Thread: My first sculpt ever and I need some advice!

Tweet

Hey everybody!!
So this Saturday I started my first real attempt at sculpting. I've done some very minor things with just Crayola Model Magic, but have never really worked with clay/mold making/casting. I'm sculpting a plaque for our columns that I am currently redoing and it is a tribute to the Haunted Mansion's gate plaque. I'm to the point where I definitely need some advice. It's almost to the point where I need to make a mold out of it even thought there are a few things I still need to tweak and detail to add. My intentions were to use a pourable silicone rubber to make a model out of. Has anyone worked with this stuff and have any pointers or is there anything else to use that you would recommend? Also, if when the mold is made *crosses fingers*, what material would you suggest to cast it out of? I know Plaster of Paris isn't very weatherproof unless sealed and is prone to breaking/cracking and from what I've read on some of the resins they are meant for only "small" projects. Any feedback/advice it greatly appreciated!!

Here is the sculpt so far, it is approx. 17"x10":

Hey Rynnye, I'm just finishing mine up. I still need 1 more coat of paint. I was thinking of doing a mold too but opted to just seal it real good with sculpt or coat. This is a liquid plastic that is perfect for foam and clay. I may be living dangeriously but decided to just take my chances! BTW yours turned out really good!!!!

Very nicely done!
Ask Bobzilla about silicone molds..he's done some of those. He could probably tell you all you need to know to do what you want to do. . I've only made plaster molds for pouring latex, soooo, umm, Your sculpt looks great!~

http://brickintheyard.com/ Check out this company, if you email them they will help you, they are super nice! My husband is a mold maker and buys all his supplies from here. (I'd ask him for advice but he is at work right now) Do not use plaster of paris, its expensive and sucks. There are better molding materials. Silicone would probably work really well and then you could reuse the mold forever. You could try an alginate(what they mold your mouth w/ at the Dentist) and plaster bandages. Maybe even a Urethane Rubber mold.

Yeah very nice! Your lettering is etched perfectly! You and Buckaneerbabe have some natural talent I think. Yesterday, BB was painting hers to give it that patina finish and I was totally amazed at how much it looks like copper that's spent years outdoors. These things are a real works of art.

Thanks for all the advice, it is all very much appreciated! Buckaneerbabe, you should definitely post pics when you are done, I would love to see how yours turned out. The brickintheyard.com site was really interesting! I learned so much just visiting the site. Thank you so much for posting it Demonovation!! I was on their site watching videos and the tips they gave were incredibly helpful. I think I am going to go with a silicone mold. I just haven't quite figured out what material to make the copies with yet.

Ever since I've found out about Apoxie, I've quit thinking about making molds for anything. I just make what I want out of Apoxie and I'm done. No molds, no pours, no baking, no firing, etc. I just make it, let it sit out overnight, and voila!