ROTS Darth Sidious Silicone Mask WIP

A buddy of mine and I have been wanting to do some silicone masks, so I figured since I wasn't as familiar with making them I'd start off with something familiar to use as a test subject. I'm not used to working with an armature and needing to keep thickness in mind, so I thought doing something I liked would work, but not something that if I made mistakes in the design/molding/casting process I wouldn't be compelled to go back and do the same subject again. I've done plenty of sculpture, and casting in silicone...but not like this. Seems fairly straightforward in the creation of silicone masks, but still.

Anyway, I chose Revenge of the Sith Palpatine as it's something I do with makeup I created back in '05 for the release of the film. Just some quick prosthetics I made in two days time. I'm familiar enough with the design, and it's something I felt I didn't need to be completely accurate on with making it look 100% film accurate and 100% accurate of Ian McDiarmid as each wearer's own bone structure is going to alter the features slightly anyway.

So, WIP time. Sculpt is nearing completion...need to add his left ear, fix a few symmetry things and finish texturing. I'm attempting to mold next weekend, as my first lesson learned is not to use WED clay. Works great for solid sculpts, but thin applications such as this is causing it to dry up quicker than usual. The harsh lightin is muting a lot of the texture that is already there, but once it gets closer to competion I'll take some better pics. there is a lot of detail that is not coming through in the pictures.

That's really good! A friend of mine wants to do a plapatine, are these going to be a wear able prosthetic?

It's actually going to be a wearable mask in a very soft silicone. Will still move with the face, but you won't have the lengthy process of applying several prosthetic parts. Some people will still glue around the mouth, others say you don't need to glue anything. Just throw it on and go. Moves like skin.

Very nice man. I cant wait to see a finished product

About to get started working on it today, and got a better pic with my phone that shows the detail.



Kinda sad that my phone got a better pic than my camera.

A few more...

Man i love that you guys guys could wip this stuff out. I would love to real to sculpt one day.

amazing work.

Nice... the hood really lets you see the detail and accuracy

I want one.

Very nice work bro!
look forward to seeing the final piece...

Nice start. good looking sculpt. I dont know what you use for a texturing tool, but Greg Canom taught me that if you bend a thick base string over on itself and stick it in the end of a paintbrush handle or a small piece of aluminum tubing, then crimp the pipe down to secure it, you can make the most realistic pores you will ever see. then follow that up by hitting the sculpd with a embossing tool. cant wait to see this completed.

I did do something similar, it's just not showing up well in pics. I have a few different tools for pores depending on where they are on the face, as the pores on your nasal labial folds will look different as say on your forehead. This one is pretty much wrapped up now, just holding on until molding. I'm scared to work too much more on it as the clay is really starting to dry up. I'm spritzing this sucker several times a day and keeping it as air tight as I can. I'm using Chavant for the next sculpt.

I had the chance to meet Greg once, seemed fairly nice to me. I've heard that he can sometimes be a pain though. I'm sure that as with most people, it just depends on the circumstances! Spent a weekend next to Dick Smith though, and he was awesome!

wow..looks just like him...great job bro.

thanks, unfortunately I found out the hard way that wed clay and fiberglass don't go well together. Not sure if the mold is going to work or not. May have to start over, but after having all these problems with wed I learned my lesson. Chavant was ordered today.

Awesome piece of work. Would love one if you are starting a run anytime in the future

I'll let you know. Mold may have worked, after sitting for a few days, the problem area dried up. It was weird, but both halves have been done. De-molding Thursday and if everything turned out okay, I'll be ordering the silicone early next week for the first pull Easter weekend.

It would seem that the moisture from the wed clay, which is water based clay, caused the first layer of gel coat to remain tacky. At least it did on the separating wall and on the backside, which only had that layer. When the wall was removed, I couldn't see any problems with the first half of the mold, but the one layer on the back remained that way until four days later when it suddenly seemed fine. So, I finished the mold. I had planned on a silicone mold at first, but I kept reading that most people making silicone masks just used fiberglass molds so I made that choice without checking to see if wed would have a problem. I think it's going to be okay, and will see in a few days. Next sculpt will be done in Chavant, so I won't have that issue or the time constraint of trying to get the sculpt done before the clay dries out. Wed is great for sculpting busts, but didn't work well for this.

Well, mold failed glouriously. So, time to start over, this time with a clay that won't be giving me any problems. Learned a lot with this one, which is why I chose Sidious. I knew since some of the methods were new to me and that if I made mistakes, it was an easy sculpt that I would not feel too bad about having to do over. So, doing over is going to happen. Though, I may do Maul first now.

Realy nice sculpt.
Are you may think on doing a RotS burned Anakin?

Sorry to hear about the mould failure bro... been there! sucks!
Look forward to seeing the re-birth.

Originally Posted by Turrican

Realy nice sculpt.
Are you may think on doing a RotS burned Anakin?

Yes, I am. A ROTJ version too. Both are a little down the road though.

Originally Posted by Mojo-Fett

Sorry to hear about the mould failure bro... been there! sucks!
Look forward to seeing the re-birth.

Thanks! Should turn out to be a little better as I won't have to worry about the clay drying out.

Posted by Turrican View Post
Realy nice sculpt.
Are you may think on doing a RotS burned Anakin?

Yes, I am. A ROTJ version too. Both are a little down the road though.

Hey that's cool.Looking forward to see the WIP thread of that man.

amazing work

So, the new sculpt is coming along and maybe the mistakes were worth it. I think this one is going to look better, much better.



I think I'll be done next week and start molding again next weekend.

Cool. Glad to see you making progress on this one again. Keep it up, its looking great!

Just wanted to say that I appreciate your skill in carving. I too learned the hard way and I am using Chavant to make a Revan mask. BTW, was there a special kind of silicone you were using. Nice work Again!