I've been teaching myself how to mold and cast.

[stuart]

I got myself a Smooth-On starter kit and have been teaching myself how to mold and cast. I started by reading James Brady's tutorial, but things always look easier than they really are - especially when presented by someone as practiced as James Brady. Since I can't sculpt, I've been making copies of heads of figures I own. One big issue I've had is judging the amount of resin needed for a head. I usually end up making way too much. To keep from wasting the resin, I end up making several copies of the heads I've molded. I've had a great time, so I guess that's what really matters. I am attaching some pics.

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[TomStrong]

Those look really good! Great job.

[thunderbolt]

nice looking casts, its nice to broaden customizing horizons.

[browboy71]

Now you get to practice painting them. can't wait to see how they turn out. Great job.

[samurainoir]

I'm totally pigpen when it comes to doing it.

[jessica]

I hate making molds and casts too. I make a mess. Maybe that's why I don't do them too often.

[GaryPlaysWithDolls]

Looks like when I first started molding/casting. I started out strong, but after awhile it seemed like NOTHING that I made ever came out right. Sometimes its nicer to just PAY somebody for what you want.

[samurainoir]

One big issue I've had is judging the amount of resin needed for a head.

Me too. Sometimes I can eyeball it, but it doesn't always work. I make sure I keep a couple of extra molds of different size stuff on hand in case I have extra.

In the case where I didn't mix enough, I've got the two part stuff on hand in squeeze bottles to quickly mix up a small batch.

I'm sure If I used the slower cure/demold stuff I could be much more methodical about it, but I generally don't like to wait.

2 minutes in the pot and ten minutes to demold is usually fine for the small stuff. If I mess up, you can try it again within minutes rather than waiting all that time to be potentially disappointed.

[rogue1]

A good trick is to fill the mold with water, then pour it back out. That gives a fairly good idea of how much you'll need.

[stuart]

This week I've been on sping break. The past three days have been about molding and casting. I've been playing around with Hydrospan and Hyrdoshrink. I know it takes days for these products to show their maximum benefit, but so far all I feel like I've just blown a bunch of money that I could have been spending on bodysuits, etc. if anything I did this week actually turns out, I'll share.