Making a Silicon Statue Part 2 - Moulding and Casting in Dragon Skin Silicon

[@corteltube]

So amazing to watch you...your creativity is beyond words...

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks that's very kind :)

[@TruthSurge]

that was pretty cool.

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks!

[@devjawaji]

Many thanks for sharing the process. I had no idea at all and was wondering to know it. Beautiful video with nice informative commentary.

[@thedarkpower]

Thank you! And thanks for watching :)

[@BraideSotonyejehu-yd7fk]

Thanks for this information

[@bingus9984]

Nice video, very informative

[@thedarkpower]

Glad it was helpful!

[@magnusjohansson295]

Just wondering: instead of making cavities for the eyes in your mold, can't you just cut out eyesockets instead, with a hobby knife maybe? In the finished silicone cast I mean.

[@thedarkpower]

While maybe possible in principle, in practice you'd never be able to cut it accurately enough.

[@magnusjohansson295]

@@thedarkpower I see. I thought, given the flexibility of the material, that it might be possible to cut a little by little until it's just the right size to accomodate the eyes.

[@nefera3086]

Thank you for such an informative tutorial. I am doing a stopmotion animation at school, and was going to make a silicone puppets, and your video really helped me understand the process. I wanted to ask about the plaster. Is there a specific type of plaster you used, or will any plaster work?

[@thedarkpower]

Cool! I'm glad it was useful. I used prestia casting plaster. I've also used basic alpha in the past, albeit with a different type of silicon. I'd imagine any plaster should work, but always test in advance! tiranti.co.uk/product-category/casting/plaster/

[@zero15388]

Cheers for these videos. I fancy giving this style of sculpture a go. Any tips for the newbie? I'd like to make a figurine about 16 inches tall.

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks! 16 inches is a good height to go for since figures are usually about 8 head heights tall, so any number divisible by 8 makes things easy for working out proportions. Check out my Tywin Lannister videos - he was 16 inches tall too.

[@dm-hstudio]

Hello, great video! What clay do you use for the sculpt please?

[@dm-hstudio]

Never mind; see it now :) Thank you for the great video!!!

[@thedarkpower]

Cool, Thanks! ;)

[@Declan-pg8cg]

Excellent tutorial. At the end of the video in the outro, is that the "Betty" (ship from Alien resurrection)?

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks very much - no it's a model I made a few years back , it is inspired by the Betty though ;)

[@LiliWashington-l2c]

1-When I haven't human live model so how can I make human face mask silicon? Means can I use from what things replacement?2-What's kind of colors for using in silicon mask? Means for making human face silicon mask what kind of colors must use ? Can you send a amazon link for buy color for silicon? Thanks

[@thedarkpower]

I don't really understand your question, but check out Smooth-on for silicon pigments.

[@LiliWashington-l2c]

@@thedarkpower this is:1- How can I make natural face silicon mask when I haven't live model for making? 2- what type of color using for silicon coloring?

[@dastanigali5481]

The video was very informative for me. But now I wanna know how to make sure that the mould and silicone after pouring it will not stick together? Thanks

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks. Well I've never used a mould release for silicon in plaster moulds before and I've never had any problems.

[@costume35]

Hello and good day I have been following you for a while now but I always wanted to ask you if u give classes because I want to learn I am into carnival costume design

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks, I don't do classes I'm afraid. The videos include alot of instructional detail though so I hope they help.

[@jannesennen7400]

Works Monster clay with this type of mold too?

[@thedarkpower]

I can't see why it wouldn't but I've not tried it.

[@jhk8478]

8:32 how did u fix eye parts?

[@thedarkpower]

I put a screw into the eye from the front of the mould.

[@newimagepropreplicas9863]

Hi...i am planning on using your technique of creating an eye void using blank eye forms....in my application my mold will be a RTV skin mold with hard fibreglass jacket rather than your plaster mold..do you think this technique will work for securing the blank eyes into a rubber mold..i am a concerned that there could be leakage in the front of the eye form..did you also experience this on your mold...thanks in advance.

[@thedarkpower]

Hi. Yeah I think that would work - are you casting silicon into a silicon rubber mould then? I got some leakage on mine, but as the eye blanks were hard I could trim that away easily using a scalpel.

[@newimagepropreplicas9863]

@@thedarkpower Hi..thanks for the reply..I am going to try a silicone mold and then cast silicone into this using the appropriate release agent..I will be trying test peices first to make sure I don't get adhesion issues...I will need to make a silicone mold to capture as much detail as possible and to be honest I have never had much success with plaster molds or casting...cheers

[@thedarkpower]

Cool. I've cast silicon into silicon before so it does work, but yeah deffo do a test first. Good luck, hope it all goes well! :)

[@newimagepropreplicas9863]

@@thedarkpower Cheers I'll let you know how it goes..what do you back up your silicone casts with would it be two part expanding foam..cheers chris

[@thedarkpower]

It depends what I want to do with it - if I need a hollow interior I use fibreglass or roto casting resin. Expanding foam if I want a solid piece.

[@urblack7954]

Since silicone is flexable you could make a realistic animatronic by making the entire body silicone!

[@thedarkpower]

Yep definitely, silicon is quite heavy though so you'd need a substantial armature!

[@davidlacey6417]

Good videos,Is it easier to use a silicone rubber,for a mould,by weight or by volume like the dragon skin ect.Thanks All the best for 2018

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks - it depends on the silicon. The instructions should say which method to use. I've always mixed by volume as I think that makes more sense - I generally have an idea of the volume I need to fill, but not the weight of the material needed. However if the instructions say to mix by weight then do that - the material may not cure if you do it incorrectly.

[@davidlacey6417]

Thanks

[@ArteyMindfulness]

Hi! Thank you for sharing your so interesting work and its procedures! I've a question. I'd appreciate very much if you'd help me understanding the best way to do my silicon mold. Questions: How to avoid the head-arranged upside down and framed in cardboard, just before pouring the silicon-touches the surface of the base and this generates a defect in the silicone mold? 2) I do not know if the mouth will produce a lock. That is that it might cause a problem when removing the dried silicon mold (from the mouth). Thanks!!! This is the link to show you a brief video of my clay sculpture: h-t-t-p-s, colon, veronica (dot) mx, forward slash, 218 (dot-m-p-4). Thank you!!

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks. As silicon is flexible it's unlikely to lock, just make sure you build up a decent layer of silicon so it's thick enough to cover any undercuts. I'm not sure what you mean about turning the head upside down though - you could use this method to create the mould kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5rWfXSvpJaEoNU

[@ArteyMindfulness]

@@thedarkpower Thank you so much, @The Dark Power, for your kind, quick response and orientation. I'm happily surprised the way you make your moulds (easy and cheap) in the link you shared with me! Gosh! I'll use your technique and let you know how things turned out (hope me good luck). Thank you. See you around. Happy New Year's Eve!

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks and no problem :)

[@ziaa1981]

Hello, please, the last material that the skin was made of. Is it the same silicone rubber that is used in the mold?

[@thedarkpower]

Hi. it's made of Dragon Skin silicon. The mould is made of plaster.

[@uzazil]

If you want to use an even thickness weigh the clay you used and then add however much you want depending if you're brushing or injecting. Example your clay weighs 572 grams, measure 600 for brushing and 625 for injecting. Cheers!

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks for the tip!

[@TheMakeabanana]

You do a very good job on your videos. I’m from the uk can you advise me where I can purchase a decent silicone to cast a 9 inch figure I sculpted,is the particular sites you use.thank you if you could help

[@thedarkpower]

Hi. Thanks very much. Well most of the moulding silicon I use in the videos is from tiranti.co.uk/ I generally use the T20 and T28 silicons (they have a shop in warren street in london which I go to) . You can also try www.benam.co.uk/ who are smooth-on resellers. Smooth-on's probably the more well known brand, a little more expensive though. You could also try www.dwrplastics.com/home They seem a little cheaper. I've bought some stuff from them, I've not used it yet though so can't vouch for how good it is. I've friends who have who say it's fine though. Hope that helps!

[@michaelpaa3226]

I want to learn this..I hope

[@thedarkpower]

I hope the video is helpful.

[@TheJoker-fg4es]

This will work for a mask right? guna do the exact same but add power mesh to the neck area. would you recommend platsil gel 10 for a full head silicone mask or dragon skin? plus if i wanted a thick paintjob like the lipstick on the joker how would u do that?, just add more pigment? thanks

[@thedarkpower]

Yeah I'd imagine this would work for a mask. I've not used platsil gel 10 I think dragon skin would be ok though. I used psycho paint to paint mine, you can add more pigment to make the colour thicker.

[@TheJoker-fg4es]

@@thedarkpower thanks for the reply, will probably use dragon skin tbh, Amazing work btw.

[@thedarkpower]

Cheers, hope it goes ok.

[@TheJoker-fg4es]

@@thedarkpower thanks dude p.s did you use any release in the mould before pouring the silicone?

[@karolinakiwicreations5738]

Curious as to what you used for a core on this? I have been looking into tryig to make a silicone mask and the only thing that really stumps me is a core...I know i could lifecast my own head but i feel there should be an "easier" way to just do one for starters using that similar foam stlye head you have...any ideas what/where to get them?

[@thedarkpower]

I used a shop mannequin for this one. You can buy mannequins specifically for masks like this one www.neillsmaterials.co.uk/product/silicone-mask-armature/ You could also take a lifecast of a head, I think the trick for masks is you want the core to slightly smaller than the wearer though so the mask is tight against the face.

[@karolinakiwicreations5738]

@@thedarkpower basically what i was refrring to was the foam one you used.. but i can see where the armatures come in handy as they have open mouth and such for good cupping effects

[@thedarkpower]

I'm not sure I used a foam one did I? 🤔 might have forgotten 😉

[@karolinakiwicreations5738]

@@thedarkpower it sure looks like a foam one..at least in the way it moved when you were removing it..i'll have to go back and look again

[@sethforbis1114]

I would recommend not using fiberglass, use cheesecloth/gauze after the second layer, and in all other layers, it conforms to the sculpture better so it can be applied earlier on, strengthening the overall mold vs mat...it's why they use it for making molds of residual limbs for prosthetics and also for casts over broken bones...mat isn't even that great for making fiberglass casts... Unless ur casting something with very little detail, many layers of thin weave is nearly always the better choice...mat is thick and resists absorbtion as well as proper conformation of shape...

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks for the tip, I'll have to give that a go.

[@monstermask3212011]

Can you use eco flex silicone ? I see it is similar to dragons skin.

[@thedarkpower]

Yes I think so - I've not tried eco flex but I've been thinking of getting some as it does seem very similar.

[@monstermask3212011]

@@thedarkpower I see people are using eco flex for dolls and dragon skin for mask ..but also dragons skin for doing elastic and stretchy molds.

[@thedarkpower]

Yeah there's no one particular use for either material - I've used dragon skin for both this sculpture and also for moulds. It depends if the properties of the rubber will fulfil the requirements of your project.

[@MrDaniel1832]

Amazing video, I've been looking for a decent tutorial video using silicone for a while, so thank you! Can I ask, did you use a release agent for the plaster mold at all? I have a mold I used to use for latex but wanted to try it out using silicone, you think this would be ok? Thanks again!

[@thedarkpower]

Thanks Daniel. I didn't use a release but the plaster did discolour a little so it seems to have absorbed something from the silicon, so perhaps I should have. It didn't seem to affect my cast at all though, so just a note of caution there. I would be cautious casting silicon into a mould used for latex as I know some silicons canbe inhibited in the presence of latex and refuse to cure. So check the data sheet before proceeding and maybe do a small scale text first just to be sure. Good luck!

[@MrDaniel1832]

@@thedarkpower brilliant, thanks, I have seen people seal the mold, I'm not going to be using it again for latex. So I may clean it out using Naptha and possibly seal it. Hard to find anyone else who has done something similar before. Thanks again and I've subscribed to you channel :)

[@DingleDut]

How much plaster did you use?

[@thedarkpower]

About 4 or 5 kg.

[@arvind23prasad]

goood work

[@ncunico]

Use burlap instead of fibre glass mat.

[@thedarkpower]

I use both kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4uldZ5snpqjlbcm57s

[@davidjacquiet7723]

Can you make one but alive, for President Macron, in Élysée please? Hooooo thanks,with acid too hehehehehe in France 🇫🇷 the liberty is dead. 😉😉😉😉😉🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 viva the liberty of french people. 😀😀😀👍👍👍

[@thedarkpower]

Haha, I'll do my best ;)