Life-casting Research

Safety Risks

- Lifecasting can pose some potential safety hazards
- Materials must be safe and approved for use directly on the skin
- There is a potential for injury if a person faints from standing for too long - also risks of claustrophobia and anxiety in some actors
- The nostrils must be kept clear the whole time but not with straws - the straws change the shape of the subjects nose and can cause nosebleeds if the move even slightly

Do

- Release eyebrows and eyelashes with vaseline
- have subject sitting up unless prosthetic is going to be on someone who's lying down as gravity will pull on the body and the appliance may not fit right
- Make sure you've cast enough of the subject face and neck to be able to sculpt usable prosthetics with good blending edges.

Don't

- Put plaster directly onto skin as it gets hot when it cures and will absorb the skins moisture. it may even fuse with skin if not released properly
- Use straws

Other Things to Consider

- Algenate dust can be harmful so try not to breathe it in
- Silicone should only be used in a well ventilated room
- Should always do a small test on the back of the models hand to ensure there is no allergic reaction
- If you where gloves they have to be vinyl or nitrile not latex as the sulfur in latex will inhibit if not completely prevent the cure of silicone rubber.

Materials

- cling film
- plastic cups
- rubber spatula
- vaseline
- masking tape
- alginate
- acetone
- pros-aide adhesive
- q-tips
- IPA
- sculpting tools
- water
- scissors
- plaster bandages

Lifecasting the face and neck

1) Cut the plaster bandages into lengths of about 8 inches, 10 inches and 12 inches, make several of each also cut into thin strips
2) Premeasure the alginate into a plastic container also the amount of water - ratio of about 5 ounces alginate to 1 pound of water
3)Cover subjects body and clothing with plastic
4) Apply bald cap to subject or cling film at tape - bald cap makes a very smooth perfect lifecast.

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5) Draw a line where you want the facecast to go with eyebrow pencil
6) Glue the bald cap down
7) Apply vaseline to eyebrows, eyelashes and any facial hair - and on the edge of the bald cap.

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- Fill the negative mold with a gypsum stone material to make the positive.
- It is important that this is done very soon after the alginate mold is completed because it will begin to dry out almost immediately and it shrinks as it dries.

49 - the finished cast then cleaned up.

Debreceni, T (2013) Special Makeup Effects for stage and screen. 2^nd edition. Abingdon. Focal Press