Foam Skulls made with a Dragon Skin mold

I’ve made a few molds using Dragon Skin by Smooth-On. Dragon Skin is a soft, super stretchy silicone rubber. It stretches without tearing and always rebounds to its original shape without distortion. Smooth-On’s website has a great picture tutorial you can follow that explains how to use Dragon Skin, step by step. It’s worth a read. That being said, I didn’t follow it, I was shown how to make a mold using it while at FrightfestBC in 2004.

Making a Skull Mold:

Have your work area ready.
Have your supplies ready.
Allot yourself some time.

A trial sized pack of dragon skin is just the right amount for a skull. The pictures below show two different molds and skulls but hopefully give you an idea of what to do if you want to attempt this yourself.

You need:
Skull for the mold
A board to sit the skull on
Disposable cups
Popsicle sticks
Paper towels (its a messy process)
Plasticine
Dragon Skin Part A and B
Thi-Vex II
*Pigment (I didn’t use)

Get a board ready put some newsprint or plastic or something down under the board if you are concerned about you work area. I use a small square board of left over flooring. Inspect your skull to be molded. If it has any hollow areas or deep undercuts you will want to fill those areas with Plasticine or similar. (these pictures are from two different mold making sessions)

Take care to smooth it out really well and make it look good because once you mold it, every skull will look as this one does, right down to the small bumps and scratches. A release agent is recommended, but maybe not necessary as dragon skin will only stick to itself and to cloth. (Don’t wear anything you’ll be upset about ruining) I didn’t use a release agent for either of my two skulls with no problems what-so-ever. When the skull is ready to your liking place it on the board with it’s chin over hanging the board. This allows you to coat under the chin.

Another note… the temperature and humidity of the room you are in will affect your set up time. As I have both times made my molds in a cool environment (outside, and in a shop) the Dragon Skin took a long time to set up. Maybe that isn’t so bad, if you are just beginning with this stuff as it gives you a lot of time to apply it… well, maybe…

To begin – get two separate disposable cups or similar for measuring parts A and B.
LABEL THEM, PART A, PART B
Get a popsicle stick for each of these cups.
LABEL THEM PART A, PART B
The last thing you want is to get any of these mixed up, so label them to ensure they stay separate.
Have a third cup and popsicle stick ready for mixing the two parts together.

For your first application you will basically be covering the entire surface of the skull in the Dragon Skin without any thickener added. You are concentrating on covering all the detail areas, like the teeth. You are aiming for a thin but COMPLETE cover of Dragon Skin to pick up all the little details.

For my first layer I used approximately a 1/2 cup of Dragon Skin (approx 1/4 each of parts A & B) and it was JUST enough. You may want to use that amount, or a little more. Just adjust your measure cups to suit. If you want to be accurate you could fill a measuring cup with water and add it to your PART A cup and draw a fill-to line, HOWEVER make sure that you dry the cups very well before adding the Dragon Skin. Make sure to read all the bottle directions before you begin as well. Part B is to be mixed up before using with part A.

I did not use any pigment, but it’s recommended. Coloring will indicate when you have fully mixed the two parts together. Colored layers will aid you to get even coverage and will help you differentiate between coats. If you feel that you may not mix it completely or may miss an area while coating your skull, or are uncomfortable skipping this step by all means get some pigment to add.

When applying each coat keep in mind that the new layers must be added while the previous ones are still tacky. If they dry completely the new layer may not properly adhere. Silicone will stick to silicone even after it is fully cured, but it MUST be very clean. The best bond will be achieved when the previous layer is tacky, but if it happens to cure up fully, it will still stick.

Measure equal amounts of A and B into their separate cups. Check them to ensure they are equal. Pour them into your 3rd cup scraping the sides of the cups with their designated popsicle sticks to get ALL the Dragon Skin. MIX THOROUGHLY in your 3rd cup. For three or so minutes… until your hand feels like its about ready to fall off… well, ok that’s what mine felt like.

When you’ve mixed the 2 parts well, take the popsicle stick and smooth the Dragon Skin over your skull. I first coat the detail areas, then pour small amounts over the top of the skull and smooth it down. This layer will pretty much self level, and also run down your skull. I take my stick and pull some back up as it runs down the edges, but having some pool at the base is OK. Don’t forget under the chin.

This will need to set up for a while. Check it often, it could take 20 minutes but it could take up to an hour to set up if its cold where you are working. You want to add your next layer when the first has set up and is still tacky to the touch.

For your second layer measure more of A & B increasing the amount of each to up to a 1/2 cup of each. Mix them together as you did previously and then add a small amount of Thi-Vex II, approximatley a 1/2 cap or more depending on how thick you want it, to thicken your Dragon Skin. Mix this in just as thoroughly. It will be thick like peanut butter. Apply this layer to the entire skull, including the chin. Make sure you coat right to the base, even onto the base slightly. This coat may take a little longer to become tacky.

Repeat this process for a third and fourth coat. Try to get all areas even.

Once completed, leave the mold to cure overnight. Do not de-mold the skull, resist the urge to peel it back and peek.

Remove it from the board by peeling the Dragon Skin away from the board. It is going to take some work to get it started. Only remove the mold from the board – do not take the mold off of the skull. You’ll need to make a mother mold (or shell) first.

The mother mold is necessary to retain the shape of the mold while making copies. This is especially important when working with expanding polyurethane foam to cast with.

You can use a variety of techniques and products to make a mother mold. The lady who taught me about dragon skin now makes all her mother molds from fiberglass. I have also seen some nice looking products online I would like to try.

I used Plaster of Paris for this one, which works, but I would love to try something else next time.

To make one like I did you’ll need:
Plaster of Paris
Water
Gloves
Measure cups
Clean container for mixing
Popsicle stick or similar for mixing
Cheesecloth or an open weave material
Scissors
Plastic wrap or a thin plastic bag

To begin I inspected my skull mold and drew a line down the approximate center of it, from front to back

Next I got everything prepared:
- I applied the plastic wrap along the drawn center line so that it overlapped onto each side of the skull. This layer of plastic will keep the two halves of the mold separate.

- I cut up my strips of material. I kept the strips to about 10 inches long and about 1-1 inches wide. Some smaller.
- I mixed up a small batch of the plaster, following the box directions

I used the center line I had drawn as my guide and dipped the material strips into the plaster of paris before applying them to one half of the skull. I kept applying the strips until I felt I had a nice strong uniform layer. Next I took the plastic wrap which was laying on the unfinished side if the skull mold and folded it over top of the finished side to create a barrier. By folding the plastic wrap over, the mold is formed in two separate halves that will fit together well and come off easily when complete.

I repeated the same process for the second half of the skull.

I left the mold to dry overnight. Then removed both halves by pulling them in opposite directions. They came away from the mold very easily. I gave them each a coat of regular white house paint to help keep the plaster of paris from eroding along the edges during handling.

Dragon Skin mold with both halves of the new mother mold.

Bottom View

I then could finally remove the skull from inside my new dragon skin mold.

Related posts:

1. Skull
2. Flexwax
3. Halloween Tree

Related posts:

1. Molding Skulls with ‘Dragon Skin’
2. Small Skull
3. Skull Beads

I very much enjoy the looks I get from people who come to see what I am working on and find these on the workbench. Side long looks, raised eyebrows and comments like ‘thats so disgusting! Why would you make that??’ and ‘that’s so wrong’. It’s quite entertaining. These particular hands pictured were sold.

Related posts:

1. Zombie Crawler
2. Skull

Years ago I attended Frightfest BC for the first time. The host Dyanna had a crock pot on a table filled with wax. I had no idea what it was for until watching her youngest daughter who must have been only 7 at the time create a hand mold.

Flexwax is a mold making wax made by Amaco. It melts at 120F which is low enough to use on skin. You can dip into it or brush it on to create replicas with amazing detail. It is perfect for use with 2 part polyurethane resin and foam. Best of all, it is completely re-usable. It can be purchased at many art stores. It comes in 2.5lb and 5lb blocks. Get the 5lb block. Any less and you wont have enough in the pot to fully submerge your hand.

Keeping it in a nice wide crock pot allows for the simplicity of just plugging it in and waiting until its melted and ready to use. It also allows you to use it away from your kitchen.

Once the wax is warmed and melted through, turn the crock to warm, low, or even off. The wax will be a nice clear aqua tint. Before you dip, check the wax temperature with a finger, it should be very warm, but not uncomfortably so.

Prep your hands.
I have seen and tried prepping hands in a variety of ways; coating hands in dish soap, skin cream or Vaseline. I have also tried using the Flexwax without prepping at all – but all that does is make the wax more difficult to remove.

Decide on a hand pose.
Keep in mind it may be difficult to remove your hand if its a complicated pose. I would recommend you begin with a simple open hand cast.

Dip.
Dip you hand into the wax as far up the wrist as the pot allows. Remove your hand and let it sit over the pot to catch excess dripping while it cools. When the wax cools and becomes solid dip it again. Repeat dipping about 4 times. Be careful to get all areas completely covered in the wax. If it doesn’t work, simply remove it & add it back to the pot and try again. I have seen people use a small cup to pour the wax over their hand to coat it and the instructions the wax comes with say you can also brush it on.

Remove the wax.
Once you have dipped your hand about 4 times let it firm up. With your free hand around your forearm grip and pull toward you slightly. You will feel the wax at the wrist begin to separate slightly from the skin. Gently wiggle your fingers and continue pulling back the skin to loosen the wax. You may find you have a complete air lock and may need to poke a pin hole into the finger tips, though this can usually be avoided. If you do have to use a pin, be sure to reseal the holes. Or you could carefully cut the wax cast off, and then use more Flexwax to reseal it. I prefer just wiggling the fingers to remove the cast in one piece. Be patient, it can sometimes take a few minutes to accomplish. You can at run cold water over the wax to cool and harden it, but be careful not to cool it too much as this will make it harder to remove.

Making your cast from a flexwax mold.

What you’ll need:
-gloves
-2 part polyurethane casting resin such as ‘Por-A-Kast Mark 2′ by Synair or Smooth-On’s Smooth Cast 300
-2 part polyurethane expanding foam any brand, 2 to 5 lb
-4 small cups to measure polyurethane
-larger cups to mix polyurethane
-Popsicle sticks or similar to stir with
-protect your work area & keep paper towel at hand, the foam will not come off of anything
-a small box or container to prop your hand cast in while it sets up

To begin label your small cups and stir sticks:
-Foam A
-Foam B
-Resin A
-Resin B

Resin Coat:
Measure out equal portions of the polyurethane resin. You wont need much, under an ounce of each, but you may need to test a hand out to get your measurements correct. Add the 2 parts to a larger cup and stir them together gently and thoroughly. Then add the mix to your cast, being careful to get it into each finger. Next tip the hand in all directions to slush coat the entire inner surface. Let it sit to set up in a small box or container. It should only take about 5 minutes.

Fill with Foam:
Next measure out equal amounts of foam. Again, most likely under an ounce of each part. Foam is finicky and the amount of expansion will depend on the air temperature, humidity and how long its been sitting on the shelf. Start with a small amount. You can always top it up after. Measure out the 2 parts and add them together in a bigger cup. Stir completely but don’t take too long or it will begin to rise. You want to get it into the hand and into each finger before it begins to rise to avoid air bubbles. Put the hand pack into the small box or container to set up. If you used too much foam it will rise high out the top opening. If your lucky it will stay rigid and just form an ‘arm’. If your not, it will blob all over the outer part of the mold. If that happens not to worry, it can be removed after. Best to leave to foam to cure for about an hour.

Remove the Wax.
When the foam has set, peel off all the wax and add it back to the crock pot. Best to lay a paper towel down to catch any wax that may fall as you do this. Use an knife or small blade to aid you in removing the wax. If you are having difficulty removing the wax, warm it up a bit. Be careful not to cut past the wax and into the casting. I check the wax pieces for bits of foam or debris before I add them back to the crock. If your foam expanded out and over the top of the mold and made a mess, just cut it or break off the pieces you don’t want.

You can opt to not use the resin and just use the polyurethane. I have done this too. The cast will not be nearly as strong as one made with resin or pick up as much detail, but is still usable.

You can take it a step further and insert some 1/2 inch PVC to the hand when you add foam so that you have an easy way to add it to your prop. You can add something to resemble bone sticking out the top for a severed hand. Once you have the supplies to do this, making hands for your Halloween props couldn’t be any easier. The way you paint them or what you add to them after they are cast gives you endless possibilities.

Related posts:

1. Skull
2. Molding Skulls with ‘Dragon Skin’
3. Small Skull