Not much to report.

With winter around, I haven't been able to do much. Sorry!

So here's another commission for Jyoumon that I finished. This time he's dressed as Sora.

Please do not use or redistribute without my permission.

Making the Mask, Part 5

Okay!

The silicone has cured, and now it's time for the support shell.

I made a dam of sculpy, an oil-based clay so that the wet plaster won't stick. I used just a regular roll of plaster casting cloth. Built up a good few layers on one side and let it dry completely...


Then removed the clay and built up the other side.

Once they were both dry, I carefully pulled apart the two halves.

It came off easily from the smooth silicone.

Lastly, I pulled off the silicone from the base. Some of the edges where the sealer didn't reach stuck a bit, but it wasn't a problem. Now I have a nice negative!


And that's all I can do for now. I'll be able to get the resin and fiberglass mat in about a week and a half.

Making the Mask, Part 4

Finally another Making update!

Okay, since last time, I smoothed out the clay a lot by sanding it. Didn't do it all at once, just kind of sanded it once in a while when I was bored, haha. (couldn't progress because of school)

Anyway, so once it was smoothed out, I applied some clear acrylic gloss/sealer.

It smelled kind of like spray paint, so you definitely wanna do this in a well-ventilated area. I gave it two coats just to be sure. This is to make it even smoother than sanding can accomplish, and lets the silicone come off easily.

Once that was all dry and ready (24 hours), I could apply the silicone!

For this I used Rebound 25. It's nice because you can pour it or brush it, and both parts are mixed in equal measures.

I made a test patch before covering the whole model, and the silicone cured just fine and was easily peeled off. So I applied four layers (took almost 5 hours!) and left it to cure.

Now it's all ready for the support shell, which I'll be doing later.

Good News~

Turns out I'll be able to work faster than I originally thought! My mom's boyfriend has a LOT of the materials I need, so I can get working as soon as the silicone I ordered comes in.

Which, yes, I decided to go the silicone/FRP route for sure this time. And I'll be sure to document the process the best I can, for others to reference. It was probably a positive thing that I had gotten set back before, my model is much smoother than it used to be.

Meanwhile, Jyoumon has been awesome and commissioned me a few things, here's the one I've finished:

Himself dressed as Kari from Digimon, with mask. This is a commission, so please do not repost or use this image elsewhere.

S'been a while!

Woops, I haven't updated this in a few months, have I?

School has kept me really busy and I'm only home on weekends so there hasn't been a lot of time for me to work (or remember to work).

But to break it down, I tried out the sculptamold stuff, and it wasn't that great. Ah well, trial and error! This weekend I finally bothered to get to the basement and work again. I mostly repaired any holes/cracks and did a lot of sanding to smooth it out a bit better. I think there's been good improvement! I'm taking a break from college next quarter, so I should have plenty of time soon! Just gotta pass my classes, lol.

I think I may buy that silicone mold making kit. I've been reading up on tutorials again so I'm pumped up about getting back to work! My sister is totally cool with helping me and stuff too.