The basic form is rough sculpted in clay then left to harden somewhat before it is worked more. I sculpt this based more on intuition than references (although I look at those too). I want the finished product to look like the animal, but it does not need to be super realistic as it must look and fit well on a human head.
The finished clay scupt, with eyes inserted to check the look. The hardest part (for me) is to make both side of the face symmetrical. I sculpt gradually over a week or so as the clay often needs to harden as structural details are finished before I can continue.
The clay scupt is surrounded by a clay wall, in prepration for plastering. I can papier mache over a clay sculpt, but I get the best accuracy when I take a plaster cast first, and then mache that instead.
1st layer of plaster. This layer is very thin and I spread it around to remove all bubbles and capture the details and undercuts properly.
I give it 5 or so plaster layers before leaving it to dry for a day or two. Too short a time means the plaster will be too soft to demold, but too long and the clay hardens and is more difficult to remove.
Removing the clay. This destroys the original face sculpt.
The finished plaster cast. Now it needs to be hardened in the oven and sealed. Then I can papier mache it to make the beginnings of a fursuit head. In this case, an otter.
Hope you enjoyed, if you know anyone who might find this useful, send them over here. I expect to make these mini LJ tutrorial a regular occurence.
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
beetlecat- Now the hungry lion roars
- Beetlecat Originals Website
Page Summary
- banewulf : (no subject) [+1]
- lotus_kitty : (no subject) [+4]
- swirling_chaos : (no subject) [+9]
- swiftred : (no subject) [+1]
- calypte : (no subject) [+2]
- seaweedotter : (no subject) [+1]
- (Anonymous) : Project [+0]
- nefertarinami : (no subject) [+6]
- (Anonymous) : Question? [+1]
- (Anonymous) : (no subject) [+0]
- majy_the_dragon : (no subject) [+2]
- (Anonymous) : (no subject) [+0]
Comments
It holds up extremely well and holds in fine details, but seeing this it doesn't look like you need the details persay.
~jenn
Lovely tutorial (to the original poster). I never thought of trying to cast something hard like paper mache inside of a hard mold, but now that I think about it, it would work so long as there weren't any spectacular undercuts.
Also, yay for otter suits!
~S
And, apparently, plaster is popular with papier mache because the plaster is porus and dries the mache quicker. Unfortunatly, I usually seal my mold anyways 'cause otherwise the mache sticks so bad I have to throw the whole thing out.
I may switch over if I can find a local supplier, but right now plaster of paris is alot easier to find!
And when it's dry I can stack it up and put it away until I use it. While it's still drying, it's too soft and I have to leave it out, and (with both a dog and cat in the same house) things tend to get broken.
For the last few summers I've spent some quality time digging up and straining out clay. It's not terribly great quality, and I certainly wouldn't want to bake it, but it amuses me... and I try to never buy what I can make myself.
I've even reused old ceramic pieces (unfired) I made when I was in grade school. Seemed a shame to just throw all that nice dirt out in the trash :D
What I did was dig up a bucket of dirt and clay (throwing out the rocks and organic matter), then filled the bucket with water and mushed it around a bunch to 'dissolve' the clay in the water and finally fed it through around 4 series of fine and finner netting.
Since clay is the smallest 'dirt particle' so it goes into the bucket with the water, while the sand and silt gets trapped in the screening.
You can also scoop out the sand before straining it (which stops it from clogging up the netting so much) by letting things settle for 10 seconds or so and then scooping out the sand in the bottom. Sand is very heavy and falls quickly, clay takes much longer to settle and just floats around the the water for a while.
Then you just have to let the clay settle for a few days or a week and then scoop it out into a container (or let the water evaporate):D
It's *much* easier to just go buy some, but I had a lot of fun making it :D
Though there's a long way yet before this results in a finished head :P
The other things I want to know in regards to this method are:
How do you attach the papier mache face to a hood? Do you glue a headband of plastic mesh glue a premade hood or preferate the edges and sew the hood on? I wanna know. :D!
How study is papier mache? I'm worried that through all the abuse my heads go through (rough-handled on the airplane, smushing it into a flight case, tossing it in the trunk of my car, pitching it on top of my closet shelf, etc) the papier mache would be easy to break.
How water proof is it? I like to do outdoor events, namely parades which happen rain or shine. I live in a damp area, so if it would rain, I'd be afraid of the mask turning to mush. If it is water proof, what do you use to seal it?
How are your moving jaws made? :OOO
...I also would love to know how you make your own custom eyes. I'm afraid to use resin because it's so toxic, and I'm not sure the best way to make an eye mold.
But I can say that PM faces are fairly sturdy, and super sturdy if someone is wearing it. The biggest danger I see is someone crushing the mask from the sides when it is not being worn, since there is no structural support inside it, that would very likely crack the face. A blow to the muzzle wouldn't result in any (except possibly cosmetic) damage. Reasonable care is all that in neccesary. I don't exactly handle my own masks with kid gloves.
I do seal the masks, although I have not yet had to test them outside in the rain. I have left sealed masks (before being attached to a balaclava) outside in the rain (accidently) before with no difficulties.
As long as a person does not go swimming with them, I see no danger. However, the fur could trap the water so the mask would need to be dried out as soon and thoroughly as possible. Or it would be like the PM is sitting in a puddle for days, which would likely soften it at least somewhat.
i was looking at it for ideas for a sci project i hav and i really LOVE otters. so i was gonna make an otter:)
And I already hang out at fursuit- just curious aout this thingy.
And could you instead of using paper matche use fiberglass (woven stuff) onto or into a mold (no undercuts) already the final shape of the head with just the fur, eyes, ears, ect. to be applyed?
Fiberglass might make it cooler if you add a fan in the space in the mussel, and without extra padding so it won't trap head as much if holes were drilled perioticly and lighter?