How I made Ebenezer Scrooge using Industry methods of prosthetic production!
After completing the Davy Jones makeup, I wanted to challenge myself to create a prosthetic makeup using industry-standard mould-making techniques, utilising two-part moulds as well as silicone flat plate moulding. At the time, two-part moulding was a new skill for me, so I had lots to learn!My aim for Scrooge was to create a half-realistic/half-cartoon-like prosthetic makeup, as the most common depiction of scrooge is very exaggerated and animated. To start this process I began by lifecasting my model, who is my brilliant sister Amy. None of my looks would have been able to work without her support, so for that, I am forever grateful. Once I had the face cast, I spent a few weeks intermittently sculpting, trying to find time between my studies. It’s worth noting that I separated my cast before sculpting with an IPA and soap solution. I also used a variety of homemade tools; sewing needles that I had bent and glued to the end of pencils, which I now cannot live without!After a few weeks spent perfecting the sculpt, I submerged the cast in a tub of water overnight. However, the sculpt floated off extremely quickly with the soap solution, so I don’t think that overnight was even necessary! Now that the sculpt had floated off, I used a blade to carefully cut into the sculpt at a 45-degree angle. I decided to break the sculpt up into 5 pieces, as I hadn’t had the experience of making large two-part moulds at the time so I didn’t want to risk ruining a large portion of the sculpt. These sections were the forehead, two cheeks, nose and upper lip, as well as a chin and lower lip. For the two cheeks and forehead, I transferred them to a sculpting plate to flatten and refine the edges to later turn into flat moulds. To mould these I used LV40 silicone, tinted black.For the nose and chin, I created two waste moulds from the original face cast using alginate and plaster bandages, quickly filling these with plaster before the alginate could shrink. Once I had demoulded the cores and cleaned them up, I could transfer the sculpts to them. I used some hairspray on the cores to create a grippy surface to prevent the sculpt from slipping off when sculpting. After refining the edges, I finished the two-part moulds by casting the negatives in more Crystacal plaster. To run the moulds, after cleaning them thoroughly, I used Plat Gel 00 and Neill’s materials silicone pigments. I airbrushed the cap plastic with my Sparmax airbrush, using Neill’s key cap plastic and acetone in a 1:6 ratio. I repeated this process for the nose mould, using a clamp to secure this tightly. I did run into some issues however with the neck mould. The first time I ran it I barely used enough silicone, causing one side to collapse in on itself. The second time, there were too many bubbles and I hadn’t left the cap plastic to cure for long enough before running the silicone. For the last run, which was quite literally my last because I didn’t have enough silicone to run another mould (oops), I used Plat Gel 25 to give it more rigidity to avoid it collapsing. I also used a high pour technique to avoid air bubbles. In reflection, I feel like this process would have been easier if I had flared the base of the neck, which I will do the next time!Before application, I also punched hair into the silicone forehead to create some thick, bushy eyebrows. In addition to this, I created a custom-fit nightgown and cap from an old sheet and went hunting through vintage shops to find a candle stick holder for the night time look. I also went to a bunch of charity shops and thrift stores to find suit jackets, shirts and a waistcoat for the daytime look.The application took a few hours, which I had to do in my dining room (Covid-19 time). To hide Amy's hair, I put it in a bun and cut a hole through the top of the bald cap for the bun to go through. I hid the bun under the nightcap and top hat in both looks. To paint I used skin illustrator alcohol paints, and then created some sideburns with crepe hair.For the photography, I used my sister's Nikon camera, ring light and a black backdrop with stands. Amy was very grateful to get out of the makeup after! We slowly worked off the prosthetics with Bond Off and a makeup brush.For this being the first time I had made two-part moulds, I’m very impressed with the overall outcome. It was definitely a learning curve, and I have applied my knowledge to past and current projects! To see more of the process, head on over to my Instagram and Tiktok. Feel free to get in touch with any questions you have about the process or techniques I used!
