Installing the Mechanics!! First The Mouth!!

Now we are to the point where the mouth and eyes need to be cut out. You must be careful to cut two parallel lines on each side of the mouth so that when you reinstall the mouth the gaps will be nice and tight! We don't want wide gaps!







When I make the mouth, I like to build up the mouth with teeth, tongue, Etc and make a mold and cast of the finished mouth. This allows me to make another mouth later if I want to make another head. This saves a lot of time if I do make a second figure.









I cut and glue a piece of thin ply to the mouth and then use brass rod and tubing to make the pivot point.









Here you can see that I have found the pivot point on the mouth. This take time, patience and trial and error.

When I build the mouth, I will reshape the it and try to eliminate any odd or irregular shapes of the mouth so that when the mouth is opened or closed, the mouth will look natural!

As you can see, I am starting to build up the mouth. When finished, it will be shaped, the detail of the teeth, tongue, Etc. will be added and then the mouth will be installed into the head.

After the mouth is finished I will work on installing the eyes, raising eyebrows and I'm still thinking of installing a stick out tongue!! Before I get to ahead of myself, I still have a lot of work to do on the mouth!!

Casting the Head!!

Today I have cast the head. I used a two part urethane casting resin that was slush cast in the silicone mold we made earlier.

Here is a photo of the urethane slush cast in the mold. This takes time, patience and several coats!

Here is the cast demolded from the mold. Note all the detail from the mold!

The next part of the project is to cut out the mouth. From there we will build a functional mouth with detailed teeth and tongue and then its time to install the mechanics!!

Stay tuned for my next Blog when we will install a moving mouth, raising eyebrows and maybe a stick out tongue!!

Finishing the Mold Making Process!!

Here we have to mother mold separated into a front and back half. When the mother mold is taken off the silicone mold is cut with an x-acto knife in half along where the front and back of the mother mold meet.

As you can see the rear half of the silicone mold lines up with the rear half of the mother mold.

You may also note the negative image in the silicone mold.

Perfect fit! The silicone mold fits perfectly into the mother mold!

You would think he would be happy to have the silicone and plaster mother mold off of his face! Well, I guess there is no pleasing some people!

Next we will be working on casting the head!

Starting The Mold Process!!

I have decided to use a silicone rubber mold on this head. This is a two part mixture that once mixed and applied to the head, will make a strong mold. The nice thing about the silicone mold is that you don't need to use a mold release when casting the head! Nothing should stick to the silicone mold! I have put on one thin coat followed by three more thicker coats.

After the silicone mold has set, the next thing to do is make the mother mold. The mother mold is made to add support to the silicone mold. I am using a plaster cloth wrap to make the two piece mother mold. I like to use the plaster cloth because it is cheap, easy to use and less toxic and messy then other mother mold techniques!

As you can see, I have made the front half first with the plaster wrap. When this dries, I will make the back half.

Creation Of A Figure!!

When trying to make a Ventriloquist figure, You must first start with a sketch of a character you have in mind and then attempt to sculpt the character in your favorite choice of medium . I used clay. In the below photo's you will see the progress of a sculpted head. Slight and subtle changes in each photo allow you to see the character come to life! In the next few weeks, I will show the mold making and casting process followed by the controls and finishing of the figure.

I hope you have enjoyed!

Best Regards,

Mike Palma

(Figure designed and sculpted by Mike Palma, Sketched By Bill Nelson)

Creating Of A Figure !!!