Casting and Creating Modeling Work With EnvironMolds, LLC

The leading art supplier, EnvironMolds provides a variety of silicone mold rubbers to suit any kind of mold making activity. This two-part RTV material has emerged as the best choice for various mold types. And there are different varieties to suit different applications, such as:

• MoldRite 25 – This is a very popular variety as it is suitable for most general silicone mold making. It will create traditional silicone molds for figurines, giftware prototype tooling and stereolithography. It has a good shelf life, pot life of 2 hours, 40 minute working time and requires about 6 hours curing before it can be demolded. 

• 5-Minute Mold Putty – This is your choice of silicone rubber for making molds very quickly and easily. You can make good impressions within just 5 minutes even without a mold box. The silicone mold can be cast immediately. It is suitable for food grade applications too.

• SkinRite 10 – This is a soft and translucent silicone rubber that can be used for special effects or to simulate real skin surfaces. All it requires is a little tinting. It is apt for making realistic masks and doll reborning

• LifeRite – If you are looking for a skin safe silicone rubber for making life casts and duplicating body parts, LifeRite is the perfect answer. The body molds will be reusable too. 

•  BakeSil – This food safe silicone is FDA approved and can be easily used to make food molds and baking containers.

Perfect the art of making one part and two part molds to enjoy making silicone molds of almost anything!

As an art teacher, I am often faced with confused students who just don’t know when to make single part molds and when two or more part molds are required.

As a fledgling casting artist, I have become quite adept at capturing the form of simple objects in negative molds. All I have to do is secure the model in a box before pouring or applying the mold making material of my choice. I am adroitly able to capture the intricate undercuts and angles with clay, alginate and even resins.

Now I am just itching to move on and try my hand at making molds of more complicated objects. I picked a shapely figurine for this task and was well aware that the level of detailing all around the model required me to make two part molds.

In simple words, this means that I cannot make the mold in one go. What I need is two molds with each part capturing one half of the model before merging them into a single composite mold.

I chose plaster for this job and started by making a parting line all around the figurine. I followed an ArtMolds video that showed me how to portion off below the parting line with clay and make keys on the clay perimeter. Making a mold of the remaining half was quite easy.

Once cured, I carefully removed the clay border before making a similar mold of the other side. The video guided me on exactly how to join the two parts of the mold together and strap it securely for the subsequent casting.

The mold turned out a little shaky but I was still elated with my first attempt at two part molds!

Life casting artists are generally familiar with the tricks of their trade. They have honed their skills to perfection – from making a mold, demolding and casting to also finishing the final sculpture so that it’s ready to display in all its magnificence.

However, life casting requires an artist to work with a living and breathing model, and alas, many people falter in this aspect. The problem gets compounded as both the quality of your model and his or her cooperation is vital for the success of your life casting project.

Therefore, finding and hiring the right model (and offering proper compensation) is half the battle won. There are various sources for locating models that do not have any inhibitions against life casting. At this stage, remember to protect your interests with an appropriate model release form.

Now comes the task of preparing the model for what lies ahead. New models need to be carefully informed about the life casting procedures and applications. Even experienced ones need to get familiar with your techniques and requirements.

Discuss the pose you have in mind and try it out to ensure that the model is comfortable. There is no harm in trying out different postures before settling on one where the model feels most relaxed. Always remember that the quality of your final life cast completely depends on how comfortable the model feels when you are making a mold!

It’s a fact that silicone and latex casts are difficult to paint on. If you stick to clay modeling, painting and finishing is easy. But when it comes to silicone rubbers, regular acrylic or oil based paints will not adhere well and they may end up chipped or cracked when painted on latex surfaces.

EnvironMolds supplies a range of specially formulated latex and silicone paints, dyes, pigments and solvents that are suitable for coloring intrinsically or painting the surface.

For example, if you have made a silicone cast and need to paint on it, EnvironMolds provides 10 different colors like red, blue, yellow, black white, purple and even Quinn Blush for perfect skin effects. Only such silicone based paints will stick to silicone surfaces.

It is best to mix the silicone paint and silicone medium on a disposable paper plate as the paint will stick to most surfaces when dry. Also be careful about how much quantity you mix. Silicone paints dry very quickly, giving you very little time to finish painting. If the paint begins to set, it will not adhere properly to the silicone surface and can cause a blotchy effect. This is known as ‘cold gap’.
Therefore, you have to be very careful and mix only tiny amounts of a single color at a time. Use it quickly before it begins to dry (can be within a minute at times). Regular practice will give you an idea of the setting times too.