Birthday Timeline Concept

Prosthetic Piece Exploration

I began to look at how I could create the appropriate prosthetic pieces for my witch look, as discussed in my previous blog post.

I began to look at ways in which I could create the desired look for my white witch piece and the materials most commonly used.

The Nose

I wanted to start by creating the upturned pointed nose prosthetic and looked online at the best and most common ways of doing this. I watched a YouTube video on how to make latex prosthetics which you can find here (Reference 1) which I followed in order to create my nose piece. 

1. To start I used an old face cast which I'd made previously from plaster, and used Chavant Special FX Clay to mould the shape of the nose which I wanted to create. I also spread clay across the cheeks as I wanted space for me to spread the latex out and create a thin seam to blend the prosthetic into the model's skin. I made the nose really upturned and pointy - almost slightly mouse like. I find this adds to the idea of the with 'looking down her nose at people' and being judgemental as a Virgo.

2. I then stippled Ben Nye Liquid Latex over the entire nose area and onto the cheek. On the cheek area I made these layers really thin as they are seams, and only did 2/3 layers of those. On the nose area I did 7/8 layers, using a hair dryer to dry between layers. I decided to use latex to create the nose as it is extremely lightweight - as the nose was going to be upturned and high I didn't want to use a heavier material such as foam which would drag down the entire nose.

3. To be sure the prosthetic was dry I left it overnight. I knew that it had dried as the latex had turned a yellow tone which indicates it has cured with the oxygen.

4. I brushed the entire piece with Ben Nye Translucent Powder, and as I began pulling it from the face cast I put a small fluffy brush underneath it to powder it as I peeled, to stop the latex from sticking to itself and curling up.

The Cheeks

I had intended on creating pointed cheekbone pieces for the look and so began to look what would be the best method for this. Making latex pieces like I had just done for the nose is not as easy, because the cheek is a relatively flat surface the latex would lose its' shape quite easily whilst on the face, so I would need to use something sturdier. 

My first and only attempt at this so far has been to use Ben Nye Nose and Scar Wax to mould the shape of a point onto my cheekbones. Although I did like the finish this gave, the wax was extremely difficult to work with and began to crease around where I had blended it. I also tried applying foundation over the top of it and it just bounced off and wouldn't stick.

I am continuing to look at how I can create the cheekbone pieces so that they are durable and long lasting for the duration of the shoot.

References:

1. goldiestarling, (2015). How to Make Prosthetics At Home by goldiestarling. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr_YQm-xSek [Accessed 11 Mar. 2017].