Foam Latex Animation Instructional DVD

[nemorathwald]

BoingBoing blogged about How to make latex puppets for animated videos and I immediately went to the website and plunked down my money for the instructional DVD. Foam latex is a casting substance which I have a deficit of information on. This is extremely timely as the fiberglass outer shell on Linux-tan's silicone mold is almost complete. Nobody brought a camera to Sunday's party (which was very successful by the way) or I'd have photos.

I've said before that I intend to make at least two finished Linux-tans, one in flexible foam and one in a hard substrate. I'm still debating what hard substrate to use. I'd rather not make a solid casting, especially of a heavy material such as plaster or expensive material such as Alumilite, because Linux-tan is so large. Fiberglass is a possibility, especially since I'll probably have some left over from creating the outer shell.

Comments

[paranthropus.livejournal.com]

Fiberglass? How large is this sculpture going to be?

I have no real experience in casting, but are you using an interior mold as well as the silicone outer? You might be able to create a hollow cast by using an interior mold made of, say, carved styrofoam covered in a mold release, or perhaps just leave the styrofoam core in place. Either way you would be able to use the more expensive resin and not have the waste and added weight of a solid cast.

I wish that I had found out about your party earlier. Unfortunately it was well into the evening by the time I checked LJ.

[matt-arnold.livejournal.com]

Linux-tan is 18 inches tall, and almost a foot wide. The volume of the main body is like a jellybean-shaped volleyball. The bulb on the end of the lengthy tail forms a signifigant outlying volume.
I've considered putting a big wad of something in the core to take up space, but I'm concerned about air bubbles forming under it when I pour the resin. Also, although I could suspend it off of the surface on pieces of cardboard, I'm still concerned this framework would buckle under the weight of the resin and cause the core to breach the surface of the finished casting.

[matt-arnold.livejournal.com]

By the way, in case you don't know what this sculpture is, here is the entry where I first explained it.