Wade - Casting Series (Midterm)

Inspiration 

My idea came from one of marvel heroes – iron man. 

3D Sculpt (Week 1-4)

Then I started using Autodesk Mudbox to sculpt it, and used Autodesk Maya to close the edges and build the relief. At last but not lest, using Rhinoceros scaled to the proper size and check every edges if they close perfectly.

This video shows the sculpting process.

Iron Man (Left: Rusted Effect, Right: Original)

Original Iron Man Relief

Rusted Iron Man Relief

Order 3D Print From Shapeways (Week5)

Once was done the 3D modeling, we can start to send files(must use .STL file format) to print. I decided to choose Shapeways to print my works. Their website shows clear instructions and easy to scale your size online, also they provide a lots of materials to customers. But the weak point is that Shapeways needs time to wait from order, ship to turning in your hand.

Customer can scale easily and choose many materials

Finished products from Shapways

Preparing for Casting – Reynolds Advanced Materials

I went to Reynolds Advanced Materials to get the molding and casting materials.

Mold Star 30 for bust mold.

Rebound 25 for Brush-On mold.

Casting material.

Mold Making Process (Week6-8)

First, if sculpture has a sharp chin, we need to make a vine hole that is able to let air bubbles come out when you pour the casting resin. Then using hot glue sticks your 3D prints on the work board.

BUST MOLD:

Using clay to build the container for filling silicone. We used Mold Star-30 for bust mold.

Z shape cut to prevent mold from distorting.

BRUSH-ON MOLD:

A brush-on mold will be created by using layers of Rebound-25 silicone to capture your 3D printed relief model. There are distinct layers that are created when making a brush on mold:

• Detail (print) Coat (Most Important) 
• Tint Coat
• Undercut Fill Coat
• Finish Coat 

Detail Coat Brushin

Finish Coat

Because the brush-on mold is thin, it needs to be supported in order to capture models. This is done with the Mother Mold. We used Aqua-Resin to create a thin shell that is reinforced with fiberglass.

1 liquid(L) : 2-3 powder(S3)

Mother Mold

Fiberglass Reinforcement

Casting Process

I used Smooth-Cast ONYX to cast my works, and using different color casts played around with it.

First Cast, Original Cast

Mirror

Color Mixing1

Color Mixing2

Brush-On Mold – Relief

Iron Man Factory