College projects
My favourite element of prop making is unquestionably molding and casting. I enjoy all aspects of sculting, mould creation and casting. I have been well practiced in silicone mold making, and have also been trained in vertical mold making via plaster, vinyl molding, negative molds with vac-form plastics, matrix molding and box molding.
To the left is a simple example of silicone molding a plastiline badge with condensation-cure silicone and 5% catalyst. The cast is pulled with FastCast resin mixed with Filite.
I have used FastCast frequently, for various projects, both for personal projects and commissioned works. This pot of gold project was for a St. Patrick's Day themed dinner party held by a university dining room. The pot itself is a fibreglass structure made from an exercise ball. The cioins are various sculpts that had been molded and cast multiple times.
As part of the commission for Passionate Pilgrim's steampunk-inspired version of Macbeth, we needed to produce identical daggers for five cast members, as well as the infamous 'ghost dagger'. The original dagger was a woodenn sculpt. The bulk of the daggers was FastCast and Filite. The ghost dagger is clear casting resin.
As well as providing a chance to flex my creative muscles, my personal projects are also a chance to keep practicing techniques, working with new materials and tools. My current costume project involves a lot of molding and casting - four main molds, each cast eight times. The molding process gave me a chance to practice two-part fibreglass jackets, which I used in my Proton Pack project.
The mold to the right was also a chance to practice with thixotropic additives for condensation-cure silicone. The initial drip layer was 50/50 Part A/Part B Dragon Skin Silicone. The silicone acts more like a epoxy rather than silicone, and is quite fibreous.
I have also done vertical mold making. Two-part molds made out of plaster, primarily used for head sculpts. The head I sculpted was a caricature self-portrait, and the mold was a slush cast of latex, filled with two-part exanding foam.