How to make your alginate molds last longer

You can mix up to 2:1 Distilled Water and Glycerine together in a container and then mix this with your alginate. I know people who claim to be able to use a 1:1 water to glycerine ratio and they say it works just fine.  I haven't tried it - yet. Always remember to add the alginate to the water and not the other way around.

Since glycerine is hygroscopic (retains moisture), the alginate lasts longer and helps reduce shrinkage. This in turn allows your pour to be more accurate. If you are using clay to make your positive, be SURE you have zero standing water or drops of water in the alginate when you pour!  If it's a stone product, a little moisture won't hurt, but try your hardest to get it all out.

To dry the inside surface of the alginate, you can spray or rinse the surface with acetone. USE ADEQUATE VETILATION WITH THIS TECHNIQUE! As soon as the acetone flashes off, you can begin casting.

With this process, your alginate molds can last for hours uncovered without any shrinkage. Some may even last a day or two with minimal shrinkage.

I mix my alginate to the consistancy of sour cream. If you make it too runny and thin it can actually promote shrinkage because of the higher water content.  The best water to use is Distilled Water.  There are too many impurities in most municipal water systems to use for mixing alginate.

Most of you probably know this info already, but you never know when a little "nugget" of information might help someone down the road.

Here's a few I made as a test....they turned out awesome! Our CUSTOMERS will make these themselves. Everything they need and more will be in their Zombie Makeup Kit.

There's enough to make Zombie prosthetics for you and your friends and probably their friends.

Seriously awesome stuff. But I have a question - what should we call the kit (ok, other than Zombie Makeup Kit!)?

Any ideas?

We're cranking up the production belt again & getting ready for Halloween. Except this time, we're not making the prosthetics - our customers are! Don't wanna show much more yet, but Halloween is gonna absolutely ROCK this year if you plan on being a Zombie! You are seriously, SERIOUSLY going to love this kit!

I make my own Cap Plastic - the product you can make bald caps with or encapsulate silicone prosthetics so that they blend seamlessly into the skin. Other uses include a light spray with an airbrush over your clay sculpture prior to molding. It makes de-molding WAY easier! For FX related uses - if you want a GOOD looking burn (and I'm NOT responsible if you screw this up!), pour a little of the Cap Plastic into a pan of water and light it on fire. BE CAREFUL! This stuff is stuff is EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE - it contains Acetone! After is has burned and "melted" awhile, put an air tight lid on the pan to extinguish the flames. Gently remove the cap plastic and place it on your talent or save it on a piece of silicone paper. When ready to use, just apply to the skin blend the edges with a little acetone. Takes some practice, but works beautifully. But BE CAREFUL!

I've finally given in. This year we'll be offering some of coolest, most realistic and reasonably priced ZOMBIE appliances as Halloween gets closer. OH! The best part? You'll make them yourself! That's right ~ you shell out a few bucks for the molds, then purchase the Zombie "skin" in a bottle and then YOU make the bites, brows, lacerations and dead, peeling skin. And you can make Zombies out of you AND all your friends! And their friends! It's cool stuff, there's no doubt about it..... and you're gonna love it.

Tip For The Day: Wanna make some realistic looking silicone "fat" for that next gore project?
Thicken your already fat-colored platinum silicone with Thi Vex or something similar, apply it to your piece and wait till it just begins to kick.

When it does, take 99% alcohol and using a small, stiff brush, apply the alcohol to the "fat" and push it around, up and down, and side to side until you get it looking the way you want it. Keep it wet with alcohol until it's looking like the real thing. This method works!

By the way - the absolute BEST "fat" pigment for silicone is sold by FuseFX under the name "Fatty" (duh!).

Things are crazy nearly everyday at TraumaFX. These past 6 months or so we've been working 12 hours days (sometimes more!) just to keep up with orders we've received from all over the world. None of our success would be possible without the dedicated people that have graced the shop over the past years. Each piece must be undergo six different hand-painted layers to look absolutely realistic to the human eye. And because of the special silicone we use, they feel that way too!

All of our products go through a rigorous quality assurance process. Everything that is ready to go out the door to your studio, set or home gets the thumbs up before a stamp is ever licked and stuck on the package!

Ice! Ice! Baby!

It seems like everybody at one time or another runs across the issue of doing "ice effects" during different weather conditions and/or environments.

Giving the illusion of being frozen (or nearly frozen) in a body of water can be challenging. One of the easiest ways I've found found involves a few simple materials, a little heat and everyday type applicators.

Use a double boiler at your makeup ...station and melt about 60% Parafin wax and around 40% Vaseline. Mix the two thrououghly and apply it using paint brushes for the thicker hair areas like the head, and masscara spoolies for eyelashes (but be really careful!). You can also use the spoolies to apply the wax/vaseline mix to eyebrows, and mustaches.

If you want to, you can add some pieces of zize or polymer to get "chunks". It works "ok", but the wax/vaseline mix will really sell the look a little better in my opinion. Get creative with it, add things like a light "dusting" of sugar or epsom salts and you'll be amazed at the realism you can produce with this effect.

A little something to remember: The more vaseline you use, the softer the wax is and the easier it comes off the hair.

 

Just a few thoughts I thought I'd share.......