The pose has been deliberately made complex in order to give a lot of action to the figure. Action in this reference is the in and out movement of the forms that compose the statue. 

As I start the sculpting process I consider how the mold will be made and how the statue will be poured.  At the right are the beginnings of the fine detailing of the fur. Notice that I have not made thin projections sticking out that could easily be broken off in casting or handling. The grooves and lines will be gone over with a tool to sharpen them but the fine strands of fur will remain connected to the body to keep them from breaking off.

 Quite often when the client sculpts his or her own model there are design problems that make mold making more difficult. They have invested so much time and are so involved in their work of art that they are adverse to changing it to allow for easier molding. Mold makers typically are looking for the easiest and most sensible method to make a mold of a sculpture. This is especially true in the commercial end of the spectrum where, for instance, moving an arm back would eliminate extra pieces to the mold. This could cut days off the mold making process. But as mentioned the client may not allow any changes to the sculpt. The mold maker may then spend hours trying to figure a way to make a plaster mold of the piece.
 When these situations come up do we throw open the window and shout out at the top of our lungs, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!"?  No! Of course not. The newer medications help us to keep those episodes to a minimum now. Some mild head banging may occur from time to time but those incidents are mostly recreational.
  Something that is of even greater innovation than the breakthroughs in mood altering drugs is the breakthrough technology of the afore mentioned flexible mold materials.  These liquid concoctions have saved more mold makers from the bug orchard than all the pills in the asylum.  The choices of these materials is so vast that we can mold almost any object. Hallelujah! My weary bones can rest.

At the left is our bigfoot plastiline statue  ready to be coated in latex rubber.  I have already applied two coats of shellac to the unsuspecting Sasquatch. The big guy is taking it quite well considering that 14 coats of the milky white latex will be brushed on his plastiline body. Latex turns dark brown as it dries. As we can see by the color of this finished latex mold below. All the detail is hidden and the figure has taken on a rounded appearance. It is now ready for a back up shell. The soft rubber would not have enough strength to stand on its own without a mother mold to back it up.

Silicone and Urethane are also excellent choices for certain molds. I chose latex for this job because it allowed the mold to be made without seam lines. Seam lines would have been quite a lot of extra work to clean up on this hairy back woods monster. This type of one piece mold is called a glove mold. It is pulled off the cast in the same way that your doctor pulled that rubber thing off his hand at the beginning of this exercise.
  Latex is the stretchiest stuff on the planet. It is used extensively in the concrete lawn ornament industry. The person who invented latex should be nominated for sainthood or knighthood or Robin Hood or something.  It saves a lot of finishing work on the  jobs which it can be used. To read more about latex and latex mold making go to
  Work at Home pg    

 

 

In the picture to the right I have started making the HydroCal backup shell for the soft latex rubber mold. Many mold makers use fiberglass and resin for their back up shells.  They are light and strong. My personal preference is the HydroCal shell. Working with fiber glass and polyester resin is not the most pleasant experience one can have. With Hydrocal you do not have the noxious fumes that you have with polyester resin. There are times when you cannot avoid using the resin for a mother mold but I try to keep those times to a minimum.
  This will be a three piece back up shell. The first section has been made. Notice I have started putting a clay strip down the center of the back. The clay retaining wall divides the mold so that the second section of the back up shell can be made. This will be a 3 piece backup shell.

 

That's a quick rundown on the making of a latex mold. Urethane and Silicone molds use different techniques. You may read about other mold making techniques at blanket mold  making   The proper mold material is one of the considerations to think about for your job.

Production molds 
A bunch of molds will have to be made so that mass quantities of your item can be produced.

These are molds of Hamilton Hedgehog. I can pour plaster or concrete in these latex molds. The photo does not show the back up shells.  I like to use about ten molds for a production run. This makes for more efficient production.

 

 

 

  

  Here is the hedgehog just out of the mold. He looks happy to be out and ready to run around free causing trouble.  Unfortunately its off to the painting table for this fellow.  If you use USG Dry Stone you can paint your statuary right out of the mold.

  These pages have given you an idea of the processes involved in getting your idea from the inside of your head to an actual three dimensional product which you can sell. My job is to help you with all or any part of the process in which you need assistance. 

  Call 610- 391- 9277 or e- mail for a price quote on your job.

 

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Dan Kijak   4308 Shankweiler Rd. Orefield PA 18069

610-391-9277