Ears

Fig. 37.

Takahashi drills a hole in the life cast and inserts a thick wire to sculpt on to - this will prevent the clay falling off the lifecast due to the weight.

He also suggests building up the area around the area with clay as this will create a margin when attatching to the head. Add wrinkles behind the ear as this will make any wrinkles that appear when the prosthetic is applied, look more natural.

I really like the hair punching in this ear, as I feel it catches the light nicely and really adds to the effective-ness of the image.

When you see the ear close up, I feel that perhaps the hair punched hair looks a little stright and perhaps would have looked a little more realistic if it had been tonged previously with marcel tongs for example. Having said that, I still feel the hair punching looks great and really adds to the make up. I also like the colouring of the ear and feel the veins are effective.

MOULDING EAR -

Spray the sculpt with a clear lacquer spray. Mark the ear, using the tip of the ear as a demarcation point to divide ear into two parts. It is not possble to mould ear in one part so it must be a two part mould.

Create a wet wall and build around the entire ear. Ensure that the wall is as neat as possible as this will help when it comes to seaming piece. Once wall is built, create trapezoidal keys - this will allow the two parts to allign. They must be trapezoidal to avoid the piece locking together. Brush water onto the wet clay to make it smooth.

Takahashi then pours plaster onto one side of the mould. Once the front has hardened, he then moulds the back using the same process.

Once mould has hardened, coat the inside with a clear laquer - this will act as a release agent for the silicone.

From my own experience of plaster mould cores for ears - I do not feel I would use plaster unless I had to, as I find that plaster is far too fragile for an ear core.

He then adds benzene to his silicone mix to act as a paint thinner. He adds enough benzene to give the silicone a lotion texture and is soft enough to spread easily over the plaster.

He then paints a single coat of this silicone mixture on the back and the front and allows the silicone to solidify. He repeats this 2 - 3 times - allowing the mould to rest for a few days between coatings.

I have not seen this method done before however feel that it is a little time consuming if you must wait a few days betwen layers. This method may help with the fragility of the plaster core and may prevent them breaking so easily.

He inserts two hairs at a time for the ears which I found interesting as I thought bulk punching would be better for bigger areas such as the hair.

Fig. 34.

Fig. 35

The wrinkles around this ear are a brilliant reference as well as the hair inside the ear - I could potentially hairpunch inside the the ea, similar to this.

Fig. 32

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Fig. 42

I think this character is a little flat in colour as it is all one tone howeever the shape is interesting and I cannot see any edges.

LIFE CASTING EARS

PROCESS

1) cut slit in clear plastic sheet and put over ear to prevent product getting into hair. Could use cling film.

2) Cut hole in the bottom of a container or large disposable coffee cup.

3) Have model with their head rested on a table or on their hands. Not essential but can put cottom wool in the models ear to prevent product going right into ear.

4) Place container over ear and use scar wax or tape to secure the container and keep any of the alginate spilling out of it.

5) Mix up the alginate and ensure that it is a consistency that will pour easily but not too runny. When mixed, pour into the container until it is about 1/2 inch (12 milimeters) past the top of the ear. Use your finger to make sure alginate gets behind, under, around every bend and fold of ear. Try not to get alginate deep into ear canal (cotton wool should prevent this)

6) Next, gently serparate the container from the plastic covering - start from front of ear so that you dont damage alginate negative. Wrap the alginate in wet paper towels to avoid shrinkage.

7) when ready to cast stone postives, wrap the container in cardboard or soft foam and ensure that there are no gaps. Pour plaster and fill mould

I require many references of ears, from different angles in order to sculpt my ears in a way that makes anatomical sense.

The blood vessel detail in this ear would make an interesting feature of my character ears - would add another dimension. I could use the skin illustrator Complexion pallete (colour Capillaries) to create this.

Fig. 33.

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Fig. 44.