Mold making and Casting products through EnvironMolds, LLC

It is customary to make a head cast with closed eyes. But it will look real only when you can ‘open’ the eyes during the casting process. Expert sculpting skills will stand you in good stead here.

Life casting is an artistic process of making a beautiful likeness of a person. The three-dimensional creation surpasses the images produced in photographs and paintings and gives it an incredibly realistic impression, right down to the natural creases, the usual pores and even the real texture of your skin.

Once the body mold is done and the cast is ready, the finished life cast can be mounted on a suitable base. Adding a brass name plate engraved with your name and other details will be the final touch that gives a professional and gallery-like finish to the artwork.

The results look amazing, but getting there is replete with intricate complications. One of the most challenging aspects of making a life cast is getting the eyes right in the body mold.

The life casting artist will obviously apply the skin safe alginate or silicone rubber all over the eyes. The gooey substance is carefully worked over the lids and into the corners of the eye sockets to capture the contours in detail. This will create a life cast head with closed eyes. After all, it is virtually impossible for a model to keep the eyes open during the life casting process!

However, the closed eyes will make the head cast look akin to a death mask. Opening the eyes is what will add ‘life’ and make it look natural.

Experienced life casting artists have persevered to work out effective ways to sculpt the eyes open.

It is after a lot of trial and error that an artist will be able to make accurate incisions to remove the ‘eyes’ from the face mold. Exceptional sculpting skills are required to carve new eyes as if they are open. It involves shaping fully open or half closed eyelids with clay or plaster. The cavities and the lower lids also have to be sculpted and chiseled with infinite care and patience. Painting and other finishing techniques are used to create realistic eyes in the final life cast.

Alternatively, some artists also use prosthetic eyes to give their life cast a realistic effect. They carve out the sockets in the body mold and fit glass or acrylic eyes into the head portrait. This may seem easy at the outset, but it still requires proficient sculpting to fashion the eyelids and shape the corners in the mold.

Ready eye forms are available in art stores that look natural and add a lifelike appearance to the life cast. They should be chosen with care to suit the shape and color of the model’s original eyes. Some artists even prefer to make their own eye forms with resin and add detailing to the same.

Whatever ‘eye-opening’ method you use, do not forget to add brass name plates engraved once the life cast is ready for display.

Mold making is deeply entwined with casting. In fact, it is impossible to make a cast without making a negative impression of the model in the form of a mold. Learning both the arts becomes essential.

The casting process always begins with how to make a mold. The artist can choose the mold making material and the technique depending on the nature of the model, the preferred casting material, personal dexterity and so on. While the mold can be made using clay, wax, plaster, resin or rubber, the method can vary from simple block molds to more complicated blanket molds using the brushed, poured or glove mold making system.

Here, the artist also has to decide whether they will be making a mold in its entirety at one go or in parts. The latter is quite an intricate and time-consuming process. But it becomes essential if the model has deep indentations, protrusions or undercuts. This calls for making keys and sprue holes in the parts of the mold as well.

Once the mold parts are ready, the artist can move to the casting process. First timers often wonder if the cast will also be made in parts and need to be fused together later.

This is not actually the case in reality. In fact, making a cast in multi-part molds is similar to casting in a single piece mold save for a few extra steps.

The casting process

The mold parts are thoroughly cleaned and dried before coating with a release agent. Then the parts will be lined up using the keys so that they align properly. Mold straps or heavy duty rubber bands are needed to bind the mold parts together and keep the casting material from leaking out. In case the mold is flexible, backing boards are placed on either end of the mold to keep the mold from bending or collapsing on itself. The bands go over the boards and hold the entire arrangement in place.

Now all that is required is pouring the casting material into the mold through the sprues. This should be done slowly to avoid air bubbles. The mold is tapped a few times to allow the plaster, rubber or resin to fill the indentations and settle everywhere properly. It is advisable to continue pouring till a bit of the material starts flowing out from the holes.

The mold should be allowed to sit for a couple of hours or even overnight to ensure proper curing. Once set, the bands can be removed and the mold parts separated with a gentle hand. This will reveal the cast in its entirety!

The cast is then removed and finished with sandpaper and paints as needed.

Therefore, newbies need to know how to make molds and casts of different types before attempting any project. Perfection comes with practice and they can learn the tricks through trial and error. Very soon they will also be able to create flawless casts from impeccable molds.

If you have no clue about which material to use for making a mold, cast or life cast, the EnvironMolds choose by Applications feature will suggest suitable products for various types of artworks.

EnvironMolds has consistently emerged as a leading provider of all kinds of art materials, supplies, tools and equipment for mold making, casting and life casting. Over the past 20 years, the company has incessantly expanded its product range to embrace various top brands apart from the in-house ArtMolds. In the zeal to assist artists in every way possible, they also provide access to instructional articles, videos and books on various topics related to these arts.

The user-friendly website Artmolds.com is the doorway to a plethora of products. It covers almost everything that any artist can ever require. Now, veteran mold makers and life casting artists can easily find the products they need from the range of materials listed under the associated tabs.

However, what about the novice artists or those who want to try their hand at mold making or life casting? How will they know which materials they should choose, let alone which product will be best suitable for a project?

EnvironMolds seeks to solve this dilemma for the beginners who are not certain about which product will be appropriate for their work. They can click on Applications that will open up various application groups along with product suggestions for the same.

The vast list of categories covers various art forms – from art casting, cold casting, culinary mold making, mask making, sculpture reproduction, body casting and life casting to antique restoration, garage models, fossil preservation, doll reborning, ballistic supplies and more. A click on the category you are interested in will provide a list of associated products along with helpful instructional videos on topics related to that art.

Along with this, there is also a handy Product Application chart that lists the various ArtMolds products along with their properties and various applications of the same. You can crosscheck to understand the features of your chosen products as well as the other uses of the same.

Mold making and casting will usually require a vacuum chamber and pump for eliminating trapped air from the material. Otherwise the air will end up marring your artwork and make it look unsightly.

Resins and rubbers are the most commonly used materials for making molds and casts. They are easy to use, capture details well and prove to be durable as well. However, the chief issue with using these materials is their propensity to trap air easily. This ends up as wart like indentations that create hideous surface defects on the finished castings.

The best way to eliminate the air bubbles is to use a vacuum pump with vacuum chamber. All you have to do is mix the resin or rubber and place it in the vacuum chamber. The vacuum pump will use pressure to pull out the air from the chamber and create a deep vacuum inside.

Therefore, this equipment makes a perfect addition to a mold maker or casting artist’s studio. The EnvironMolds website Artmolds.com provides a range of studio equipment including vacuum pumps and chambers. The ArtMolds vacuum chamber with pump is very popular among artists because of its low cost, professional grade quality and safety. The chamber has a 4 gallon capacity while the pump can pull up to 29 inches of mercury (Hg) at sea level, which is ideal for deairing pot life resins and silicones. The vacuum pump and chamber can be bought together or separately as well.

Apart from this, you also have the option of RotoKinetic vacuum chambers that are available in three different sizes – 1.25 gallons, 2 gallons and 5 gallons. They come with a built in solid state vacuum pump and require only an external compressed air supply. Alternatively, you can also order the vacuum chamber without the pump - a vent valve will be supplied with shutoff valve.

Similarly, the website also offers other vacuum pumps like USG Two-Stage 3 CFM Vacuum Pump, Robinair 6 CFM Vacuum Pump and Venturi type compressed air vacuum pump. All of them work well with the ArtMolds vacuum chamber.

Mold making is not always as easy as ABC. But it’s not like rocket science either. You should know when you need to make a mold in more than one simple part and the intricacies involved in the same.

Making a block mold of a model is a simple and straightforward process. However, there are some models that demand two part molds!

Suppose the model has a protrusion – like a mug with a handle. This will make it difficult to remove the model and later the cast from a single piece mold. Or, if the model has a narrow base when compared to the rest of the body – again, extracting the model becomes tricky. In fact, it is just not possible to get the model out of the mold without breaking it apart!

So, why not make the mold in parts itself?

Indeed, multi-part mold making involves making separate parts of the mold that will come together to form a complete mold. The process begins with forming a parting line on the model. This will divide the piece in such a way that the part to be molded does not have any undercuts that will impede its removal from the mold later on. Most times, two mold parts will do; however, intricate shapes may require three or even more parts.

Next you have to cover the mold till the parting line, so that only the part to be cast is visible. This is usually done using clay. While at it, you will also have to mark sprues and keys on the clay surface along the parting line. The sprue forms the opening for pouring in the casting material while the keys are a set of identical protrusions and indentations that will allow the mold halves to align accurately.

Now make the first half of the mold and once set, remove the clay before making a mold of the other half as well. Later, you can easily separate the two parts to reveal the model inside. The two part mold is ready for casting in the material of your choosing.

For more information on the materials and steps for making two part molds, contact EnvironMolds or check out their website, https://www.artmolds.com.

You will be surprised to know that something as simple as clay not only enjoys a broad range of uses, but also comes in a range of variations. The choice obviously depends on the use, so pick accordingly.

The simple and malleable clay is the ideal modeling material for amateurs as well as veteran sculptors. The ease of working and extreme versatility makes clay a popular choice that gives other sophisticated materials like rubbers and resins a run for their money!

Indeed, the use of clay modeling extends across genres – from basic ceramics and pottery to making molds and sculptures to masks, prototypes, special effects and even clay animation.

Different variations of clay are available – there is oil and water-based clay, sulfur and sulfur-free clay and hardening as well as non-drying clay. The choice depends as much on the texture and hardness of the different materials as the potential reproductions of the finished piece. The personal dexterity and preference of the artist also matters here.

For instance, the water-based clays are much softer than the oil ones. But the latter do not dry out or shrink as easily. In fact, the high grade ones are even permanently pliable and can be used over and over again.

The most common uses of clay are sculpting and pottery. Here, the artist usually uses the water-based clays and they are not bothered about the drying as the finished piece will be fired in a kiln to harden it permanently.

However, when an artist is making an initial model for a prop, prototype or prosthetic, they may prefer the oil-based or non-hardening varieties. This allows them a longer window to mold the clay as it will not harden on exposure to air. What’s more, they can even reuse the same clay many times after the casting is done. There is a varying choice of hardness as well to suit different applications.

Most of the clay options contain sulfur and this does not affect the sculpture, mask, prop or prototype as such. The only hindrance is that the sulfur can inhibit the setting of various silicone rubbers. As such, when an artist plans to cast the clay mold in silicone rubber, he has to consider sulfur-free clays.

Apart from these, there is a special type of ballistic clay that is surprisingly handy for testing body armor. This clay simulates animal muscle tissue and can be used as backing for ballistic vests to test the deformations from varying bullet shots.

When it comes to which clay to purchase, the oil-based Roma Plastilina is the first choice of seasoned sculptors for clay modeling. Del Milano plasticine clay is another good variant of the same class, yet less heavy on the pocket. For prototyping and automotive design usage, Chavant offers top quality industrial plasticine clay in both sulfur and sulfur-free variants. Roma Platilina’s ballistic clay is the government-designated backing material for terminal ballistics testing. And if you need moist and self-hardening clays for pottery and ceramics, there are quality offerings from Dresden, Artware and Boneware.

There is practically no limit to the varied uses of sodium silicate. It can be used in artwork and beyond to aid production in factories as well. The utility value in the studio itself is very diverse.

There are many multi-purpose materials, and then there is ArtMolds Sodium Silicate. This comes in very handy in the art studio as well as in daily life. For instance, it can be used in ceramics, metal mold making, clay slip deflocculant, sealer for concrete and plaster, adhesives etc. It is equally useful in cements, passive fire protection, refractories, textile and lumber processing and automobiles.

Apart from the versatility, the product is also odorless, non-toxic and moisture resistant. The low price further adds to the appeal and utility. Let’s take a look at some of the regular uses of liquid sodium silicate:

•    The most common use of sodium silicate is to mix it with fine sand before exposing it to carbon dioxide. The activated silicate binds the sand to form a core or mold. This can be used for making metal castings.

•    Did you know that you can create instant antiquity on pottery too? All you have to do is brush a thrown ceramic piece with sodium silicate and dry it quickly with a blow torch. The heat will swiftly form a thin skin on the surface while the clay inside still remains soft. Using pressure to expand the clay from inside will cause the sodium silicate skin to crack and give a glazed finish to the ceramic.

•    The same sodium silicate also works as an effective deflocculant for clay slips. Just add a small quantity of liquid sodium silicate to clay and mix it will. This will reduce shrinkage later as you are not using water.

•    You can apply sodium silicate on a model or mold made of plaster, gypsum or concrete. This will seal the surface and control its porosity. Masonry can be made waterproof in this manner as well.

•    A thin layer of sodium silicate will dry to form a strong and rigid bond between any two materials.

You can source sodium silicate or water glass from EnvironMolds website, https://www.artmolds.com.