Advice on sculpting?

[TrueDave]

Looks real nice!

[Figuremod73]

thats a really good sculpt! Cant that seam just be sanded out for the most part?

[timb]

Here's a shot of the latest sculpt. Did this one in Super Sculpey, and man, what a difference!

[timb]

Hey guys, bought a new resin mixture and I'm ready to try it out. First off though, I keep reading about "venting" my mold. Does anyone know what and how that is done properly?

[jessica]

venting i guess means sprue holes in your molds? You want to have a pouring hole and you want the air displaced by the liquid resin to "vent" out somewhere...so that your resin can fill out the mold properly.

Found this:

"The process is called 'venting', which is cutting narrow channels in the rubber to allow air to escape awkward parts of the mold that may be giving you incomplete fills."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=a5EhDvcbYyY

Here is a better video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6RAnaNjpzU

And wow that's so kewl about the silver spray. Going to have to try that for future samurai swords!!

[ctc]

>I keep reading about "venting" my mold. Does anyone know what and how that is done properly?

Venting means placing canals in your mold that lets air escape. For something like a head it's not often neccessary.... BUT there's one problem area you'll find on head molds: under the chin. You probably don't want to run the seam through the face (which would allow an air canal to the chin) so I recommend another trick: run the seam behind the ears, and add a thin wedge from the outer edge of the chin to the base of the neck. It'll let air escape through the neck plug (which most folks use as the fill hole on a head) and the extra bit can be cut off afterwards.

Don C.

[timb]

Ok cool, this is helpful. Thansk guys. Gonna try a couple new things this weekend. Will post if they turn out at all: )

[jessica]

Good luck!!

[timb]

hey guys, do you think I could get away with using india ink in my resin mix to turn it a shade of gray? I currently don't have any of the black dye. Just curious if you think that would work ok.

[ctc]

>do you think I could get away with using india ink in my resin mix to turn it a shade of gray

I'd try a test first: not a fully molded piece or anything, just mix a bit and seew hat happens. I wouldn't think it'd work. I don't think the ink would diffuse with the resin, and it might cause foaming from the moisture.

Don C.

[timb]

Good call, thanks!