The sculpture

Just a few weeks ago I was asked to fabricate a prosthetic mask for a live action promo for the animated show Ugly Americans on Comedy Central. I was incredibly excited about sculpting a mask that was based on a cartoon, since most of my work seems to mimick real life. Of course, the call came while I was in the middle of a few other projects, so I knew, if I were to fabricate the mask, I would have to be able to do the whole thing in just a few days. The time line determined much of the materials and process I was going to take. First, it was decided that this would be a single piece (front of the face) prosthetic. For me that meant one sculpt and one mold for the face. The ears and horns would be sculpted and molded separately, the horns fitting into the mask once it was applied (and glued in place with prosaide adhesive). Again, needing to move the process along quickly I opted to sculpt the mask in WED clay. A water based clay that dries out less quickly and has minimal shrinkage. With water based clay i was able shape and smooth the clay much faster then an oil based clay. Knowing that ultimately the mask would be cast in foam latex, a quick ultracal 30 mold could be made over the sculpture. Here are the pictures of the sculpture. Also, I should mention that a life cast of the actor was taken. The life cast was done with smooth-on body double platinum silicone rubber and cast in ultracal 30 plaster.