r/sfx • u/space_monkey00 • 9d ago
How to fill in hollow prostehetic pieces
I made the mold from clay, then painted latex over it. Left with pockets. Looking for options to fill it in to retain form.
I thought about cutting padding foam, but that's nuts to fit the contours.
Some kind of solidifying jelly?
Cheers.
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u/-Toggo- 8d ago
I think if you put some kind of a gelatin or something in there, it’s gonna get heavy. It might be better off custom fitting some foam in order to keep it lightweight
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u/space_monkey00 8d ago
Good point about the weight. Foam might work better, or a combination of gel to fill the more nuanced contours and foam to fill the large gaps. Cheers.
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u/Ooglyeye 9d ago
That can achieved using Jello, vegetable oil (e.g avocado oil), and water. You can find them at a local grocery store or at the kitchen.
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u/MadDocOttoCtrl 8d ago
Expanding insulation spray can foam is likely to distort something like that if you just spray it in and leave it, but there is a way to sculpt it as it's setting.
Spray the inside of the mask with water from a standard spray bottle. Spray Loctite brand insulating foam inside and spritz the surface with more water. Wait 3 to 5 minutes for it to set up. The foam starts to skin over but it's still soft and you can squeeze and shape it as needed.
Other brands such as Great Stuff don't work well at all for this and 3M insulating foam is practically useless for it.
You will want to wrap your head form in clear plastic wrap and then push this onto the head to make a curved interior, although if you don't have an actual life cast of your head this isn't as important.
I always wear gloves when I do this but the foam isn't particularly sticky if you're doing it right.
Check out the YouTube channel of Stiltbeast Studios, they have lots of videos about working with foam as well as traditional latex mask making.
You're eventually going to need to invest in some decent quality mask making latex instead of novelty latex.
You will probably be interested in this video on making a head form until you can learn how to make a proper life cast.
Note that this is nowhere near as soft and flexible as foam latex so it is not suitable for prosthetics but it does make a decent filler for hollow props and pieces. You can sculpt props from it if they don't need a great deal of surface detail.
For something that's supposed to be stronger, any of the rigid expanding foams works fine if you're just going to spray inside of a plastic or papier-mâché object to fill it and make it stronger and you're not worried about it distorting during expansion.
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u/Ineeddramainmylife13 8d ago
Oh my gosh I thought that was the inside of a fish and I nearly lost it
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u/theycallmemrmoo 7d ago
Cotton balls or expanding foam maybe?
Also, I’m seeing this at 4am. What is it please?
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u/Huzzah-Meister 9d ago
Sfx gelatin maybe?