Life Casting | dramaticcontexts

Life Casting.

' Lifecasting has the potential to be quiet dangerous if done incorrectly.'

(Debreceni, 2013, p89)

Safety.

Compared to all other moulding I have been taught so far this is mould the body rather than a sculpt so there are some safety issues you need to be aware of prior to starting.

All the materials used must be suitable to be used directly onto the skin and may need to be patch tested prior to use
Potential injury - this is more to do with standing casting as being in this postion for to long may cause the person to over heat and faint or the feeling of being closed in (claustrophobia) may cause them to panic and hurt themselves
They must always be able to breathe through their noses as mouths will be covered so check if they can do this with ease and if they have a cold or difficulty then they cannot be casted
Using the materials even though they are perfectly safe to use on the skin during the mixing process dust may be created which if inhaled could cause a problem

Gloves.

Some artists like to wear gloves during this process which allows them to keep their hand clean in a moment, something that with bare hands you have to allow the alginate to dry to pick it off which takes time so in an emergency this is not ideal. It is also easier if you have dry hands as alginate is alot harder to remove, even if coated in vaseline. If you choose to wear gloves then you can use any types of gloves as they won't affect the alginate.

Life casting on the Face and Neck Dos and Don'ts.

DO release the eyebrows and eyelashes with a very light coating of nivea skin cream, petroleum jelly or cholestrol cream.

DON'T put plaster directly on the skin. It gets hold when it cures, will absorb the skin's moisture, and may fuse with the skin if not released properly. Just don't do it.

DO have your subject sitting upright. Unless the prosthetics you create will go on someone who is lying down, gravityhas a way of pulling our bodies, which will affect how an appliance fits when applied.

DON'T put straws in the nostrils; just be careful to keep them clear. Straws will deform the shape of the nostrils and can casue nosebleeds.

DO make sure you cast enough of your subject's face and neck to be able to sculpt a useable prosthetic appliance with good bleeding edges.

(Debreceni, 2013, p91)

Casting with silicone or Alginate.

You can use either to cast however when weighing up the pros and cons it is important to not just look at the properties of each material but the cost.

For example- the amount of algenate needed would cost around £3-£4 whereas to use platinum silcione would cost around 10 times more.

Properties - Silicone will not dry out and shrink as alginate meaning you doing need to make the positive cast stright after as it will last a lot longer. They both pick up a good amount of detail from the skin.

Alternate Methods.

The above method is the basic way to creating a life cast there are many varations on different steps that differ from each artist. For example some artists prefer to have the thick alginate poured on to the forehead then hand apply the rest and others prefer a thicker alginate mix that is then whipped onto the face. Their is one method that some artists (very rarely seen nower days) use which involves applying plaster straight onto the skin however I share the same view as disscused by Debreceni (2013, p 93) this is that this is a dangerous method as;

1- Plaster heats up and the heat produced from this can cause burns

2- Plaster absorbs moisture which can dry our your skin severly

3- Not applying a release agent on prior to the plaster will mean a difficult and painful removal

This method in my opinion to dangerous and should not be allowed to be used as the health and safety risks are too great, in the industry this method is not one many opt for and is becoming a more past method and this example shows the direct affect plaster has when in conatct with skin:

'The reality of the danger of direct application of plaster to the skin was illustrated in Januaray 2007, when a 16-year-old girl in Lincolnshire, England, suffered third degree burns after encasing her hands in plaster as part of a school art project.' (Debreceni, 2013, p93)

Materials.

Most artists continue to use the materials with which they were taught the process, working from the adage: If it ain't broke don't fix it. Other artists continue to experiment withmaterials to become more efficient and achieve higher quality. (Debreceni, 2013, p94)

Dave Parvin is a prime example of an artist who is alway slooking for ways to improve his process which in effect creates a better prosthetic piece. His prefered method is to use impression dental plaster instead of plaster bandages then strengthing it with small piece of cheesecloth then painting plaster ontop to reinenforce this created shell. Not only does he use this product becasue he believes the outcome produced is better but that is is better economically. Impression dental plaster is a lot cheaper to buy compared to plaster bandages, so when trying to make your budget go further this can be a way to save money without loosing quality.

Materials for casting you will use -

Alginate or silicone

Plaster Bangades

Water

Vasaline/release agent

Alginate.

When using alginate there are 4 major factors that will affect its setting time; room temprature, humidity, persons body temprature and body temprature. Keep the room and the person at as cool as you can but you still want them to be confortable with the surrounding environment.

When mixing up the alignate using cool water instead of hot allows you to have the most working time with the aliginate before it sets. Once it has started to go off then it cannot be used anymore you will find it hard to attatch to the face, a new mix of alginate is needed to continue, however doing this is a wate of material and not very cost effective so it is expected that you can work quick and efficantly so that you don't need a new mix.

Face and Neck.

Method.

1. Prepare you model sitting upright and all hair on the casting area must be protected with vaseline or a release agent so the hair doenst get pulled out when removing the cast. Please note if your model has a beard and the refuse to shave them coat it throughly otherwise the alginate will stick to it making it a nightmear to remove.

2. Premeasure out the alginate and water in cups ready for mixing - It is advised to always have extra water ready incase the mixture is too thick. It is also adviced to prepare you plaster bandages by having the already cut into various sizes so that it is ready for use making the process quicker.

3. Draw a line in eye liner around the face (and neck) to act as your guide you want to go all the way up to this line when applying you alginate. Once you have done this a few times you will not need to draw a visual aid.

If your character will have dentures, now is the time for your subject to put them in so that the lifecast can be taken with false teeth in place. This will prevent the makeup from fitting incorrectly when it is applied later. (Debreceni, 2013, p111)

3. Work in a team one mixing the alighnate to a thick runny paste consitancy a ration of 2:2 alignate to cold water, (the aliginate that we used had a 7-9 mintues setting time, once again as you preform more life casts you will know exactaly how thick you like your alignate) Whilst the other is applying a thick layer of alignate starting at the forehead , sides, cheeks, eyes, chin, mouth then nose.Use wiping actions with the fingers for more accuracy and to prevent getting over messy.

4. Allow the alginate to set.

5. Once set apply the plaster bandges by dipping them into a bowl of water removing excess water then apply dirctly ontop of the alginate to create a hard shell. Once it has a good few layers create a rope (folded length ways) with the plaster bandge and wrap round the outside of the face.

6. Allow it to dry this should be between 5-10 mins maximum.

7. To remove ask the model to hold her hands against her face and to lean forward, then ask her to make facial expresions to help the muscles loosen the alginate from the skin. You may need to run your finger round the edge of the alginate to lossen it away from the skin.

8. Place in a bowl to support the cast without crushing the nose and put a handfull of damp tissue in the face cast.

9. You will need to block up the nose with damp tissue then plaster bandge on the outer edge, allow to dry.

The alginate shouldnt be runny.

Bald Caps.

If you are doing a face cast that involves the piece being sculpted past the hairline or will be using a bald cap as part of the design then you will need to apply one prior to the life cast so that the piece made will fit smoothly and seamlessly to the head. If the ears arent going to be used or need covering in the final piece then you do not need to them to be exposed, however if you model is nervous exposing them may make them feel more at ease as their hearing would not be impaired. You could also use a swimming cap or tape cling film over the hair line if you just need to go slightly past the hairline or right up to it, rather than applying a full bald cap.

Tips and Tricks.

Having the head of body part tilted or misaligned in anyway will make the cast inaccurate meaning when you sculpt and apply the piece on a straight head it may not fit correctly or look as you want it to.

.. mixing with an electric drill and a Jiffy-Mixer bit is much faster and mixes the alginate and water more smoothly and thoroughly. Be careful not to start the drill too rapidly because you will likely put a cloud of alginate dust into the air! This is not good, particularly if the alginate you use has silica in it, as some do. (Debreceni, 2013, p111)

Bonding old to new alginate.

To do this you can make a mix of baking soda and water or use Algislo, applied ontop of original alginate, these will react with the dired aliginate and allow you to apply more over the top without disturbing the orginal layer.

Applying alignate around the nose...

Different methods are often used to appplying alignate around the nose some artists prefer to cover the nose first sculpting the alginate around the nose prior to starting the rest of the face, this is a good method if you model is nervous about not seeing they can breathe.

Another method of getting good coverage around the nose -and the nose is a critical part to do well- is to tell youer subject to take a deep breath and hold it. Then cover her nose completely with alginate, making sure to get around the nostrils, and then have your subject blow out sharply through the nose to clear the nostril opneing of alginate. Quickly use a craft stick to remove any dangling alginate before your subject takes another breath and inhales a bit of alginate. your subject can then resume breathing normally. (Debreceni, 2013, p 113)

Communication.

This is the most important part of the process, in my opinion, because if your model does not feel confident in your ability and comfortable with you to trust you to do the procedure then you are unable to create a cast and in industry this could affect the make-up design, the time scale, etc. Prior to starting and throughout explaining what it is you are going to do/are doing will make them feel at ease and comfortable with whats going on making the process less scary and flow easily without complication. Another point to talk to your lcient is about how they feel about the process you may find that they are extremely nervous or claustrophobic if this is the case and they do not want to have their entire face covered yo ucan do it in sections which will help to keep them calm and feel like they are more incontrol which will help stop them panicing.

Face cating demo by Wayne Humphary - Applying the alginate

Face cating demo by Wayne Humphary - All alginate applied and dry

Face cating demo by Wayne Humphary -Plaster bandages applied

Face cating demo by Wayne Humphary - Finsihed life cast

How NOT to life cast.

This video is an example of a face cast being done on actress Maryline Caravellazi, it shows the opposite to what you should be doing when face casting. Examples are:

- Bolted inbetween two board so she cannot move

- No communication throught out the process, doesnt find out shes claustrophobic

- Leaves her alone when she in under mold turns machinery on

- Straws up the nose

- Not judging her nervous appearnace at the beginning and doing the cast in parts to make her feel more conformtable.

Filling your cast.

There are different ways to do this depending on the desired final result, for our ageing piece we applied a layer of meltd plasterline prior to pouring in plaster, whereas when we are using it for sculpting ontop of somones face for a prosthetic piece it is filled straight with plaster. There as alternate methods such as to fibre glass to make your positive mold however we are learning the basics so will be filling ours with plaster, using methods taught ina previous units.

Life casting other parts of the body.

This is a little more tricky in some cases as you will need to cast the parts you will be using and how they will look at the end will determine how you cast them, e.g. angles. Each one of these will need to basic casting process to be altered to cater for the needs of the body part.

Other parts you may want to cast:

hands/feet
arms
legs
ears
full body
full head

Below I have taken some images that show two different body parts being cast to give you an idea of what it entails.

Casting a Ear.

Casting a full body (front).

Figure 12.0 - How not to life cast.

Figure 12.1 - Preapring model

Figure 12.2 - Cup to guide the alginate

Figure 12.3 - Alginate in the mold

Figure 12.4 - Mold off the ear

Figure 12.5 - Final cast of the ear

Figure 12.6 - Alignate applied to the body

Figure 12.7 - Finished cast of the front of the body

Figure 12.8 - Another view of the finshed front cast

Figure 12.9 - Finsihed figure

Repairing.

It in enevitable that there will be some wrinkles from the bald cap (if you use one) and you will have to carve out the nostrils, remove any bubbles of plaster in the lips or ears, brows and lashes. For these smaller bubbles use a small chisle ended tool, alot of th etime they will just pop away, as demonstrated in the DVD. But for the wrinkles you will need to scrape away the line lightly then sand over the top to break up th esurface to add a little texture and to smooth it seamlessly.

If you have a mishapen head of and uneven area you can use a tool that look like a cheese grater but it is made to take down plaster, rasp down the areas to smooth out the head shape, as seen above left. You can get different sized ones depending on how much plaster you want to take away.

To fill out, add or reshape plaster you need to apply new plaster to the cast, fo rthe new plaster to bond your cast must be damp so when the water evaporates it the plaster is bonded. however when you first apply it, it can dry out before you have had time to work it properly so spray water onto th eplaster when working with it will help you extend your working time. But you dont want to apply it if you dont need it.

Figure 12.1.0 - Smoothing out the cast

Figure 12.1.1 - Applying new plaster and reshaping

Figure 12.1.2 - Reshaping nostrils

Figure 12.1.3 - Removing wrinkles