Alginate Full Head Cast

[goriddle]

I screwed up the head cast royally. We tried our d**nest to follow the instructions in Tom Savini's book to a T, but our alginate totally ripped apart when removed from the face of our subject. I think the reason for this was the alginate stuck tight to our bald cap (next time we are using the soap in the hair technique). Also even though his instructions said to keep the alginate extremely thin, Toms Pics showed a very thick layer of dried alginate. Another was the use of burlap. The Burlap did NOT stick to the plaster strips (next time we are using terry cloth). Fortunately I still have enough alginate left to do just a face (which I have done before so I am not too worried) . I am a pretty competent sculptor so I suppose I can improvise the rest in clay. Hopefully our actor will agree to a simple face cast. Although, he was very unpleased with conditions of the process.

[goriddle]

I forgot to ask... have any of you ever used moulage for face casting? I have some from a while back, but I was never able to get a proper cast because the stuff was too hot! Do any of you know about working with this stuff or should I just avoid it from now on?

[Mommy's Little Monster]

I really don't know how Tom Savini does a head cast but here is a quick run through of how i do mine.

Firstly get the hair as flat to the head as possible (use gel or gafquat - gafquat is really expensive gel but it does a wondeful job! It's usually used on acotrs who will be wearing a bald cap so that there is no bulk). Next you'll want to vaseline the bald cap, the back of the neck and all hairs on the face.

Staring with plaster bandage, bandage up the back of the persons head. Let it dry a bit. Next put vaseline on the edge of the plaster. Mix up your alginate (half a canister of alginate works well. Working quickly, add the alginate to the face, let gravity help you, add some the the plaster you have already vaselined (this will make it easier to make the positve in the end). make sure to alway cover up the nose last and keep work the alginate around so that you keep the nostrils clear. once the alginate has gelled you can add plaster bandages to the front. Once those are basically dry (tap them, if they sound hollw then they're dry), have the person wiggle their face around and slowly take off the plaster bandage and alginate at the same time. The take off the plaster bandage at the back. If yo will not be working with this cast right away then make sure to keep the alginate wet as it will shrink when it dries, just use some wet towels.

To make the postive, vaseline the inside of the plaster from the back of the head. Apply a splash coat of ultra cal. Once it is dry place the two halves together and and tape them up. cheack to see if there are any holes and plug them up with clay. Now add in your layers of ultra call and burlap, i'll assume you know this part.

This method is great for doing full head casts because it's not material heavy (not in alginate anyway) and it really doesn't matter if the back of the head is a perfect reproduction of not as long as the general shape is there.

If you want more in depth instructions PM me with your email and i can send you a tutorial.

[goriddle]

I think I will be alright from here on out. I should have realized that I only needed to do half of my cast in alginate. I will post the details of my next attempt.

[goriddle]

I did just fine yesterday when I cast only the face of one of my actors. I also tried the paraffin idea. I didn't even buy pure paraffin. I melted a big candle instead (much cheaper and pleasantly scented). I got a flawless positive using this method. Things are looking up.

[Mommy's Little Monster]

Awesome! I will have to try that wax idea myself. Hehe if you stick a wick in it you can give someone a candle of their face as a gift, i think that would be really cool