Hello! Great to hear of your interest in our classes! We''re resuming our popular classes, Silicone Mask Making and various other new FX Makeup courses are planned for Spring/Summer 2024. Plus, even more learning opportunities and new FX classes coming up in Autumn and Winter 2024! To stay updated with all the latest details and class releases, do send an email to [email protected] :) // Petra

hi! Thank you for appreciating the work we do, and perhaps you will be able to travel to Sweden one day and take a class with us? Where do you live? :) // Petra

switzerland :-) i might take this into consideration @@helsinglight

Hej! Sorry sent svar härifrån, har haft en paus från Sociala Medier ett tag, men kul att du tyckte om filmen och innehållet <3 / Petra

Yes 👍 you can follow us on @helsinglight on instagram and Facebook. 😀

Hi, so sorry my late reply, we've had a break from social media so I haven't checked our channel here in a while, now slowly getting back. Perhaps you have already found your answer? Yes, you can paint with silicone that has a different density than the cast, but there are some considerations to keep in mind. Ensure the silicone paint and the silicone of the cast are compatible. Even if they have different densities or hardnesses, they should bond well if they're of similar types (e.g., platinum-cure to platinum-cure or tin-cure to tin-cure). Also note that the adherence between different densities of silicone might vary. Make sure the silicone paint's flexibility complements the flexibility of the cast to avoid cracking or peeling when the cast is flexed or moved. Ensure that the paint cures properly on the silicone cast, as some silicones can inhibit the curing of others, especially if they are not of the same type. But with this said, it is always best to paint a silicone cast fresh from the mold, as long as it has cured, the sooner you paint the better. Also, the different densities of silicone may have different translucencies, feels, and finishes, which can affect the final appearance of your piece. We work a lot with Smooth On products and painting a lot with their Psycho Paint system which I recommend you to try out if you haven't :D Always do a small test patch first to ensure compatibility, adherence, and desired appearance before painting the entire piece. Good luck with your creative work // Petra

Hi! what kind of paint / color system are you using?

@@helsinglight Food colors on silicone liquid, but silicone alone without colors also peels in both cases

How soon after the silicone is cured is it that you paint your work? And do you use the same kind of silicone to paint with as the work you’re painting on?

@@helsinglight Yes, use the same type of silicone.. and how to treat the silicone before using the paint + painting time is half an hour

​ Hi! Sorry again for late reply, being on maternity leave and having a young toddler that keeps me very busy for sure makes my replies delayed. But hey, better late than never I guess. Silicone is a very tricky material and nothing sticks to it but silicone itself. But adding another layer could also cause issues with peeling. I've had it happen before when colors were used that were not made for silicone. Silicone is a very sensitive material. It could be all from the surface you are about to paint on is not being prepared enough and clean, perhaps there is too much release agent stuck on the silicone that is causing a problem. Sometimes release from the mold or contamination from handling the mask/item or even the art studio/ environment that you are working in can cause issues and create peeling. But clean the surface first and prep your mask well before you paint it. I usually clean my masks/cast with soap and warm water and then isopropyl (sometimes naphtha if I'm out of isopropyl) before painting. But yes, that is my best advice, that first you really need to make sure that the surface is really clean and ready to adapt another layer of new silicone, and yes that it is a fresh mask you're painting on and that the paint work starts asap. If you’re painting with an airbrush make sure you are diluting the color and silicone correctly using a good solvent in a correct ratio, always try it out first. try it first on something else to see that you get a good coat, and see that it cures correctly. 

But I think there is some kind of contamination going on or silicone color mixed somehow in a batch that doesn’t really work for some reason, due to perhaps diluting the silicone too much, or adding too much color to it, or that the silicone is contaminated for some other reason. Contamination is usually the case. It could be all from any oil, grease or any other impurity on the mask/silicone surface that potentially can cause contamination and loss of adhesion causing the silicone peeling problem. If you’re not wearing nitrile gloves I highly recommend that you do so, even oils from skin contact could be enough to cause a problem on the surface. Or even something in your airbrush or other tools that are not properly cleaned. 

With regards to colors, I love using the color system psycho paint, mixed with silicone colors like SilTone etc. I haven’t tried using food colors. 

Hope this helps somehow, you just need to keep on trying and try ion smaller projects first to try and find out why it doesn’t work and why it peels off. Good luck to you! 

 Would be great to hear the progress of your work and if you still have the same problem. // Petra

Hi! Sorry my late reply! The simple answer in this case regarding our channel and why we/I don't post is that I'm currently on maternity leave and haven't simply had the time to update this channel or do a lot of creative work for that matter either. Apart from having a 7 month old baby, we've also got a 3-year old, so being a busy mum has kept me from posting and updating this channel. My plan is to try and update the channel with more content, hopefully some of it in the near future. I've got lots of content, but less of time ;) Hope that answered your question. // Petra

:)

Yes

Hi! Sorry my late reply, I’m on maternity leave currently and have been so for the last 7 months, so I haven’t had time to update or interact on our social medias. Great to hear that you love our video and work and that is has been helpful! You could also create latex masks using the same principals, but make sure to never use silicone in a mold that has had latex in it, it will result in cure inhibition. Silicone and latex are not friends 😅! //Petra

​@codyneuman2696 hey dear what the best latex to use ? Thx🙏

Hi Andrew! Thank you for your comment and I'm so sorry for my late reply. I've am currently on maternity leave and will be so for a while longer, that's why I'm running behind with answering and uploading new content. We are based in northern Sweden, it is really easy to get here once you reach Stockholm, and we will soon announce new dates for upcoming classes in this very popular class. Would be awesome if you would join us in a class one day! :D // Petra, House of Helsinglight

Couldn't agree more! :) ! // Petra

Thanks! // Petra

Unfortunately not from us... not yet anyway ;) But you can join a class with us and learn how to create a silicone mask from start to finish yourself :) // Petra

No worries, I'm also very late with my reply here.. lol! Oh there is a way of measuring and getting as close to the estimated material you will need and we have also worked out another bit of a trick of knowing how to get close to the right amount.,. You should come and join one of our classes :) // Petra

Thank you! (and sorry late reply)

Hi! I'm sorry late reply, I am on maternity leave and haven't had time to keep my Social media channels up to date. Great to hear that you are interested in the art of FX makeup and that you would love to learn silicone mask making :) Being 12 is a bit too young to attend this class, however you have got a great opportunity to practise and learn the art of sculpting in clay, creating smaller FX projects using paint and illustrations, other FX art etc. And then when you are a bit older, take a class with us. You will be so much more prepared for it as well then if you have done a lot of practise at home. So keep it up and keep practising at home and hope we will meet one day at Helsinglight FX Academy :)

Thanks :)

It depends on the design and clay work, but also on the preparations adding a release before creating the mould. But some clay will always get stuck, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. When cleaning moulds you need a lot of patience and loads of good friends to help you out if you get a lot of clay stuck in your mould ;)

Napta is good to wash the clay with the brush

Hi! Thank you so much for this lovely comment, made me so happy to read it, and I'm so sorry for my late reply. I'm on maternity leave with our soon 8 month old son and have been so for almost a year now, and I've also got a 4 year old daughter that keeps me very busy as well. So I haven't had much time here. But better late than never, guess. ;) You are so right, the very satisfying feeling when opening the mould, seeing your mask for the first time, it is hard to describe in words, it is something that you have to experience for yourself! It is such a great feeling and everyone is like a child on Christmas :P Where are you based and what work do you mostly do as SFX Makeup artist? :)

Thanks

Any number? 😉 You can email me at [email protected] ❤️

@@helsinglight Ha, ha, ha, that got a fast reply. Great work in any case, deserves any number.

Thank you so much!! Awesome to hear you like it <3

We use a silicone that has a potlife of 30 minutes. You can have the mold laying down like this, it doesn't affect how thin the layers will be. We close the mold right before the potlife ends. This means that the silicone will stay where it is supposed to stay, and we also add a thickener to it to make it brushable into the mold. Hope this explains and answers your question

@@helsinglight Yes that answers it, thanks :D

Great :)

Thank you :)

Not sure what you mean, the only thing I can think of is the TV Series FACE OFF...

I love you

You can also create this with a pour sprout. We teach the technique with "brush-on" silicone into the mold. it is in a way easier and you can also paint in the silicone in layers if you wish to and add different colors etc. But you need to beware of air bubbles when brushing into the mold. When pouring you can eliminate them in a "better way". But you should try brush on, so much fun. We used Ultracal when creating the stone mold. :)

Thank you!

You should join our class - would be great having you with us and for us to be a stepping stone into perhaps your new way to do this for a living :)

@@helsinglight where can we find you?

We are located in Sweden 😍Email [email protected] for direct contact or you can find more info on www.helsinglight.com or our FB facebook.com/Helsinglight

@@helsinglight greetings from Italy!

Hi! We are trying to put together more materials on our youtube channel, at the moment we don't have any step by step videos, but we are looking into the option of also offering online workshops to join and learn the process of silicone mask making this way. This is a very useful method to learn and start with when heading into the world of mask making. If you would like to join a workshop at Helsinglight FX we have launched new dates for our 10-day silicone mask making workshops now in the year 2020.You can read more about them on our website. We are happy to help with travel plans and accommodation.

Hi. Sorry for our late reply! The material for the outer mold in this video is similar to Ultracal in strenght, but it is called MarbleCast. It is very strong and captures details very well! We really like working with MarbleCast, we sometimes use Ultracal too, but MarbleCast is one of our favourites in stone mold making.