Thread: Plastiline Clay Release Agent?

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Hi all,

I'm new to sculpting and I want to cast and make a latex mask from the original sculpt.

I've been working on a couple of faces built on foam heads with Plastiline clay.

Does anyone have suggestions for a good release agent to use on the clay to reduce the grip the casting plaster will have?

Thanks and here's a couple photos of the sculptures

Thanks
Doctordoom

Hear is a thread I know you will find interesting.


3-Axis Frankenstein!

Go through the posts and look for the video Chicken shared showing what appears to be a professional animator making a mask of a Zombie. He got his idea to do his Frankenstein from that.

Oh and now we have one more talent on the sculpting side on this forum.

Spray it with clear spray paint. I think I used Krylon Crystal Clear Enamel most recently, but I've used other similar products and they all seem to work pretty much the same. You want to give it an even coat all over, but not too much or you'll lose your details.

2 more tips (not because I don't think you've done your research, but because I've had problems in these areas myself):

-use UltraCal-30 plaster and make your mold THICK-- like, at least 2 1/2" all around. It hardens like a rock and you can get many more pulls out of it than, say, plaster of paris

-take care to design your mold walls and tailor your sculpture to eliminate undercuts. It shouldn't be too much of a problem if you're casting in regular latex, but better safe than sorry. Looking at your photos, the ears on the goblin creature are probably going to cause you trouble in the casting phase unless you beef them up some more.

Thanks for the tips.

I've seen your work Mr.C, it's awesome and an inspiration.

One thing, with the coat of spray enamel, is the clay reusable after the casting ? Not that it matters too much.

Thanks again

dd

Technically it's not reusable...but....The clay will never be as good as new, but I've certainly used it again. As a matter of fact, some of the clay I used on Frankie has been in two or three other sculpts, but I try to use new clay on the face to reduce chances of problems.

What clay are you using?

I'm using NSP Plasteline Clay (non-sulphurated).