Life casting is a truly fascinating art of creating stunningly realistic three-dimensional copies of the living human body. It consistently attracts numerous people who are eager to try making detailed casts and then life as casts of hands, feet, and other body parts.
But making a cast of life is not easy at all. It requires expert knowledge of making casts, casts, and living casts along with fine equipment and quality materials to get the job done. The sheer variety of mold making, casting, assembly and finishing products that are available can itself be mind-blowing. So here’s a quick rundown of the different items and their uses.
To begin with materials for mold making, the range of materials that can be used includes alginate, molding, clay, wax, plaster bandages, polyurethanes, silicone, latex, and thermosetting mold rubbers. Aligning is what dentists use to make impressions of teeth and is most commonly used to make living casts. Plaster bandages also work well, especially for mother casts. Silicone rubber is suitable for almost any application and the skin-safe variants lend themselves well to lifetime molds while the food grade silicone variants are used for candy making, food molds, baking pans, etc. .
Clay and liquid latex are highly preferred for masks, sculptures, special effects, and animation. Latex rubber will outlast other mold making options when casting abrasive materials like concrete, as it is hard and tear resistant. Polyurethanes are also versatile and can pick up intricate detail while resisting abrasion. This makes them useful for high-quality sculpture reproductions, architectural restoration work, etc.
The foundry products category also features similar options such as silicone rubbers for foundry, latex rubbers, and polyurethane resins for also casts, plasters, and cold casting powders. The latter are useful when you want a faux metal look. Liquid latex cast rubber can perfectly simulate skin and is therefore used to make not only gloves, puppet heads and flexible accessories, but also high-quality masks and other body parts. It also finds competent use in facial prosthetics.
The best products are essentially wasted without the accompanying tools and equipment. This brings us to vital studio accessories such as spatulas, mixers, modeling stands, gloves, brushes, pressure cooker, vacuum chamber, vibrating tables, etc.
Once a mold is made and a cast or living cast has been made, trimming, sanding, painting and other finishing aspects follow. Full body or even face casts will require appropriate eyes and other parts. Makeup supplies are also crucial in achieving your desired skin look.
Finally, the presentation of living casts requires appropriate mounting and display options such as wood, marble, and acrylic. And her beautiful cast of life is sure to look a little sketchy without a proper nameplate listing her details. This is what will impart the perfect gallery finishing touch to your finished casting!