Hair Test 01 - Real Hair
Content
Hair Test 01 Real Hair
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I wanted to make a chunk of silicone, in the shape of the top of a head, so I could make some hair tests. I decided as this is nothing I need exact replicas of, I could just scoop half a round shape into a fresh block of clay and that would do for my mould.
06. 03. 04. 05.
I’d still want this to be nice and smooth like I would make my character’s head, so the smoothing process went through a few different stages. In image 03, I’m using a multi-use soldering iron, this one has a hot air setting. The clay I’m using can be melted to pour into moulds so I used this advantage to melt round parts of cold clay so it was easier to smooth off. A few minutes are needed to let the clay cool before smoothing it off with my fingers, otherwise it’s just sticky and makes a mess rather than smoothing. So once it cooled enough, I smoothed it as in image 04, then heated it again for extra smoothness. After the second heating there are some air bubbles visible so it needs a final smoothing off with my fingers. The silicone picks up every detail, even finger prints, so it all depends what you are trying to achieve.
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After the mould is ready, it’s time to mix up the silicone. In my last test with the silicone I think I added a little too much oil paint for the pigmenting, this resulted in a longer cure time (4-5 days). This mix had about half the amount of paint. Then weigh the silicone (I subtracted the 1.6g from the calculation accounting for the cup) and add the catalyst to the weight of 5% of the silicone. Once the mix is thoroughly folded into each other, pour the silicone into the mould from a good height, this lets more air bubbles escape on the way down.
11. 09. 10.
Image 09 is the silicone freshly poured, there are a few air bubbles rising to the surface which is expected. I found the best way to get rid of these was to just blow on them and they would pop. After 24 hours (with the correct mix) the silicone had set. Image 10 shows the silicone when it has set, you can see there’s no difference in the appearance so it’s a case of, gently poke it to see if it has cured yet.
11. 12. 13. 14.
I de-moulded the skull and had some hair lined up ready to cut and insert. I’d make a piercing into the silicone with a cocktail stick roughly 3mm deep, then using a dental tool with a rough flat end to it (in image 15), I’d rest the bunch of hair against the silicone and punch it into the hole. The rubberiness of the silicone held it in place. When let go the hair would stick out as an implant.
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This process was repeated several times, similar to pores in the skin where the hair grows. As this was just a test piece to see how the hair would stay, and to test if it would animate if made from real hair, I didn’t worry about the length of the bunches.
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These images show the progression of implanting hair. In image 20 I pierced the silicone at a slanted angle so the hair would stick out at the same angle. In image 21 I bent the hair over to see if I could achieve a combover style with the implants I had done so far.
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Once I had inserted enough hair to make the skull bushy, I decided to give it a haircut. To make sure I didn’t cut the comb-over section I wrapped an elastic band around it keeping the longer hair out of the way. I combed through it to find any accidental loops or to remove any straggling hairs too. Then got to cutting this ‘fabulous’ hairstyle.
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The hair reminded me of a brush because it was sticking out at suck a tight angle.
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The next stage was to apply some hair gel/clay to see if it would give me enough control to be able to animate it. In image 31 it shows the hair as it kept popping back to this position, meaning I wasn’t able to animate real hair using this method. To form the held down comb over I had to use something to keep it there, so I cut a small piece of wire and made it into a kind of staple which pushed into the silicone and kept the hair in place. In conclusion, this method of hair will not work for what I need. I do like the look of it though, it reminds me of people with comb-overs that use a load of wax and gel to try and keep it stuck down to their heads.
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My next test will be to use wire and coat it in some light brown silicone, very thinly, to give it a rubbery/waxy feel of wax covered hair. This wire will be able to animate. I’m going to try either 0.1mm or 0.08mm wire as I still want it to look like hair and not too thick.
Check out more about ‘Mother’s Days’ at: www.skygecko-nat.blogspot.com
01.
02.
I wanted to make a chunk of silicone, in the shape of the top of a head, so I could make some hair tests. I decided as this is nothing I need exact replicas of, I could just scoop half a round shape into a fresh block of clay and that would do for my mould.
06. 03. 04. 05.
I’d still want this to be nice and smooth like I would make my character’s head, so the smoothing process went through a few different stages. In image 03, I’m using a multi-use soldering iron, this one has a hot air setting. The clay I’m using can be melted to pour into moulds so I used this advantage to melt round parts of cold clay so it was easier to smooth off. A few minutes are needed to let the clay cool before smoothing it off with my fingers, otherwise it’s just sticky and makes a mess rather than smoothing. So once it cooled enough, I smoothed it as in image 04, then heated it again for extra smoothness. After the second heating there are some air bubbles visible so it needs a final smoothing off with my fingers. The silicone picks up every detail, even finger prints, so it all depends what you are trying to achieve.
07.
08.
After the mould is ready, it’s time to mix up the silicone. In my last test with the silicone I think I added a little too much oil paint for the pigmenting, this resulted in a longer cure time (4-5 days). This mix had about half the amount of paint. Then weigh the silicone (I subtracted the 1.6g from the calculation accounting for the cup) and add the catalyst to the weight of 5% of the silicone. Once the mix is thoroughly folded into each other, pour the silicone into the mould from a good height, this lets more air bubbles escape on the way down.
11. 09. 10.
Image 09 is the silicone freshly poured, there are a few air bubbles rising to the surface which is expected. I found the best way to get rid of these was to just blow on them and they would pop. After 24 hours (with the correct mix) the silicone had set. Image 10 shows the silicone when it has set, you can see there’s no difference in the appearance so it’s a case of, gently poke it to see if it has cured yet.
11. 12. 13. 14.
I de-moulded the skull and had some hair lined up ready to cut and insert. I’d make a piercing into the silicone with a cocktail stick roughly 3mm deep, then using a dental tool with a rough flat end to it (in image 15), I’d rest the bunch of hair against the silicone and punch it into the hole. The rubberiness of the silicone held it in place. When let go the hair would stick out as an implant.
15.
16.
17.
18.
This process was repeated several times, similar to pores in the skin where the hair grows. As this was just a test piece to see how the hair would stay, and to test if it would animate if made from real hair, I didn’t worry about the length of the bunches.
19.
20.
21.
These images show the progression of implanting hair. In image 20 I pierced the silicone at a slanted angle so the hair would stick out at the same angle. In image 21 I bent the hair over to see if I could achieve a combover style with the implants I had done so far.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Once I had inserted enough hair to make the skull bushy, I decided to give it a haircut. To make sure I didn’t cut the comb-over section I wrapped an elastic band around it keeping the longer hair out of the way. I combed through it to find any accidental loops or to remove any straggling hairs too. Then got to cutting this ‘fabulous’ hairstyle.
26.
27.
28.
29.
The hair reminded me of a brush because it was sticking out at suck a tight angle.
30.
31.
32.
The next stage was to apply some hair gel/clay to see if it would give me enough control to be able to animate it. In image 31 it shows the hair as it kept popping back to this position, meaning I wasn’t able to animate real hair using this method. To form the held down comb over I had to use something to keep it there, so I cut a small piece of wire and made it into a kind of staple which pushed into the silicone and kept the hair in place. In conclusion, this method of hair will not work for what I need. I do like the look of it though, it reminds me of people with comb-overs that use a load of wax and gel to try and keep it stuck down to their heads.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
35.
38.
My next test will be to use wire and coat it in some light brown silicone, very thinly, to give it a rubbery/waxy feel of wax covered hair. This wire will be able to animate. I’m going to try either 0.1mm or 0.08mm wire as I still want it to look like hair and not too thick.
Check out more about ‘Mother’s Days’ at: www.skygecko-nat.blogspot.com
