Thread: Mold Making Help

Tweet

OMG, accent props are TOO expensive. I want to start making my own. But ...... I have no idea how to make molds, what to make them from, where to buy the stuff, or how to start. I know we have a few accomplished mold makers here. I have see pictures of your finished product but don't know the how-to part. I hope you will part with some of your knowledge and expertise for a starting haunter. Pretty please

I will be following your thread with high hopes. I am also thinking of expanding into this area and have no previous knowledge. I do know that there have been many "how tos" posted already. I am sure you and I will be able to find some help in the archives. I hope that you receive many willing contributors that will help speed our learning curve. Thanks and I am wishing you all the best.

Hi, here's something to consider first..

The first thing is to decide what you want the final 'product' to be made out of..or, "cast in"... Like, say you want to make copies of a skull... Do you want to produce (cast) latex skulls? Or, Plaster Skulls? Maybe, Foam skulls? ...this will determine if your mold is flexible, or rigid. ( like a latex or silicone mold, vs., say, a plaster mold).

Also, what are you duplicating? Are you copying an existing piece (be careful with copyrights) or, are you wanting to sculpt an original yourself( in clay) and make a mold from that?

There is a latex mold making product you can buy at Michaels called ' Mold Builder' by "Castin Craft". This will allow you to build a small latex mold that you can use to pour plaster or resin into to make hard copies of something. This is how I started out. I began making plaster copies of a small skull I made a mold of. From there I moved into other, larger types of molds.

Im still pretty new to it all...I'm just beginning to make my own latex mask's. Im certainly no expert by any means, but this is how I got my feet wet, and it seemed to help a lot.

I did a 'step by step' of my first experience with clay sculpting and molding that up.. Let me know if you want a link to it.

It's pretty fun, I enjoy it alot!

Ahh yes. A request thread to mold/cast making. I'm glad to see this and will be following this closely.

Originally Posted by chop shop

Hi, here's something to consider first..

The first thing is to decide what you want the final 'product' to be made out of..or, "cast in"... Like, say you want to make copies of a skull... Do you want to produce (cast) latex skulls? Or, Plaster Skulls? Maybe, Foam skulls? ...this will determine if your mold is flexible, or rigid. ( like a latex or silicone mold, vs., say, a plaster mold).

Oh.... I really like the seaweed that I saw on another thread. I wanted to make that for my pirate themed. Whatever I mold I want it to be flexible, not plaster molded.

Also, what are you duplicating? Are you copying an existing piece (be careful with copyrights) or, are you wanting to sculpt an original yourself( in clay) and make a mold from that?

Copying an existing natural thing, or sculpting my own out of clay.

There is a latex mold making product you can buy at Michaels called ' Mold Builder' by "Castin Craft". This will allow you to build a small latex mold that you can use to pour plaster or resin into to make hard copies of something. This is how I started out. I began making plaster copies of a small skull I made a mold of. From there I moved into other, larger types of molds.

Im still pretty new to it all...I'm just beginning to make my own latex mask's. Im certainly no expert by any means, but this is how I got my feet wet, and it seemed to help a lot.

I did a 'step by step' of my first experience with clay sculpting and molding that up.. Let me know if you want a link to it.

I'd really like that!

It's pretty fun, I enjoy it alot!

I have to type something here or else it won't let me send :P

If you are new to making molds check out our Youtube channel as we have numerous videos there that teach how to make molds. From there I would suggest ordering one of our DVD's and downloading our mold making catalog. Also feel free to give us a call.

www.bitymoldsupply.com
www.youtube.com/brickintheyard
www.facebook.com/bitymoldsupply
1-888-676-2489

@BITY I just bought a silicon brick mold and have watched your videos on youtube and have visited your site, but I'm still a bit confused as to what the best product will be for my intended use.



I'm planning to cast faux bricks for my cemetery columns (rather than use the pink foam that we can't seem to find here in California) and have considered both resin and foam, but need the recommendation from someone with a lot more experience in this area.

The brick mold is about 1/4" deep and is pretty rigid.

Any guidance is extremely appreciated!

Great thread!

As Chop Shop said, there's a lot of questions to ask before you go making a mold.

That said, a SUPERB resource for whatever you want to do is this book:

Amazon.com: The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook (9781558701281): Thurston James: Books


Really, if you're wanting to get into mold making, buy it. Sure, after you work with the stuff a while, a lot of it seems common sense, but for someone just getting started, it's invaluable.

I have a tutorial for simple latex molds here:

"Glove" Mold Making 101

Scourge has a great post on Silicone molds here:
Skull duplication

(I think there's a great tutorial thread on that too, but couldn't find it, I'll search further in a bit.)

Oh.... I really like the seaweed that I saw on another thread. I wanted to make that for my pirate themed. Whatever I mold I want it to be flexible, not plaster molded.

For that, I would suggest making it (the seaweed) out of slip latex. For your mold, you would want a 2 piece plaster mold.

Here is a decent article on the process to make that mold, and cast the latex: http://planetofthegeeks.com/workbench/howto/2partmolds/

(kicking myself for not making a tutorial of this process when I turned my coworker into hellboy last year...rush job, wasn't thinking.)

Copying an existing natural thing, or sculpting my own out of clay.

Again, not an easy answer, because different kinds of clay react differently to different casting material.

I'm planning to cast faux bricks for my cemetery columns (rather than use the pink foam that we can't seem to find here in California) and have considered both resin and foam, but need the recommendation from someone with a lot more experience in this area.

In short, with the silicone mold, either foam or resin will work, and each have different strengths and weaknesses.

Foam would be easier to work with in general, attaching to whatever facade you're putting them on easier, but you're likely to get a lot of waste that you need to trim off, and they are easy to break/damage without some hardening agent, and that means $ in the long run. (by foam I am assuming an actual casting foam, not great stuff...)

Resin would probably last longer and hold up better in the long run, but is certainly more expensive in the short term, can be more difficult to color effectively, and could be difficult to attach how you want.

Found Scourge's awesome tutorial.

Foam skull-how to