Sex Pig Mask Tutorial (Part 2)

Now that the mask was completely sculpted we had to cast a mold from the positive. I was not around for this process, but Mike gave me the gist of what was involved in doing this. We used air dry clay to build barrier walls around the finished sculpture, and then ultra cal was poured in to create the mold. 

 

 This process was done twice because we had to make a mold for each side of the mask. The mold had to sit for around two days. After the mold was finished drying, we pulled the head form and clay from the mold. Upon doing so, we snapped the head from inside the mold (Because of the weight of the clay, and the fact it was Styrofoam). We dug out the broken pieces, and we were ready to fill it with latex.

Due to the size of the mold and our workspace, we were not able to pour the latex in. Instead, we had to brush it in by hand. This took a lot of time, and required several layers of latex.  Each layer was brushed in, and given time to dry. This process was repeated around 12 times.

 The two sides of the mask were then sealed together with latex, along with the inner seam of the mask as well.Then we trimmed the excess latex. Once that dried, we trimmed the excess latex and the outer seam was covered with cabosil. We let that dry overnight, and then we were ready to start painting!!!

 The base coat was done by airbrush, and the small details were done by hand. 

There you have it folks!!! The making of Sex Pig. Hope my recollection could help. If you want to get a better understanding of this process, or want to check out some of Reel Splatters other work, be sure to check out Http://www.reelsplatter.com

Sex Pig Mask Tutorial (Part 1)

 

For those of you familiar with our character Sex Pig, you’ll be glad to see the old paper Mache mask has been updated dramatically with the help of our friends from Reel Splatter Productions (Http://www.reelsplatter.com).  

Before I start with this tutorial (or half-assed tutorial) I would like to say, I am not a professional. However, Mike Lombardo from Reel Splatter  has been doing this for quite some time now, so I’m going to recall everything I learned from him during this process, and if I forgot anything, I’m sorry. 

I took the original paper Mache mask (Which looks like total shit) and some concept art over to Mikes, along with a Styrofoam head form (which we found out much later is not ideal for mask making,). First, we covered the head form with newspaper in order to save on clay. After wrapping it with newspaper and tape, we were ready to start sculpting.

Concept art

Original paper Mache Sex Pig Mask

Styrofoam Head Armature

We built up the head with plasticine clay, and gradually started adding details. We were fortunate to have Sarah Handfest, and Erik Oblivion help us during the sculpting process. 

Sarah Handfest lends a hand.

After adding the major details, we had to smooth out any imperfections. This requires the use of a metal comb, and some lighter fluid. The trick is to add a crosshatch pattern over the sculpture, and then use a brush with lighter fluid to smooth out the lumpy spots of the sculpture. The lighter fluid eats away at the clay and smooths out any  stray marks.

I slowly learned that plasticine is a pain in the ass to smooth out, but Is reusable, and easy to work with. 
It must be heated in order to sculpt and it hardens very quickly. This made the sculpting process take a while

 Once the mask looked the way we wanted it, we used a texture stamp to give it the look of human skin. You can pick these up at http://www.monstermakers.com, along with many other useful supplies for mask making. Be sure to check out our next blog for the rest of the steps on how this was made!!! Or you can go to www.facebook.com/testosteroso

The finished sculpture.

Skot Shaub,Mike Lombardo

Mike Lombardo