How do I make a cast of a hand or foot for art purposes?

Question: How do I make a cast of a hand or foot for art purposes!?

I want to do some artistic studies of hands and feet and I think that it would be ideal if I could work with a form that didn't move around, but stayed in a fixed position!. How might I go about making a cast or mold of a hand or foot which would preserve as much surface detail as possible!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

You can buy alginate from sculpture supply stores like artstuf!.com or aljasafe from smooth-on!.com, who also has a more expensive but reusable silicone product called body double!. Smooth-on has videos on their site and on youtube!. Be careful what you reference on youtube!.

To work, prep all materials, read all instructions, watch videos!. Prep skin with petroleum jelly, which will be your "release" that helps with removal!. If there's any excessive hair, you can coat it or shave!. Mix your alginate to spec, place hand or foot in container, pour, stay still!. When the alginate has set up, wiggle and pull appendage out, careful not to get too rough and tear alginate!. Wiggling helps break the suction/vacuum and you should slide right out after that!. Mix and pour plaster, use hydrocal or ultracal!.!.!.I wish people would obliterate the words "plaster of paris" from their minds when talking lifecasting!. it is simply not durable and defeats the whole purpose!. Slap against the side of the mold to work air bubbles up; you can blow them away with an airhose or straw!.

Alginate and plaster require a sense of timing, one that takes experience to learn!. Watch the vids and buy enough to make a second go of it if necessary!.

Good luck, please ask again if you need more help!. Sorry if I sound a little cranky!. The question of lifecasting gets asked and answered a lot!.
Please check the link below for more info, links, and vids!. Hands and feet are ideal for beginner lifecasting, you should get some great results in the first attempts!. If you decide to do the body or face, that gets more elaborate and will require much more prep and study!.Www@QuestionHome@Com