Mike Mulligan” included four different kinds of shovels: Mary Anne – Mike’s steam shovel, Diesel, Electric and Nuclear shovels. Mary Anne was a straight forward design. The others allowed me to be a little more inventive since well, who knows what a nuclear shovel should look like anyway?

Welcome to Edinburgh

Our first mainstage show, "The 39 Steps" required a lot of scenic props pretty much all of which were on casters: door frames, window frames, sign posts, and window & door add-ons. For the most part Tyler made the scenic props, but I did play my part by taking care of the surface treatment.

My favorite were the signs for "Edinburgh" and "Alt Na Shelach." The reason they were fun: 1/4" blue foam. It's been our friend for a number of projects this summer. SO much easier to cut letters out of blue foam then to try using a scroll saw (which we don't have).

The Phoenix Begins

Phoenix Mask

Surprise, surprise, as busy as I am at the hangar this season I've still got a few side projects going on. For one, I'm already working on next year's Halloween costume (shock!), oh and, it has wings too. (of course)

I'll be living in an area with some pretty major costume contests this Halloween. Not only would it be a great publicity opportunity but, it may also help fund my graduate education *fingers crossed*

My first idea was to create a harpy costume but, I changed my mind and decided to work with a more familiar subject: a phoenix. For many reasons the phoenix is a better choice for me including...
- imagery, color palette & materials with which I'm very familiar
- more "flashy" and attention grabbing than a black harpy
- as much as I'm fascinated by dark imagery, I do not want to glorify it. The Angel of Death costume is quite dark and scary...As It Should Be! It was a portrayal of a terrifying yet beautiful character (which according to my own interpretation is in actuality a servant of God, not evil.) On the other hand, a harpy would simply be, um, dark and scary for darkness sake. It would be cool but not necessarily good - for me at least.

So, the first part I started to work on was the mask. I began with an oil-based clay model.

"Kill to Eat"

In addition to making props this summer I have also been conscripted into making posters for the three experimental “Wedge Productions.” One more thing in the portfolio I say. The first show, “Kill to Eat” by Caridad Svich, takes place in a grungy, near-future city somewhere in (I would presume) South America at the time of Carnival. Dark and violent, oh and tattoos seemed to be a major symbol.

Exploding Sticky Fish!

First show of the season at Hangar Theatre and, once again, I found myself making fake fish. It was fun having the chance to revisit an old assignment and see if I could “do one better.” Consequently, what could be better than EXPLODING STICKY FISH!

Instead of searching endlessly for an acceptable, anatomically accurate-ish toy fish, I just built one out of clay. The plan was to make a plaster mold and from that create a latex fish. The first attempt was the most memorable. I set a few layers of brush on latex then, filled the whole fish with a sloppy mixture of latex and sand (knowing full well that it would take a long time to dry but, have a very realistic weight, feel, and “floppiness”) The outer layers cured in less than an hour and with the fish named “Roger” looking pretty good I popped him in the toaster oven (referred to as the easy-bake-fish-oven). Heat will hasten the curing of latex with little side effects, oh, unless it’s also packed full of sand in which case the unset innards will expand at an alarming rate, bursting through the thin seams and spilling all over the easy-bake-fish-oven-easy-removal-drip-tray. Thus is this summer’s fish story. Roger now decorates Adam's (ATD) work space.

The fake gutted fish was a very convincing piece of propage especially when it was still hot out of the oven and all squeezy inside. Seeing as how a fake gutted fish was not called for in “The 39 Steps” prop list though, I made a second fish, this time with just a latex skin, fully cured in the oven, then filled with poly fiber and sand - you know - the normal way to make fake fish. La Sigh….the other way was more fun.

Soon to follow: pictures of the actual exploding sticky fish – this one is the fish used in the show.