Tom McLaughlin on Dry Powder Earth Colors, Flesh Colors, Flesh Colors, Metamerism, Painting Silicone , Shelf Life and more! copyright 2001 Tom McLaughlin Productions, used with permission
DRY POWDER EARTH COLORS A key element in realistic flesh color is the correct amount of grayness. Earth colors are naturally gray. Practically any racial type’s skin color may be mixed from these dry pigments. For Silicone Paint: Mix dry color directly into Silicone Caulking until smooth, thin with solvent proper consistency. To Color Silicone Rubber Mix a small amount of silicone base until color is developed and all signs of powder lumps are gone, then mix into remainder of Silicone Base. Takes a bit of elbow grease. Dry powder colors may be used to color almost any plastic or rubber by first mixing thoroughly into base material. Colors available individually and as 10 Color Set from the Compleate Sculptor (1800-9SCULPT, www.sculpt.com) and also individually from Guerra Paint & Pigments (212-529-0628) and Kremer Pigments (212-219-2394) I am pleased the above stores sell these pigments in small quantities. They make my work easier and colorful. Earth Color Palette recommended by Tom McLaughlin for realistic silicone Coloration and Painting 1) Red Oxide Clean Rust Red opaque, permanent & lightfast 2) Yellow Oxide Clean Muted Yellow opaque, permanent & lightfast 3) Raw Sienna Muted Orange opaque, permanent & lightfast 4) Burnt Sienna Muted Brown Red opaque, permanent & lightfast 5) Raw Umber Deep Cool Brown opaque, permanent & lightfast 6) Burnt Umber Deep Warm Brown opaque, permanent & lightfast 7) Ultramarine Blue Deep Warm Blue transparent, permanent & lightfast 8) Chrome Green Deep Muted Green opaque, permanent & lightfast 9) Mars Black Deep Warm Black opaque, permanent & lightfast 10) Titanium White Bright Cool White opaque, permanent & lightfast All colors are natural pigments mined from the Earth with the exception of Ultramarine Blue. Ultramarine Blue is the modern man-made replacement for the semi precious stone Lapis Lazuli traditionally used for blue tones. I find it somewhat amazing that every racial skin color on planet Earth may be duplicated with natural earth from our planet - even the legendary green Martians and blue races rumored to live under France and parts of India. ( Color Sample Swatches Painted by the author using Liquitex Matte Medium and a fan brush) PERMANENCE AND LIGHTFASTNESS Earth Colors have been used by master painters over hundreds of years and have proven themselves as some of the most permanent pigments available anywhere. Fade Resistant to sunlight and the elements and practically chemically inert, Earth Colors are the Wisest choice for painting silicone art with long life expectancy. Silicone medical prosthesis, museum and theme park exhibits come immediately to mind.
STARTING POINTS Good Starting points for Caucasian, Light and mid skin tones are Raw Sienna or Burnt Sienna with White: Raw Sienna for skin colors with yellow or golden undertones, Burnt Sienna for skin colors with red or warm undertones, or a blend of the two. Good Starting points for African skin colors are Raw Umber or Burnt Umber with a little white and maybe some blue for very deep tones. FLESH COLOR SWATCHES To give you an idea of what these pigments can do I’ve made up some colors that approximate various flesh tones using acrylic paints. All colors were mixed and measured by eye, so the formulas aren’t extremely accurate, but you should get the idea. In this collection are good starting points for many racial types. Some could use more white for Caucasian and mid-toned skin colors. Panel 1 equal parts Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, White equal parts burnt Sienna, Yellow Oxide, White equal parts Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, White equal parts Burnt Sienna, 1 Red Oxide, 1 Raw Umber, White Panel 2 6 parts Yellow Oxide, 3 Red Oxide, 1 Ultramarine Blue, 10 White 6 parts Raw Sienna, 1 Red Oxide, 1 Ultramarine Blue, 10 White 8 parts Raw Sienna, 1 Red Oxide, 1 Ultramarine Blue, 10 White 8 parts Yellow Oxide, 1 Red Oxide, 1 Ultramarine Blue, 10 White Panel 3 6 parts Yellow Oxide, 2 Red Oxide, 2 Green Oxide, 20 White 6 parts Yellow Oxide, 2 Red Oxide, 2 Ultramarine Blue, 20 White equal parts Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, White 20 Raw Umber, 3 Red Oxide, 1 Ultramarine Blue, 6 White
FLESH COLOR FORMULAS At one time I had access to a color Spectrophotometer and Computer and ran around taking readings of different people’s skin tones. The set up is similar to color matching machines many paint stores now have to custom match paint to a color chi you bring in. The collection of skin colors was limited to workers and sales reps on hand. These formulas should help you get an Idea of the wide range of skin tones possible with a limited number of carefully chosen colors. Pigment Burnt Sienna Yellow Oxide Ultramarine Blue White Total European Mix (light) 1.109 0.346 0.204 8.341 10.0 Native American 3.278 0.664 0.346 5.712 10.0 Mid African 3.435 2.219 0.811 3.535 10.0 European Mix 1.961 0.441 0.229 7.369 10.0 European Mix 1.317 0.745 0.567 7.371 10.0 German 1.585 0.376 0.141 7.898 10.0 Dark African 4.860 2.459 1.577 1.104 10.0
METAMERISM Metamerism is a technical color term used to describe the effect of 2 or more of the same color mixed from different pigments appearing different under different colored lighting. To illustrate: say you made two lots of the same color, one from artists acrylic paint and one from dry earth pigments in silicone. Under fluorescent shop lighting (rich in blue light) the colors appear identical. But When Viewed under incandescent lighting (rich in yellow light) the two mixes of the same color appear quit different to each other. Metamaerism can be seen on several television shows using latex foam prosthetics presumably painted with PAX paint ( artists acrylic and ProsAide pressure sensitive adhesive). Avoid Metamerism by using identical pigments across different mediums where ever possible - or view colors under different light sources and adjust accordingly. GET A LIFE I used to find it a bit confusing to deal with the terms Shelf life and Pot Life. With silicone rubber firmly established as a flexible molding material and casting material, we now also have the terms Library Life and Service Life to deal with. What's the difference? SHELF LIFE life expectancy of unused silicone components, ‘sitting on shelf’ POT LIFE working time of catalyzed silicone, before becoming unpourable LIBRARY LIFE static life expectancy of stored silicone molds, on shelf in ‘mold library’ SERVICE LIFE life expectancy of silicone castings the perform in a theme park or museum
MOLD RELEASE My favorite mold release for silicone from most any mold material is ordinary Dish Detergent or Bar Hand Soap. Soap washes clean off of released castings with Water- no toxic solvents are required. The fewer toxic chemicals I have to work with the better. Workshops I’ve been in that have had problems with adhering paint to silicone castings all used petroleum jell or wax based releases and a solvent to remove them. THINNING: Liquid dish Detergent I think down with 1 or 2 parts of tap water for brushing consistency. With Bar Soap I wet a chip brush and work up a good lathery froth before applying to molds. APPLICATION: Using a chip brush liberally coat all casting surfaces of mold, working up a good froth to see if all surfaces are coated. Porous molds like plaster and gypsum will probably soak up the excess water right away and form a film of soap release on the mold. Non-porous molds such as silicone, fiberglass, urethane and epoxy require a different approach. Load the mold surface up with soap froth as above and as you are moving the wet release around the mold dry the release with a hair dryer on medium or low. As the soap thickens from water evaporation it will form a film without beading up. CLEANUP: Once silicone casting is released from mold, simply rinse it under running water to remove a;; traces of soap release. Let air dry or use hair dryer for speed. British artist Jeremy Hunt turned me onto using soap as a release years ago many years ago while I was making silicone skins for the first BABE movie. I didn’t believe him at first and it took some convincing to get me to go with it. Now its rare I’ll use anything else. RELEASE SYSTEM FOR VERY SOFT AND GOOEY SILICONE I have found a dual release system of help in demolding extremely soft silicone appliances. Silicone so soft it would ordinarily stick to the mold. First brush a coat or two of a waxy or soapy release into the mold and let dry, Next thin an alginate dental mold release such as Alcote brand to spraying consistency - 1 - 3 parts of water. Spray several fine mists of alginate release on to of previous release, letting each mist coat thoroughly dry before spraying the next to avoid puddling and runs. Use an air brush on low pressure or Prevail brand disposable sprayer, clean with water. When pieces are demolded the alginate release will usually come away with the casting and can either be peeled off or rinsed off with warm water. SILICONE FLUID ON TABLE TOPS Nothing much sticks to silicone - except for more silicone and cyanoacrylate adhesives, That's why its so successful as a mold material. Coating your work surfaces with a light layer of silicon fluid ( as used for thinning silicone rubber or as a plasticizer) will act as an excellent release and prevent most gunky stuff we use from sticking. Plaster/gypsum, acrylics, urethanes, polyesters, epoxies, latex, paint, glue, etc. It will peel right off a table top released with silicone fluid. REVITALIZING OLD SILICONE MOLDS Silicone rubbers with the best release properties for molding applications have an excess of silicone fluid in the formulation, Casting materials into silicone molds removes some of this excess silicone fluid each time you use a mold. Plasters such as polyester, epoxy, and urethane remove silicone fluid faster the plaster and gypsum. Eventually a silicone mold will get dry and brittle and can tear or crack in use if you aren’t careful. To revitalize and give your silicone molds a new lease on life, surface with a chip brush, covering all casting surfaces. Leave it soak in for an hour or so, then wipe out as much as you can with a clean soft cloth.
There once
was a couple named Kelly TOM ON RUBBER TALKS AT THE COMPLEATE SCULPTOR
-Tom McLaughlin is the author of SILICONE ART, considered by many to be the ‘Bible” on silicone’s many uses |
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