Newby Questions

[Sketch]

Hey all, I'm knew to the forum, and new to sculpting in general- I was hoping you might be able to help me with some things I've been having trouble with. Please bear with me, as I'm TRULY brand new to the whole process!

My ultimate goal is to get sculptures cast, so all of the following questions collectively ask if the sculptures I've been doing are able to be cast, and if not, what should I change. :)

I've been using a non-hardening plastalina (believe it's called) for my sculptures. I was under the impression that this could be used to make molds and things, but I've received some equally inexperienced opinions to the contrary. Can molds be made from it? If so, are there any kind of limitations to that I should know about? What do you use?

Other than online tutorials, I have had no guidance in the way of armatures whatsoever, so I've been totally winging it in that respect. I've been using some really dinky wire and aluminum foil to fill out the figures. First off- would that prove to be a problem in casting? I only have a vague idea of how it's done so I really have no idea. Secondly- what should I actually be using?

Casting. I'd probably start with something like resin, but I'd love to hear what other people are using in their final pieces. What's cost effective? Is it better to have it done by professionals or do it yourself? What's involved with doing it either way?

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

[PTsideshow]

Welcome, First thing yes you can use it the plasti-type clay. Either the cheap kind or fancy.
As to armature wire you can use any heavier gage wire like clothes hangers, copper house wiring, insulation removed or not. Also aluminum wire that they sell as armature wire. to pad out the armature. You can use burlap, gauze bandages, (old school) plastic bags, newspaper ect. wrapped sort of tightly around the armature.
And yes you can make a mold to make a cast from it. the clay item is generally destroyed when removing it from the mold.
I would suggest you go over the sections of Dick Blicks on line catalog on sculpting supplies as a online school for what is out there. Its free and you can always purchase anything you need some place else if you like.
thing about one of those kits to make life casts of body parts. A low cost way to get your hands dirty.
Blick's (http://www.dickblick.com/)

another source for casting supplies with on line vid's (http://www.hobbycast.net/video.htm)
And smooth-ons dvd's/tapes are great to see how its done if you can't take a class locally. They cover all types of the common methods of making master mother molds.
Smooth-On (http://www.smooth-on.com)
Here is a site that might be able to give you some ideas on how its done.
another how to (http://www.sculptor-iangb.com/mould.htm)
As to your final question it is almost impossible to answer with out detail info as to what you are doing and what you want as a result of your work. Indoor, outside, large, small, solid, hollow,metal you get the idea all these questions need to be addressed in one from or ta other :D

[Alfred]

Sketch, there are some things to be aware of when it comes to the type of plastiline used. If you use a sulfur based plastiline, the sculpture will need to be shelacked before it is molded. The sulfur does not allow the rubber to cure. Non-sulfur based plastiline does not need to be sealed and will not affect the cure of the rubber.

As to the armatures, people have alot of preferences in this matter. I personaly like the alluminum armatures and an adjustable armature stand
http://www.sculpture-depot.com/html/armatures.htm The armatues labeled "Individual Figure Armature" are the type I use. I no longer purchase them as they are quite easy to make once you've seen them up close. The armature stand that I prefer is also on that page about 3/4 of the way down. It's labeled "adjustable armature stand". I like these because you're not limited like a pipe/rigid armature stand. You can pose you figure in an infinate amount of poses and do it quickly with simple adjustments. If you do feel like purchasing one of these armature stands I can give you some tips on getting the wire armature onto the stand. I also no longer purchase these, because they are simple in construction and if you have any welding skills (or know someone who who does) they can be made for about $5.00 in materials.

Using alluminum to bulk out a figure is a good idea, just don't compress it too much. You may need to press into it later to adjust the figure, and it can be quite a pain in the butt when you're armature is not cooperating. If you add the clay when it's warm, it will be easy to bulk out the figure without compressing the aluminum too much, and once it cools you'll notice it's just as firm as if you had mashed the alluminum really tight (but without the drawbacks).

As for casting materials PT has it right. There are a lot of questions there. Not to mention the skill level required to do your own castings. Resin casting can require vacume chambers to de-gas the resin, it can also be harmfull to molds as it wants to hang on to any little piece of rubber, but since it's very rigid it usually ends up tearing sections of the rubber. To avoid this problem, molds need to be made in many more parts than normal. One figure could require 6 or more seperate molds. With bronze casting you can take your piece to the foundry and have them do it, but it is expensive. The process of the different materials is too lengthy to get into here, but maybe with a little more info from you we can narrow it down and I'm sure you'll find that someone will some really good advice.

Good Luck

Alfred

[Sketch]

Hey, sorry for taking so long to reply. Thank you, both of your info was really helpful!

I'm definitely going to do some more researching into the whole process, thanks for your links and advice.